by Ruby Raine
His fangs ached, nuzzling her thigh. Not yet...
His lips rubbed across her skin, upward over her stomach. Drinking in the lust layering her skin. He went higher, between her breasts, licking up her neck to her chin.
Their gazes met.
Melinda looked at his reddened lips, swollen from tasting her. She always thought it would be gross to kiss someone after they’d been down on her, but she found it was the opposite. She lifted her head grasping at his mouth.
Ice steeled at her entrance.
He seemed hesitant.
She shivered.
“Is my body too cold for you? This is your dream, Melinda. You could make my skin warmer if it displeases you.”
“No. No. I want all of you, as you are. Not some watered down, safe version of you.” Her eyes stared at his fangs. To prove how badly she wanted all of him she licked his fangs, her tongue tracing the sharp points.
The provocative nature of the act threw William over the edge.
“Please,” she begged him. Her head fell back onto the bed. His emerald greens stared adoringly into her baby blues.
“I love you. I love you so much that sometimes I think... I think that my dead heart will start beating again.” He couldn’t hold anything back. If this was their one moment, he needed to tell her everything.
Everything but that... his mind reeled. His life would end when hers did. There was no other way for him now. But she did not need to know this, for him to prove how much he loved her.
Unshed tears filled her eyes. She wanted so badly to say the words back to him, but they would not leave her tongue. He saw it in her gaze. Felt it in her touch.
William pushed into her with a strained groan, gently stretching her. She gasped and arched up into him as he filled her. In every manner possible. She clung to him, desperate for it to go on. For the real world to disappear so they could stay here, forever, just like this. So broken. So broken... that’s what waited for her when she woke up.
A few tears trickled down her cheek. William kissed them away.
Although broken, at this moment Melinda never felt more whole, alive, and free.
“Give me all of you, William. I need all of you.”
A growl flitted through his teeth.
With a long blink, penetrating black eyes ravaged her neck, hungrily.
She opened for him, the throb of blood under her skin inviting him in. She shuddered when his tongue licked along the vein as if trying to taste it over her skin. His fangs ached to sink in. Needed to. So close... another minute more.
His right hand ran up her cheek to the top of her head, fisting in her hair. He pulled at her, opening her neck even more. Exposing that delicate vein he needed to drink from. His left hand gripped her thigh pulling her body into each icy thrust. Each push deliberate, and deep.
An overwhelming euphoria started to build. Melinda closed her eyes letting it build. “William... Oh. William.”
With a coarse breath he thrust into her core, releasing himself. Filling her. While his fangs plucked at her neck with a sting as they pierced her, and took from her. He fed with reckless abandon. It felt real. Tasted real. But this blood would not ignite his cravings later. Melinda, so open and vulnerable underneath him. This would ignite a dangerous craving he had no idea how to control.
When he finally pulled out of her neck, he shot backwards to his knees throwing his head into the air. His tongue caressed his teeth, sucking off every last drop of her. The red slick coated his throat, seeped into his veins and shot living essence into him.
Melinda let out a gratified moan, her breath heavy. His bite set her body afire with more pleasure than she ever thought possible. She gazed up at him, a smile breaching her lips. What an incredible sight, to see William like this. He was so open. And free. Don’t think about it ending, her inner voice pouted and cried.
His head fell forward, his dark gaze taking in every delicious inch of her. “I am not ready to leave this illusion yet.”
What she really heard was, I’m still hungry, and I’m going to take, and give, until you beg me to stop or we are forced to return to the real world.
Her soft stare, filled with longing and sorrow, tore at him.
If he could see it, he’d swear a fissure was forming across her heart, filling with grief. Already mourning the loss of them.
Melinda took him in. Soaking in every detail. Engraving it into her memory with a silent prayer that she not forget. If nothing else, when the real world came crashing back in and she finally awakened and left this illusion, she would know deep in her soul how much William loved her.
With a mixture of forlorn sadness and the need for him to fill her, she pulled his body back down.
He was everything she wanted.
She was everything he needed.
But it was only a dream, and nothing more.
CHARLIE HOWARD SHOT bulbs of light out of the palms of his hands, taking away the darkness. All was quiet except for their heavy breathing. They listened outside, but heard nothing, almost as if when the door in the old tree closed, the outside world closed with it.
They allowed relief to wash over them. They had succeeded. Everyone had made it out alive. William had gotten to Melinda, and he was healing as well. Riley hadn’t killed him. Hadn’t killed any of them. And most importantly, Eva Jordan was dead, and the Feyk had not accessed the power source.
It had not been easy. And there was a heavy price for their success, including the loss of Emily’s father. But they’d done it. And The Demon Isle was safe again.
“Let’s all take a minute,” decided Jack with a heavy breath. “Everyone’s good? No immediate injuries we need to deal with?”
They were good. Other than minor injuries, being exhausted from the lack of rest, wired from the adrenaline, and yet ready to crash from the exertion.
The plan had worked.
They had prepared, and it had worked.
“So the four elements opened the door?” confirmed Charlie. “Earth, water, wind and fire.”
“Yes,” confirmed Jack. “It took years to figure that out.”
“There was something else though,” said Lizzy. “Something you did not reveal to the Feyk.”
“You caught me,” he told her, impressed by her quick-wittedness with the sneeze that stole the Feyk’s attention. “I hid the final step with the fire element so the Feyk would not see it.” He held up the palm of his hand where a small cut sliced across.
“Blood?” questioned Charlie.
“Blood of a living witch,” clarified Jack.
“So the Feyk can’t get in,” said Michael.
“They cannot,” confirmed Jack.
It was another win.
It only added to their relief.
Emily/Eva had to play her part well right now, if she was to succeed in her new plan. She’d successfully invaded the spirit vessel, Emily, and no one had noticed.
Michael turned to her, embracing her, as if never going to let go. “I’m so sorry about your father. I wish we could have stopped it from happening. I’m so sorry it took so long to get to you. And I’m so very, very glad you’re alive.”
Emily/Eva sniffled, embracing him back. “At least Eva is dead now. She can’t hurt anyone else.”
“No. She can’t,” he agreed.
He leaned back, taking her in. Needing to see that every part of her was intact and unharmed.
Eva held her weak smile, determined not to let the scowl she inwardly held, show through. A scowl that almost turned into a grin too cheerful for the moment when she thought about their reactions once they found out what she’d done, by taking over Emily’s body. She forced down the emotion. Swallowing it whole.
Even. Cool. Perhaps a bit numb and overwhelmed. She told herself this is how she needed to feel until the time to reveal herself. Her empathic boyfriend was most likely hard at work trying to get a feel for his girlfriend’s current state of mind.
Lizzy leaned back against a
thick branch that twisted into the walls. She let out a slow breath. Charlie stepped over grabbing the top of the branch, which hung out over her head.
“You okay?”
She nodded. She shook her head. “I don’t know what I am.”
He nodded, understanding her completely. He eyed the injury on the side of her head and gently brushed her hair out of the way to take a look. The swelling was already going down.
“It’s fine,” she insisted. “Barely a scratch.”
His hand slid down her cheek, rubbing off a bit of dirt.
“You’re a, um, fierce fighter,” he said, in awe of her. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.”
“Apparently, you like that about me,” her reply teased softly.
He didn’t respond, stunned, as usual, by her forwardness.
“Your eyes are silver,” she explained, her gaze dancing in amusement. “Sort of telling.”
Charlie cleared his throat and pushed out a flustered exhale.
Michael grumbled under his breath, his emotions suddenly hijacked by Charlie and Lizzy.
Charlie cleared his throat again, stepping away from her. “Having an empath for a brother really sucks,” he muttered, passing Michael.
“Try always knowing when your siblings are turned on and get back to me,” he groaned loudly in reply.
Michael had a point there.
Charlie returned to his father’s side. “You okay, Dad?”
“Yes. All good.”
“So what’s the plan from here?”
Jack took a moment to think about it.
“I was hoping to do this as a family. Melinda isn’t here, but I’d very much like to take your mother home.”
Charlie and Michael agreed.
“Catherine is not too far in,” explained their father. His voice wavered a little.
“Should we stay here?” asked Emily/Eva, motioning to herself and Lizzy. Although Michael wasn’t about to let Emily leave his sight.
“No,” said Jack. “We should stick together in here.”
He led the way, showing them where to step.
Charlie’s light orbs hovered over their heads, brightening the way.
Just a few minutes later, they’d come to the spot. The place their mother, Jack’s wife, had met her untimely end. Her bones awaited them.
They looked on in hushed silence.
Jack leaned down and caressed her bones as if caressing his wife. “Dear, dear Catherine. I didn’t get to you fast enough. I’m so sorry I was kept from our family for such a long time.”
Michael’s throat closed up. Emily/Eva slipped her arm around him. Gotta keep up the front.
He grabbed onto her, holding tightly.
Charlie just let the tears fall.
He’d known this moment would be difficult. But he wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of sadness that came with it. He didn’t know how Michael was dealing. The emotion hung in the room like a wet blanket, threatening to suffocate them.
“Damn, I hate it when men cry.” Lizzy wiped her eyes. “Gets me, every time.”
Charlie snickered, releasing a bit of his grief.
Jack grabbed a thick branch hanging off the wall. He used magic to cut it down. He waved his hand over the wood, turning it into an ornate urn. He touched Catherine’s bones, with each touch, dust, replacing bone. He waved his hand over the dust and it placed itself into the urn.
He closed it, handing it to Charlie. Lizzy helped Jack get back on his feet.
“Thank you,” he said.
She tossed him a compassionate smile.
Michael wiped his eyes, catching Emily/Eva staring into nothing. “Are you okay?”
“What? Oh, um. Sorry. Just tired. Sad. Tired...” she muttered again.
He rubbed her arms with his hands as if trying to warm her up.
“We have a decision to make,” said Jack, clearing his throat. “We can keep going. See if the power source is even here. It’s a shame all this took place over a potential location. Or we can leave now, leave the investigation for another day.”
“I say we keep going,” spoke Charlie. “I want to know if Mom died in vain. If all that’s happened was for nothing.”
Jack agreed with his son.
Michael was apprehensive. He wanted to know and yet did not. He was surprised when Emily (Eva) spoke up.
“I want to know. I’m not one of you. I understand I don’t really have a say. But my father was killed because of it...”
Michael quickly added his vote, for yes.
“Emily,” he grabbed her gently by the shoulders. “You always have a say. You are one of us.”
She smiled weakly and grasped onto his arm.
God. They’re gonna make me frigging hurl... Eva shuddered. Even and numb, she reminded herself.
Charlie turned to Lizzy. “You okay to continue?”
“Yeah. To be honest, the adrenaline is still pumping. I couldn’t go home and sleep if I tried.”
He felt the same.
“Let’s be careful. And stay close together,” advised Jack. “Be mindful where you step as I do not know what traps might still lay ahead.”
They moved forward, making it to where Jack and Catherine had first encountered the entombed Soul Hunter. From this point forward, it was new territory. Jack jumped across the open cavern with ease. He grabbed Emily as Michael helped her across. Michael followed, with Lizzy and Charlie hopping over behind him.
To their complete astonishment, just around the next bend the tunnel ended, opening up into a large cavern.
Jack and Catherine Howard had been right.
And they’d been so very close.
Just steps away.
They entered, staring, in stunned disbelief that they’d found it.
The Heart of The Isle. The power source that too many witches had searched for and died for, never finding its location. A source too many troublemakers like the Feyk or the Jordan’s wanted for themselves.
It throbbed, beating like a heart, with thick rooted tendrils penetrating and encasing it, some seeping out of it delving into the ground. Was it feeding off the Isle? Giving life to the Isle? They did not know. It was easily six feet in length, a few feet wide. Almost resembling a reddish membrane-like tomb.
Jack motioned for them to hold back. He edged closer, reaching out his hand. He wanted to touch the Soul of the Isle. To rest his hand upon the Heart. He hesitated for just a moment, and then placed it gently upon it. He laughed, turning back to his sons.
“It tickles a little. Gives off an electric-like buzz.”
Charlie and Michael exchanged a gratified smile. They had their dad back.
They located the lost power source.
Everyone had made it out alive (minus Emily’s dad), and maybe, just maybe, the craziness that had plagued them all summer would slow down. Let them recuperate and reconnect with their father. Melinda hadn’t even seen him yet. Or William, really.
Emily/Eva grabbed Michael’s arm, leaning against him. “It must have been so bizarre.”
“What’s that?”
“Finding your father, just meandering down a road in the middle of the night.”
“Charlie pretty much freaked,” said Michael, glancing at his brother. Charlie lifted his eyebrows in silent agreement. “When he walked into the house with him, I...” Michael stopped, his words catching in his throat. “Sorry,” he said after a second. “It’s overwhelming.”
Michael’s world crashed.
His heart falling hard to his feet.
He wished desperately Charlie could read his thoughts. He kept a straight face, but inside, he cracked wide open.
This wasn’t Emily standing next to him.
Emily didn’t know they had found Jack Howard. She especially had no idea how he’d been found. Emily had only met his father once before he died.
Michael had difficulty keeping his breath even.
There was only one person who did know how they’d fo
und his father.
Only one person who could also impersonate his girlfriend- Eva Jordan.
She was supposed to be dead.
William said he’d killed her.
How could this be?
And where the hell was Emily?
Eva/Emily felt Michael’s body language change. A wall of coldness going up between them.
She had made a critical miscalculation.
In her attempt to be Emily-like, she’d forgotten that Emily did not know they’d found Jack Howard, or how they’d found him.
She backed away from Michael, a sneering grin forming. If the jig was up, it was up. No time like the present, she thought.
Charlie saw Emily’s eyes shifting to a golden yellow. “What the fucking hell?”
“It’s not Emily,” exclaimed Michael, stunned. “It’s Eva.”
Charlie’s heart stammered, almost stalling.
Jack let go of the power source, spinning around to see what was happening.
Eva lunged at him, snarling, wasting no time to attack.
Charlie leapt, colliding with her. She skidded across the ground. Charlie crashed into the cavern wall, landing hard.
He bounded to his feet, crouching for another attack.
Eva did the same.
“William killed you!” he bellowed.
“He was wrong,” she growled.
She stayed in Emily’s form, which disgusted Charlie to his core. Eva truly was a sadistic bitch. This would not stop him from killing her though. He secretly delighted in the fact that he’d get the chance after all.
Charlie motioned for Michael to stay out of the way. Lizzy had to grab him, to keep him from joining a battle he could easily lose.
Emily/Eva eyed Charlie. Egging him to attack.
“Where’s Emily?” Michael shouted at her. “What have you done with her?”
Jack Howard faced Emily/Eva. “We cannot allow her to live.”
Eva knew too much.
She knew the truth about how to access the power source.
A growl seethed through Charlie’s teeth.
A ripple of power surged through him. His body shifting and contorting in a deliberate need to intimidate his prey. Muscles bulged. His body heightened and thickened. Each controlled shift meant to warn Eva she would not see the light of day.
