Page 1 of Basilisk

Chapter One

Bain

With only the slight glow of the moonlight streaming through tree branches, the forest had become a twisted maze, and Bain Ophion knew the man he chased was actually lost. Craig was the last person who should be. But pure terror had a way of fogging the mind. Of making a familiar reality morph into a surreal nightmare.

A red fox darted into his path, and he easily jumped it. Bain could clearly see in the dark, and he ran with sure feet, listening closely to the erratic pattern of the park ranger’s footsteps. The moss-covered ground was uneven, with fallen logs and wild tangles of broken branches making navigation a challenge, and more than once, he heard a heavy grunt as the asshole tripped.

Technically, Bain wasn’t supposed to be running down a murderer in Mount Rainier National Park. He was supposed to be guarding his actual client, Alisha. But Alisha was safely ensconced with one of his coworkers from Protective Solutions, so he’d felt justified in running the fucker down. An image of the way he and Alisha had found her sister raged in his head. Craighad killed the sister in the most twisted way possible, and Alisha had spent the night before curled into his side and sobbing.

The bastard had probably thought he’d have the advantage on familiar ground, at least until he’d become disoriented. What he didn’t know was that Bain could easily jump the tangled underbrush and pick out the smallest of creatures in the scant light. That he instinctively knew where he was in the world at all times and could find his way out of even the most elaborate maze. Craig had no idea what he was in for.

The footsteps abruptly stopped, and Bain spotted Craig up ahead, resting a hand on a thick hemlock trunk as he leaned over, panting. He twisted to look behind him, spotted Bain, and took off again.

Craig had taken one look at him and completely dismissed him. That happened a lot. Bain was built long and leanly muscular, wasn’t as bulky as a lot of his coworkers and friends, though he always ended up proving his skills. As a basilisk, he had superhuman strength and could shift into his alternate form and easily overtake Craig. But he wasn’t quite ready to reveal that side of him. It was amusing to see the utter shock in a human’s eyes when they tried to believe what they were seeing. Plus, he was having too much fun knowing the absolute terror Craig was feeling.

Craig deserved every moment of fear.

Growing tired of the chase, Bain sped up until Craig’s darting figure was only a few yards ahead. Snarling, he shot over the last bit of space and grabbed Craig by the hair, pulling him to an abrupt halt.

Craig squealed loudly as he lost his footing and fell to the ground. He hurriedly flipped to his back and began back-crawling, his expression full of panic. Bain flashed back to how they’d found Alisha’s sister, sprawled on the floor, blood pooling all around her and smeared in a trail of ragged handprints acrossher kitchen because she’d obviously tried crawling away from Craig. The police would need to analyze blood spatter, search for fingerprints, check alibis, but Bain had no such need. He had read the scents of the scene in an instant—pungent rage, acidic fear, and above all else the stench of Craig himself. He would have been the top suspect in any mundane investigation, but Bain’s knowledge was beyond human. He had all the proof he needed. This nasty excuse for a human had cut out her tongue, stabbed her multiple times and, in the end, slit her throat.

And he’d drawn it out as if he’d gotten off on her fear. Bain hadn’t seen that much blood since the last war he’d fought in. And Alisha’s utter horror, her consummate loss, had been stamped onto her features in an image he’d never forget. He’d only met the woman a few weeks before but had gotten to know her well enough to understand how much she’d loved her sister. She’d never completely recover.

Bain had no intention of letting Craig live, knowing he’d never stop until he killed the actual target of his wrath—Alisha.

“What the fuck do you want?” Craig panted out, the sweat on his face shining in the moonlight. He licked his lips, eyes wide with dread. Oh, he knew exactly what Bain wanted.

Bain slammed his foot down on Craig’s groin so hard Craig screamed. He kept his foot pressed there as he leaned over the writhing man. “You raped Alisha’s sister before you tortured her, didn’t you?” He knew the answer because he’d smelled it. Disgust fired in his belly as he pressed his foot down harder.

Craig twisted, trying desperately to get away but his strength was nowhere near Bain’s.

“Bitch deserved it.” Craig’s voice came out broken from pain, but the defiance was still blatant. “It’s her fault my wife left me. If she’d stayed quiet, none of this would have happened.”

“So, you tortured that poor woman for telling the sister she loves that she’d seen her husband with a woman who turned updead? That she’d warned her you’re a psychopath?” Bain gritted his teeth, speaking in a low, deadly tone. “Just how many women have you killed, Craig?”

“That’s none of your fucking business. Get the fuck away from me!”

The scent of this man’s fear was metallic and rotten, polluting the fresh air of this beautiful forest. It was a shame Bain would be further contaminating it by leaving a dead body here, but he found comfort in knowing the carnivorous animals would benefit, that this sorry excuse for a human would find his end alone here to be eaten.

“All I have to do is decide how I want you to die. Tie you down, slit your belly, and leave you to the animals? Would you like that, Craig? To lie here and be eaten alive?” Coyotes picked that moment to send out high-pitched howls. Perfect. So perfect Bain had to resist the urge to laugh.

Craig’s mouth fell open, and he took a deep, shuddering breath. “And you call me a psychopath?”

“Or I could remove my foot from your crushed junk and let you run some more. I do enjoy the chase.”

“You’re crazy!”

Bain lifted his foot then slammed it down again. Craig whimpered and grabbed at his leg, trying to pull his foot off. “Lucky for you, I don’t get off on torture, and I find it quite poetic that the last thing you’ll see before you die will be the scariest thing you’ve ever witnessed.”

Craig was too busy jerking around and trying to push away Bain’s foot. He wasn’t paying attention, and that wasn’t acceptable. Bain wantedallhis attention on him, wanted Craig to see every moment of what was about to happen. He leaned in close, his long silver hair around his face. It had come loose during his run; he tucked it behind his ears to make sure Craig didn’t miss a thing.

“Look at me, Craig.”

Eyes glazed with pain shot to him, and Bain slowly grinned. Something in that smile must have sent utter dread through Craig because he went still. He stayed that way as Bain straightened and called forth his other form. His clothes and favorite boots would be destroyed, but it was worth it. He kept his gaze locked with Craig’s as his eyelids drew back and disappeared, as his bones popped and ground as they shifted, as he grew taller, his long, thick, extended tail whipping around to replace the foot he no longer had.

Bain might not have been into torture, but the ear-piercing screams of a vicious murderer, bringing justice to all those innocent women—those were things he could relish.

Chapter Two

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