Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
“That’s a terrible idea,” I blurt, looking at Xavier like he’s fucking crazy. Because willingly letting a demon possess him is fucking crazy. “It will take control of you.”
“I won’t let it.”
“It doesn’t work that way!”
“I can control it. Trust me, Wren.” His head moves up and down. “And trust yourself. Bind us and then you can stab it by stabbing me.”
“Xavier—no. Just no!” My brows pinch together and I shake my head back and forth.
He gently touches the handprint on my arm. “It marked you, Wren. We have to kill it.”
“I’ll figure something out.
“I just figured it out for you,” he says calmly. “I promised to keep you safe and I will by any means necessary.”
“Death isn’t a means you should take.”
“Death would be welcome if you were no longer here.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t make me everything.” Tears fill my eyes. “If something happens to me, you have to go on.”
“What would be the point?” He takes my hand and brings it to his chest. “I thought my heart died the day I did. With you, I feel alive.” Fingers tightening around mine, he steps closer. “I love you, Florence.”
“Xavier,” I breathe, breath hitching in my chest because this sounds too much like a goodbye. “I love you too. So we’re not doing this.”
The Ley line sparks and the demonic hand print on my arm starts to burn as if it’s on fire.
“Ah!” I shriek, grabbing my arm, but it makes it worse. Going on impulse, Xavier pulls the dagger from the trunk of the tree and stabs it in the ground, sending the blade into the Ley line. A bright spark of energy erupts, lighting up the forest for half a second before going dark.
“What the hell was that?” Devon asks, coming back to us. I’m temporarily blinded again from the flash and I squeeze my eyes shut before opening them again.
“The Ley line. The demon is pulling from it,” I tell him.
“Which is why we need to go with my plan,” Xavier says. “Now.”
“Absolutely the fuck not,” I say and look at Devon for backup. “He wants to let the demon possess him so I can stab him in the heart and hope to kill the demon.”
“It won’t kill me,” Xavier says.
“How do you know?”
“The dagger isn’t made out of wood.”
“It’s enchanted with a vanquishing potion right now,” I add.
Devon holds up a hand. “Won’t the demon control him?”
“Yeah, that’s what they do when they possess you. And you’re not just some human puppet, you’re a seven-hundred-year-old-vampire puppet.”
Xavier laces his fingers through mine, giving my hand a squeeze before letting go. “You said demons go after the weak because it’s easier. I’m not weak.”
“That doesn’t mean you can perform a self-exorcism,” I counter.
“I know,” he says. “And I know I can’t promise to fight against the control forever. We don’t need forever. Just a minute.”
“How do we know this would work?” Devon asks.
“Thank you,” I say, motioning to him. “This is a horrible plan.”
“I mean, how do we know the demon will even possess him?” he clarifies, looking at me apologetically. “Isn’t it listening to us right now?”
“I don’t know,” I say honestly.
“Bind it to me,” Xavier says as the idea comes to him. He steps closer, talking softly. “The last time I stabbed it, it went solid for a few seconds. That’s all we need.”
“I don’t want to do this,” I say. “Please don’t make me do this.”
“We have to,” Xavier presses and takes my forearm in his large hand, showing Devon the hand print. “It’s marked her. It won’t stop until it’s dead, Wren. You know this!”
He’s right and there’s no amount of distance you can put between yourself and a demon who can jump dimensions. Still, I shake my head, staring up into Xavier’s blue eyes.
“Uhh, guys,” Devon says and I tear my attention away from Xavier’s beautiful face. The dirt around the weakened spot moves as something crawls up out of the earth. The demon starts to form again, and I know this is my chance.
It could all be over and we can go home and never have to deal with this demon again. Or it could end in bloodshed…even more bloodshed.
“Now!” Xavier jumps with a growl, sinking the dagger into the demon’s neck. The blade sizzles, burning the demon’s flesh as it cuts through.
“Vincti estis!” I call out, voice echoing through the silent forest, and close my eyes, too scared to look. My heartbeat thumps in my chest.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
And all is silent. Forcing myself to look, I see Xavier dropping down to his knees. His eyes stay focused on me, and they’re still blue. The dagger is on the ground in front of him, blade pointed away.
“It wants to hurt you Wren,” he says, each word strained. “I can feel it. Do it. Do it now.” He grabs the dagger with jerky movements. The demon is trying to either take over completely or break away. We only have a few seconds to execute this.
My fingers close around the hilt of the dagger. “I—I can’t!”
“You have to!” Xavier sinks down onto the ground and holds his arms out, literally offering his heart to me.
“Wren,” Devon says, voice shaky. “You have to do something.”
Breathing fast, I get to my knees as tears roll down my face. I lift my arm up, hands starting to tremble, and line the dagger up with Xavier’s head.
“Do it,” he urges and his eyes flash from blue to completely black. He’s losing control over the demon and the binding spell is going to wear off at any second.
“I can’t,” I cry again. “I’m sorry.”
“You can do this,” he tells me gently. “You are so strong, Wren.”
“Not strong enough to maybe kill you.”
“I’ll be fine,” he says again and I close my eyes and turn away, mentally counting down. Three…two…one…I try to force the dagger forward. The tip cuts into his skin but I can’t bring myself to shove it deeper, force it through muscle and bone.
Rapidly shaking my head, I look up at Devon. “We have to get the demon out.”
“There’s no time,” Xavier grunts and puts his hand on mine. With one sharp twist, he plunges the dagger into his own heart. I shriek when he falls back, body spasming.
Devon grabs me under the arms and brings me to my feet, turning me away so I don’t have to watch. Demonic voices float around us, chanting in a language I don’t understand. The ground temples and the Ley line pulses beneath our feet.
“Xavier!” I scream and pull away from Devon, going back to him.
I drop to my knees and wrap my fingers around the hilt of the dagger, pulling it from his chest. A stream of darkness escapes his body, rising through the wound in his chest. It sizzles as it hits the air, falling down on us like hot ash.
“Xavier,” I repeat, fingers trembling as I pull at his shirt, ripping it so I can see the wound.
“He’s not healing!” I look at Devon, who is just as terrified and clueless as I am.
“What do I do? What do I do?” I mutter to myself, eyes wide with terror as I look at Xavier, lifeless in front of me.
Blood.
My blood.
I grab the dagger and haphazardly wipe both sides on my pants. I bring the blade up and wrap my hand around it, wincing as I slice it through, cutting open my palm. Holding my hand over his chest, I squeeze my fist so my blood drips into the open wound, one drop at a time.
“Xavier,” I say again, shaking him.
“If he was dead, he’d be gone, right?” Devon kneels on Xavier’s other side, but his eyes are on my hand. His fangs are drawn, and I know how tempting the scent of my blood is to him. He leans back, pressing his hands into the ground to try and stay in control.
“I think so.” My voice trembles and I squeeze my fist harder. Blood starts flowing, steadily pattering down into the stab wound in his chest. Sucking in my breath, I watch and wait.
And nothing happens.
“No,” I cry and pitch forward, falling onto him. And then a hand lands on my back. I look up, thinking it’s Devon, but he’s still kneeling a few feet from me. Jerking myself upright, I see Xavier slowly blinking.
“Wren,” he groans. “You’re okay.”
“Oh my god,” I cry and melt against him again before looking to see if his wound is healing. It is, and I watch as his flesh goes back together. “And you are too.”
“I told you,” he says, flashing a cocky grin. He sits up and looks down at his chest. I bring my hand to him, feeling where the wound was. He’s healed, but there’s a little line of scar tissue left behind.
“Is the demon gone?” Devon asks, fangs still drawn. He’s looking at my hand, which is bleeding. A lot. Xavier runs his fingers over my arm, feeling where the demon mark had been. It’s gone now.
“Yes,” I tell him. “We killed him.” Letting out a breath, I rock back off my knees and sit on the ground.
Devon keeps staring at me, but this time, he’s shifted his eyes to my face. “You did this, like daily?”
“Not daily. Weekly. Sometimes bi-weekly if we spent a lot of time training.”
“Damn,” Devon says, slowly shaking his head.
Xavier brings my hand to him, looking at the cut. “You are fucking magnificent, my love. And I think you need stitches.”
“Okay, in hindsight, I should have cut like right here,” I say and point to the top of my arm. “This is going to be a pain in the ass to deal with for the next few days.”
Xavier gets to his feet and pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me deeply, not caring that Devon is here. My heart swells in my chest, and I press against him, not feeling like I’m close enough.
Xavier breaks apart and rips the hem of his t-shirt to tie around my hand.
I kept a first-aid kit in the bag, and we’re not far from a campground’s fully stocked nurses’ station.
But hey, I can see his abs now as well as that little trail of hair that goes down his stomach, leading right to his cock.
Who am I to complain?
“There’s still like twenty-some people missing,” I say as Xavier ties the makeshift bandage around my hand. “We should find them.”
“The police can find them. You need medical attention.”
“I’m fine,” I say, tempted to roll my eyes. “I’ve had a lot worse injuries on the job.”
He gives me a that doesn’t matter look. “I wasn’t there. I am now.”
This time I do roll my eyes. “We’re not in Charlotte. What are you going to tell the police?” I make a face, realizing that even if this did happen in Charlotte, it wouldn’t matter how well-connected Xavier is, this is going to be hard to explain.
Twenty-seven people are missing, and I think it’s safe to say they’re all dead.
We have seven brutally murdered bodies, plus parts of at least one other person chewed up and eaten by the scrappers. Between the black bears and coyotes, there are enough natural predators to blame for the remains being eaten or missing.
“Don’t worry about it,” Xavier tells me. “I want to get you home and cleaned up.”
“I really am fine,” I tell him and stand in the middle of the little area where the ground was the most disturbed.
I can still feel the pulsation of magic from the Ley line beneath me.
There’s nothing I can do to push it back down, below the surface.
It’ll recede slowly over time, but until then, this place is going to be a hot spot for attracting monsters.
“But I will get checked out, as long as we stop at Taco Bell first.”