by Ali Winters
I open the stall door then quickly mount, leading the horse out of the stable.
As soon as we emerge, I spot the innkeeper making his way out here. Confusion turns to anger, his face turning a bright shade of red. He lifts a fist, shaking it and shouting as he attempts to run toward me.
I dig my heels into the horse’s side. He leaps into a run, nearly unseating me with the sheer power of the movement.
The wind is at our backs as though it was sent by some Otherworldly creature to aid us. The pounding hooves drown out the shouts of the innkeeper.
We enter the forest and I give the horse his head. He runs as if he has been held back for too long by his owner, and this is the first taste of freedom he’s ever had, and he intends to enjoy every minute of it.
Even if I wanted to, I could never return to the place I always thought was my home. In the past month, I have come to realize it never had been.
I've always kept everyone at arm's length, letting necessity guide me. Kathrine is the only one I ever allowed to be close to me... but even then, we still kept secrets from each other.
I still love her, but I have let her go so she can be happy the way she deserves.
As I leave Durford, I don’t look back. I will never look back. My past self is gone, and now I can only go forward toward the unknown to find who I truly am.
Chapter Eighteen
Clara
The horse’s long legs cover twice the ground with each stride and half the effort as the mare. Once we reach the foothills, I slow our pace. The rocky terrain and the incline make me uneasy, and I don’t want him worn down before we arrive in Windbury.
The first time I’d traveled through this part, I had been unconscious—thanks to Alaric compelling me into a demon induced sleep. When I finally woke, I felt as though I were crawling out of death’s grip.
We follow the grooves in the road left by countless carriages that have passed this way before.
I tilt my head back and look through the spaces between branches. At some point in the past hour, a blanket of gray clouds has swallowed the sky, so thick they hide the sun’s position. I squint, looking for any sign of rain burdened patches. It's clear for now, but that could change in a matter of minutes.
When we come across a small stream, I take the opportunity to let the horse drink and stretch my legs—keeping hold of the reins.
I walk alongside him as he grazes, eating with my free hand. It’s not ideal, but I learned my lesson the hard way what could happen.
A twig snaps and there's a flash in my peripheral vision. I hold my breath and listen, scanning the area for any signs that I’m not alone. The sound of distant birds and the trickling stream appear to be our only company.
It’s just a fluffy forest animal. Probably a bunny. These sounds are nothing to worry about.
Even I don’t believe that.
I want to get going again soon because this forest gives me the creeps. I quickly pull myself back into the saddle and guide the horse into a relaxed trot.
A shiver crawls up my spine—the unmistakable sensation of being watched. Lingering in the forest is a bad idea.
I can’t shake the feeling even after several minutes. I turn in the saddle to look behind. There’s no sign of anyone having passed this way within the past week.
As if sensing my nerves, the horse breaks into a run. We ride as if we are being chased for several minutes before slowing to a sustainable pace. An hour passes. Then another. Just when I think we lost whatever was following us, something flickers in my peripheral.
I focus on the trees to my right without turning. A large shape covered in ruddy fur flies past a break in the brush. It disappears in a blink. I continue to wait.
The wolf pops in and out of view, silent and ghost-like, coming closer and drifting further away—only showing itself enough to let me know it’s still with me.
I’m thankful the horse hasn’t noticed. If he spooks, there's no way I can stay in the saddle.
I finally turn my head to watch. The animal meets my eye for a brief second before vanishing.
Warm amber. The color strikes a chord in my memory. Eyes I’ve seen before on the face of a handsome man with a wide smile and freckles sprinkled across his nose.
By some Otherworldly miracle, the wolf isn’t attacking us. At least, not yet. I keep to the road, not daring to try a more direct route.
I adjust my grip on the reins, my fingers ache. The early winter air has chilled me to the bone, and I can barely feel my body, but I push on.
The world darkens gradually. Mournful cries echo in my head and my mind runs wild with the fear that I am out of time.
The howling grows louder, and it’s with a single high-pitched wail that I realize, it’s not in my head.
I look to the sky through bare tree branches. The gray clouds have cleared. What I’d thought was cloud coverage was the lowering sun leaving behind the muted bruised purples of twilight. And with it, the song of birds has faded.
Demon shit. I let myself get distracted and stopped paying attention to the light.
The sun dips lower with every passing second. If night comes and I am still in the forest, the demons will rise, and they will possess me. I will not live to see another sunrise.
I dig my heels into the horse’s side, urging him to go faster, but as night slithers in, I know I won’t make it.
I moved too slow. I failed to take in account that I’d lose light faster within the cover of trees.
Hooves thunder beneath me, matching my pulse as it pounds inside my veins.
The road smooths out, and I’m pushing the horse as hard as I can. His sides heave and sweat foams on his neck, but we can’t risk slowing.
“I’m sorry… just hang on a little longer,” I murmur. “You can do this.”
The trees thin out, but the sun has already dipped below the horizon, and darkness swallows the world faster and faster. The howling and cries of high demons heralding the night surround me on both sides. It draws nearer on the left. I guide the horse to the right, but they close in again... Fuck. They're herding me. With every passing second, they close in with the speed of the growing shadows.
A break in the trees forms ahead, and I can see the manor's outline against the starry sky.
Under the voice of demons comes the sound of the wolves singing. If they belong to Oliver’s pack, they are too far to do anything to help… but even if they were, they couldn’t banish the demons.
I sit lower into the saddle and chance a look over my shoulder.
Lesser demons, half-formed, follow like impenetrable black fog, swallowing up the road behind us. It swirls and dances, billowing in and out as they attempt to take form. Two greater demons nip at our heels.
The horse swerves from side to side. I can practically feel the second the animal realizes the demons have come out.
Two pairs of glowing red eyes loom as their unnaturally long arms and gnarled fingers stretch out. They rise up slowly gaining ground. The two demons split up to flank us.
My heart leaps into my throat. I’m not going to make it.
A deep howl, unlike anything I’ve heard before roars from behind. I debate the merits of looking back and reluctantly turn my head.
Two massive eyes, glowing like molten iron, rise from the black cloud of lesser demons. Limbs form out of the mass, branch-like and twisted with more joints than anything should possess. It grabs hold of the trees, pulling itself up, up, up… wood splinters in its grasp. Their back arches, emaciated with a spine that juts out.
They raise their still forming head, a sickening mix of human and animal. The charred skin stretches across its bones and tendons, dry and painful.
Shit. Damn my luck to the Otherworld.
All my life, I’ve only seen the partially formed sentient masses of power that make up lesser demons.
Somehow, I have managed to catch the attention of a greater demon. Again.
The demon looks around as if called in
to being by the activity of the others. They spot me and grin. Sharp pointed teeth jut out at every angle. If the demon had lips, they would have been shredded from the expression.
Its massive hands slam down on the ground, sending a shudder through it. The horse stumbles.
I cry out, waiting for the impact of hitting the ground, but the horse regains his footing and keeps running.
“Deliccciousss morssssel hooow I’ve missssed yoooou,” the demon’s voice rasps.
My eyes burn from tears forcing their way up. I would recognize the timbre of that voice anywhere.
The demon is large—so large, that even crouching and bracing on their hands, their back brushes against the branches of tall trees. Boughs snap and fall to the ground. The demon takes two lumbering steps closer and sniffs at the air. Their feet splinters the newly fallen branches into kindling.
“Iii haaaave beeeen waiiiting…” The long, black tongue licks at its nonexistent mouth. “Ssssuuuch a looong tiiiime foooor yoooou to retuuuurrrn.”
My body quakes as I cling to the horse’s silvery mane. Then we are out of the trees, nearing the open gates of Alaric’s property.
The demon lopes toward me, the foul breath churning my stomach as it gains.
Five shadowy figures stand at the front of the manor, unmoving.
I open my mouth to call out, but the world is ripped away. I can’t tell which way is up. The horse is gone without so much as a sound.
Searing pain lances through my leg. My body jerks, and I’m thrown through the air. I manage to suck in a breath right before it’s torn from my lungs as I collide with the ground.
Stars explode.
Pain. The pain is everywhere.
A loud crack. My leg is on fire.
So much pain.
I try to breathe, but I can’t. The movement of taking half a breath feels like a thousand knives through my ribs.
Voices.
Silence, then more talking.
I can’t think. I try to roll my head to see what’s happening, to see where the demon is before it delivers its killing strike. Black spots waver in and out, obscuring everything.
An eternity has passed, and I’m still alive. Otherworld take me, I want to die—the pain… the pain… the pain. It’s too much.
My body rapidly loses feeling, and that is more terrifying than the pain.
I can’t feel anything.
Silence—long and heavy.
A familiar voice.
Then nothing.
Chapter Nineteen
Alaric
This will be the second hunt in as many nights. These are becoming far too regular for my tastes. And without my claimed human, I can offer nothing in the way of an excuse to reduce the frequency, let alone avoid them entirely.
I exhale, long and slow, not looking forward to this. I detest going into town for meals. There is too much unwanted attention—and with this lot—too many chances for things to go awry when it’s impossible to keep track of everyone.
I have offered to send for willing humans, but Cassius, Della, and Victor all want to hunt.
I have had my fill earlier in the evening from my reserves. I do not wish to partake in this ritual again. Not so soon. I will go and keep an eye on them to ensure nothing unfortunate happens.
Lawrence steps up behind me and places a hand on my shoulder.
“It is a nice night for a hunt,” he says. “Dark.” He motions to the sky, indicating that the moon isn’t out tonight.
I drag my gaze to his and take him in, unamused. He shrugs in response.
Victor and Della tail Cassius, moving beyond the gates, anxious to get this hunt started. A loud roar echoes from the west.
Lesser demons are never that loud.
The five of us stop in our tracks and look to the forest's edge. Darkness pulses between the trees, power rippling out in wave after wave. The world holds its breath.
Then a horse bursts out of the forest with a rider clinging desperately to its back.
At first, my mind doesn’t want to make sense of what I’m seeing. It is impossible.
No ordinary human would stumble across this property by accident. Humans would take the road directly into town, bypassing the one leading here. Whoever it is was sent here for a reason, or—
A higher demon breaks through the trees in the next moment, on the horse’s heels. They swipe out with gnarled fingers, catching the horse and knocking its back legs out from under it. The mount falls to the ground as the demon swipes with its other claw, swatting the rider from the saddle and sending them sailing through the air.
The rider cries out as their body hits the ground. The sound of pain grips my heart. I know that voice.
It is a voice that has haunted my nights for too long.
She lands, rolling on the ground before coming to a stop in a crumpled heap. I run to her side.
The demon roars up behind her, preparing to strike a near-fatal blow. They could kill her, but like any demon, they will want her alive—writhing in pain—but alive to possess and torture her until dawn.
Clara groans at my feet. Blood seeping from her leg, the material of her trousers is shredded, exposing the wound. I place my body between her and the demon, and brace myself, calling up my power until it all but crackles at my fingertips.
I raise my hand and send out a command, drawing on my power from deep within. Withdraw.
A soft breeze flutters loose strands of hair at my brow. Lawrence appears at my side, hands raised, using his power in tandem with mine.
The higher demon pushes, fighting back as they writhe against our powers, shrieking their fury. They slam their massive, gnarled claws onto the ground. The earth shudders.
The demon looks once to the other vampires standing back, watching impassively. The massive head, hard and crumbling, like scorched bone, lowers.
The demon’s power pulses once more in protest. The maw opens wide, letting out an ear-splitting screech.
Sweat drips down my temple. The demon is strong… too strong. No single demon should possess such power.
Hot, foul breath, reeking of sulfur and decay, washes across my face. They push off the ground, dissolving into a cloud of black mist, swirling up into the air and sinking back into the depths of the forest.
The thick tang of sweet human blood fills the air, mingling with that of the horse’s. It’s still alive, injured, but alive. A human would put it down. But a human wouldn’t be able to do anything for it.
I don’t have time to examine the damage to the animal—not when Clara is hurt. I kneel at her side.
“You’re going to heal her?” Lawrence asks, his words biting.
I nod, not taking my eyes off Clara’s face. She squirms, her eyes squeezed shut, and forehead scrunched up in pain.
She’s conscious, but I can’t tell if she can see or hear through her pain.
I run my hands over her body, starting at her head and moving down, checking for injuries. She hisses and whimpers when I get to her ribs. She is badly bruised, but nothing seems to be broken.
Three large gashes run halfway up her lower, left leg, where the demon’s claws slashed. They aren’t too deep, but deep enough that blood wells and drips down her leg. The wounds are red and swollen from the demon’s venom.
Any plans I had of hunting her down and ending her life go up in smoke. Seeing her blood spilled by another’s hand is infuriating.
“What happened to killing her?” Lawrence mutters.
I jerk my head up and meet his gaze, bearing my fangs. “I will kill her when I wish to, and not a moment before.”
Lawrence steps closer. His nostrils flare as he inhales the scent of Clara’s blood. Red encircles his hazel eyes, nearly taking over. He stumbles back several steps.
“Take care of the horse then go feed in the manor. Mr. Steward will see to it that you all receive the blood you need,” I say.
Lawrence raises a brow in silent question, his hand clasped over his nose and mouth
. “It’s just a horse. I will put it out of its misery.”
“No, it brought her here through the demon infested forest. It deserves better than that. Heal it, then take it into town and give it to the first human you see.” I turn to address the others. “The hunt is off.”
Clara shifts and hisses through her teeth, drawing my gaze back to her. She grips her leg. Her knuckles are white from the strain as her fingers bite into her flesh as if she can staunch the pain.
The demon that attacked Clara is too powerful to exist on its own. I have no doubt they belong to another vampire. Who would have the ability to wield a demon stronger than my own—who would dare bring them into my territory and give it free rein?
“Clara.” Her name leaves my lips before I can stop it.
Lawrence clears his throat, and in a whisper, too low for anyone but me to hear, he says, “You were surprised to see her. One might think you weren’t expecting her to return at all.”
My head snaps up and I rise slowly to face him. I could fend him off Clara if I had to, but if the others scent her blood, there is no way I could fight off the frenzy that would follow.
The expression he wears is something between awed and wonder. Over the past month, he had accused me of releasing her, of setting her free, but only now does he believe his own words. I don’t know what gave it away—a word or an expression…
It doesn’t matter.
Lawrence lifts a hand, halting the others who approach us.
“Go, now,” I say. “The four of you need to feed. I will join you later.”
He nods and speeds to where the others wait, then leads them into the manor. His jovial voice rings out across the yard as he claps both Cassius and Victor on the shoulder, turning them back inside.
I crouch and lift Clara from the ground. Her body shudders at being moved. She cries out, trying to squirm out of my arms.
