Page 20 of Frosted Torment

“How do you know about them?” Jossy moved closer, and I took another step back.

“My mom warned me about them,” I admitted.

He chuckled, and a deep rumble fell from his chest. “Of course. You probably thought we would send you to a head doctor.”

I rubbed my fingertips together down by my sides and squinted up at him. “You were in the middle of an intervention with me, so yeah.”

Standing next to the demon, I placed a foot on her side and pushed hard. She rolled to her back and her head flipped toward me. The snapping beak and teeth I saw in the intersection were larger than I had expected. She choked for her last breaths of air and convulsed against the ground.

Her claws dug into the ground, and I stumbled backward, falling onto the road and scraping the palms of my hands. The gear shift from my truck protruded from her throat, then her head hit the ground one last time with a piercing squeal. Terrified, I crab-walked backward into Jossy’s legs, then grabbed my chest.

He reached down to help me stand as her skin began to melt. Tendons sloughed away, exposing black bones. Her body disintegrated into a puddle of thick, putrid disgust, resembling tar.

It didn’t take long before the inky blackness faded, transforming into a dull gray hue. I took another step back, my eyes fixated on the grotesque mass that was once a living, breathing something. As if on cue, it cracked and crumbled into a pile of ash, leaving nothing behind but a sickening, sulfurous odor in its wake.

My body shook in terror at what lay in front of me, and before I had a chance to process what I’d seen, the wind pickedher up and blew her across the road. I looked for a way out, but my friends blocked my straight shot to the church.

“Get away from me!” I shrieked, my heart pounding like a jackhammer.

I bolted past Lex and Ivy, their faces a blur as I pushed through them. As I reached the steps, what felt like a punch to the chest knocked me backward. Red hair filled my vision as Jossy swallowed me into his arms.

We fell to the ground, and his body hardened like granite around me, refusing to let go. I struggled for breath while screaming to no one. Jossy grew stronger with the strength of a full army, but his pressure on my body was careful, like handling a precious artifact.

He didn’t want to hurt me, only stop me from fighting him. I gave up, knowing my attempt to escape was futile.

“Are you done, Noa? Stop before you hurt yourself.” His voice was rich and warm.

Tears streamed down my face as I gasped for breath. “Tell me you’re not one of them.”

He spun me around to face him. I flinched, unsure of what he would do next, but he relaxed and caressed my cheek with the back of his feather-light hand.

“I would never, could never, hurt you,” he whispered, his voice heavy with sadness and regret. He slipped his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me into him. “We’re not the Baneful.”

My fear betrayed me again as I cried on Jossy’s shoulder, trying to block out the world.

“We know the truth about your mom,” he added. “What happened in the fire. And we know why you’re struggling.”

I looked up at him to make sense of it all. As Ivy and Lex approached us, I saw it. Everything I knew about them began to fall into place as his words sunk in.

“You know?” My lips quivered as I stared at them in disbelief.

Jossy nodded, his eyes intense. “We’ve known all along.”

Clutching at his shirt for support, I asked the question burning in my mind. “My mom was right. They’re all coming for me, aren’t they?”

Before Jossy could respond, Ivy pulled me to my feet, breaking me from Jossy’s protective shield. I stood frozen in anticipation as Lex rejoined us.

“I don’t care what happens to me anymore,” Ivy declared. She looked deep into my eyes. “Yes, they’re coming for you, Noa, and you killed one of them.”

CHAPTER 8

Jossy stood and brushed dirt from his pants. He tried in vain to straighten his wrinkled jacket, but he couldn’t, so he took it off and laid it across his arm.

“Let me do this.” His tone was more than annoyed.

Lex scraped patterns in the gravel with his boots as Jossy struggled to find the right words. He folded his arms with a smirk.

“Come on, brother, don’t keep us waiting,” Lex chided. “We’re all eager to hear how you’re going to spin this.”

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