Page 41 of Avenger of Sins

Two figures stood at the end of the hall, surrounded by motionless bodies. John had a man shoved up against the wall, and as Gray hurried to help him, they caught the scent.

Wet peat mingled with tears, underlain with blood. One demon yet remained in the compound.

And it was inside John.

“John!”

John’s head snapped around at Gray’s rumble. His scent, of petrichor and incense, washed over John, joined a moment later by night-blooming jasmine and copal.

Terror spiked through the banshee, the dreadful certainty that these were predators who wanted to eat it. The base levelinstinct for survival pumped adrenaline through John’s veins, and he had to brace himself not to run.

“Get back!” he ordered, even though his voice trembled with the banshee’s fear. “Don’t come any closer!”

Gray stopped, as did Night. A moment later, it was Caleb in front of him, not Gray.

“Sweetheart?” Caleb asked, holding up his hands as if to show he wasn’t going to hurt anyone. “What’s going on?”

Pushing aside the banshee’s panic, John refocused on Harlow. The man’s face was going red as he struggled to break free. John tightened the collar around Harlow’s neck, cutting off even more air. “He wanted us to be his lab rats again.” Fear filled Harlow’s eyes, giving John a burst of savage pleasure. “He killed Ryan. Told me to submit. But I won’t. I’m going to make sure he never hurts anyone again.”

“John, listen to me.” Caleb took a step closer. “This isn’t you. You aren’t like Ryan; you aren’t a cold-blooded killer.”

“See?”the banshee whispered frantically.“They are our enemy! Kill the mortal and run. We will escape; we’ll find all the others who hurt you.”

The ones hidden in SPECTR safe houses. The banshee was right; his job wasn’t finished. He couldn’t exorcise himself yet, not until he made sure they first knew suffering, then knew death.

“I don’t know what’s going on in your head,” Caleb said, voice so gentle it cut through the haze. “But I know you. John Starkweather, Jonathan Low—it doesn’t matter what you call yourself. Because I—we—see you for who you really are inside. And if you ever need a reminder, like I think you do now, we’re here to give it to you.”

John’s hands shook. He stared into Harlow’s wide, terrified eyes, and felt only contempt.

“He deserves to weep as you have wept! Then die, as Ryan died.”

“He deserves it,” John echoed.

“I can’t disagree with that,” Caleb said. “But you don’t. He’s done for, and if you kill him now, it will weigh on you for the rest of your life.”

John wavered, and the banshee sensed it.“You were far more helpless when you were a child,”it said slyly, and he could almost feel fingers riffle through his memories.“Don’t you remember the pain, the terror, the despair? Yours went on for months; killing him so quickly is an act of mercy.”

He took a deep, gulping breath. His hands shook, and he longed to agree. To give in, to stop feeling so torn, to just let it all go and become…

A killer? A monster?

John let go and stepped back. Harlow sank to the floor, gasping for breath, but John ignored him.

“No, what are you doing? Stop!”

I’m sorry,he told the banshee. Then pushed it out of his soul.

It fought, but there was nothing to cling to, all his will bent on ejecting the intruder. With a final snarl, it slipped away, back across the veil.

Caleb rushed to him, drawing John into his arms. As they clung to one another, shouts of “SPECTR agents! Drop your weapons!” rang out from the central tunnel.

Kaniyar had arrived.

FOURTEEN

Several weeks later,Caleb steered the black SUV off of I-95 in Savannah, onto a side street. John sat in the passenger seat, staring pensively out the window, while Night lurked in the back as usual. Zahira was still busy with the Armaros clean-up, but she hoped to rejoin them soon.

Night and Gray were still hunting together, though how much longer she would hang around, Caleb couldn’t guess. Things seemed to be working between the two drakul for now, but Night could always get bored and wander off. If so, he had every intention of keeping quiet about it for as long as possible. Give her a head start to get away from SPECTR.

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