39. Camryn

THIRTY-NINE

CAMRYN

Blood explodes from Dominic's shoulder.

He falls back, which is the opening I need to scramble upright and hobble toward the exit.

I'm unable to put weight on my injured leg without blazing pain, so I balance my weight on the countertop to keep myself upright.

I can't outrun the monster, but I have to fight somehow.

He laughs darkly behind me, still on his back, as I tear open the cupboards, glancing behind me to see him climbing to his feet. I'm out of bullets and options. There has to be something I can use. I rip out the contents until my fingers close around a salt packet.

That's when it dawns on me what I need to do. I need to trap it. It's a long shot, but I don't have any other options.

I'm half-hidden behind the island, hurrying to pour a circle out of sight while the demon gathers strength across the room, feeding on the pain and misery palpable in the air. I don't know how I know, but I can sense it.

"Hey," I call out, hopping on one foot to balance myself, "I give up. You win."

Those black eyes glide in my direction, and the moment they land on my face, a sudden chill raises the hairs on my arms. I grip the counter and raise my chin. "Take me. You can't possess me without my permission. I'm giving it to you. Want to feed on my soul? My memories? Come and get me. I'm inviting you in."

I swallow down the raging fear when he rounds the small table with purposeful, slow steps. Glancing down at the ring of salt behind me, I pray he won't spot it or my plan will fail.

If I thought it would be fast, I was wrong. He savors this moment. Savors the fear in my eyes and my hammering heartbeat. Savors my whimper when he stops in front of me and brushes my hair away from my face before placing his fingers on my temple. It's so hard not to flinch away. "I've waited such a long time for this," he says as a strange sensation of something dark, menacing, and cruel enters my body, like a Baltic breeze at sea. I gasp, but I don't fight it, even when Dominic collapses to the floor.

Dominic

I startle awake. It's almost like I've been asleep, but also not. Like one of those fever dreams where you know you're asleep, yet you can't wake yourself up. I'm shirtless, with stinging gashes on my chest and waist and more on my arm. Looking up, I see Camryn stagger back, and I shoot to my feet.

She stares at me with black voids for eyes. "Camryn?" I ask when I see the ring of salt surrounding her, wishing and hoping that I'm wrong. "Please no…"

Tears well in her eyes. She extends her arm, points to the cellar, and then speaks in a strained but shaky voice. "Get the axe."

"The axe," I ask, confused, and step closer to check her over, but pause when she shakes her head. "What did you do?" It dawns on me, then. She knew the demon wouldn't stop until it got what it wanted, and she knew there was no other way out.

"Please tell me you didn't," I whisper.

But she did. She gave the demon what it wanted and then she stepped into a ring of salt.

Her eyes fill with tears, but she doesn't move. Somehow, I just fucking know it's feeding on her soul. She's slowly dying in front of my eyes, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I move forward, but the tears fall.

"Stay back." Her voice breaks along with my heart.

"No… Tell me what to do. There must be something. Just tell me what to do." I clench my jaw as an ache builds in my chest, and I reach up to swipe at my wet cheeks. I'm crying. "Camryn, tell me what to do." I level my eyes on her, pleading. "Please…"

"The axe." It's a struggle for her to whisper those words, so I lean in closer to hear what she's saying above the roaring in my head. "What axe?" I ask, my voice laced with desperation. "What fucking axe, Camryn?"

"Bodies…"

Her pink lips are wet with tears. She tries to say more, but no words come out. I see the moment she's gone.

"No, no, no," I beg, reaching out to touch her hand despite her asking me to stay away. "I'm here, Camryn. Look at me." I palm her face and shake her. "Look at me, dammit. Don't do this. You've got to fight. You're stronger than anyone I know. Don't let it take you. Please… Don't leave me."

Ice runs through my veins when an even chillier laugh dances on her lips. I stumble back and almost lose my footing. Camryn is gone. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and I can't see her anywhere in those dead eyes.

The demon is speaking now—taunting me—but I can't make out its words. I pull on my hair.

What axe? What was she talking about? And what did she mean by bodies?

"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."

"Protects me," I whisper as I stare at the cellar door.

"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."

I dart across the room, run down the steps, and almost trip over my own two feet to reach the opening in the floor.

I kneel, but it's too dark to see anything. I need a flashlight.

Lily's dead eyes stare up at the ceiling while I search high and low, knocking over items. I finally find a flashlight and return to the opening.

The beam penetrates the oppressive darkness, and it takes me a few seconds for the skeletons to come into view. But the moment the beam lands on their rotten clothing, I jump into the hole.

I land with a thud, kicking up dust. "Jesus," I choke, wafting the air as I wince in pain. There's no room to stand, so I crawl forward. "Now I know why they call it crawl spaces," I mutter.

It doesn't take me long to find what I'm looking for. Camryn better be right about this.

Once I'm out of there, I return to the kitchen and stumble to a halt, clutching the axe. The demon is crouching on the floor, hissing at the salt.

What now? What am I supposed to do? Camryn trapped it in the salt ring. She can't leave while the demon is inside of her, and the demon can't leave. She's stuck, and she's not getting out alive.

Suddenly, the axe feels like lead in my hand. It weighs me down as much as the realization of what she's asking of me.

She's sacrificing herself.

I look down at the rusty blade. Why this axe? What's so special about it?

"Nebri'hak can only be destroyed with their own magic. A weapon used on one of these demons infuses it with their magic, like a fingerprint or residual energy."

I'm torn from my thoughts when the demon falls silent as though sensing my presence. It slowly turns over its shoulder, and anger rises inside me.

"Hi, baby… What have you got there?"

I tighten the grip on the axe when Camryn stands up. But it's not her, and I can't let myself forget.

"Why are you holding an axe, Dom?"

"Let her go," I grit out through blurring tears. "Leave her alone."

"Dom…" She sounds scared, and I almost buckle. "It's me…"

"Yeah? Then why don't you step out of the circle."

"You know I can't," she says.

I follow the tears trailing down her cheeks.

"I'm stuck here. The demon won't leave."

I lower the axe when she looks down and wipes her cheeks. "Is it really you?"

"Yes," she replies, nodding. When she peers up at me, I swallow hard.

"But how is it possible?"

"I'm strong, Dom. You said it yourself. The demon can only truly possess weak minds. That's why it couldn't enter me or my mother without a direct invitation. A willing heart."

I step closer, but pause. I want to believe that she found a way out of the dream so badly.

"If you remove the salt, I can be with you, Dom."

I frown. "Remove the salt?"

"I'm stuck… Help me out of this ring so that we can defeat it together. We'll kill it, Dominic. I know how now."

The axe is heavy in my hands. I look down at it. "You asked me to get this. You knew the only way to defeat the demon is to trap it and destroy it with its own magic."

"We don't need the axe. Come here, Dom. Take my hand."

I look up, but don't move. Her palm is streaked with blood, mud, and small cuts. There are more bruises on her wrist. With hesitation, I step closer.

"I love you," she says in the softest voice, and my eyes close.

Those three words hurt.

"Don't you love me?"

I open my eyes. She is at the edge of the ring, balancing her weight on one leg.

"More than you'll ever know, and that's why I know you're lying to me."

Her eyebrows draw together. Before the demon can try to manipulate me more, I swing the axe in a downward movement, striking her in the leg, and slick blood splatters across my jeans and stomach. "Did you think I'd fall for your trick? That I would let you out of the ring. Camryn trapped you in there for a reason. Nebri'hak can only be destroyed with their own magic."

I release the axe and step back when Camryn collapses to the floor. Her black eyes find mine, and then her back arches, shadows and embers streaming from her mouth before dispersing and disappearing like a morning mist.

Dashing forward, I fall to my knees, pulling her to me. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Wake up." I rock her, clutching her like she'll disappear. The axe is still buried in her leg, and when I try to remove it, she moans and flutters her eyes open.

"Oh, thank God," I choke out, stroking her hair away from her face, smearing her cheeks with blood in the process. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Her face contorts in pain. "You did the right thing. It was the only way."

I kiss her forehead while rocking us on the floor. There's so much blood everywhere. It's on me, her, the walls, the floor.

It's everywhere.

"Dominic," she croaks weakly. "I love you."

Laughter bubbles up inside me, and I stroke my fingers through her hair. "I'm gonna find us help."

Her head shakes. "Stay with me."

"Baby…"

"Please…" She clutches me.

"Okay…" I nod, swallowing down the thick lump in my throat and hauling her closer so that she's cradled against my chest. "I'll stay here with you, baby."

"I'm not scared anymore."

I'm squeezing her to my bleeding chest as she peers up at me through her damp lashes. Her cheek is bruised, and her lips have a blue tint.

"Me neither."

Claws patter on the floor, and I see Bruno entering the room, his paws wading closer through the blood.

"Where have you been?" I ruffle his fur, fighting dizziness as he whines and licks Camryn's face.

Camryn pats him, too. "Look after Mom, okay?"

Bruno barks, wagging his tail.

My head is heavy. I think I pass out for a moment. "Camryn? Are you still with me?"

"Hmm?" Her voice is quiet.

"The sun is rising."

She peers over at the windows. The sky is lightening, and it won't be long before streaks of sunshine crawl across the floorboards to where we sit in a pool of blood and salt.

I'm leaning back against the counter, drifting in and out of consciousness, when a bird caw in the distance brings me back from the dark. I lift my heavy head, jostling Camryn. "Baby…"

"Hmm?"

"Help is on its way soon… They'll come for us, baby." I press my lips to her clammy forehead. "They'll come. Hold on just a little bit longer."