33. Camryn

THIRTY-THREE

CAMRYN

I join the others in the dimly lit living room, where they're gathered on the couches.

Seated on the floor, Gwen slides a bottle of vodka from her bag, which she most likely stole from her parents' stash. She waves it with a wide grin. Her hair has been dyed blue and falls around her shoulders, and she has swapped her black lipstick for a deep purple shade.

"Isn't that a little inappropriate?" Lily questions, her voice laced with disapproval, as she settles on the couch across from me.

Gwen rolls her lips between her teeth and proceeds to pour us all a glass before placing the bottle on the coffee table and holding hers up for a toast. "To us, for being royally fucked."

I down mine, wishing I could drink all my problems away. Gwen pours herself another glass while Dominic shifts forward to place his empty one on the table. When he eases back, he slides his arm around me and pulls me into his side.

Gwen looks at me expectantly, but her expression lacks the usual excitement. Now she looks tired, a shadow of her former self. We all do. "You called this emergency meeting. What's going on?" She takes a large sip of vodka, and I allow Dominic's heat to comfort me as I look down at my hands. "The demon entered Dominic."

Gwen chokes on the drink.

Silence.

Complete silence.

Gwen breaks it. "The demon entered…but how?"

"I'm not sure," I admit. There are a lot of things I don't have the answers to. How and when did it enter Dominic? How did it pretend to be me without using my body as a vessel? Did it shapeshift, or was it a vision? Where did the axe and salt disappear to? It's like they were never there. Was it all in my head? But it couldn't have been. Dominic remembers the demon entering him. So many questions and no answers.

"It pretended to be me to get close to him. My only guess is that it fed on his desire to sustain the vision of me. Does that sound right?" I ask Dominic, and he rubs his eyes and lifts his shoulders. "I don't fucking know, but it sure as fuck looked like you."

"Hang on. Let me try to make sense of this," Gwen says, interrupting my thoughts. After placing the glass on the table, she turns to face me, cross-legged. I can see the cogs turning in her brain as one of the shoulder straps on her black tank top slides down her arm. "The demon entered Dominic? Like it did with Brittany?"

"Yes, but it wasn't the first time."

She blinks, which would be comical if I hadn't been so scared earlier.

"If it entered him," Aron says, "how do you know it's not still inside him? Maybe it was inside him all this time?"

"I saw it leave."

"You saw it leave?" He sounds so skeptical, that the tips of my ears burn.

"I can't explain it, but I know it's gone."

"Reassuring." The sarcasm in his voice is impossible to miss. With a scoff, he looks away.

Lily bounces her gaze between us, worrying her bottom lip.

Dominic has stiffened beside me, his eyes narrowed on Aron. I can tell he wants to say something in my defense, but I slide my fingers through his and subtly shake my head. We're all on edge—the last thing we need is to fight.

"There's so much to figure out and pick apart." Gwen sits with her elbows on her thighs and her fingers forming a tip at her mouth. Tapping her lips, she nods. "First thing's first, what can you remember, Dominic?"

The deep rumble of his voice rolls over me. "It's playing with us."

"It's a demon. They murder without reason and bring chaos and destruction for their entertainment," Aron points out, his knee jiggling. "There's no true logic behind their motivations. Of course, it's playing with us."

Dominic shifts his lazy gaze in Aron's direction. "While that's true, our demon has fixated on Camryn and won't stop until it has her. You and me?" He motions his finger between them. "We're collateral damage. We're the cat's bowl of wet food—easy, convenient—but Camryn… She's the juicy mouse. He likes the chase."

Aaron grinds his teeth as he slides lower in the seat.

"Why did it leave?" Gwen asks.

"To conserve energy."

Gwen's eyebrows fly up before she straightens and pours herself another glass of vodka. "This requires more alcohol." She gulps it down, then wipes her mouth. "From our understanding of the demon so far, we know it feeds on souls to grow in power. The more powerful it becomes, the longer it can stay in the human host or sustain a vision for its victim. Correct? Why didn't it kill you, Dominic? Why didn't it consume your soul or kill you to create even more grief and anger for it to feed on?"

"Because of my connection to Camryn. It feeds on emotions, as we already know. But that's not its main reason for hunting us. This thing wants to possess Camryn, but for whatever fucking reason, it can't. Think of it like catnip. Here's this powerful, ancient demon trapped in our human plane, probably bored out of its mind, consuming souls and feeding on negativity and sexual desire. I don't know about you, but I'd soon grow bored if I ate a steak daily." Dominic rakes his fingers through his hair. "While it was inside me, I could sense it."

"What could you sense?" Gwen asks, and I find myself holding my breath.

"Like Brittany said, it's no coincidence Camryn is here. It was almost like…"

"Almost like what?" I ask, straightening.

Dominic shuts his eyes briefly, pinching the bridge of his nose.

We haven't discussed the details of what happened yet. Dominic was exhausted afterward, so I helped him upstairs and asked him if he needed to see a doctor. He refused and passed out for hours.

I feel Aaron watching me, and a shiver pricks my neck.

Dominic lowers his hand and says, "It wanted you to return here."

"Return here?" I look at him questioningly. "But that would mean I've been here before?"

He holds my gaze. "Exactly."

I open my mouth, but snap it shut again. To say that I'm confused would be an understatement.

"Maybe you traveled here at some point?" Lily suggests with a shrug.

"Oh yeah?" Aron sits forward and snatches the vodka bottle. "We live in a ‘blink and you'll miss it' shithole. When was the last time you saw a tourist pass through here?" Unscrewing the lid, his forehead glistens with sweat as he swigs straight from the bottle while holding Lily's gaze.

Gwen sighs, rubbing her temples. "What else have we got?"

"The murders at Wilfred's farm," I say. "Are they related to our demon?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Gwen swipes for the half-empty bottle when Aron puts it back on the table. She takes a swig, wincing. "They could be. What are the chances that we have a demon lair in the backyard of a creepy serial killer's den?"

"Maybe it picked this place because of the convenient food source?" Aron suggests. "Maybe Wilfred's string of murders attracted him here?"

"According to a local legend, it was called on by Mr. Kriger, the owner of this house, remember?" Gwen asks.

Aron rolls his head to look at her. "That doesn't mean it wasn't already here in our town. Kriger probably made it curious."

"Or maybe Wilfred was under the demon's influence somehow? It made Benny shoot himself and Brittany mince her hand. Perhaps it forced Wilfred to murder those women?"

"If that's the case," Dominic says, stroking his fingers over my knuckles in a featherless touch, "how do we explain what happened that day with Wilfred when we broke into his house? Why would it try to kill us, only to kill Wilfred instead?" He shakes his head. "It looked to me like it protected Camryn."

I swallow hard. "It came in through the window. Wilfred wasn't being controlled until the moment it entered his body. I saw it happen."

"But that doesn't mean it didn't make Wilfred kill those people. It possesses humans for short periods to feed," Aron says.

"It's probably more likely Wilfred was a sick bastard, which attracted the demon. Evil attracts evil."

Gwen throws up her hands, releasing a heavy sigh. "All we have are theories. We're nowhere closer to figuring this shit out." She picks up the folder behind her on the table. "What about the information in here? There has to be something."

"I can't believe you went to the mental asylum without me," Aron mutters.

My eyes close when I feel Dominic stiffen. Couldn't Aron have kept his mouth shut? I was going to tell Dominic about our trip to the asylum; I just hadn't found the right time yet.

"You didn't think to tell me that you went to the fucking mental asylum?" Dominic whispers angrily in my ear. "Is that why you turned off your phone?"

"Now isn't the time for this conversation. We'll discuss it later."

"You bet your sore cunt, we will."

A tremor runs straight to my core at his whispered threat. My thighs squeeze together, and I squirm. Gwen flips through the file, licking her finger and selecting a few sheets to line up on the floor. She points to one. "Magdalene Kriger, the sole survivor, was found roaming the woods in August 2002 after her family disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Her father was found dead in a suspected suicide, but his wife and Magdalene's younger siblings were never found."

"Where was the father found?" Dominic asks.

Gwen opens the file, selects a photograph, and holds it up for us to see. "The big oak tree in the front yard. He was found hanging by the neck."

A shudder runs through me.

"Magdalene was in bad shape when they found her. Physically, she was fine except for mild dehydration, but mentally…" She lets the words hang in the air. "Over the following months, she got progressively worse as her psychosis deepened. At least that's what it says in the file, but we know the demon was tormenting her. I've read the interviews, but she made little coherent sense. From what we can gather, she suffered visions and nightmares and claimed the woods were whispering and that she had worms crawling beneath her skin. She was heavily medicated at this point because no one believed her, which probably didn't help." Gwen chews on her lip, deep in thought. "She woke up screaming at night, but no one believed her when she claimed the demon was in her room. Instead, they restrained her to the bed."

"That's fucked up," Aron mutters, staring at an empty spot.

"That's one way to put it. But get this…I did some research last night. Three patients committed suicide during that year."

Aron waves her off. "It's a mental asylum. Their deaths are probably not related to Magdalene."

"But the three staff members who died under mysterious circumstances aren't."

I frown, straightening.

Gwen's eyes gleam in the dim light. "And the three fathers of the patients who died."

"What are you saying?"

"Magdalene stayed at Cross Hills Asylum for a period of almost eighteen months. During that time, three patients, their fathers, and three faculty died." She raises her eyebrows, waiting for me to make the dots. "333."

Aron snorts, rubbing his brow. "What's next? 666? That's so fucking stupid."

"Is it, though? Numerology is a big thing in theology, you know."

Rolling his eyes, Aron rises to his feet. "I'm gonna take a piss."

I watch him exit the room. "How did they die?"

Gwen searches through the file until she finds the paper she needs, then hands it to me. "Eden Lockett, one of the nurses, drove her car off a bridge."

I shiver.

"Maybe it was an accident?" Lily suggests.

"The weather was clear that night."

"Irene Perry, another nurse, died alone in an elevator when the cables snapped and sent her hurtling to her death," I say, clearing my throat.

"Don't tell me that was an accident, too?" Gwen asks, reaching for the vodka bottle. "The other staff member, one of the doctors, Dr. Benthall , was particularly fond of shock treatments. He was found dead in his home after a suspected snake bite."

"Snake bite? So he had a pet snake?" Dominic asks.

"Not just any snake. A boomslang snake. One of the most venomous snakes on the planet. To get bit by one is considered the most painful way to die." She swigs the vodka. "They exist in Sub-Saharan Africa. What are the odds our doctor kept one as a pet?"

"Is it even legal to keep such a poisonous snake as a pet?" Lily asks, and Gwen shrugs, placing the empty bottle on the table. "Fuck if I know."

"Why is it the most painful way to die?" I ask.

"The venom destroys red blood cells, preventing clotting, which leads to hemorrhaging. You also get a high fever, feel nauseous, and can't stop shaking."

"I guess no one found the snake?"

"You guessed that right. No snake. No vivarium. No sign that he kept any pets of any sort."

Aron returns, flopping onto the couch and resting his booted foot on the table.

"What I can't figure out," Gwen muses, "is why it can't enter you?"

"That's the million-dollar question," Aron says. "We had no fucking problems with any of this shit until she arrived."

"That's enough," Dominic booms. "Shut your fucking mouth."

Aron laughs. "Or what? You want to fight?" He shoots to his feet. "Let's fight."

"Guys…" Gwen pleads. "Stop it. You're just giving it what it wants."

"If she hadn't rocked up in our town, our friends would still be alive." Aron's voice is a low growl, his statement making my chest ache. He's right.

"Her being here doesn't change the fact that there's a demon on the loose. How many other deaths are related to it? Remember a few years back when Davis's boy disappeared after entering the woods? They sent out search parties but never found the body. Three years later, bang on the fucking anniversary—come to think about it, on the third day of the third month of the third year—the father was seen entering the woods. The next day, they found his backpack but not him. Think about it. It can't be a coincidence that our demon is here, in our little backward town. For fuck's sake, Camryn's property backs up on a serial killer's farm." She jabs her finger at the window. "We have a mental asylum down the road, and a damn creepy one at that. We're a hotspot for supernatural creatures with a taste for misery. Who knows what else this place has attracted."

Unable to sit down, I stand and walk around the couch. "I've seen visions of a man with an axe."

"This just gets better and better," Aron chuckles, rubbing his eyes.

I ignore him. "This man…he tells me to stay out of the woods. It's almost like he…protects me."

"Do we know if there's been any mysterious disappearances involving a man in his early twenties?"

Dominic stiffens on the couch. "I've seen him too. We talked to him."

"So now we have a demon and a dead spirit man?" Aron's taunting laugh is grating on my nerves.

"I know none of this makes sense."

Gwen stands, resting her hands on her hips. "It makes sense. Magdalene saw visions, too. I'm sure we all have." She locks eyes with us all. "Don't tell me you haven't heard the trees whisper."

No one answers.

"Fuck," Dominic breathes, dragging his hand down his face. "What about the ring of salt."

I chew on my thumbnail. "You were chasing me down the stairs—well, the demon," I correct when Dominic pales. "I saw the man with the axe enter the kitchen and followed him. There was no sign of him, but the axe was on the floor in a ring of salt."

"What's so special about the salt?" Lily asks.

"The demon couldn't get to me while I was in the circle. But not only that. I've seen the axe before. I remember now. It has a binding symbol carved into the handle."

"This is so fucking weird," Gwen mutters. "Let's roll with your idea for a minute. You say you think he is protecting you? Why? Who is he, and why would he protect you? If you saw a binding symbol on the axe, he must have intended to use it on the demon."

"Maybe he's another one of her admirers. Seems humans, demons, and ghosts alike line up for a chance to get with the mysterious Camryn. Let's all join the fucking queue," Aron sneers, and Dominic shoots up from his seat and launches himself at him.

Lily squeals as the armchair crashes to the ground, and we watch in horror as they exchange blows. At first, it looks like Dominic has the upper hand, but then Aron rolls them over and lays into him with his fists. Gwen and I run forward to pull him off while Lily cries on the couch, but he elbows Gwen, which sends her flying back. The brief pause is Dominic's opening to ram his fist into Aron's nose.

Gwen staggers to her feet, touching her fingers to her bruised cheek, eyes flashing with anger. "I've had enough of this shit." She walks out and returns moments later with a bucket of cold water, which she wastes no time pouring over the boys. "That's enough!"

Dominic shoves Aron off and stands with flared nostrils, water dripping off his sopping hair as he glares at him. Aron is no better off as he pinches his nose to stop the blood from pouring.

"If you're done measuring dicks," Gwen seethes. "Let's figure out how to stop this thing."