Page 85 of Bad Demon

Fern cried out again, and this time, power rolled through the room, so strong that it slammed me back against the wall.

Then she opened her mouth and released an agonized scream.

ChapterTwenty-One

FERN

Every single oneof my nerve endings wason fire, sizzling through my limbs, my insides. The tips of my fingers burned hot, and it felt as if hundreds of blades and needles were being pulled from my flesh by a huge magnet, through organs and bones and veins, slicing a path out of me, no matter what was in the way.

I screamed again, trying to fight, but big hands that scalded my skin held me down. There was a heavy weight on top of me, and I gasped as, one by one, those blades and needles popped through my flesh, leaving a jagged path in their wake. Every release from my flesh was agony and relief in equal measure.

Something burned my throat, and warmth trickled down the side of my face. My body was hot, then ice cold, and I wanted to curl into a ball, but the hands holding me down wouldn’t let me.

I gulped down breath after breath as something powerful washed through me in ever-increasing waves. Oh, sweet Lucifer, it was unbearable. I needed to release it; I needed to get it out. When I screamed again, it burst from me like a dam breaking.

I fell back, limp, and the weight on top of me and the hot hands holding me down were gone.

“Fern?” a voice I didn’t recognize called through the darkness. “Fern? Can you open your eyes?”

I tried to blink, then again.

Something warm and damp was dragged across my eyes with care.

“Now, try again,” that same voice said—a kind voice, a familiar voice even though I was sure I’d never heard it before in my life.

I did as she’d said and blinked again. A female with honey-blond hair and demon eyes smiled down at me.

“Hey, you’re back,” she said.

I trusted no one, but I instantly trusted this female. She’d been here with me—her voice, her warmth. Somehow, I’d seen into the deepest part of her, or maybe she’d shared that with me, but I knew without any doubt that she was good and kind.

A low, rough sound—no, a growl—rolled through the room, but it’d been there the whole time, hadn’t it?

I turned toward it.

Toward Relic.

He stood by the door, his glowing golden eyes on me, while his alpha and another male, Brick, held him back. Jagger stood across the room beside the dresser, his eyes averted. That was when I realized I was naked and covered in … something, some kind of potion. I recognized the scents of several herbs and oils.

The female quickly draped a blanket over me. “What’s the last thing you remember?” she asked.

I turned to Relic again. He’d stopped fighting, but his chest heaved, and those eyes were still locked on me.

“I was strapped down, in that room, in that place …” I squeezed my eyes closed for a moment. “How did I … how am I here?”

“Relic tracked the male who took you from the forest,” Jagger said.

I searched Relic’s face, licking my dry lips. “You left me there, all alone.”

“No, Tink, let me explain—”

“I turned around, and you were gone.”

“Fuck,” he snarled. “I was summoned. I didn’t have a choice. I would never have left you like that. I would never have done that. Fern—”

“No,” I whispered. “Stop talking. I need you to stop talking.”

Images flashed through my mind: Grady, The Chemist, and his creatures. My skin crawled.

---