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Devil’s Tavern III: Possession
help us. It’ll buy us some time before the demon comes looking for us again. First, I
need my clothes and then we have to get back to my bike. My guess is we have until the
rain stops. Can you run back to the compound, grab your things, some food, and
money, whatever you can carry and then meet me at my bike?”
“What about you? Where’s your bike?”
“I’ll be fine. My wallet and my keys are in my jeans. My bike is in the middle of
the compound by the large oak tree. Wait for me. I’ll be there in five minutes.” He
looped his hand around her waist and pulled her into him. Their lips met in a hurried
and desperate kiss. He didn’t know when the rain would cease and he wasn’t about to
lose her. Not after everything that had transpired this night. He released Serena. It took
everything in him to let her go.
“Five minutes,” she repeated.
He nodded. She bolted in the direction of the camp. After she left, he grabbed a
water jug from the cave and then ran back to the lake. The stench of fresh earth stung
his nose. Uprooted and torn apart trees were the markers which led him down to the
lake where the demon had forged his way toward them. The air felt gritty against his
skin. Breathing it in left a sour taste on the back of his tongue. The demon was not gone,
but out of a body. The rain was keeping him at bay and confined somewhere. Bruno
assumed he was watching them. He saw his jeans and chaps and slipped those on the
best he could since they were in tatters. The rest of his things and Serena’s weren’t
useful at all. They were in shreds. He patted the pockets and thankfully his keys and
wallet were still intact. He dipped the jug into the lake and filled it with the water he
had blessed.
He clutched the jug to his chest because he had a feeling they would need it on
their journey. From there, he ran to the compound. Ignoring the ash, he went into his
brother’s cabin and found his things. He re-dressed in better clothes and grabbed a
knapsack he saw on the floor. He took that and began stuffing clothes into it. He
knocked out a blanket from the wardrobe and saw a stack of papers along with an
ancient book. It was the laws and the traditions of the pack. One day the pack will be great
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Crymsyn Hart
and whole again. I swear it. He ran his hands over the old leather remembering the times
his father had let him look through the book. The pages were very brittle. It had been
passed down from one pack leader to the next leader. He wanted to take it, but there
wasn’t any room.
He shut the door and rummaged through his brother’s things until he came to
Terrance’s stash of money and a small pewter flask. Same old Terrance. Always hiding
things in your underwear drawer. He flipped through the wad and saw it was several
hundred dollars. It would last them for a while. He poured out the alcohol in the carafe
and also filled it with holy water. Then he stuffed everything into the bag and slung it
onto his shoulder. He ran out of the cabin and clutched the key to the bike. Serena had
clothes, another bag and was waiting anxiously by the bike. The rain had slowed a bit,
but it was still coming down. He gave Serena a helmet and mounted the motorcycle.
The back tire sagged under the weight of the extra passenger. She wrapped her arms
around his waist and squeezed him hard. He gunned the engine. A deep slice of love
wound through his soul so profound it took his breath away. They were better off
together. There had to be a reason why it wanted him. Whatever it was, he would not
let its evil plans influence him.
He carefully wove his way down the broken road until he hit the open highway.
His destination was a holy site where his father had taken him to learn about pack
heritage. There was one wise man at the site he hoped had survived the demon’s
massacre. They were a three hour drive away, but the map was burned into his mind
like words on an ancient scroll. Bruno focused on the journey because at the end of it
was their salvation.
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Devil’s Tavern III: Possession
Chapter Eight
Serena hugged Bruno to her close. She smelled his deep musk and let the scent
tickle her nose while the wind whipped around them. The weight of the evil
surrounding the compound weighed on her shoulders. The imprint the demon had
made on her soul still haunted her mind. She thought she had buried her memories
from her childhood, but the foul creature had dredged up her past. She had been a child
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