Page 28 of Payne's Envy

I tried to make sense of my thoughts, but my temples throbbed, and I winced. Something crawled across my hand, and I jerked, eyes widening, as I saw the odd web-like material snaking—no,growingover my wrist. The fatigue set in again, which terrified me more. I ripped at the strange material only for it to return.

Wait! Where was it coming from?Me.

I stood and kept tearing the webbing off. Swaying, I stumbled to my knees when the odd, painful tug pinched my chest again. I didn’t know why I thought of Joy. Why did I imagine something being wrong? Something crazy was happening to me, but all I could think about was Joy. It was like my lungs had filled with ice.

She needs me.

Not in the way I always wanted her to keep needing me all those years, but in an if-I didn’t-get-to-her-now-something-bad-might-happen way.

Fumbling for my portal chip in my pocket, I pressed the bottom. I didn’t know where or why I chose the destination, but I guessed right.

Fury boiled in my stomach as I saw Derrick walking a few feet in front of me with Joy slung over his shoulder. Since she wasn’t fighting him, she must have been unconscious. Demons lurked in the darkened alleys of The City of the Dead and even more walked through the streets. I continued to rip at the webbing as I quickened my pace.

Derrick whipped around, and his brows pinched together. “You shouldn’t have been able to find me.”

I stalked forward, sensing the material growing on me again. With every step, my limbs grew heavier and the only thing keeping my lids open was my desperation to get Joy away from Derrick.

“What are you doing?” I growled.

“Your voice sounds strange and what’s that odd stuff growing over your body?” He paused with a slight smirk.

“Give her to me.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”

I swayed and ripped at the webbing. It kept coming back faster. My throat burned as my desperation grew. I had to be quick. Whatever was happening to me wouldn’t stop. As I came closer, he threw out a wave of magic. It slashed through the air and hit my chest. The breathwhooshedout of me, but I kept going, tearing at the odd material as I did. The fatigue built in my eyes. I barely felt his attack.

He cocked his head to the side. “I’m growing very tired of not knowing what you are.” He attacked with his magic three times. Each burst was no different from the last. Every blackened attack smacked into my chest, pushing me back a few steps, but I didn’t fall. His jaws tightened.

“Put. Her. Down.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.” He chuckled. “She’s being delivered.”

Fuck. Suddenly, it all made sense.

“You work for fucking Harvest,” I spat.

I fell backward as if I’d been pushed. When did the proxy attack me? I sat up before trying to stand, but my legs felt like boulders and wouldn’t move. Glimpsing down, my eyes widened as panic churned my insides. The webbing twisted up my legs, forcing them together. I couldn’t pull it off because it had hardened at my knees, but I still tried.

“What the hell is going on with you?” Derrick stopped before me.

I slashed my fingers at him like I had claws. “Give her to me!”

“You’re easy pickings now,” Derrick said. “To be honest, when you were coming toward me like that, I had every intention of fleeing. But now…” He stepped on my leg, the part already covered in the cocoon-like stuff, but I didn’t feel it. “I don’t know how to describe what I’m seeing. Regardless, I know a threat when I see it, and it’s better to kill something when it’s weak than to let it become powerful.”

There was no escaping the mass expanding up my body. I couldn’t stand, so I swung my arms out near his legs, trying to get him down to my level. He laughed, and the sound plunged me into my darkest thoughts. Acid filled my lungs.

I never understood. No matter how much I tried for Joy, I was never enough. In all those years, I’d never found a way to be with her. I couldn’t even fucking save her because I couldn’t protect myself or kill the one that had her!

“I’ll kill...” My arms dropped and sudden dizziness had the proxy blurring in my vision. I panted as the bone-deep fatigue pulled me under. No! I couldn’t hold my sitting position and fell onto my back. My damn head smacked the paved streets with a thud. But I never felt the impact. All I felt was an overwhelming desire to sleep, despite wanting to save my mate.

A small blade floated in the air beside Derrick. His fingers stretched out over me. I screamed at that proxy with my remaining strength. My eyes stung as I looked at Joy as he held her.

“It’s a shame I can’t let you live to see what you’re becoming,” Derrick stated. "I am curious, but I have to end your life here.”

Flicking his index finger, the blade whizzed straight into my chest. I sucked in a breath as the pain burst through my ribs. A metallic taste filled my mouth. Choking on my blood, I tried to remove the weapon, but I couldn’t lift my arms. They were also stuck inside the cocoon.

Something wet splattered across my face. Derrick’s widened gaze met mine. Blood dribbled from his mouth. How?

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