Page 60 of Kiss of Light

Lemar knelt on the ground next to her.

“Take… care… of Ravij,” she hissed, doubled-over in agony. In a flash, Lemar blurred to the side of the other demon.

The host body had been half-blinded by the light and he’d dropped the rifle. Lemar grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.

“You’ve lost, Ravij,” he snarled.

“Maybe this round. But I will keep following. And I’ll catch up sooner or later. Of that you can be sure.”

Lemar itched to break the man’s neck but he knew the host was blameless. He contented himself with punching him unconscious and leaving him in a crumpled heap. Then he returned to Tala’s side.

“Shaitun, are you all right?”

Tala was so pale she looked almost blue. Yet her forehead was dotted with sweat. She fought not to vomit again.

“Need… to leave. Ravij… coming.”

Lemar scooped her up in his arms and blurred to the Chevy. He had to hope Ravij didn’t know what vehicle they were traveling in; there were no others in the lot to steal.

He gently laid Tala in the back seat and she gripped his arm feebly.

“Stay… off the… main… road.”

He kissed her forehead.

“Rest now. I’ll take care of everything.”

He hurled the car into gear and screeched from the parking lot. The first chance he got, he turned off the highway.

He checked the rear-view mirror.

Tala was lying with her eyes closed. He didn’t know if she was unconscious or just asleep. At least he could hear her heartbeat, which reassured him. But it was fast, faster than normal. And her breathing was shallow.

He drove through the night, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

He wasn’t sure what was happening to her, but he knew it was linked to the light-bringer.

That thing was killing her.

Twenty Four

The cabin looked empty.

Cautiously, Lemar got out of the truck and checked around. The small single-storey wooden hut was locked up. Someone’s vacation home, no doubt.

He parked the car behind the cabin where it wouldn’t be seen from the road. Then he gently lifted Tala from the back seat.

She was still unconscious. He tried to quell the little spark of panic as he looked at her pale features. Violet shadows dusted the skin beneath her eyes. Her body felt insubstantial in his arms.

He kicked the door in and slammed it shut behind them. The cabin hadn’t been used in some time. Thick dust lay everywhere. The living room had a small wood-burner and a tiny kitchen to one side, the cupboard doors hanging drunkenly.

He groaned inwardly as he saw the curtains at the windows. They were flimsy, the bottoms shredded by moths. They didn’t stand a chance of keeping out sunlight.

He had about an hour till dawn. And somewhere behind them, Ravij was on their trail.

He could only hope the demon passed them by.

There were two other doors off the living room. One led to a tiny bathroom with a sink and a toilet. The other opened into a small bedroom. The double bed took up almost all the space.

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