Page 34 of Possess Me

Terror, cold and vile, ricocheted through him.

Fight. Need to fight. Need to do.

But do what? Fight how?

There’s a clue. Something he was missing. Find the clue. Think, dammit. Somewhere, there has to be a clue.

Has to die, has to die, the pretty, pretty girl has to die.

For us.

For us.

For us.

His body lurched, and something cold and dark seemed to fill him, a strange calmness settling over him. He shifted, his focus on the woman who called herself wife. The woman he’d fucked so many times. The woman who was cheating on him.

Greg, the voice said. You know she is cheating with a little prick named Greg.

“Bitch.” The word was only a whisper, but he saw the impact on her. Saw the terror fill her eyes … and he felt the stronger seeing it. He fed on it. Needed it. Craved it.

“Damien, please.” Her voice was soft, laced with that erotic tinge of fear. He could see her looking around the room, trying to find a way to escape. But there was no way out. No way past him. No possibility that she could get by without him catching her. Hurting her.

Without him savoring the pain and glorying in the blood.

She was right to be afraid. Death was scary for those to whom it meant something. But her sacrifice would not be forgotten. He had to do it. Had to kill her. If he was going to become, he had to kill her.

We have to kill her.

It will be the final act in becoming. Her death will destroy his soul. Without his soul, he will follow us anywhere.

Us.

We.

One.

A soft ripple—almost too gentle to be noticed—moved through him. Think. Learn.

But there was nothing left to learn. Nothing left to do. He was the demon, and the demon was him. And that was the way it should be. The way it had always been. With Carlton and with those before him. Now, with Damien and those who would come after.

No. No. There was a way. He just had to figure it out. Because, dammit, there was a way. He was still himself. He could still hear his thoughts. He could still—

NO!

He felt something like fear skitter through him as understanding ripped through his mind. He was the demon, and the demon was him. And that was the key.

Relief swelled inside him, diluting the fear. You want to merge with me, you son-of-a-bitch? Too bad you can’t hide your secrets if you become me.

He had a plan now. So long as he could stay strong, so long as he could fight the evil that had hijacked him, he could get them through this.

But that was the trick—staying strong. Staying alive.

He could. He would. Because he had to. For Nikki, he had to.

14

Damien! Damien, please!