by Deena Remiel
“Thank you. You helped save my boy’s life.” He huffed, out of breath. “I’m headed straight for the police.”
“You need to take him off the island to the police there. The cult has the police here in their pocket. Go!”
Derek had been looking about for Camille, but she was nowhere to be seen. Where the hell is she if they didn’t bring her down here? Maybe she’s in that tented area out back. He blended into the chaos and grabbed an abandoned robe to disguise himself. Everyone seemed to be leaving in different directions, but a few, who continued to wear their robes hurried out the emergency exit. He decided to follow, and once outside, found himself in a covered walkway leading to the tent in the back yard of the library.
When he entered the large tent, a sickly scent of incense assaulted his nose. Quickly scanning the area, he found the space packed with people, all robed in black, with hands in the air in the shape of devil’s horns. Two tall candelabras, filled with lit black and red candles, stood on either side of a stone well. Victor stood behind the well, bare-chested and showing a pentagram glowing on his chest. His lips moved, but the words were masked by the incessant drone of two large generators. The need for them became abundantly clear and there was no need to look any further for Camille.
A Spyder Crane had been set up near the well, and Camille, bound and lethargic, dangled from the end of it like a worm on a fish hook right over the opening. If the generators masked Victor’s voice, then they’d mask her screaming as well.
The cult’s leader seemed to be in his own world, continuing to chant while he nodded to the man operating the crane, and Camille inched her way closer to the lip of the well. If he was to save her, he had to get these people out of the tent fast. Reaching underneath the robe, he whipped out the gun and fired a few shots into the ground. Mass chaos ensued, with people trying to flee. The crane operator hurled himself to the ground and ran, leaving Camille still in her precarious position, and still headed toward certain death.
Derek headed directly for her and the crane. “Camille, I’m coming! Stay alive!”
“Stop right there.”
Derek found himself unable to move his legs. He shifted his body to find Victor stalking his way over, looking less like a man and more like Satan himself.
***
Camille faded in and out of consciousness, the pain so severe from the wounds yet to heal all over her body and face. Her arms, stretched to their limits, threatened to dislocate. Had she heard Derek’s voice?
“Derek?” she whispered. Feeling her body lowering, she mustered all the energy she had to call out. “Derek!” Her eyes, burning from the outside in, tried to focus on the man heading towards her with a vengeance. And then he stopped. “Derek, help me.” Her feet touched the water and she felt the level creep up her body.
He reached down, grasping at his legs. “Shit, I can’t move! Camille!”
Turning her head slightly she saw why. Somehow, Victor controlled him, and he looked to be headed his way, his eyes glowing fiery red to match the pentagram on his chest.
“Derek, he’s coming. Do something!”
He pulled out a gun and aimed at Victor. “Release me or I’ll shoot.”
“You have no power over me, human.”
“You can’t have her!”
She heard a shot and after, wicked laughter, and then a volley of shots. The water was now above her waist, stinging her raw cuts on her shins, thighs, and worst of all, stomach. No longer could she see the dire situation between the two men. She could only hear and prayed for Derek’s safety. And then her concern drifted to her impending death and meeting with Satan.
Would he appear to her in the same manner as before? Would it hurt to die this time? Was she going to Hell? So many questions and they would all be answered in a matter of moments, as the water crept up her neck and over her chin. She instinctively took a deep breath knowing it would be her very last.
Her heartbeat throbbed in her throat as water consumed her nose, eyes, and the rest of her head. Completely submerged, she willed herself to calm. But as her cells used up the precious oxygen, her body thrashed about and fought for more air.
Don’t open your mouth! Don’t breathe in! Fight to stay alive!
Her lips slowly parted and her lungs sucked in the dreaded water. The familiar feeling from so long ago returned. Her oxygen starved brain played a movie of her life and her drowned lungs burned with pain.
And then, he appeared before her. Long spindly horns spiraled outward from his forehead. Eyes, soulless caverns, peered at and through her. And his face, gruesome enough to make a grown man cry in fear screwed up into a wicked grimace.
“I have come to collect what is owed to me. Your soul, denied to me for so long. And now, I can assume my proper place ruling this mortal realm.”
He touched a clawed finger to every spot where she’d been carved and etched. And as he did so, they glowed, resulting in the paradoxical feeling of being on fire in water. She screamed helplessly and hopelessly, taking in even more water to her already saturated lungs.
A brilliant orange light shimmered around her, encompassing the entire well. Shadows, shrieks, moans, and inhuman sounds swirled around her. At the same time, she felt her body soaring as if to the heavens.
“You’re too late! It’s happened! The portal has been opened and my minions will soon cross over to wreak havoc never before seen by man. I’ll be back for you, Camille. You’ve cheated me twice now. I’ll be back for what’s mine!”
Darkness enveloped her, and she only became aware of her surroundings when her cheek kissed the ground and she felt intense pressure on her chest. She involuntarily sputtered up water and in turn gasped for breath. Someone swiped her hair off her face and then pressed firmly on her back again. More water spewed from her. Coughing, she struggled for more air and dug her nails into the soggy ground. Wincing and crying out, she rolled over onto her back and opened her eyes to find an angel above her turn into Derek.
“Easy, Camille. You’re gonna be fine now. Just fine.”
She blinked a few times and raised a hand to caress his cheek.
“Hi there.” He gave her the sweetest smile and kissed her palm. “You’re alive and safe, sweetheart.”
“Victor?”
“I had to empty an entire clip of bullets into him to get to you. The police have him now.”
She inched her way up to a sitting position and looked around her. Victor lay shackled to a gurney with police surrounding him. As they lifted him into the ambulance, he cackled and rambled on about Hell’s Portal being opened and Satan unleashing untold evil upon the world.
Her stomach roiled and she shook uncontrollably at seeing him still alive. “He’s still alive. How is he still alive?”
“Don’t listen to him, Camille.” He tried to calm her down. “He’s a lunatic. They’ll put him away for a good long time.”
She wouldn’t be soothed and grabbed his collar. He had to mind to her. He needed to know the truth of it. “We have to listen to him. He’s right. I helped Satan open the portal. Evil’s been unleashed. I saw it myself. I have to stop it, Derek. Somehow, I have to keep evil from spreading.”
“Okay, okay. I hear you.”
“Do you really? Have you seen my arms and legs? My stomach and eyes? Derek, I’ve been marked and opened Hell’s doorway so now all manner of evil can come through and wreak havoc here on earth. I started this and I have to finish this. I have to find a way to close that portal.” She tried to get up but the pain from her open wounds tore through her, taking her breath away, and she cried out.
He held her gently but with strength she knew she could count on. “You’re not in this alone, Camille. I won’t leave you to face this on your own. And I can document every step of this journey. Let’s focus on the positive for now. You’re alive, Zachary Michaels is alive, and the cult members are being rounded up. It’s over, Camille. It’s over.”
She looked him square in the eye. “Oh, Derek,
I’m afraid it’s only just begun.”
Coming Soon from Deena Remiel
The Book Waitress Series continues with…
Devil Du Jour, Book #2
Demon a La Mode, Book #3
Keep in touch:
www.deenaremiel.com
facebook.com/TheBookWaitress
twitter.com/deenaremiel
More Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance from Deena Remiel
The Brethren Series
Trinity
http://amzn.to/KZCxuO
One way or another, terror will reign tonight…
School teacher and single mom, Emma Livingston, has been through hell--and back so she thinks. While dealing with the night terrors and active imagination of her five-year old daughter, Hannah, she attempts to lead a normal life. That is, until the demon from those nightmares pays her a visit, too, and threatens both of their lives. Desperate, she reaches out for help--and finds Michael waiting.
Michael D'Angelo is known to everyone in Prophet's Point, Arizona, as their loving elementary school principal. But to The Brethren, he is the most powerful Protector. Immortal and angelic does not mean he's without doubts or fears, as protecting Emma and Hannah from Evil tests his ability to fight his tortured past.
As the Trinity is formed, ancient secrets are revealed and faith is tested. When a prophecy is exposed, Hannah becomes the main target and Emma wonders if a normal life will ever be possible again. Hope is like an anchor, but can a mother, her daughter, and an angel overcome the evil determined to annihilate the world?
Relic
http://amzn.to/NwONhb
Raphael, a Brethren Savior, an angel with a forgotten past, has lost his power to heal and is on a self-imposed guilt trip to get it back. If he can’t, his tour of eternal duty as Brethren Savior will be revoked. On his journey, he winds up enmeshed in a web of attempted murder and resurrection, all thanks to a woman he’s only seen in a photograph and by chance on an Arizona desert hiking trail.
Serena Sikes is a wanted woman. Desired by “undesirables” for a gift her brother gave her—a stolen relic with suspected healing powers. Hunted down in the Arizona desert and left for dead, she is found by none other than the angel who cannot heal.
Raphael and Serena are inexorably bound together, for locked deep within the relic’s heart had lived the soul of his long lost wife. Now, it resides inside Serena. Evil lurks around every corner as Raphael tries to keep both Serena and his dead wife’s soul alive and lustful temptation at bay.
Three souls bound together by an ancient relic, bound by a timeless gift, and bound by a love that is eternal.
And coming soon… Elixxir
More Paranormal Romance from Belinda Boring…
Mystic Wolves Series
http://www.amazon.com/The-Mystic-Wolves-ebook/dp/B006ZR04LC/ref=zg_bs_158566011_45
What would you do if a simple errand takes a deadly twist, turning you from cautious prey to dangerous predator?
Someone is trying to send a deadly message to Mason, arranging the deaths of those he loves and it puts the entire pack and Alpha on high alert. Darcy understands the primal instincts driving her beloved Mason's commands. With the help of those he sets as protectors, she learns about herself and the things she'll need to help support her Alpha and pack. When events turn dire however, one truth offers her strength - once given, oaths are unbreakable ... even if it means risking it all.
The story continues in Forget Me Not, #2 in the Mystic Wolves series, also available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Even more Paranormal Romance from Amber Scott!
Fierce Dawn
http://www.amazon.com/Fierce-Dawn-ParaRealm-Book-ebook/dp/B004UJGK1U
Snarling teeth, glowing eyes. Someone--something--is after her.
The man who haunts her dreams enters her reality, claiming she's transforming into a changeling--not quite immortal but no longer human. Except nobody wants this change. Not humans, not immortals and least of all her.
Battle lines are drawn and blood spills as the two fight not only for her life, but for mankind's as well.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Coming Soon
Other Works by Deena Remiel
Trinity
Relic
Elixxir
Works by Other Authors
Belinda Boring - The Mystic Wolves
Amber Scott - Fierce Dawn
Chapters:
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Table of Contents
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Coming Soon from Deena Remiel
More Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance from Deena Remiel
More Paranormal Romance from Belinda Boring…
