Good. Because it would be nasty if I found the two cooking some dude on a spit. I wince with disgust at the thought of them eating their “prey.”
They’d better freaking dig a very deep hole to bury the bones. The last thing I need is some animal digging up a humanized vampire and scattering the remains around the property.
I flip on the big can lights in the barn and go to the cabinet above Bard’s workbench along the wall. I try not to think of the times I saw him sitting here, toiling away on whatever project he had going on. Sometimes, I’d quietly watch him from the doorway, the way his broad shoulders moved and his back flexed when he was really putting some elbow grease into something. It was mesmerizing.
I sigh and push away the thoughts. I know what we had wasn’t love. Not the romantic kind I once wanted, but we did care about each other.
Not anymore. He’s gone, Lake. Stop dragging yourself backwards. I need to focus. Right now, there might be a couple of Benicio’s men running around our property, looking for me.
I set my purse down, grab a wooden crate, and step up to open the cupboard where the guns are stored.
Suddenly, that same ice-cold gust of air rushes through the barn, whipping my long hair around my face. It’s already freezing in here, but this air instantly stings my skin, like someone’s pressing a block of ice against me.
I step off the crate and turn. A white figure dashes past me and then circles back, coming to a hard stop in front of me.
The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand straight up. My lungs stop moving. I can’t look away, even though everything in me wants to.
The creature stares with its empty eye sockets. I can make out the faint outline of eyebrows and a mouth. Holy fuck. What is that?
The thing inches closer, and my heart feels like it’s going to jump from my chest. It’s never beat so hard.
I hold my breath as the thing fucking sniffs me. Up and down my face. Side to side.
“What do you-you want?” I mutter.
It jerks its head back, startled by the fact I’m addressing it directly.
The thing opens its mouth and roars so loud it blows back my hair. I scream, and the moment my mouth opens, it climbs down my throat into my lungs.
I fall back on the concrete floor, gasping for air. It’s inside me! I hack and cough, rolling on my back. I want to scream but can’t. The adrenaline and terror mingle with the pain of knowing this creature is scratching and clawing my insides with its ice-cold fingers.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realize I have to fight back. I can’t just sit here doing nothing while it rummages around, looking for whatever it’s after.
It’s from Monsterland. They feed off fear and weakness. Even if I’m afraid, I have to pretend I’m not. I think of the troll, the Skin, the Devil People, the Grim Raper, and even Benicio and Tiago. Every single one reacted to my fear. Benicio and Tiago scorned it. It attracted the pack of devils I encountered in the forest of the Blood People lands. It made the troll hungry and the Grim Raper excited. Fear is weakness to them and makes you a target.
I’m not afraid. I’m not afraid… I tense my stomach muscles and ball my fists. With one big push, I scream, “Get out!” I exhale as hard as I can, and the thing flies from my mouth clear across the barn.
I catch my breath with a loud gasp, and the creature turns to face me, looking pissed off as hell.
It charges straight for me.
“No!” I hold out my hand and snap my mouth shut. It stops one inch short of my hand and roars at me again.
This time, I don’t open up for him. Her. Whatever.
Wait. I know what this thing is. It’s a No One. It has to be here looking for Gabrio. Maybe that’s why it attacked me. It can’t get what it wants. It’s angry. Or hungry.
“Back off,” I say. “I haven’t broken any vows, so go somewhere else for a snack.” I swat at the thing, and its hollow mouth curls into a smile.
“Give me a taste.” It grinds out its words in a low, barely audible voice that’s more like a vibration. And yes, it’s creepy as fuck. “I want a taste,” it demands. “Gimme taste.”
“You’ll be waiting a long time, because I don’t plan on breaking any vows.” My words come out strong, but on the inside, I’m a mess. I want to throw up from nerves and the adrenaline.
It swirls around me. “Hungry. Must eat.” The thing swoops outside and disappears.