Lore
Mydreamswereerraticthe entire night.
At one point I was in a bookstore, perusing the shelves during a sale. It was a recurring dream I had, one of the few I actually enjoyed. Though, this time was a little different. Titus was with me, carrying all the books for me as I stacked my pile so high until all you could see of him were the points of his horns and his tatted fingers.
Then the scene changed. It was dark, and I was sitting in Titus’s truck. Only now I was behind the steering wheel, chasing my mother down Bishop’s main street. Dark glee skipped through me as the space between her and the vehicle shrank. The truck slammed into her, and she exploded into a cloud of smoke.
When the smoke cleared, Titus appeared. We were still in the bookstore, but things had gotten heated. The books were sprawled out on the floor. I could see more of my step devil’s horns now, way more. He was shirtless, with his jeans unbuttoned and shoved down enough to expose his tight Adonis belt. I had my back to the bookshelf, my legs wrapped around his waist as he pumped into me.
Seeing his toned, ink-swathed muscles ripple had a lick of desire slipping between my thighs even as he fucked into them.
“Do you love me?” he asked, his voice oddly distant even though he was right here.
“Yes. You’re the only thing that matters to me.”
I wasn’t sure why I said those words. Maybe it was because it’s what my mom had said to convince me to let her go. Only coming from my mouth, I meant them. To me, it was better than saying “I love you.”
My mom had definitely instilled some kind of complex where I was desperate to hear those words with a touch of actual sincerity behind them.
The scene changed around me, but this time Titus said the words, fucking me as the books caught fire. Soon, a blazing inferno surrounded us. His rhythm didn’t so much as falter as he kept pounding me. I held on to his horns as his wings spread around me, shielding me from the dancing flames.
I woke up with a gasp, the world spinning as Titus hauled me off the bed.
My clothes clung to my skin, which was slick with sweat, and the cabin was illuminated with firelight.Fire.
The cabin was on fire.
As Titus whisked me out the door, I snatched my arm out and grabbed the backpack just in time.
The cold night air was a sweet relief, but only for a moment.
The cabin was surrounded by six figures dressed in white, wearing the same creepy cult mask Titus had made me wear when we’d killed his father.
They must have split up to look for us. It wouldn’t be long until they were all here.
Titus tucked me tighter against his chest, his eyes frantically searching for a way out. With the burning cabin behind us, and the six cult members spread out in front, escape without physical confrontation was looking pretty bleak.
They lowered their hoods, one by one, and kicked off their shoes.
“What are they doing?” I asked in a whisper.
Titus’s rage was visceral, burning hotter than the fire at our backs. “Shifting.”
No sooner than the word had left his tongue, they began to morph before our eyes.
One by one, the men turned into monsters. Their robes hid most of the change, but their wings still expanded from their backs in a sickening crunch of bones and shredding fabric.
Their horns were longer than Titus’s and stuck out of their masks. My attention dropped to their feet, morbid intrigue working through me at the hooves that poked out from the hem of their robes. Freaking hooves!
I realized their deer-like masks were more than just a style choice. It allowed room for the shape of their devil skulls.
Titus set me to my feet and pushed me behind him. “Whatever you do, stay back. And if I tell you to run, fucking do it. No arguments.”
“You can’t be serious about fighting them all!”
Titus’s only response was a gruff scoff as he shifted. His wings were smaller, and his body was still human. But there was something about his aura that dominated the space surrounding him.
“Favkae, ole nik offera, Titus,”one of them said.
