Chapter 6 – Empusa
EMPUSA
My mother had warned me about this side of myself, but I hadn’t believed her.
She said that because my father was a demon, I could easily lose myself to the seven deadly sins.
She had mentioned sex, but I’d brushed the idea away.
The last thing I ever imagined myself doing was having sex.
Yes, I was afraid of wrath and gluttony, but never lust.
And then lust had hit me like a bat.
I now realized that was what I was feeling when I was watching him eat.
My fascination with his lips. My fascination with his big body and his beautiful face.
It was all lust awakening inside of me. And after he’d touched me in the truck, and I’d hit him…
he was so upset. I could see it in his face.
He was a man who never wanted to hurt or scare a woman.
I’d never met a man like him before.
Without realizing what I was doing, I’d touched him. And his soul was like nothing I’d seen before. It was…pure light. A white glowing smoke that felt charged with goodness. It seemed to pour inside of me until I tingled, like standing too close to a current.
And then, I’d wanted nothing but him.
My thoughts had fled, all my logic, all my fear. And I’d lost my virginity as quickly as most people bought a stupid online purchase.
I’d heard it would hurt the first time. But even with his sheer size, it’d been nothing but pleasure. Pleasure so deep that when we finished, I wanted to do it again and again.
That had scared me. Scared me more than any nightmare could have.
As I stare in my rearview mirror, seeing nothing but the small town behind me, I release a shaky breath. He isn’t following me. Nothing bad would come from him. I just need to deal with whatever his touch had awakened inside of me because I could never be that out of control again.
Suddenly, a police car comes flying down the road in the opposite direction, its tires squealing as it takes a turn.
On instinct, I follow it. Nestled within the woods is a small neighborhood, and when the police car stops in front of a home with a police car and a crying woman out front and neighbors all outside, I know something is wrong.
I have to push the shaky need inside of me away. I have to push my fears over my lust awakening away. So, I park my truck and get out.
Even before I reach them, I can hear the woman crying. I stop beside the collection of neighbors and ask the older woman next to me, “What happened?”
“Her daughter disappeared too. She was in her bed, sleeping, apparently. The mom went to check on her and found some guy carrying her out the window. He ran into the woods behind their house with the girl. She called the police, and everyone’s organizing a search party.”
“Damn it,” I mutter.
She turns to face me, then wrinkles her nose. “Who the hell are you?”
I stiffen. Oh, right. Everyone in a town this size would know each other. “I was just passing through when I saw the commotion.”
Her gaze moves over me and clings to my hair.
I see a bit of disappointment in her eyes, but I think she realizes that as a tiny woman, I’m likely not the man they’re looking for.
“If I were you, I’d keep going. This is the fourth kid to disappear in the last two weeks.
Maybe it’s just been kids so far, but I wouldn’t bet on the fact that this creep won’t take a tiny thing like you. ”
I draw my shoulders back, deciding instantly that I have an excuse to be searching for my target. “Actually, I think I’m going to join the search party.”
Her brows rise. “You sure?”
I nod.
“Well, Cindy will appreciate it. Bob is handing out flashlights, and the kid’s name is Jennifer.” She points me to Bob, who sure enough is handing out flashlights.
I go to him. “Hi, I’m Em, and I can help.”
He hesitates, then nods and hands me a flashlight. “We’ll all start behind her house and spread out.”
Yes, that’s where I will start. But after that, I’ll follow my instincts. If my target was here recently, which it sounds like he was, I have no doubt I’ll find him soon.
And those kids better be alive.
I might be planning on killing him either way, but I’ll make sure to make it slow if he’s hurt any innocents.