Page 48 of Coven of Corpses

“Son of a dolphin fucker?” Baron said, cocking his head. “What does that even mean?”

Cody jabbed a finger at him. “It means you’re a dick, that’s what it means. You’re a murdering, demon-releasing dick, and I’m really tired of dealing with dicks like you.”

“Wow, okay.” Baron widened his eyes and turned in a circle before facing them again. “This is not at all going as I had imagined.”

“Good,” Cody snapped. “And now that we know your identity, we’re going home and telling everybody.” He lifted a hand and glared. “Bye, asshole.” Turning, he extended his hand. “Let’s go, Demmy.”

“Uh…” He was stunned by Cody’s outburst but not really surprised. Baron, on the other hand, seemed bewildered at the reception.

“You can’t leave,” Baron shouted.

“Watch us.”

Heath stomped out of the woods on the opposite side of the clearing from Baron, trampling the grass and some wildflowers until he managed to halt his shambling, stumbling walk. He looked even worse than he had at the library the day before. Sores and patches of burned skin marred his cheeks. One particularly painful looking one oozed on his forehead. His hair stuck straight up on the left side of his head. His arms swung as if he had limited control of his muscles, and his legs were stiff. He still wore the lanyard with his library ID around his neck.

“You!” Heath shouted, pointing across the clearing at Baron.

Demetrius tugged Cody’s hand, and they backed away toward the edge of the clearing, halfway between Baron and Heath.

“Uh oh,” Cody murmured.

“Yep,” Demetrius murmured back.

“The fuck?” Baron shouted. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

“You released me, but refuse to host me.”

“Yeah, because look what you do to your hosts!” Baron waved both hands at him. “You’re burning through that guy’s body. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“This is what happens when I take people over,” Heath said. “I require a host, and I can’t control it.”

“Well, there’s no fucking way I’m letting you inside me.” Baron shot a glare at Demetrius and Cody. “Yes, I heard how gay that sounded, and no, I’m not gay.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Demetrius said, raising a hand and shaking his head.

“I deserve what I was promised,” Heath said with a snarl, taking an awkward step forward.

“I promised you freedom, and you got it. Now you work for me.”

Heath sneered and took another step. “I. Do. Not.”

“Yes. You. Do.”

Cody eased Demetrius back a step. “Get ready to run.”

“I need a new host,” Heath said, and Demetrius could hear a rattle in his voice now. It sounded like Heath’s body wasn’t going to last much longer.

Baron gestured at them with both hands. “There you go! Take your pick!”

“The fuck?” Cody said. “Nope.”

Heath tipped his head back and spread his arms wide. With what looked like the last of the strength left in Heath’s body, he swung his arms forward and brought his hands together in a hard clap, causing a concussive shock wave that traveled outward. It scattered leaves and flattened grass and flowers and shook branches overhead. Before Demetrius and Cody could even think to turn and run, it knocked them flat on their backs.

A flash of light followed, accompanied by a burning all along Demetrius’s skin, as if he’d been spattered with hot grease. He cried out and turned on his side, curling himself into a ball. Were they being burned alive within flames produced by the demon? Was his skin turning black and peeling away from muscle and bone?

The heat was persistent, but it didn’t seem to be doing physical damage to him. It crawled along his limbs and around his head, stroking his face and then slipping into his ears, inside of him.

Beside him, he heard Cody shouting and screaming, the pitch of his voice rising and falling, cracking with the intensity of the pain. Demetrius’s heart ached at the sound, and he tried to think of something, anything, they could do to escape. But he felt planted, as if roots had sprouted from his body and dug into the earth.