IAN
The man deliveringEverett's dogs swears about the cold as he gets out of the big van. He wraps his coat tighter around him as he approaches the place I stand, where the snow turns into sand before reaching the ocean. I'm watching the sunrise paint this beach in Maine with pinks and vibrant yellows.
Nearby is the Gateway I've heard so much about. It's weird that the entrance to the Nether I heard so many terrible things about is in a place this peaceful, now that the Divide is gone.
But as impressive as these views are, all I can think about is Heidi.
Her lips against mine. How fucking soft and warm she was, pressed against me and driving me fucking insane.
Godsdamn, experiencing her emotions through touching her might be my new favorite thing. I'm getting a semi just thinking about her affection and arousal coursing over my skin, burrowing into my chest to warm my stilled heart.
I fucking loathe that I had to leave her side, but it was for the best. I needed a few hours to get myself under better control, and running all night to get to Maine cleared my head. I even pickedup some extra pieces of mytherun on the way, so we don’t have to worry about being short when Heidi wakes up later.
And I fed, of course. Over and over.
My throat is still fuckingkillingme, though. My fangs ache. I'm desperately trying to ignore the ravenous, dark thoughts my thrall brain is spinning about Heidi. Imagining what would have happened if I'd just given in and bitten her neck. The way she would have moaned, feeling nothing but pleasure as I sealed my fate in hell, finally feeding on the woman I've been so fucking obsessed with that it hurts.
"E—excuse me? Are you Killian Murley?" the delivery man asks, the crunching of snow beneath his boots stopping once he gets to me.
"That's me." It's one of the several alter egos I use.
"Oh, thank gods. My employer gave me these coordinates, b—but…" His gaze flicks briefly to where the Gateway stands, and he visibly pales. "Sir, are you sure you want the dogs deliveredhere?Ain't nothing around here except that, and that's the Gateway to the Nether."
I push all thoughts of Heidi out of my head and look him in the eye, my temples tingling. "Hold still and stay quiet. This won't hurt you."
The man freezes, making no sound as my fangs sink into his neck. Delirious hunger rushes through me at the first taste of blood. But even though my instincts are screaming for more, there's barely anything satisfying about this.
Oddly enough, I think Zak's blood curbed my hellish craving better than this human's.
It takes a couple of tries to stop, but I finally release the dazed man, swallowing as I try to keep a level head. I got used to ignoring the underlying urge to prey and kill that came with being a vampire, but it's heightened as a thrall.
Still, I'm doing better than the first few hours of my freedom. I only killed one person last night on my way to Maine, and that asshole deserved it.
I wipe any trace of red away on the back of my black sweater's sleeve. "Got a first aid kit in that van?"
"Yeah," he slurs.
"Good. You won't remember what just happened. Bandage your neck, drink lots of water, and take a nap before you drive again. Go ahead and release the dogs now."
He moves quickly, walking back to unlatch the van's rear door. A few seconds later, two massive white Great Pyrenees come bounding through the snow toward me, nearly knocking me over in their excitement.
I lean to pet them. "Nice to see you too, polar bears."
To my relief, Everett's dogs reallydolook perfectly healthy despite the last fourteen months. It's a damn lucky thing I'd already dropped them off to be watched over by a hardcore doomsday planner contact of mine on my way to get to Heidi, before that vampyr got to me.
Not bothering to say goodbye to the man who's already climbing back into his van with a yawn, I walk with the well-behaved dogs until we reach the new entry into the Nether. The Gateway is hard to miss—just one freestanding, gargantuan doorway made of otherworldly mist with glowing rocks of some kind arching around it.
From everything I've read online on the phone I swiped yesterday, they say that the Nether is healing. The new Gateway doesn't have surges of escaped shadow fiends like the Divide used to. It's monitored by the Amato quintet, who can sense anyone trying to enter or leave with malicious intent.
"Let's hope you polar bears don't count as malicious intent," I mutter before walking through the mist.
My instincts go haywire for a second when I first step into the Nether, like my body is warning me that I'm in danger. But despite how tense I am as I look around, I decide the rumors are right.
I used to hear the Nether was a sick, hellish plane of existence filled with ash and death, but clearly, it's healing.
Spotting an impressive, big house nearby, I head toward it, appreciating the more temperate spring weather here than the frigid coast I just left. Fresh green shoots are starting to poke through the soil of this meadow I'm passing through, with a few tiny flowers adding hints of muted color. The air here smells clean.
Even though it's clearly springtime here, too, I spot several ravens perched in a tree I pass on the way to Everett's house. They tip their heads at me, squawking. Something about the way they watch me feels fucking weird, like they're intentionally making note of me.
