Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

RAVEN

Everest is curled in on himself as we make the silent drive to his old house. He gets more and more subdued the closer we get, until he is less than a shadow of who he is when he is with me alone. After he told me what he wanted me to do for him, I thought he would be ecstatic about what we were going to do.

But his arms are wrapped around his middle, and his eyes take on a haunted quality. What is he thinking? I cannot even get a read on his feelings, he is so closed off. It is like if he had an emotional grid I could read, it is collapsed on itself, shutting down any thought or feeling from entering.

“Are you okay, baby?” I draw one hand from around his middle and thread our fingers together.

Everest looks at me as if he is coming awake from a deep sleep—blinking slowly and deliberately. His mouth opens, then closes again, his eyes glazing over, and he shakes his head.

Something is not right. Why is he like this? After checking to see if anyone is around, I pull over to the shoulder and put the car in park. Turning to Everest, I snap his seatbelt off and drag him over to my lap. He settles against my chest, breathing in deep, shaky breaths.

“Talk to me, Everest. Tell me what is troubling you.”

He is quiet for a few beats. I take that time to position him better on my lap, rubbing his back in slow, soothing circles. The longer I rub him, the easier his emotions are to read. Fear, anger, apprehension, disgust, anticipation, happiness. A conglomerate of feelings all piling one on top of the other. As soon as I try to pin one down, another takes its place, fighting for dominance.

Everest releases a long, shuddering breath. “This is it. Once we leave that trailer, my biggest tormentor will be dead. It’s almost too ridiculous to believe.” He lifts his head, placing a soft hand on my cheek. “I’m scared, Raven. What if I can’t do it? Mitch was easy—he’s not my dad. What if I’m too weak and he continues to torment me for the rest of my days?”

Tipping his chin up so he is meeting my eyes, I put as much conviction as I can into my words. “If you do not wish for him to die, I will not kill him. As I said, this is your command.” I give him a look when he tries to interrupt at my use of the word command. “But he will never torment you again. I will get you as far away from this place as I can, and he will never find you.”

Tears brim in his eyes as he nods. “Thank you,” he whispers.

“You are welcome, my love.” I kiss his forehead and Everest’s breathing stutters.

I could say the words. I could tell him here and now how much I love him, how he means everything to me, but right now is not the moment. He already has a lot on his mind—any declaration of love will have him more closed off than the thought of killing his father has.

By human standards, it is fast—only a little over a week—but for demons, love is not measured in time. When we feel it, that is it. We express it, knowing our mate will reciprocate. There is no worry about that.

Humans are a fickle bunch. They say they love someone, then end up in what they call divorce court. Demons mate for life when we decide to settle down. I want to settle with Everest. He is my end game. When I decide to end my existence, it will be with Everest by my side.

His soft breath drifts over the skin of my neck. “Thank you, Raven. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me, you know that?”

I chuckle, holding him close and breathing in his naturally sweet scent of fresh rain and peaches. “It is the other way around, my sweet baby.” I kiss the top of his head. “Are you better now?”

“Better.”

“Are you ready for this? Like I said, I do not have to kill him. You can get your things and we can move far away. Anywhere you wish to go.”

He exhales and nods, biting his bottom lip before he meets my eyes. “I want to get my things first. We can figure it out from there.” Everest slides off my lap and settles back in his seat. “I … I’ll think about what I want to do when we get to my—” he pauses, eyes glazing over again— “when we get to Jack’s house.”

I grab his hand and squeeze. Everest holds on for dear life, his clammy hand tight in mine.

With my free hand, I put the car in drive and continue to his old house. He is not so closed off as he was, his emotions clear as day now.

Five minutes later, we pull up at the trailer he called home for many years. I put the car in park and wait for Everest to say something.

He sighs and looks at me. “Ready?”

“Are you?” I counter gently.

He nods, looking back at the trailer. “As I’ll ever be.”

We step out of the car and I round to his side, putting my hand on the small of his back. Everest stares at the trailer with a mixture of disgust and nostalgia. I look at it, trying to see it how he does. It is the most pitiful hovel I have ever clapped eyes upon. It is held aloft by cinderblocks, but one side is sinking into the ground, giving it an uneven appearance. The porch is dipping, the boards old and almost rotted through. The trailer is painted a terrible orange color, faded and chipped in most places. A window where the kitchen is has cardboard over it, the frame broken and splintered.

This place is not fit for a dog to live in, and it was Everest’s dwelling since he was a small child. I am so glad he summoned me to take him away from here. He deserves so much better.

Everest puts his arm around me, hugging me tight. “Don’t leave my side.”

“Never.” I kiss the top of his head.

He does not knock on the door—he throws it open and steps inside the house. We are immediately assailed with a foul stench, a combination of old food, body odor, mold, and rot. Everest puts a hand to his nose, turning into my body, coughing and gagging.

A rounded, misshapen lump on the floor moves, twisting back and forth at the noise and intrusion of natural light through the open door. I zero in on Jack, Everest’s piece of shit father. He tries to get to his feet, holding on to the armchair to stand.

Everest turns towards him, disgust winning out in his expression. Jack cuts a pathetic figure. Him not having a bath looks to be measured in weeks, not days, dirt and grime streaked across his face and upper body. The ratty undershirt he is wearing has seen better days, holes dotting through it like Swiss cheese. It is ridden up, showing a hairy, protruding belly that could only be achieved by years of hard drinking and little to nothing else. Matted and filthy hair frame his face, almost hiding his haggard appearance. Red tinged eyes that stand out in sharp relief from his otherwise pallor color lock on the two of us as we stand there looking at him. “The fuck you want?” he snarls, trying to get his footing.

“You’re pitiful,” Everest mutters to his father, frowning intensely.

“Shut the fuck up, boy!” Jack roars, weaving on his feet and pointing a shaky finger at Everest. “I told you that you’d come crawling back. What? Did this fucker here,” he points the trembling digit at me, “tell you he didn’t want you anymore? Serves you right.” He drops his hand, looking around at the state of the trailer like he has never seen it before. “Since you’re back, get started on cleaning. This place needs?—”

“Stop talking,” Everest says in an overly calm voice, staring his father down without fear. Jack closes his mouth with a comical snap, though his eyes blaze with anger as he stares at Everest. “Raven didn’t tell me he didn’t want me. He would never tell me that. We belong together. I love him.” I whip my head in his direction, but Everest does not pay me any mind, all of his attention on Jack, whose face turns redder the longer Everest speaks. “I came to get my stuff and leave. This will be the last time you see me. I never want to lay eyes on you again.”

“Now you listen here!” Jack shouts, his finger waggling again. “All this foolishness ends now! I said you need to come home, so let that man’s hand go now and clean up this fucking house! You’re my son, you belong to me!”

“I belong to Raven!” Everest yells, matching his father’s tone. “He is the only one I belong to! I owe you nothing .” Everest growls the word with enough emotion that it rocks through our mental connection with how strongly he feels. “You have never done right by me. You’ve been an asshole since I was born. Now you don’t have to worry about me anymore. Understand?” Everest turns away from his father and looks up at me. “Can you get me a suitcase? I don’t know how much I want to take with me, but I know I can’t carry it in my hands.”

Smiling at him, I snap my fingers. “A suitcase is in your room.”

Everest stands on tiptoe and kisses me gently. Behind me, his father mutters, “Disgusting.”

Neither of us acknowledge his comment.

“Stay here and keep an eye on him,” he whispers to me.

“I can go with you to pack.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t trust him not to come and be a fucking nuisance. This is something I have to do alone.”

Though I do not like it, I nod, give him one more kiss, and let him walk away.

Everest keeps his eyes on Jack as he walks past him, not turning his back to his father. He need not worry about his father trying to hit him—I would have his head relieved from his shoulders before he could blink if he made the attempt.

But Jack does not use his fists, he uses his words. “Go on then! Get! You’re lucky I let you live, since you wanna leave me! I didn’t give your momma that same courtesy when that bitch wanted away from me.”

Everest freezes, his back ramrod straight. He turns around slowly, his face reflecting surprise and fear. “What did you say?”

With what I can only describe as a smug expression, Jack straightens up as much as the spirits he consumed allows him to. “You heard me. That bitch tried to leave and I wasted her ass. No one leaves me!”

Everest’s face crumples and tears immediately drop from his eyes. His shoulders heave and sobs break from his throat. I rush over to him, gathering him in my arms as I keep my eyes on Jack. He cannot hurt me—even in this form, I am faster than him and damn near invincible. Everest is immortal now, but not invulnerable. A well placed knife on this plane could end him.

“What did you do with her?” Everest’s asks in a small voice. “Where did you put her body?”

“Out back. It’s a patch where the grass don’t grow. Wanted to use that bitch as fertilizer.”

“Why?” Everest’s voice sounds wrecked. It is taking all of my willpower to hold him and not rush over to Jack and fucking end him. Not until Everest gives me the word. “I thought you loved her.”

Jack scoffs, shaking his head. When he almost topples over with the movement, he throws his arm out to catch himself on the back of the recliner. “I didn’t love that bitch. Never did. I only married her because she got pregnant with you. Her parents told me to do right by her.” He scoffs again. “I caught your stupid ass mother trying to run off with you when you was ten. Thought a good ass whooping would put that bitch in her place, but she said she was still gonna leave me. I couldn’t have that. So I made sure she couldn’t.” He smiles like he is proud of himself, his rotted teeth flashing.

I can only chalk up this confession to Jack being drunk. If Everest wanted to go to the police, his mother’s body is in the backyard is evidence.

But Everest does not want to go to the police. In a hard tone tinged with hurt and pain, Everest says through our mental link, “ Fucking kill him . I don’t want the day to end with him still breathing. ”

“ Your wish is my command, my sweet baby. ” I kiss the top of his head. “Go pack your things,” I tell him out loud, giving him a gentle shove towards his room. “I will not start the show until you are done.”

“No.” Everest voice is firm, even though it’s thick with tears. “Now.”

After I wipe his tears, I nod and turn to Jack, that smug look still etched across his face. He has been waiting for the day to drop this bomb on Everest to grind him down to dust. I am glad I was here to make sure he gets what coming to him.

Everest will be hurting, and I will have to pick up the pieces, but I do not mind. I will take care of him and give him everything he needs to get better. Starting with Jack’s head on a fucking platter.

Anger pumps through my viens at Jack’s callousness. His words are more harmful than his fists. This mental wound will hurt Everest more than any physical one Jack could inflict upon Everest.

I let my frustration bleed through me and take a step in his direction. Jack stumbles back quicker than I thought his alcohol addled body could, falling into his recliner. His eyes are wide with terror as he stares at me, his face turning a ruddy shade of red. “What the fuck? What are you?” he breathes, holding onto his chest as he pants.

Looking over at the mirror mounted on the wall, I see that half of my face is in my demon form, my horns prominent upon my head.

I smile as I turn to him, taking a step closer. His body odor is an affront to my senses, but I ignore that and admire the raw fear etched on his face as I come to a stop in front of him. “I am Everest’s demon, and I am going to kill you.”

I grab him by his filthy hair and haul him to his feet. Jack kicks and thrashes, trying to dislodge my hand. “Demon? That’s not real. You’re not real. Let me go. Everest! Son! Help me!”

“You do not get to speak to him,” I tell Jack, shaking him hard enough to make his teeth clatter. “He is no son of yours.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Jack cries, his shoulders heaving. “I didn’t mean none of it.”

“Fuck you,” Everest shouts from behind me. “You killed my mother. Now you die.”

Everest’s voice rings in my head, the sweet command reverberating in my skull. “ Rip his heart out, Raven.”

Moving my hand from his hair to his neck, I thrust Jack into the air. He scratches at my hand, kicking his feet at me. His face turns purple and his eyes bulge, spit dripping down his chin as he sputters.

I shake him for good measure, sloshing his brain in his skull. “If we accepted souls in my dimension of hell,” I tell him, looking him in the eye, “I would make you serve Everest until the end of time. But he does not want to see you again, and I will make sure of that.”

Before Jack can pass out, I punch up with force and plunge my hand into his chest cavity, pushing past his ribcage. When my hand locks on his heart, I twist it from the veins and arteries that hold it in place. With a satisfied growl, I pull the organ from his chest.

I drop the lump of muscle onto the ground and Jack’s body follows, his chest still heaving, even though he no longer has a heart to pump blood to his organs. With a roar, I lift my foot and slam onto his head, crushing the bone and splashing blood and brain matter everywhere. Jack convulses once, then he goes still.

Rolling my neck, I blow out a triumphant roar before looking at Everest. His eyes are locked on the body of his father, whose face is still under my boot. I lift my foot, shaking off the contents. I snap my fingers and a cloth appears. Quickly, I clean my soiled hand and step slowly in his direction. When I hold my arms out to him, Everest comes willingly, collapsing into them as sobs wrack his body.

“He killed my mother. Oh god,” Everest cries, tears soaking my shoulder as I lower us to the ground. I would rather not sit Everest in this filth, but I doubt he has the strength to move elsewhere. “I thought she left me. But he took her away from me.” He holds tight to me, his hands gripping my back for dear life. “She tried to take me with her. She tried—” Everest cannot speak anymore, overtaken with grief as he is.

If I could kill that motherfucker again, I would. Jack knew exactly what he was doing when he told Everest that. He knew it would gut Everest. What a sorry excuse for a father, a sorry excuse for a man.

While it is a relief that Everest finally knows what happened to his mother, that she did not abandon him, it was fucked up for Jack to tell him as he did. Even more fucked up that he did the deed in the first place. Everest deserved more than he was given, and his mother tried to take him away from the abuse. She was doing what a mother should do, and she was killed because of it.

I am not sure how long Everest cries, his small body releasing pent up tears from years of abuse and the fresh knowledge of knowing his mother is no longer alive. His emotional state is a mess, clouded with grief and heartbreak that threatens to tear me asunder. His anguish is so palpable, I have to shy away from our connection, pulling back slightly so I am not pulled under with him. I need to stay strong for him.

After untold minutes, Everest’s heavy sobs turn into hiccups. He twists on my lap, wrapping his arms around my neck. I kiss his cheek, wiping his tears as best I can.

“Thank you,” he mutters against my throat. “Thank you for being here with me. And for doing that.” He inclines his head to Jack’s prone, mutilated body.

Rubbing my hand through his hair, I ask, “Do you want me to retrieve your mother’s body? So you may say goodbye?”

Everest nods. “Yes. I won’t believe it until I see her for myself. He could be lying.” But he does not sound convinced. His father was not lying. He killed Everest’s mother and buried her in the backyard so he could continue to abuse Everest, keeping him under his thumb for as long as possible. He wanted Everest to have no escape. What he did not count on was me coming to my mate’s rescue.

“Go pack,” I tell him, kissing his cheek softly. “I will recover her remains for you.”

At the word remains, Everest breaks down again, lying his head on my shoulder as he sobs hard enough to making his body tremble. I rub his back, rocking him to sooth him. I do not care how long we must stay here—forever would not be long enough if Everest is not okay.

When the hard sobs have shifted to silent tears, he gets to his feet and walks slowly to his room, head down and his shoulders lightly quaking. I want to take him away from here, from this place that has caused him so much pain, but it will mean more if he sees his mother again and says goodbye to her.

When I go outside, I summon a shovel and go to the spot in the backyard where the grass does not grow. I could have lifted the soil with magic, but I want to do this for Everest. I want to use my body for him to give him closure.

I make quick work of the plot, heaving dirt over my shoulder and sinking lower and lower until the end of my shovel hits something hard. Tossing the shovel out of the makeshift grave, I get down on my knees and swipe the dirt away from what appears to be a yellow suitcase. I move further up, brushing soil from a blue and white flower patterned dress. Higher and higher I move until I see the off-white color of a skull.

Snapping my fingers, I summon a sweeper and brush the dirt away from the skeletal remains of Everest’s mother.

Sighing, I sit back on my heels and look at her. I hate this for Everest. All these years, he feared his mother left him behind to suffer the abuse at the hands of Jack. He thought she was out there somewhere, happy and thriving. Free of the torment they both faced. To know she did not get away crushed him. I felt his emotions and how bleak they were when he heard the news. It will take some time for him to get over that, if he does at all.

“Thank you,” a sniffling voice says behind me. I look up at Everest, his arms locked around his middle and tears leaking from his eyes. But he is not hysterical. Maybe seeing her is giving him the closure he needs.

I climb out of the make shift grave and pull him into my arms. “We can stay as long as you need.”

He squeezes my waist once, then drops to his haunches, looking over the bones of his mother. “I’m sorry this happened to you,” he whispers. “Thank you for trying to take me away. Thank you for loving me. I’ve missed you all these years. If I had known, I would have tried to save you.” He stops talking and sobs for a moment. I want to comfort him, but his emotions make me stay away. He needs to do this alone. I will be here when he is ready for comfort. “I love you, Mom.”

When Everest stands, he squares his shoulders. “What should we do with her?” he asks, looking at me with wet eyes. “We can’t leave her here. This can’t be her final resting place.”

“I can cremate her. You can keep her with you wherever you go.”

“I’d like that.” Everest swipes under his eyes, straightening his shoulders. “Can you do it now?”

“Yes. Then I will set this fucking house on fire. Burn all your bad memories.”

“Thank you, Raven. I love you.”

My hearts soar and I cannot hide my smile. “And I love you, my sweet baby. Are you packed?” He nods. “Take your suitcase to the car while I gather your mother. I will have her arranged when you get back,” I say as gently as possible, not wanting to hurt Everest with a misplaced word when he is already feeling so low.

With the kill of his father, Everest should be on top of the world, but this turn of events has him so in his head he cannot seem to think straight. “Okay.” He walks away jerkily, his hands thrusts deep into the pockets of his jeans.

My hearts go with him as he returns inside for his things. When we leave this house, I will take Everest far away so he can heal. He cannot do that so close to his old home. Maybe he will fancy a trip to Xendail for some rest and recuperation.

Climbing back into the grave, I am careful to avoid stepping on his mother’s bones as I take them out. Once they are on the ground beside the grave, I arrange them in some semblance of a body. When Everest returns, his says a final good bye to her, looking down at the bones with such deep sadness that I feel it in my core.

After I summon an urn, I bend down to his mother’s bones and incinerate them. Summoning an item is easy—I just have to wish it into my hand from where it is and it is there. Summoning the elements take a lot of effort, since I am pulling them into existence from thin air. It saps my strength, but I would not have it any other way to do right by Everest and his mother.

Once her bones are ash, I scoop them into the urn and give it to Everest. He clenches it to her chest, his fingers turning white with the effort to hold on.

I recover the grave, smoothing it over with magic so it takes on the state it was in before we arrived. If the police come sniffing around, I do not want them to have a reason to say Everest had anything to do with this.

When I am done, Everest’s hard eyes meet mine. “Burn it the fuck down.”

“As you wish.”

Summoning gasoline and dousing the trailer with it takes no time. I make sure to dump more than is needed on Jack’s body. The coroner will discover this was foul play, but the police will not suspect Everest. With the injuries Jack suffered, there is no way they could think it was him. He is too small to pull out someone’s heart through their chest cavity and stomp their skulls in with enough force to crush the bone.

Trailing the gas in front of me, I walk backward, sloshing it over every surface on my way out the door. I avoid the hole in the porch as I drizzle more petrol, wanting everything to ignite when it is set alight. When the container is empty, I toss it inside the house. The fire will melt the plastic, but even if it does not I am not worried about the police pulling fingerprints from it—I do not have any.

Walking over to Everest, I summon matches and hold them up. “Are you ready?”

“Can I?”

Smiling, I hand the box over to him. “Be my guest.”

He hands me the urn and palms the matches, stepping closer to the trailer. After staring at his old home for a few moments, Everest strikes the match and drops it to the ground, rushing back over to me as the flame travels to the front porch of the house. The fire licks up the side of the trailer and a whoosh sounds as it engulfs the interior, the open front door allow the oxygen to feed the blaze.

The heat from the inferno flicks over our skin, and I pull Everest back so he does not get hurt. Still, we watch how the flames devour the place Everest called home since he was a child, the place where he experienced an untold amount of trauma. The place his mother died and his hopes and dreams were almost crushed. It is being devoured by flames and Everest is still here, getting stronger every day.

When we hear the sirens of firetrucks in the distance, Everest nudges me. “We have to go, right?”

“We do. I want to take you away for a few days, so you can get your head together.”

“I’d like that.”

After getting Everest arranged in the car, I buckle his seatbelt and hand him his mother’s urn, which he clutches to his chest gratefully. “Thank you, Raven. For everything.”

“I would do anything for you, baby. Let me get you out of here, and I will show you.”

His smile is shaky, but it is there.

Good. I still have my Everest, even though he may be a little worse for wear. But that is no matter. I will help him through everything.

We have a lifetime together for me to love him whole.