Page 1 of Demise

Prologue

To become a member of the Brethren, you must have a desire to protect our heritage, to honor our history. You must have a thirst for vengeance, ready to battle anyone who threatens this society or our carefully built world.

To become an Elder is another task entirely. The induction is meant to test you, push you. It is different for each to prove your loyalty, to show how far you’re willing to go for your fellow brothers. Only the elite are gifted with the opportunity to become an Elder. Waste that gift, and you will find yourself on the wrong end of this holy ground.

Keep your brothers by your side, and your eyes open wide. Evil lurks around every corner, attempting to creep in at every turn. You must stay strong, stay true and remain ever faithful to us. If not, may the witches of the past, present, and future unleash their wrath on you. An unfaithful man that would make you an unworthy one to save.

Join us, or perish, these are your two choices. Tread carefully now, your chances are limited to one.

Chapter One

Skyla

My head is reeling, and I’m rendered absolutely speechless.

“Wh-here are you taking me?” I stutter.

“Somewhere safe,” he assures me before turning back to face the road.

“Why? Why are you doing this?” I ask.

The car slows for a moment as he turns his head to look at me once more. That familiar face, a face I never would have guessed, never would have suspected.

“Professor Corwin, what’s going on?”

“I told you I’d come for you, my love. It took a little longer than I would have liked, and I’m sorry for that. Those boys were circling you like sharks,” he says with a sneer and a shake of his head as he glances back to the road.

“I don’t understand. You’re my stalker? How? Why?”

“Stalker?” he asks with furrowed brows before he lets out a deep chuckle. “Is that what they told you? You can’t listen to them, Giselle. They will say anything to turn you against me.”

“Skyla,” I say shakily.

“Hm?”

“My name. You called me Giselle, but I’m Skyla. Giselle was my mother.”

“Oh yes, that’s what I meant. The resemblance is uncanny, though. You’re like Giselle reincarnated,” he says, his eyes running over me as slow as molasses, leaving behind a thick, sticky feeling in their wake.

I hear his blinker before he veers the car to the right, turning into a parking lot of a warehouse. I frown at our surroundings, looking around as much as I can before coming to the realization that we are in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

Shutting off the car, he pockets the keys before grabbing a duffle bag from the front seat. He gets out of the car and opens the back passenger door, scooping his hands beneath my arms and lifting me up and out of the car.

My balance wavers as I stand on my feet before he lifts me up and into his arms. I can’t hold back the terrified whimper that escapes me when he rests his nose against my neck, inhaling deeply.

An angry noise reverberates through his chest as he growls.

“You smell like them. It’s disgusting. Make no mistake, there will be consequences for letting them touch what is mine,” he says as he starts walking us towards the warehouse.

I tremble in his arms as the cold night pricks at my skin, sending chills running up and down my body. Then again, that could be the paralyzing fear.

When the door to the warehouse opens, I’m surprised, no, stunned. On the outside, it looks like a storage facility, maybe some kind of factory. On the inside, though? It’s a house. Like a fully blown decorated and furnished home. The layout is open, where you can see nearly every room and hallway from one spot. The furniture is a soft cream color with deep brown hardwood floors throughout. The kitchen is large, with a four-stooled island and a commercial-grade oven.

“It’s amazing, right?” Professor Corwin boasts proudly. “It cost me a quarter million dollars to get it ready. I’m sorry for the delay,” he says, pressing a wet, slimy kiss to my forehead that makes my skin crawl.

My mind races with what to do, how to act, how to get the hell out of here. The best thing I can think of is to play along, engage enough to where he lowers his guard, and I’m able to break free. Or try to wait it out long enough for the guys to track me down and rescue me.

If they are even alive. For all I know, he murdered them all while I was out cold.

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