“It’s something I’m used to.” He chuckles. “There will always be another demon. Granted, I go after them by choice.”
“Now who’s obsessed?” I joke and let out a breath. “I’m done for the night anyway.” I roll my neck and then get on the couch next to him. “I was kind of dozing off.”
“Research does that.”
“Yeah,” I yawn.
“I’m going to shower and then I’ll start dinner.” He kisses me and goes upstairs. I lay down on the couch, stretching out and turning my head to watch the fire for a few minutes. My eyelids are still heavy, and I tell myself I’m going to close my eyes for ten minutes and then get up to put away all the books I have out. Of course, I end up falling asleep and am drowsy when Ethan comes back downstairs, telling me he’s going to make my favorite Tuscan salmon for dinner.
Able to hear him moving around the kitchen, I close my eyes again. The fire is starting to die down, but the log in the back didn’t ignite yet. Good thing I can easily fix it. Opening my eyes, I make a move to get up.
But I can’t.
I’m stuck again, feeling like an invisible weight is crushing my chest. It hurts to breathe and, no matter how hard I try, I cannot get my lips to move and call for Ethan. The best I can get out is a strangled, soft moan, too quiet for him to hear.
The floor creaks and logs tumble out of the metal grate inside the fireplace, putting the fire out. I dig my nails into the cushion of the couch, trying with everything I have to move. My heart is racing so fast I can hear it pounding in my ears. A low whisper echoes through the house, and then the dark shadow of a man steps into the room.
CHAPTER 7
Hunter’s wet nose presses against me, and a sharp bark echoes through the room. It takes me back to the day I fell off Mystery after a Pricolici spooked him. I didn’t know it then, but Hunter was the one who showed up and scared the demonic dog away from us.
“Anora?”
Ethan’s shadow crosses the dark man’s, making him slink back into the shadows. Hunter nudges me again and Ethan’s hands slide underneath me. My whole body jerks and I gasp for air.
“He’s here,” I choke out, eyes going to where the man was standing.
“Who?” Ethan gets to his feet, fingers curling into fists, ready to fight anyone and anything.
Still struggling for air, I sit up and look at the spot the shadow man was just in. “There and he put out the fire.” I look at the fireplace, shocked to see the fire still going. It’s dying down, just like I remember. But the logs didn’t tumble out of the metal grate.
And there’s no one standing in the threshold, staring at me.
“There was someone there. I know it. I’m not…I’m not crazy.” My voice breaks and Ethan comes over, taking me in his arms.
“I know.” His whiskey-colored eyes meet mine. “I believe you.”
“Do you?” I ask, hating that I’m doubting him, but the truth is I’m doubting myself.
“Yes.” He pushes my hair back and gives me a moment. “Tell me exactly what happened.”
“I don’t even know,” I admit. “I dozed off after doing research. I know you came down and asked me about dinner, then I laid back down, but I could hear you in the kitchen. That log fell.” I point to the fireplace where the unlit log is still in the back of the little woodpile. “And I was going to use magic to light it on fire, but then I couldn’t move. The same man from before walked in, and I couldn’t see his face. But I know it was the same person. I could feel it.”
“You could have fallen asleep.”
“I mean…maybe, but I heard you, Ethan. I heard you moving around the kitchen, and I saw that log fall back. It was real-time again.” My pulse picks up.
“Hey,” he says gently. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Will we?” I bring both hands to my head. “Because this isn’t much to go on.”
“I know,” he agrees. “And I’m not going to downplay anything, but we need to check off everything, okay?”
“Of course.” I don’t want to be one of those people who cry demon the second anything diverts from the plan, but I know what I saw…I think. Resting my head against Ethan, I give myself a few minutes before attempting to get up. “I’ll help you with dinner.”
“Nah, I got it. Lay back down.”
I cock an eyebrow. “So I can wake up stuck again?”
“Stuck?” he questions.
“It’s how I feel.” A chill comes over me again, remembering it all too well. I’m awake, I know it. I can hear everything going on around me, and I can see the ceiling above me. I can feel everything: the couch beneath me, the heat from the fireplace, how my feet just barely touch the end of the sofa. I can even feel the way my hair was all bunched up uncomfortably around my neck. I wasn’t dreaming. I was awake that whole time.