Page 130 of Conjure
When Dominic speaks again, his voice distorts, and the scent of sulfur intensifies around us. “Let me tell you a little tale, CamrynKriger,daughter of Magdalene Kriger and Dr. Benthall.”
“Your grandfather purchased this house. It was a new start for the Krigers. Their fresh beginning. But Kriger was easily influenced by the darker energies that bleed from this soil, so he soon began to change. He built an altar and dabbled in theoccult. All in secret, of course. Your grandmother, Mrs. Kriger, would have tossed him out on his ass if she knew what he was up to.”
The demon chuckles.
It’s all starting to make sense. The pieces are falling into place. My mind spins. “Kriger summoned the demon… You.”
“He invited me into your lovely home, Miss Kriger.” It strokes my damp cheek. “Such a beautiful family.”
I bat his hand away and try to stand up, but he shoves me back down with a hand on my shoulder. “After your family was dead, your mother, the sole survivor, was institutionalized. Dr. Benthall took a special shine to her, and she soon fell pregnant. Nine months later, you entered the world, and your mom died shortly afterward.”
“You possessed Benthall and raped my mother, didn’t you? Just like you possessed Dominic’s father.” I gasp, feeling like I might be sick. “You couldn’t possess my mother, just like you can’t possess me. That’s why you’re doing this. You didn’t kill my mom. No, you wouldn’t have… Not until you got what you wanted. She committed suicide. Threw herself down the stairs and broke her neck. Oh my god… The house…” I glance around the kitchen, seeing it for the first time.
Sticky fingers slide along my jaw, and a coppery scent settles in my nostrils. “Welcome home, Miss. Kriger.”
“My mom... Katherine…”
“Adopted you shortly after birth. This house has always belonged to you, and it took a horrificaccidentto bring you back home.”
I peer at the demon, seeing its darkness ooze from Dominic like heat waves on a sunbaked country road. “You murdered my real family, my stepfather, myfriends, everyone I care about because you couldn’t possess my birth mother, and now me?”
He laughs menacingly. “I haven’t killed everyone you love or care aboutyet.”His sinister words have barely registered when he grabs me by the shoulder and throws me across the room. I slam into the fridge and let out a cry of pain. My arm pulses as he stalks up to me and yanks me to my knees by the hair. Fear ripples through me, tensing every muscle. His form flickers, and I catch sight of his swishing tail. Then he tosses me across the room recklessly like I’m nothing more than a ragdoll.
I slam into the wall above the counter, knocking over the utensils hanging from hooks. The loud clatter intensifies when I try to scramble off the counter, which causes the items to fall to the floor.
Dominic kicks a metal whisk out of the way as he walks up to me, grabs my arm, and hauls me down. I crash to the floor, and the wind gets knocked from my lungs. He cocks his head to the side as he watches me gasp for air.
“You should hear him scream,” he taunts as he digs a finger into his temple. “It kills him to watch himself hurt you.” With that, he stomps on my thigh. There’s a loud crack, and then corrosive pain radiates through the bone. I scream and he applies pressure with his booted foot on the thigh. “That’s it, human. Let him hear you. Scream for your boyfriend.”
I’m gulping breaths, crippled by the agony in my leg and unable to think straight. Dominic eases up, then drives his boot into my side. I fly back against the cupboard and clutch my bruised midriff.
“I wonder how much pain you can handle,” he says as blood pours from my mouth after I bit my tongue as I slammed against the cupboard. “Your mother was a strong one in that asylum. Dr Benthall had a penchant for torture.”
“Don’t blame him for your actions,” I hiss through bloodied teeth.
He crouches down in front of me, now in his demon form, smoke seeping from the cracks in his skin as he studies my face. “While I might have taken advantage of his weak mind, he was no angel.” He reaches out and strokes the backs of his clawed fingers down the column of my throat, my cheek burning in the wake of his touch.
He stands up. “As much fun as it is to feed on your boyfriend’s anguish, I think it’s time to stop playing around.” Pausing for a moment, he looks around.
“What do you want?” I ask, trying to shift, but the pain in my leg makes it hard to think, let alone defeat a demon. That’s when it dawns on me that I won’t survive. I’m up against an ancient monster from the pits of Hell. I should just let it kill me and get it over with. But it doesn’t want to kill me yet. Not until it has had its way with me. If I die, Dominic dies. He still stands a chance at getting out of this alive if I find a way to distract the demon. How do I get it to exit him?
Booted shoes appear in my vision, and Dominic lowers to his haunches. The knife in his hand gleams. “Please, whatever you plan on doing, don’t.”
“She begs.” He presses down on the swell of my lip with the blade’s flat end. “Do you know how rare it is to find someone like you and your mom? Humans with such strong, impenetrable minds that not even the greatest evil can find a way past your defenses. You’re not even aware you’re doing it. You have no idea how powerful you are, Miss Kriger.” The knife slides over the curve of my chin. “That’s also why you attract evil.”
“What do you want with me?”
“You already know.”
“Possess me? Why? Once you’re inside me, what then? I’m no more exciting than any of the other countless humans you’ve tortured and killed for entertainment.”
“On the contrary, you’re a delicacy.” He reaches out and cradles the side of my head. “To finally break your mind and see inside your memories, totasteevery inch of your soul, and see parts of you that you’re too afraid to show even yourself…” His black eyes switch to a flaming red. “Don’t worry, human. I’ll be easy on you when I feed on your succulent soul. It’ll be painless. Just like falling asleep.”
I release a laugh, but it’s a broken sound, and then I lift my head and stare into that endless void. “You’ll never possess me.”
His form flickers. Demon to human and human to demon, like a mirage. He indulges me with an amused smile. I bet this is the most fun this pathetic hell creature has had since my birth mother. “Are you sure about that? he asks, brushing my matted hair away with the blade, and I suck in a breath when it scrapes my skin. “In the thousand years I’ve been stuck on this plane, I’ve learned something about you humans.”
“Yeah, what’s that?” I sneer, shying away from the blade.
