Chasing Demons (Book 2) Rated R

Chapter 1

It all began with a bleeding red heart.

They all started the same, my dreams.

It was always Christian's face I saw with his mouth wide open and a crimson stain spreading across his chest where his heart had once been.

And every time, when I'd look down, I'd find that the hand that had killed him was my own.

I did not enjoy these dreams.

In fact, these dreams, these nightmares were my purgatory.

Though on exceedingly rare occasions, like tonight, the dream was not unpleasant.

Tonight, I dreamt we were normal, him and I.

A mundane couple, sitting across from one another at a nameless restaurant, enjoying dinner. Christian was just another guy, and I was just another girl, with no powers good or dark.

Across from me, Christian smiled, a smile that could, without a doubt, put any Hollywood actor to shame.

Glancing up from the table, where our hands rested, intertwined, I smiled back.

It was relaxing. The music and the warmth of his hand brought a sense of normalcy.

We chatted, though I couldn't remember what about.

The food was delivered, yet I didn't remember tasting it.

All I remembered, maybe all I really wanted to remember was his face, shining under the dim restaurant lighting. The sharp line of his jaw, moving as he spoke. What had he said to the server? It didn't matter because he looked so handsome doing it.

The squeak of hinges jarred me awake, ripping away the image of a smiling Christian.

I sat up, searching my empty room.

The door was ajar, but I distinctively remembered closing it that night. Reaching under my pillow, I found the odd object Damian had given me.

Hell if I knew how to use it, but it was sharp, and according to Dai, covered in enough Holy water to burn a bloodsucker's skin right off.

Wary of what I might find, I neared the door, tearing it open.

An empty corridor greeted me. It was bright, the way hospital hallways were bright.

I continued down the hall, the stake firmly gripped in my hand.

It felt silly there.

Dare I say even laughable at this point.

I did not need a stake or silver bullets. I was a hybrid, a rare vampire faerie mix with powers strong enough to kill a man, human or otherwise.

But for some reason, the stake brought me comfort.

I remembered, with clarity, the night I'd left Dannek castle and the very first time that I'd seen a stake up close.

A soulsucker had torn into our vehicle, pushing us off the road and into a tree.

Gripping my head, which had been bleeding, I'd looked up to find the roof of the Jeep completely gone and on the other side, a red-eyed monster, who'd reached inside with greedy hands.

He'd been sent by my father. My real father, though I only considered him a sperm donor. One I'd kill once I got my hands on for taking Taylor and Marcy, my only real family.

"Your father wants to see you," He said, right before Damian had grabbed him by the back of his shirt and yanked him off the vehicle.

Damian had slammed the soulsucker into the window.