Page 14 of The Shadows of Excess

Justice held up his hands and backed away.

Damon turned to me, his brows furrowed in concern. “Sawyer, what did you see?”

My gaze darted as I stepped away. I was trembling now, my breaths coming out in short gasps. “I-I’m not sure. It was a silhouette…it moved so fast. My tattoo arm feels like it was dipped into a boiling pot of oil.”

“Your tattoo’s like a demon detector.” Damon scanned the dimly lit parking lot. “Where exactly did you see the shadow?”

My finger shook as I pointed toward our car. “There, by the back tire. Then I heard a voice whispering my name in a haunting tone.”

Damon’s features hardened into a sneer as he faced Justice. “Think it’s fun playing hide and scare with my sister, vampire?” he hissed, instinctively reaching for a weapon at his side.

Justice’s jaw clenched as he glared at Damon. “I didn’t do it, hunter,” he growled. “I may be a supernatural being, but scaring people for fun? Not my style, especially not Sawyer.”

Damon stepped closer until their noses almost touched. “Then what was it?” he demanded.

Justice shoved him back roughly. “Maybe it was a demon,” he spat. “Are you too thick-headed to realize we’re being hunted?”

My heart raced as I stepped between them. “Stop! We need to leave, remember?”

I wanted to get away from this place. The feeling of eyes watching us grew stronger with every passing second. If it was a demon, why did it call out my name and no one else’s?

Damon slowly backed away from Justice and opened the passenger door for me. “Come on, sis. Let’s get out of here.”

Surprisingly, Justice followed suit and got into the back seat without protest. I half-expected Damon to kick him out of the car, but he didn’t say anything as he started the engine and drove away.

I took out my phone and called Tim. As we left The Grove parking lot, my tattoo cooled. The roses stopped glowing, and it looked like any ordinary rose tattoo.

After I told Tim what happened, he swore under his breath. “You all get out of there okay?”

I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Yeah, we’re on our way now. There was…something there, Tim. It called my name.”

There was a brief pause on the line, and I could almost picture Tim rubbing his white beard in thought. “Just your name, huh? That’s not a good sign. Could be this thing is targeting you specifically. I’ll let the three amigos know what happened. You keep your eyes open, you hear? And don’t you go wandering off alone. Stick close to Damon and Justice, no matter what’s happening between them.”

The hair on my arms stood straight up. The last thing I wanted to be was a target.

“I’ll start digging into what this could mean. You focus on getting to Mystic Ridge safe and sound. And call me the minute you find anything out of the ordinary.” His voice turned stern.

“Thanks, Tim. I’ll keep you posted.”

“You better,” Tim replied gruffly with an undercurrent of concern. “And if your daddy wakes up or anything changes here, I’ll call you right away. You kids be careful out there, y’hear?”

“I will.” I hung up and looked over at my brother. “Tim’s letting Brody, Grady, and Scott know what happened. He said he’ll call if anything changes with Dad.”

“Good.” Damon glanced in the rearview mirror. “Doesn’t look like we’re being followed. It’s a few hours to Mystic Ridge. Why don’t you get some shuteye?”

I wrapped my arms around my waist and shivered. “I don’t think I can sleep after what happened in the parking lot.”

Damon’s grip tightened on the steering wheel as he pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal. The engine growled in response, and he accelerated down the winding road. “Suit yourself.” He shrugged, revving the engine even louder before taking a sharp turn with a screech of tires.

I leaned back in the worn leather seat as the car sped through the night, scanning the darkness beyond the window. My shoulders tensed at every flicker of movement, praying it wouldn’t be another ghostly figure lurking in the shadows.

The heater hummed, slowly warming the chilly interior, and I released a deep sigh. Exhaustion washed over me as I struggled to keep my heavy eyelids from closing. Before I knew it, I had drifted off to sleep, lulled by the steady rhythm of the road beneath us.

Someone shook my shoulder. “Sawyer, wake up. We’re here.”

I jerked awake, blinking. “Sorry, I must have dozed off.”

Damon flashed me a teasing grin. “I got that with your snoring.”

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