Page 117 of The Harbinger

“Fuego,” I whispered, the sinew snapping free from my lips as his shadowed face lowered to mine, bringing with him the stench of burned hair.

“You will be my messenger.”

“No.” I shook my head, my voice breaking as the lines from the marbled floors peeled up like vines and wrapped around my arms, pulling me toward the ground.

“My raven.”

I shook my head, my knees buckling with a snap. “No.” Tears left my chin, smattering onto the shifting floors.

“You’ve already said yes.” His hands pulled my hair, jerking my head back, the dark holes where his eyes should have been swallowed my cries. “And your path has been chosen.” His gloved fingers dipped into my mouth, reaching for my soul.

I gagged, his fist disappearing down my throat, my jaw cracking as it stretched until a force tugged me away, my back slamming into a hard wall. Arms encompassed my body.

Return to me. Thousands of voices whispered around me, repeating the words as Fuego marched with his fists clenched at his side.

“You will not resist me.”

Return to me.

One voice stood out among the wretched cries, pulling me in like a beacon of light. My chest rose with a deep breath, the darkness flickering as a gale-force wind whipped my hair into my face.

Sacha’s office door flung open, and papers scattered around the room as Fuego’s approach faltered, the wind dragging him backward across the floor.

I’m here.

The voice hummed in my ear like whipped honey.

Fuego’s body snapped, his spine crunching as he slid into the demon’s chair. Clawed hands crawled out from behind the backrest like swarming spiders, ripping at his flesh and bone, and painted the throne red until he disappeared. The demon born through his fitful screams sat down as he had before, taking his rightful place.

“Return to me.”

I cried out, my hands unlocking from their icy hold and covering my mouth as I stared at the demon statue.

The black eyes that threatened to consume me turned milky white like the stone they were made from, his body static. The room took on a vibrant hue, the papers gone, the office door shut, but the one thing that remained true were the arms braced around me.

“What happened?”

“There you are.”

Sacha turned me around, his hands grasping my shoulders. His sweats hung low on his hips, his feet bare just outside the puddle of urine on the floor.

“I’m sorry,” I covered my mouth with my palm. Tears slipped down my cheeks, curling under my chin and dripping onto my now naked chest, my nightgown had vanished with the evil beings. “I’m sorry.”

“You were sleepwalking.”

His chest warmed my icy fingertips, and I laid my forehead against him.

“Let’s get you cleaned up.”

The acid burned against my legs, the urine cooling where it had trickled down my knees and pooled at my feet. Sacha’s cologne replaced the acrid scent of scorched hair with spice and cinnamon.

I nodded and turned. Catherine peeked out from behind the dining room doorway as he wrapped his arm around me and guided me back up the stairs.

I thought they didn’t live here?

“What’s changed, Mia?”

I wiped the tears from my cheeks and entered the bathroom, my bed a disruptive mess. “What do you mean?”

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