Chapter Twenty-Five Pax

Chapter Twenty-Five

Pax

I bolted upright, jarred as I was tossed between two worlds.

Disoriented as I was swamped by the darkness of the room.

But my heart pounded at a million miles a minute. Each harsh beat battered at my ribs.

Awareness crawled over my flesh, and the sweat that drenched me was thick and sticky.

Evil coated the room.

There was no missing the stench of it.

Squinting, I tried to adjust to the dim light as I listened for what had pulled me from sleep.

Aria’s breaths were long and shallow as she continued to race through Faydor. Her body vibrating and ticking beneath the covers on her bed.

But the rest of the room was too still.

Too quiet.

It was then that I saw the shape move out from where it was hidden in the shadows against the wall.

Rage clouded my vision, and I could barely breathe with the adrenaline that dumped into my system. With the rage that careened through me.

The man was tall and thin, his light hair shaggy and unkempt. His hands were in fists at his sides, and all his attention was trained on where Aria slept.

It was the trucker from earlier today. The one we’d seen outside the diner. The one who’d sent a cold dread skidding down my spine.

Bloodlust seeped from his pores and infected the oxygen.

Deranged.

Half-mad.

In that moment, I realized the man didn’t possess half his senses.

He didn’t even notice I was there.

Brainwashed, his spirit sold on destruction.

His entire intention was on Aria.

He took another step forward.

Nausea churned in my gut and fury blistered just under my skin, but I forced myself to remain still.

To calculate.

To use his oblivion for my benefit.

Keeping as quiet as I could, I slowly shifted, and I climbed to a crouch in the middle of the bed. I cringed when the springs creaked, but he didn’t flinch.

Didn’t turn or observe.

No self-preservation.

No survival instinct.

Because the Ghorl had convinced his feeble, wicked mind this was the only thing that mattered.

His sole purpose was Aria.

The hammering in my heart intensified and became a thundering in my ears, and I swore silently when I realized I’d been stupid enough to leave my gun in the duffel bag tucked on the floor at the foot of my bed.

Sweat slicked my skin as each second stretched on.

A bated eternity.

Waiting for the perfect moment.

Ensuring the monster was completely distracted and unprepared before I struck.

He edged forward again, and the soles of his boots scuffed on the thin carpet as he tried to keep himself secreted as he came to the side of her bed.

The sick motherfucker stared down at her, but he had fully turned his back to me.

A mistake he was going to regret.

The second he reached out with his grimy hand to touch her face, I attacked.

Springing forward, I jumped onto his back, and I wrapped my arm around his throat and squeezed.

That was all it took to snap him out of the trance he’d been under, and he roared, clawing like a beast as he raged and grappled to take hold of my arm, the asshole spinning around in an attempt to knock me off his back.

Chaotic energy spiraled through the room.

A cloud of frantic desperation.

“She’s mine.” His voice was dark. Cloaked in wickedness.

I only squeezed tighter, cinching down, refusing to let go. “You disgusting piece of shit. I will end you.”

The words hissed out of my mouth and into his ear.

A scream pierced the air.

Aria.

She scrambled onto all fours as the commotion jarred her awake. Her pale eyes were wide, close to glowing in the night as she struggled to process where she was and what was happening.

A lecherous groan rolled up the bastard’s chest.

“Yes,” he grunted. “You’re mine. He gave you to me.”

Shocked horror blanketed her expression.

Disgust.

Revulsion.

Fear.

“Get to the car, Aria!” I shouted as I fought the fiend who reared, bucking like a bull. “Hurry!” I gritted, hanging on, knowing I couldn’t give a fraction.

The fucker was strong, and the bloodlust made him stronger. Delirious with the thirst to hunt and destroy.

She gasped, croaking as she slid off the side of the bed and onto her bare feet. “Pax.”

Her voice acted as a lure, and he stopped spinning and fighting me and instead fumbled in her direction.

Only three feet of space separated the beds, and it boxed her in where she stood in front of the single nightstand. Panic roiled through her being, and she backed farther against the wood while I yanked my arm tighter around his neck.

I wanted to end him. To reach through his black soul and find the Ghorl on the other side and squeeze until neither of them existed.

“Aria, go. Get to the car. You have to get out of here. Hurry!” It wheezed from my lungs, and I drew up a fist and started pummeling the bastard on the side of the head, crack after crack landing at his temple while I held on tight with the other, trying to buy seconds so Aria could get around us.

“Go!” I shouted between the barrages of my fist. “Take the keys and go.”

The asshole flung and flailed, trying to knock me free, grunting, “She’s mine. She’s mine. You can’t have her.”

“Aria, go!” It boomed against the walls.

Only he stumbled forward another step, so close that she was pinned to the nightstand as he reached his dirty hands in her direction.

Fury whipped and blew, and I fought with everything I had. I refused to give or let go.

I’d promised her I wouldn’t let anyone touch her.

I meant it.

I meant it.

She was my purpose.

My reason.

My reason, who turned so fast she became a blur, and I thought she was going to jump onto the bed and scramble around us, but she was whipping back around with the lamp from the nightstand in her hands.

Glass shattered as she cracked it across his face.

The monster flailed backward, palms going to his face as he howled in agony. “You fucking bitch. I’m going to make this hurt. Gonna cut you up so good.”

My muscles burned as I squeezed tighter, and I used my other hand to pull my forearm harder against his throat.

He staggered back, floundering on his feet until we crashed into the wall. My back slammed against it, and air gushed out of my lungs at the impact. But it didn’t matter. I was used to the pain.

He raked his nails at my arm, trying to break free.

Gurgling sounds started to claw up his throat, the air wheezing thin as it evaporated from his lungs.

“Go, Aria!” I shouted. “Get in the car. If I don’t come out in three minutes, you have to go. You have to protect yourself.”

Hesitation flashed through her eyes before she darted across the room and grabbed the keys where I’d left them on the table. A whimpered cry jutted from between her lips as she blew past us, then ripped open the door.

A blast of freezing cold surged into the room, and Aria raced out, wearing only pajamas and socks, long, black hair flying behind her.

The fucker wailed in agony, like an intrinsic organ was being cut from his body.

How badly I wanted that. To cut him to pieces the way he threatened to do to Aria. He deserved no mercy or grace. I knew he was wicked. To his core. He’d opened himself to the Ghorl.

Welcomed it.

Begged for it.

I could feel it emanating from him. Just the same as I could feel it emanating from the monsters I hunted in the day. The way I knew who to track. Who to end.

He finally dropped to his knees, but still he clawed at my arm, his last-ditch effort at breaking free before he finally went limp and slumped face-first onto the ground. I squeezed tight for a few seconds more, ensuring he was permanently down, before I staggered to my feet.

Harsh breaths rasping from my mouth, I grabbed our bags, which were already packed and waiting, and ran out the door.

Frigid ice pricked against my heated flesh, and my attention scanned the area, looking for anyone who might have heard the commotion and come out to see what the disturbance was about.

Thank fuck the motel was empty enough that no one had heard.

I hurtled down the walkway, bags bouncing at my sides as I ran. Desperate to get to Aria, who waited below in the driver’s seat with the car running.

Plumes of frozen air billowed out from the tailpipes, and I rushed for the stairs.

Only I felt the evil suddenly crash into me from behind, the heavy footsteps that pounded in a flurry of madness.

I whirled around, dropping the bags as I went. His fist was already there, cracking into my left jaw.

Pain splintered up that side of my face. It only incited my fury. The rage that crackled through me in a storm of aggression.

Blinding.

I went for him, throwing blow after blow.

He battled back.

Grunts and slurs and groans flew as our fists landed again and again.

Blood poured from the wounds that busted open on our flesh.

But it was my savagery that reigned.

I threw another punch, landing it with all the strength I possessed.

It was enough to send him reeling. So far that he hit the railing at the base of his back. His arms windmilled, his balance lost, before he tipped over the top.

Falling backward.

One second later, I heard the sickening crunch on the pavement below.

A muffled scream reverberated from within the car where Aria waited. Horror streaking far and wide. I rushed up to the railing, and Aria was twisted in the driver’s seat, terror cloaking her as she looked through the window at the mangled body that had landed six feet to the left of the car.

Blood poured from the crack in his skull and pooled around his lifeless form.

But there was no time to process what had just gone down. I grabbed the bags, bounded downstairs, and tossed our things into the back before I jumped into the passenger seat and shouted, “Go!”