Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92996 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“Yeah, see,” Lorne said, gesturing at Pace, “that’s what I figured. He didn’t want to give up this property, but you gave him no choice.”
I was horrified. Seeing death was not normal for me. And though it had been for Lorne when he was a homicide detective, I knew because of the kind of man he was that it hurt every time. How he was with Kathy Hayes told me so. The fact that he didn’t react at all now meant he was committed to this facade.
“Absolutely right,” Kamosh agreed, dropping the forty feet to the ground onto stiff legs. Not a man at all, only a demon in a meat suit.
“Where is the priest?”
Kamosh turned toward the mansion, holding out his hand as though presenting, and said, “Here is your man,” as Father Dennis opened the front door and came striding out.
“Lorne,” he said shakily, jogging over to him.
“Are you all right, Father?”
“Yes, yes, I—” He cleared his throat quickly. “There was screaming before, but I—I wasn’t hurt.”
He was, I could see it all over his face, but not physically.
“Good,” Lorne told him. “Go get in your car and stay there, all right? Don’t leave. I’m counting on you to remain here.”
Lorne wanted the priest safe, which I was happy about, and for his part, Father Dennis didn’t question him, simply moved. On his way by me, still in the Jeep, he stopped, reached in, put his hand on my cheek, and tried to smile. He didn’t quite make it, but I appreciated the effort. “We’re going to be all right, Xander,” he promised.
“Why would you say that to him?” Kamosh called over to the priest. “Especially to him, the witch I need dead.”
“Go on now, Father,” I prodded him gently, and when he was walking away, only then did I meet the gaze of the demon.
“I saw you cleanse the Fornell house, watched you turn my servants back to mud, and have felt the weight of your talismans all over this town as I hid inside Tanner Murphy. I have taken some, to see, to feel the magic in them, and it’s there, pulsing and powerful.”
I wasn’t scared for me, I just didn’t want the demon near Lorne, and as it began a slow walk forward, I could feel my pulse quicken and the dread knotting my stomach.
“Tell me about your land, witch. What lies there?”
“That’s the deal I want to make,” Lorne interrupted, and Kamosh looked at him. “You can keep sucking the life out of the town, that’s fine, keep doing what you’re doing, but leave me, Xander, and Father Dennis alone. That’s all I ask.”
Kamosh nodded. “Am I to understand that you will allow me to live here uncontested as long as I follow these rules?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“There are children in this town.”
“Not my children,” Lorne apprised him.
It laughed, but thankfully stopped walking. “You must think I’m an idiot.”
“No, I—”
“I’ve watched you, Chief MacBain!” it yelled at Lorne. “You care about every wasteful, disgusting, insignificant life in this forgettable little town. Every word out of your mouth that says different is a lie, and the fact that you think I can’t smell the mendacity on you means you take me for a fool.”
Lorne took a deep breath. “I want you to stay away from Xander and—”
“Because he’s not a witch like the others. He’s different, and more importantly, I know what I’ve sensed on his land. Even from a distance, I can guess.”
The gasp that came out of Lorne was pretty good. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it real.
“There’s a passage there, like the one I ran through to be here, and I can’t have that.”
“I don’t—what do you mean?”
Kamosh moved fast, too fast, and Lorne couldn’t even brace for the attack. One moment the demon was several yards away, the next he had a hand wrapped around Lorne’s throat. I didn’t even think, reacting before my brain caught up with my body. I scrambled out of the front seat, slipping around the side, on my way to Lorne. The only thing that stopped me was Lorne’s gaze. He wasn’t scared, and that froze me in my tracks.
“You know what I mean,” Kamosh roared into Lorne’s face. “The vast passage on Corvus—and yes, I’ve learned the name from all the people who speak of it. The passage that is far larger than the one I burned. If I could travel here through one so small, then those who are more powerful than me, those who could kill me, can come through that which lies on the witch’s land.”
“What do you want?” Lorne asked, and his voice was breathy, sounding desperate.
“I want entry to the land, I want dominion over the passage, and I want you gone from this place, Chief MacBain.”
Lorne took a ragged breath. “Fine, I’ll take Xander and—”