Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 495(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
The bad smell isn’t just from pond scum. It’s from the hog farm on the opposite side of town. It’s secluded and the smell of the hogs is enough to keep most young kids from wandering around the property. Which makes it the perfect place for demons to drag their victims—as I’ve discovered before.
Pressing the gas pedal down harder, I speed through town, blow through two stop lights and pick up speed once I get out of the downtown area. Thorne Hill isn’t a big town in the sense of population, but with all the farmland, it’s going to take a while to get to the hog farm. I don’t stop until I’m by the barn where the organ-harvesting demon took Danielle. Putting the Jeep in park, I get out and race forward, throwing open the door and stepping into the barn.
“Can I help you?” A woman quickly stands, picking up a bucket of milk from under a cow. She looks startled, not that I can blame her.
“I’m, sorry, I…” I trail off, tipping my head as I look at the woman. Her hair is different and she’s not wearing the thick rimmed glasses. But it’s her: Nelly. The secretary at the publishing house and then the librarian.
She’s the fucking djinn.
“Oh my God. It’s you.”
The djinn takes a step back, trying to act scared, but she drops the act pretty fast and eyes me curiously. “It’s been a while since I’ve come across one as strong willed as you.”
“Thanks. Most people call me bull headed or stubborn, but strong-willed is such a better way to put it.” Slowly, I advance, spotting a wooden broom on the ground only a few feet from me. I ball my fist, feeling heat gathering at my fingertips. It spreads through me, warming my body and loosening whatever is gripping my wrist. “The game is over. You lost.”
The djinn side steps back, shaking her head. “You should be dead. I drained you first. It won’t take long now.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve survived many near-death experiences because I’m not human.” I take a few more steps forward. “Which, again, means game. Over.”
“No.” The djinn smirks and holds up a hand, whispering some sort of incantation before snapping her fingers.
And nothing happens.
She opens her eyes, fully expecting me to be gone, yet here I am. Her eyes widen and she makes a run for it. I pick up the broom and hit it against the side of the barn, scaring the cow.
“Sorry,” I tell her and break the rest of the handle in half, needing one end to be nothing but broken shards. I run after the djinn, jumping over a pile of overturned buckets. She’s not far ahead, and I bring my arm back and throw the broken broom handle like a spear. It hits her in the lower back, and everything around me spins, going faster and faster until—
Suddenly, I sit up, heart racing. I’m in the woods, laying in what’s left of a dried up pond. There are only a few inches of water, but a few inches are all you need to drown when you’re unconscious like this. Gasping, I get to my feet and blink a few times, trying to get my vision to focus.
“Easton?” I call, holding out my hand and feel the biggest sense of relief when I easily summon a ball of blue energy. I toss it up and wince from pain webbing across my wrist. Something that looks like a thick black vein is embedded in my skin, dangling from my arm. Grimacing, I grab it, feeling the slick, rubbery surface slip between my fingers. Looking away, I pull and feel it slide through my own veins. At least half a foot comes out, and I gag as I drop it into the water.
Clamping my free hand over the bleeding wound, I look around for Easton again. The sunlight is fading, and the woods are eerily silent.
Binx, I mentally call. Help us.
Something splashes in the water behind me. I whirl around, hoping to find Easton slowly sitting up. I open my mouth to call his name again, but my voice dies in my throat. But it’s not him.
It’s the fucking djinn.
Chapter
Twenty
“Why won’t you fucking die?” I ask through gritted teeth. Blood pools around my fingers, pouring from the ragged hole in my vein. I’ve healed myself before when I was almost dying from blood loss. I can do it again…I just don’t know how.
“You can’t kill me in my own dream,” she replies, lips pulling into a smile. She’s dressed in all black, with her hair slicked back. Her eyes glow a faint shade of green, and the darkness coming from her is suffocating. She’s right, and I should have known that throwing a broken broom handle was too easy. I don’t have any other weapons, and I don’t know how to kill a djinn. The frustration of so many unknowns bubbles inside me, and I take my hand off my bleeding wrist and throw it out, sending a wave of energy at the djinn.