Page 36 of A Hunter Cursed
The words were a painful spear to her heart. “Jeremiah’s not dead,” she gasped out, refusing to believe this thing’s malicious words.
The vice-like grip around her eased, but before Keegan could step back, his hands clamped onto the sides of her face, pressing her cheeks painfully. Leaning in so they were nose to nose, he taunted, “Heisdead. Only I remain.”
“You’re wrong,” she screamed, and raised her knee, bringing it up swift and hard into his groin.
The thing released her, stumbling back, cupping his injured crotch. Keegan took advantage of the moment, screaming, “Jeremiah! Jeremiah, I know you’re in there! Don’t you dare give up! You fight! You fight this right now and come back to me!”
Frantically, she tried to think of a containment spell, something to hold him until reinforcements arrived, but she was too scared and in too much pain to focus. That left her with only her default offensive ability and that was something she couldn’t risk using. Not if there was a chance she could get Jeremiah back.
“Jeremiah!” she screamed again, needing him to hear her.
A growl, long and low rumbled out and just for a second, the black cleared from Jeremiah’s eyes before it once again overtook the blue. The thing raised his hands to grip the sides of his head. He shuddered, smacked his temple twice with the heel of his hand, and then grinned at her with that same twisted smile. He let out a little shiver of pleasure. “Woo!” he yelled out cheerfully to the sky. Dropping his head, those oily-black eyes returned to her. “It’s crowded in here.” He shook his head hard before offering her a vicious, taunting grin. “But not for long.”
The words had probably been meant to goad her, but instead, they left Keegan with hope. Jeremiahwasstill in there. He and his wolf were fighting to come back to her. She still had time to reach him.
It may have been suicidal on her part, but that bright spark that bloomed in her chest gave her courage, had her stepping closer, her hand reaching out in entreaty. The creature grabbed it, pulling her close and she didn’t waste any time, the words tumbling from her mouth at a rapid clip. “I know you can hear me, Jeremiah. You can’t let him have you. You’re mine. Do you hear me? You’re mine.”
There was another growl, this one louder, and the thing wearing Jeremiah’s face shook his head hard once more as he shoved her away from him. Her ass hit the pavement and the pain from the impact reverberated up her spine. Still, she persevered. “I love you, Jeremiah!” she screamed. “I love you! Don’t you dare give up! Fight for me! Fight for us!”
The wind picked up, her hair flying into her face, temporarily blinding her as the tangled strands lashed across her eyes. She impatiently pushed them away and wings of black suddenly filled her vision. Cam had arrived, a shining sword gripped in his hands. A sword ready to take out Jeremiah. Keegan’s stomach lurched with fear.
“You can’t hurt him,” she screeched, scrambling on hands and knees to reach the angel before he did something irrevocable.
Cam glanced her way, his lips twisting down with a look of frustration but he sheathed the sword. “Get back, child,” and with that, he raised his hand, the fingers spread wide and Jeremiah’s body was seized in an invisible grip, his feet coming off the ground.
Keegan moved back but remained close enough to intercede on Jeremiah’s behalf if it became necessary. She watched as that thing struggled against its invisible prison, words spilling from Jeremiah’s lips in a language Keegan didn’t understand, though the spitting tone left no doubt in her mind that whatever he was saying was not complimentary.
Cam’s other hand came up to join the first, palm up, fingers spread before he made a fist and yanked the hand back toward his chest. As he did so, black ooze spewed out from Jeremiah’s mouth and nose like projectile vomit. It arced toward the angel, wrapping around him like a snake, liquid tendrils trying to invade Cam’s mouth and nose.
The barrier holding Jeremiah suddenly released and his body hit the ground where he lay motionless. Keegan let out a broken sob at the sight and she crawled to him. God, he was so still, his complexion holding a sickly gray cast. Her vision blurred and Keegan quickly swiped the welling tears from her eyes. He can’t be gone, she told herself. He can’t.
Her fingers shook as she reached for his throat, searching for a pulse. It took a moment – a moment that felt like an eternity – but she nearly shouted with joy when she found it. It was faint, but it was there. There was still hope.
Sliding her arms under his, she tugged his head and shoulders into her lap so she could hold him and keep him safe. Looking toward the angel, intending to give him the good news, she saw Cam still fighting with the demon. Ropes of black slime were wrapped around Cam’s arms and chest, restraining him as tendrils continued to try to find their way in, to possess the angel as it had possessed Jeremiah.
As if sensing its attempts were futile, the slime pulled away, arcing quickly back toward the body that it had so recently inhabited. Cam shouted a warning and Keegan didn’t have time to think, she simply reacted, screaming, “No!” Her hand flew up in an attempt to block the slime from reaching Jeremiah and she felt her power release in a surge of transformative energy.
The spray of ooze burst apart into a shower of large, iridescent soap bubbles that floated gently to the ground where they popped harmlessly against the pavement. Keegan stared in amazement.
“Well done, child,” Cam said as he approached. “Very well done.”
“Is it…?” she began, only to break off as she stared at the wet spots left behind on the road. Shaking her head, she tried again. “Is it gone?”
“It is,” the angel confirmed. “Thanks to you.”
Looking down at Jeremiah, she tenderly brushed the hair back from his face. He still looked too pale. “Will he…?” Once again, she couldn’t finish, a lump in her throat nearly choking her.
Cam squatted down near where she held Jeremiah and placed a palm on Jeremiah’s forehead. Thoughtful for a moment, while Keegan waited with bated breath, those swirling metallic-silver eyes finally lifted to hers. He smiled gently. “He’s almost there,” he told her. “I can feel him fighting.”
A rush of pink suddenly flooded Jeremiah’s cheeks and his mouth opened with a gasp as his eyes – those gorgeous blue eyes – flew open. He jerked partially upright, staring frantically at his hands, and then patting at his chest before he let out a huge sigh of relief and collapsed back into her lap.
Keegan couldn’t help it, her relief so great she was both laughing and crying as Jeremiah’s hand lifted to cup her cheek. “I had the freakiest nightmare,” he told her with a look of disgruntlement. “I almost think I need therapy after that.”
Cam snorted but Keegan couldn’t hold back her delighted chuckle. “You and me, both,” she said, before gripping his beloved face between her palms and kissing him soundly.
Chapter Twenty-One
Jeremiah broke the kiss and groaned, drawing his knees up slightly. “Why does it feel like I got kicked in the nads?”
