Chapter 28
Selene
The first thing I notice is the cold. Something scratchy digging into my wrists. Rope? Wetness on my cheeks. I’ve been crying. Why?
Lifeless eyes. Tortoiseshell glasses lying broken on the floor. Jared. Dead.
My mate is dead.
Agony rips through my chest, and I bite back an anguished scream.
I don’t know where I am, but I can sense I’m not alone.
My captor doesn’t know I’ve regained consciousness.
I can use that. The button that tore away in my struggle in still tucked into my fist, and I tighten my grip on it so it doesn’t fall to the floor and give away the fact I’m awake.
As subtly as I can, I try to tug apart my bound wrists where they rest at the small of my back, but it’s no use.
All pulling does is put more strain on my shoulders.
“I know you’re awake.”
There goes that plan. My eyelids snap open.
We’re in a barn. The state of disrepair tells me it’s not been in use for some time. I look down and see my ankles are bound to the legs of the chair I’m perched on. Movement captures my attention, my gaze falling on a demon dressed in a sharp black three-piece suit.
It’s the man from that day at Sweet Dreams, the one who was watching me.
He’s The Raven. The fear demon who’s had the entire supernatural community on edge, worried his crimes would lead to humans discovering our existence.
He’s older than I expected, fine lines etched into his ivory skin.
Given how slowly supes age, he must be hundreds of years old.
While his suit and shiny brogues look expensive, everything else about him is painfully average.
He’s the kind of supe you’d pass on the street without a second glance.
If it hadn’t been for his intense stare and creepy smile that day at Dove’s bakery, I’d have forgotten him completely.
“Selene, thank you for coming.” Is he serious? He smiles politely, and that’s when I see it—the spark of madness in his dark eyes.
“Not like I had a choice.”
He frowns, straightening his tie. “There’s no need to be rude.”
“You abducted me and killed my mate. What did you expect?”
“Oh, Jared? He’s not dead. Yet. He needs to suffer first.” Hope flares in my chest. Jared’s alive. But how? Then it hits me. This psychopath is a fear demon. He used his powers to plant the nightmare of my mate’s death in my head.
“Why Jared? You let him go before, why go after him again now?”
“That wasn’t supposed to happen.” He scowls, tugging at the cuffs of his shirtsleeves. “I thought he was just another worthless human. Then I saw the amulet. I’ve been searching for it for so long…” he trails off wistfully. “He surprised me. I needed time to think, to plan the perfect revenge.”
I debate which question to ask first. I want to know what he has against Jared, but the amulet has links to Jared’s birth parents—I have to find out how it’s connected to The Raven.
“What do you want with the amulet?”
“It belonged to his mother. Did you know that?” I tug at the rope around my wrists again, feeling it loosen slightly. This is good. If I can keep him talking, I can buy myself time to escape.
“No. All Jared knows is his birth parents left him with it—he didn’t know it was his mother’s first.” Why did she need such a powerful dampening amulet?
He sneers. “Raised by humans. Disgusting, just like his mother.”
“Why did she have the amulet?”
“That bitch fell in love with a human,” he spits.
Jared’s father was human? It’s possible, but extremely unusual.
His mother’s supernatural genes would have been dominant but, considering how powerful Jared turned out, the news is even more surprising.
“One of the strongest insight demons the world has ever seen, and she used that trinket to lock away her magic all so she could be with a pathetic human. She was supposed to be my mate, mine! Our power levels were perfectly matched, but fate paired her with a weak human. She should have chosen me, instead she used that amulet to hide from me.”
Gee, I wonder why? Jared’s mum had the right idea if you ask me—I’d run like hell too if this monster were my mate. The rope binding my right wrist finally gives enough for me to slide that hand free.
“But I found her anyway,” he says smugly. “She was so afraid of me tracking her and her precious husband down her delicious nightmares led me right to her.” Shit, if he could track her through her nightmares, he must be incredibly powerful—most fear demons can’t do that.
“What happened when you found them?” I ask, needing him to keep talking so I can get my other hand free.
“She was already pregnant, the slut. Breeding with a filthy human. But I was willing to forgive her. I told her that once she gave birth to the abomination, I’d kill it and the human, then everything could go back to normal.
” He smiles magnanimously, and my gut churns.
He’s completely deranged. “Then she tried to run from me again.” He shakes his head like a disappointed schoolteacher.
My raw fingertips slide against the rope, but I hold in the whimper that tries to escape. Almost there.
“Don’t worry. I found them again. The moment she took off the dampener and gave it to that child, I could feel her again.” His smile sends fear slithering down my spine, and he inhales deeply. “Your fear is delicious, Selene. If only you hadn’t let the abomination touch you, I could have kept you.”
“I’d rather die.”
“Don’t worry, you will. Soon.” He stalks closer.
Shit. My left hand’s almost free, but I need to keep him talking a little longer.
“What happened? When you found Jared’s mum?”
Pausing, he licks his lips as if savouring the taste of my fear. Enjoy it while you can, you sick fuck.
“I forced her to watch as I killed her precious little human. Even then, I was willing to forgive her if she told me where the human’s spawn was, but she refused.
” He shrugs with a sigh. “So I killed her too. While the life drained from her eyes, I promised I would find her child and destroy it. I didn’t expect the amulet to keep it hidden from me for so long. ”
How dare he talk about my mate as if he’s a thing. My left hand finally comes free. I keep a tight grip on the rope for now, needing to know how he ended up tracking Jared down.
“Then a new reporter came to work at The Ledger. He looked so much like my mate I thought he had to be her son, but he registered as fully human and showed no sign of sensing what I am. I kept him close over the years, watching for any indication he was more than he seemed.”
“Wait. You’re Corbin? You’re Jared’s old boss?” No, Jared respects Corbin, looks up to him. This news will destroy him.
“Aw, he’s mentioned me?” Corbin’s smirk is sickening. “He was always so eager to please, so easy to manipulate. When he came back to work I was certain he’d realise I was the one who took him, tortured him with his greatest fears. But the fool had no idea. So, I decided to have a little fun.”
“By firing him?”
“Now, now, Selene, don’t be so judgmental. I didn’t fire him—I encouraged him to take a break for his mental health like any good boss would have done.” His fake concern makes my skin crawl.
“To what end?”
“The humans who raised him are dead. He has no friends. I could have played with him for an entire year before anyone noticed he was missing. Then, when the year was up, I would have forced him to confess to his crimes. Imagine the scandal. The investigative reporter writing articles on The Raven turns out to be the villain behind it all.” Gleefully, he claps his hands.
“Once the world turned on him, he’d take his own life to escape justice. The perfect ending to the story.”
“Why did you commit the other murders? Did you intend to frame him all along?” I ask, knowing Jared will want to know.
“No.” Corbin looks chagrined. “Even though I didn’t think Jared was her son, I could still see her in him.
The constant reminder of her betrayal got the best of me,” he says like he’s admitting to snagging an extra biscuit instead of confessing to multiple murders.
“I needed an outlet for my frustration, and the humans I killed all deserved it. They thought they were better than me—bumping into me on the street, getting my coffee order wrong. Those insignificant worms should have bowed before me!”
“Then why take Jared? If he wasn’t the one you were looking for, why decide to kill him?”
He shrugs. “Boredom. I’d waited years for my revenge.
I decided if I couldn’t have the real thing, then a convincing substitute would have to do.
Imagine my surprise when I saw the amulet and realised Jared was the one I’d been searching for all along.
” His laughter is tinged with mania. “When his mother wore it, there was always still a faint trace of her magical signature. I never considered it could be strong enough to hide her son’s signature completely, and, until I took him, I’d never noticed Jared wearing it.
” He sighs, shaking his head. “His shirts and ties always kept the amulet hidden. I could have saved myself so much time if I’d approved the office’s request for casual Fridays. ”
He’s completely unhinged, but at least I’ve got some answers for my mate.
Time to wrap this up before Corbin tires of waiting for Jared and just kills me.
Now to figure out how to get him close enough for my plan to work.
Deliberately antagonising the unstable serial killer doesn’t seem like the best idea, but it’s the only one I’ve got. Forgive me Jared.
“That’s right.” I laugh, and Corbin’s dark eyes narrow. “You got scared of a little necklace and ran away.”
“I did not,” he seethes.
I keep laughing, and he backhands me so hard my head whips to the side. Tasting the blood from my split lip, I grin. Almost close enough. “You screwed up. Couldn’t kill him, couldn’t frame him.”
“He wasn’t supposed to leave. He didn’t know about supernaturals. How was I supposed to know he would move to a sanctuary town?” Corbin towers over me. Almost close enough, but I’m only going to get one shot at this.
“I’m not surprised you failed—you couldn’t even get your mate to love you.” That does it.
Corbin lunges forward, and I slam my hands onto either side of his head, using his coat button to link us and pull him into a vision of my making.
I have his little nightmare trick to thank for the idea.
Corbin screams, trapped in the darkness of his own mind, knees buckling and slamming onto the floor with a crack.
Blood drips from my nose with the effort of forcing the vision, but I can’t let go yet.
Black spots drift before my eyes, but just as I’m worried my half-baked escape plan is about to fail, Corbin passes out, his head smacking into the floor with a heavy thud.
My head feels like it’s being cleaved apart, but I push through the pain. I’ve never forced a vision on someone before—honestly, I wasn’t sure I could—and I’ve got no clue how long Corbin will be out for.
Hastily, I struggle with the ropes binding my ankles, warily glancing at Corbin’s prone form every few seconds. When the rope falls to the ground, I sob with relief. Stumbling to my feet, I stagger towards the barn doors—I need to get out of here.
I’ve almost made it, my fingers brushing over the wooden plank barring the door, when sharp claws dig into my shoulder, yanking me backwards.
“No!” My scream is infused with terror and frustration. I was so close. This can’t be how it ends.
“You bitch,” Corbin snarls. He’s lost control of his shift, and black feathered wings have sprouted from his back.
I ram an elbow into his gut and stomp on his foot, grateful for my chunky boots.
Corbin yowls in pain, losing his grip on me.
The forced vision must have weakened him—usually a witch wouldn’t stand a chance against a demon in a battle of physical strength.
Our struggle has brought us further away from the door, and I know I won’t make it out if I try to run again. I have to fight.
Scanning the barn for anything I can use against him, the corners of my mouth lift in a wicked grin when I spot an axe peeking out from beneath a tarp. Racing towards it, I cry out triumphantly when my hands wrap around the handle.
“Get back here!” Corbin shouts, chasing me.
Whirling to face him, I raise the axe high above my head.
Putting all of my strength behind the movement, I swing.
Corbin’s eyes widen in shock, then a pained scream erupts from his throat.
The blade of my axe is lodged in his left wing.
Holding tight to the handle, I kick Corbin in the chest, knocking him to the ground and dislodging the axe in one swift move.
The blood splatter hits my face, but I don’t let that deter me.
Panting with exertion, I stand over him.
Sweat beads on my forehead, and I swing the axe once more, putting my full bodyweight behind it.
This time it cuts right through his wing, lodging in the wooden floorboards beneath.
The barn doors crash open right as Corbin wails in agony.
Jared and Garrett stand in the broken-in doorway panting, their eyes widening in shock as they take in Corbin bleeding and pinned to the ground.
“Uh, we’re here to rescue you?”