Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126547 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 506(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Koterski rolled his eyes and shoved at Emil’s chest. “The only reason I won’t be punching you back is that you’ve had enough for one day. Are you drunk? I get it, must be a tough time for you.”
Emil sat back in the wet grass with a helpless expression that had everything inside Adam longing for him.
“Thank you for the blanket. Emil will take me back the parsonage,” he told Koterski and wanted to grab Emil, only to realize his fingers were caked with blood as if he’d murdered a pig with his bare hands.
Koterski stepped back. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, he’s sure!” Emil rose to his feet with a snarl. “Stay away from him.”
Despite the situation being so dire, so strange, Koterski smiled. “Of course. I wouldn’t want to spoil your reunion.”
Adam’s insides twisted, and he made himself laugh despite fright clawing its way into his chest. Did Koterski know about him and Emil? Was that a threat? “Very funny.”
Emil didn’t want to deny the accusations and clenched his fists. “Let’s go.”
As soon as Koterski backed into the dusky woods like a demon that had come to taunt them, Adam followed Emil out of the grove, to where Jinx waited for them, huffing with impatience. Emil was concerned about Adam’s bare feet, but even though it made no sense, Adam was so hot on the inside he didn’t want to borrow Emil’s boots or mount the horse. In fact, riding the huge stallion while naked was the last thing he’d have been comfortable with, and the cool touch of damp leaves eased the heat inside him at least.
But as they walked back to the same path that had brought them to the Devil’s Rock on Kupala Night, fear wouldn’t stop stalking Adam, a constant reminder of the cuts on his hands.
“Do you think he’s back?” he eventually choked out, curling his hands to his chest under the blanket.
Emil swallowed. “You won’t like to hear this, but I think he’s never left.”
Adam stopped, his toes digging into the carpet of fallen leaves. The soft rustle of the trees above gained a low undertone, as if something deep in the woods had just blown a horn. “What do you mean?”
Emil pulled him into a hug, as if the argument they’d had last night was long forgotten. He’d lost so much, yet he still had enough strength left in him to offer Adam support.
“I mean exactly that. You haven’t been exorcized. Whatever was inside of you that night is still there, and for some reason, it wanted to come out tonight.”
As soon as Adam heard that, the strange heat inside him flared, an indication of the presence that shouldn’t be there. “I should have told Father Marek,” he whispered, meeting Emil’s gaze. This past summer had been the happiest in his life, and to think that the disturbing presence had lived inside him all along—watching and feeling all he had—felt like an assault on his intimacy. He could practically sense the beast’s claw marks on his back.
Emil kissed his temple. “Is Father Marek really someone who’d understand this?”
Adam leaned into the caress, climbing to his toes when Emil’s arms slotted around him, enclosing him in a cocoon that promised absolute safety. Maybe it was naive, maybe the demon wanted him to believe it, but as they stood in the quiet forest, before the sun was even all the way up, he felt invincible. “I guess not. But I have to do something,” he whispered, rolling his forehead against the firm chest.
With his mouth dry, Adam shifted closer and took hold of Emil’s forearm, briefly distracted by the hair tickling his palm. “We should go. Board the bus and just go.”
Emil cocked his head. “Huh? It’s Forefathers’ Eve tonight. And tomorrow’s All Saints’ Day. There won’t be any busses, and my motorcycle—.” He gave a low exhale, but what had happened to everything Emil owned didn’t need to be said out loud.
“Then let’s borrow Father Marek’s car and have him pick it up later.”
Emil took hold of Adam’s hands. “I understand you’re freaked out, but I’ll keep an eye on you. If you feel the same in two days, we’ll arrange something, okay?”
Adam’s chest clamped down around his heart, and he massaged his breastbone, struggling to keep a clear head.
It was getting brighter now, and the first birds called out somewhere in the distance, greeting the approaching day. Adam didn’t want to go back to reality yet, stuck between the misery of truth and the need to forget about the being that found enjoyment in wrecking his life.
The air smelled of falling leaves. And of Emil. Their summer was almost over.
Maybe he really was being too hasty? Two days shouldn’t change anything.
His gaze settled on Emil again, and it was as if his body remembered the closeness they’d shared on the night when the demon had first struck, reacting with goosebumps and a tingle at the base of his spine.