Jennifer Armentrout - Obsidian

“Shut up, Daemon!” I screeched. The tires swerved a little into the other lane. “It’s done. Okay? Is Dee okay?”

“Yes, Dee’s okay. But you’re not! We’ve lost him, and since Dee said you’re glowing like a goddamn full moon right now, I’m betting he’s after you.”

Fear spiked my heart rate. “Well, that was the plan.”

“I swear on every star in the sky, I’m going to strangle you when I get my hands on you.” Daemon paused, his breath heavy on the phone. “Where are you?”

I glanced out the window. “I’m almost to the field. I don’t see him.”

“Of course you don’t see him.” He sounded disgusted. “He’s made of shadows — of night , Kat. You won’t see him until he wants you to.”

Oh. Well. Shit.

“I can’t believe you did this,” he said.

My temper snapped under the fear. “Don’t you start with me! You said I was a weakness. And I was a liability back there with Dee. What if he came there? You said so yourself he’d use me against her. This was the best I could do! So stop being such a damn jerk!” There was such a gap of silence I thought he’d hung up on me, but when he spoke, his voice was strained. “I didn’t mean for you to do this , Kat. Never something like this .”

His voice sent shivers through me. My eyes darted over the blurred shapes of trees. I drew in a deep breath, but it got stuck. “You didn’t make me do this.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Daemon—”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want you hurt, Kat. I can’t— I can’t live with that.” Another stretch of silence passed while his words sunk in and then, “Stay on the phone. I’m going to find a place to ditch the car and I’ll meet you there. It won’t take more than a few minutes to get there. Don’t get out of the car or anything.” I nodded as I pulled the car to a stop inside the field. The moon rolled behind a cloud, turning everything pitch black. I couldn’t see anything. A horrifying, sick feeling settled in my stomach. Reaching down, I grabbed the obsidian blade and held it tight. “Okay. Maybe this wasn’t the strongest idea.” Daemon barked a short, harsh laugh. “No shit.”

My lips twitched as I glanced in the rearview mirror. “So, um, the not living with your—”

There was a shadow there that looked…more solid than the rest. It moved through the air, thick like oil, slipping over the trees, spreading along the ground. Tendrils reached the back of the car, sliding over the trunk. My throat dried, lips parted.

The blade warmed in my hand. “Daemon?”

“What?”

My heart thudded. “I think—”

The automatic locks unlocked and my driver’s door flew open. A scream came out. One second I was holding the phone and the next I was flying to the ground, my fingers almost losing their grip on the blade. Pain shot through my arm and side as I hid the blade behind me.

I lifted my eyes. My gaze traveled over black pants and the edges of a leather jacket. Pale face. Strong jaw and a pair of sunglasses covered the eyes even though it was night.

Baruck smiled. “We meet again.”

“Shit,” I whispered.

“Tell me,” he said, bending down and lifting a strand of my hair. His head swiveled to the side as he talked, moving back and forth like a bird. “Where is he?”

I swallowed thickly as I scrambled back across the ground. “Who?”

“You’re going to play dumb with me?” He stepped forward and removed his sunglasses, slipping them inside his jacket. His eyes were black orbs. “Or are all humans just so stupid?”

My chest rose and fell sharply. The blade was only good in his true form. And it was burning through the leather, stinging my hand.

“I want the one who killed my brothers.”

Daemon . My entire body was shaking. I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

“And you…you killed one of them, protecting him .” He flickered out. There was my chance, but before I could move, he solidified in front of me. “Take me to him or I will make you beg for death.” I shook my head, tightening my hand. “Screw you.”

He faded out, becoming a mass of dark and twisted shadows. Lunging to my feet, I let out a battle-worthy scream and swung my arm around, aiming for the center of the black goo. The blade burned bright, the color of hot coals.

My jab never landed.

A smoky hand caught my arm. The touch was bone-chillingly cold. His voice was an insidious whisper among my thoughts, like a snake slithering inside my head. Do you think I’d fall for that? Pleassse…

He twisted. I heard the CRACK before I felt the pain. My fingers twitched and the blade fell to the ground, shattering into a dozen shards like nothing more than fragile glass. I screamed as a wave of pain crippled me.

That wassss for my b rother.

A shadowy hand circled my neck and lifted me off my feet. And thisss isss b ecaussse you annoy me.

Baruck threw me backward. I hit the ground hard and then slid several feet through trampled corn. Stunned, I stared up at the pitch-black night sky.

Tell me where he isss.

Gasping for air, I rolled onto my feet and took off for the trees. I ran . Holding my arm protectively against my chest, I ran as fast as I could, my sneakers slapping against the hard-packed ground and crushing grass and fallen leaves. I didn’t look back. Looking back would be b ad . I tore through the woods, smacking at the low-hanging branches. Déjà vu floated through me as I stumbled over exposed roots and the uneven ground.

Baruck came out of nowhere, moving past in a blur of shadows. He solidified right in front of me, throwing me off. I skidded to a stop, spinning around. He was there, too, and he knocked me to the ground.

“Did you get it out of your system, yet?” A cruel smile formed on his pale lips. “Or do you want to run more?”

I scrabbled across the dirt as I gulped in every ragged breath I could. The horror made it hard to gain any sense of control. I was out of time.

Baruck lashed out. His arm didn’t hit me, but I flung back and landed with a dull thud on the ground. The air knocked out of my lungs. Small rocks dug painfully through my jeans.

He reached down, sinking his hand in my hair and coiling it around his fist. I bit down on my lips to stop from crying out as he dragged me behind him. Material around my knees tore open. Pain radiated through me, threatening to consume me. I was sure he would pull every strand of my hair while ripping the skin off my knees.

He gave another painful yank, and I yelped. “Oops.” He stopped. “I always forget how painfully frail your kind is. I don’t want to accidentally pull your head off.” He then laughed at his own remark. “Not yet, at least.” I grabbed his arms with my good hand, trying to lessen the pull, but it wasn’t much help. He brought me into the path of branches, roots, and boulders. My muscles were screaming in protest and I hunched over, beginning to feel dizzy and moments away from succumbing to the pain.

“How are you doing down there?” he asked conversationally. Baruck abruptly pulled my head up. Sharp pain shot down my neck and back. “Doing well, I see.” He stopped, and I fell the small distance to the ground. We were near the edge of the woods again. He loomed over me. “Tell me where he is.” I put my skinned up hand on the ground, panting. “No.”

His booted foot jerked up, slamming into my side. I knew something broke. Something pretty damn bad, because there was wet warmth running under my shirt.

Tell me.

Wincing, I curled up. The coldness of his true form chilled my very soul.

He came closer. There are worssse things than what isss physisscal. Perhapsss that will motivate you.