Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Alexei must still be in bed with me. I need to warn him, but as I open my mouth to speak, nothing comes out.
“Yes, you are a beautiful specimen, aren’t you?”
When I first heard the ominous voice, it sounded like it was coming from outside of me, but now it’s clear it’s in my mind, like when I was communicating with Syphor.
But this doesn’t sound like him. This is something else.
“You’re going to help me, Matteo.”
“No, I’m fucking not, asshole. Get the fuck out of here.”
Knowing I was able to drive Syphor from Finnegan, I’m hopeful I can do the same with whatever this is.
“No, you won’t,” this entity says, reading my thoughts. “Syphor was weak, but you will see just how strong I am.”
The cloud of smoke descends, and as I breathe, it fills my mouth and nostrils. It’s like smoke, but it has a familiar taste and smell to it, reminding me of what I threw up after Cody exorcised Farras from me. As more of the smoke fills me, I’m choking on it…can’t breathe. I fight it, willing my limbs to life, but I’m locked in place, with only this horrible, suffocating sensation overtaking me as this fucker enters me.
Finally, the cloud is gone, and I can breathe again. I gasp for air, trembling as my body’s struggling with the intruder that’s overtaken me.
“Oh, you feel so good.”
“Get out!”
My hand moves, but it’s not me doing this. It rises to my face, and I study it as it moves effortlessly. I can’t resist.
“What are you?”
“I am Vairov, a deity to you. Syphor’s leader.”
This may very well be the horrible thing the Sinners have been trying to prevent from coming into our world. I wish I could disguise my horror.
“I feel your fear, and you should be afraid, for it is my time to enjoy this world now.”
I sit up, still without any control over my movements, and Vairov turns to Alexei, who rests peacefully, still lost in the pleasure of what we shared, unaware of the horror taking place beside him. Vairov reaches over and slides the comforter down, revealing Alexei’s nude back. He snickers through me, and it’s like an echo that swallows me whole. Then he runs the back of my fingers over the curve of Alexei’s ass.
“Get your fucking hands off him!”
“How will you make me?”
He turns my hand around, groping Alexei, and I’m terrified Alexei will wake and this fucker will do something horrible to him.
“Oh, the things I will do to him.”
I’m grasping for my pain again, to wield it against him, but this isn’t like Syphor. I don’t feel that same fear I was able to tap into and intensify to chase him out of Finnegan. There’s only a dark abyss…and a sadistic impulse so powerful, I find it infecting me, making me wish I could do horrible things to Alexei too.
“I see in your mind that he wonders about what happened all those years ago.”
There are flashes…images. I’m across the street from an outlet of shops illuminated by streetlights. A young guy steps out of a storefront and locks the door. Who is this? Why am I seeing it?
“This is his brother. The one you know as Kysar knew he would grow up to be a powerful force to use against us, so I found Farras, and the Darkness sent him to protect us from this threat.”
“You killed Alexei’s brother?”
“Farras did much of our bidding.”
My mind shifts to another image. I’m working diligently—no, not me, Farras—scrawling into a notebook. Like Luke mentioned about his visions, it’s like a dream where I just know that this is the Manual the Saints discovered.
“Farras defeated one of our greatest threats, but the very part of his nature that allowed us to connect with him was his greatest weakness. He could have helped us much more, but his appetites were too strong, and he was caught.”
Another series of images—this time chaos as men in tactical gear burst through the door of an apartment, descending upon Farras. I look at my hands, see a gun.
“What a waste of a great asset,” Vairov laments. “But he served his purpose. And because of him, now the Sinners are left with this useless creature instead of a god that could rival us.”
“He fucking helped stop you that night, didn’t he?”
I sense his rage. A small victory.
“He may have altered my plans, but while you were busy chasing Syphor from Cody’s body, my emissary was lighting my way, guiding me to a doorway out of the Rift.”
Fuck. “That’s why you needed Cody.”
He doesn’t respond, and I wonder if he doesn’t want to reveal what may be other reasons for needing Cody.
“I have no use for this man, though,” Vairov says. “Perhaps I should just end him for the inconvenience he caused.”