it’s too late. Fight it like Moore is doing.”
Her eyes glazed over as her laughter rang out, loud, wicked and vile. It crept through the house, invading the crevices and filling nooks. The room darkened and vibrated with her satanic energy.
Crawling back to the cupboards, I leaned against the stove and pulled out the drawer my dad kept his sharpest knives in. As her maniacal cackle rang on, I slipped the smallest knife into the cuff of my blouse.
With honed instincts that were disturbingly accurate, she turned her attention to me, her nostrils flaring as she searched the source of eminent danger. Her troubled gaze sat on my crucifix for a long and perplexed moment before dipping to the wrist that hid the knife.
Her brow crinkled, giving her monstrous features an oddly cartoonish effect. “You should have slain me.” Her voice was now an unrecognizable growl.
“You’re Moore’s sister.” While in my heart I knew I would have to slay her should she attack again, I wanted to spare Moore the loss of his sibling. If possible, I would simply maim her with the knife, just enough to subdue the demon in her. “He loves you and would want me to try to save you.”
“How noble of you.”
“I mean it, Shayne. I do want to help you.”
“We tried to save ourselves already, remember? The Book of Angels… Asher. Had you truly been so eager to help us, you wouldn’t have intervened. Instead, you ruined everything.” Like a high strung cat, she lunged at me, tore my crucifix off and tossed it aside before pounding my head to the oven door. “You ruined everything!”
The demonic power within her, fueled by rage, gave her strength beyond any I’d ever encounter. With one hand, she stood me on my feet, shoved me into the living room and pushed me headlong into my mother’s curio case. The knife flew from my cuff and lay useless several feet away.
Hearing the crash of my mother’s cherished Lladro porcelain collection brought a new sense of dread and fear. My parents’ house… they would arrive from work to find my body drained and lying lifeless amidst the wreck that had been the normal home they’d always worked so hard to offer me.
On my belly with Shayne’s weight on my back, I stared at a shattered angel on the floor, my mother’s most recent acquisition. My strength waned.
“I’ll find the Book of Angels myself.” Shayne grabbed my ponytail and used it as a handle as she repeatedly pounded my head to the floor.
With the chipped angels wing just inches from me, I felt my consciousness ebb away. I caught a sharp ray of light beaming through my eyelids and I turned to find the source.
Asher, tall, strong and glorious, stood at my door, his bright light blinding as it shimmered all around him. He bounded in, grabbed Shayne’s mane and sent her flying across the room to the opposite wall. With an odd gurgling sound, she slid down the wall and lay in a heap.
“Lux,” Asher said, quick to come to my side. He turned me over and I groaned softly as the menagerie of pain took over my entire body.
I pulled my lids open a crack.
“Lux, talk to me. Tell me you're okay.”
Through the slit I saw a shadow of movement from the other side of the room. I wanted to tell him, warn him, but my body refused to respond to my command. All I could manage was an incoherent murmur as Asher fixed his worried gaze on my face, unaware of the movement behind him.
Shayne grabbed him by the throat and tried to snap his neck as she had Dr. Kingsley, but Asher wasn’t about to let her win. With one quick swing of his arm, he sent her toppling to the floor, her head catching the corner of the solid marble tabletop along the way.
Limp, if not lifeless, she crumpled.
Asher quickly brought his attention back to me, his hand gentle as he wiped my brow. “Lux,” he whispered as he pulled me into his arms and kissed my brow.
The nauseating dizziness that’d built up
Her eyes glazed over as her laughter rang out, loud, wicked and vile. It crept through the house, invading the crevices and filling nooks. The room darkened and vibrated with her satanic energy.
Crawling back to the cupboards, I leaned against the stove and pulled out the drawer my dad kept his sharpest knives in. As her maniacal cackle rang on, I slipped the smallest knife into the cuff of my blouse.
With honed instincts that were disturbingly accurate, she turned her attention to me, her nostrils flaring as she searched the source of eminent danger. Her troubled gaze sat on my crucifix for a long and perplexed moment before dipping to the wrist that hid the knife.
Her brow crinkled, giving her monstrous features an oddly cartoonish effect. “You should have slain me.” Her voice was now an unrecognizable growl.
“You’re Moore’s sister.” While in my heart I knew I would have to slay her should she attack again, I wanted to spare Moore the loss of his sibling. If possible, I would simply maim her with the knife, just enough to subdue the demon in her. “He loves you and would want me to try to save you.”
“How noble of you.”
“I mean it, Shayne. I do want to help you.”
“We tried to save ourselves already, remember? The Book of Angels… Asher. Had you truly been so eager to help us, you wouldn’t have intervened. Instead, you ruined everything.” Like a high strung cat, she lunged at me, tore my crucifix off and tossed it aside before pounding my head to the oven door. “You ruined everything!”
The demonic power within her, fueled by rage, gave her strength beyond any I’d ever encounter. With one hand, she stood me on my feet, shoved me into the living room and pushed me headlong into my mother’s curio case. The knife flew from my cuff and lay useless several feet away.
Hearing the crash of my mother’s cherished Lladro porcelain collection brought a new sense of dread and fear. My parents’ house… they would arrive from work to find my body drained and lying lifeless amidst the wreck that had been the normal home they’d always worked so hard to offer me.
On my belly with Shayne’s weight on my back, I stared at a shattered angel on the floor, my mother’s most recent acquisition. My strength waned.
“I’ll find the Book of Angels myself.” Shayne grabbed my ponytail and used it as a handle as she repeatedly pounded my head to the floor.
With the chipped angels wing just inches from me, I felt my consciousness ebb away. I caught a sharp ray of light beaming through my eyelids and I turned to find the source.
Asher, tall, strong and glorious, stood at my door, his bright light blinding as it shimmered all around him. He bounded in, grabbed Shayne’s mane and sent her flying across the room to the opposite wall. With an odd gurgling sound, she slid down the wall and lay in a heap.
“Lux,” Asher said, quick to come to my side. He turned me over and I groaned softly as the menagerie of pain took over my entire body.
I pulled my lids open a crack.
“Lux, talk to me. Tell me you're okay.”
Through the slit I saw a shadow of movement from the other side of the room. I wanted to tell him, warn him, but my body refused to respond to my command. All I could manage was an incoherent murmur as Asher fixed his worried gaze on my face, unaware of the movement behind him.
Shayne grabbed him by the throat and tried to snap his neck as she had Dr. Kingsley, but Asher wasn’t about to let her win. With one quick swing of his arm, he sent her toppling to the floor, her head catching the corner of the solid marble tabletop along the way.
Limp, if not lifeless, she crumpled.
Asher quickly brought his attention back to me, his hand gentle as he wiped my brow. “Lux,” he whispered as he pulled me into his arms and kissed my brow.
The nauseating dizziness that’d built up
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