Brandon’s massive form burst through the treeline and his blue eyes blazed behind the skull in fury. A black form expanded above him, tentacles writhing. Makwa pulled himself from Brandon and condensed into a man. For the first time, he looked alive instead of merely a black sludge shaped like a man—dark, tan skin and onyx eyes. Every feature was crisp and distinct, a dark and somewhat shadowy version of a human. The face was proud and haughty, the features angry.
His hair floated, black and inky. It shone with red highlights reflected from the blood-red sky. He had a tentacle wrapped around Brandon’s neck like a leash. He gripped it tightly as Brandon foamed at the mouth, straining against the restraint to get to us.
“No!” Ben wailed at the sight of them, frantically trying to grab my hands and open the door again. I reached up and grabbed one of his horns, bringing it down swiftly to smash it on the rock. A crack resounded and he growled, looking up. There was a line in the middle of his forehead, dripping dark blood.
The ghosts swarmed him, swirling around his head. He backed up, swatting at them uselessly.
“Now be a good boy,” Makwa said, leaning in close to Brandon. “And kill that fucker.” The tentacle unwrapped suddenly and Brandon rushed forward on all fours, saliva dripping from his jaws.
He leapt over the stone table, his fur brushing my arm. I gaped at his huge beast form. His arms reached out, his clawed fingers digging into Bens’ shoulders as they both went to the ground, sliding close to the very edge of the ledge.
Brandon lunged in, his jaws opening wide. Ben wailed, throwing up his hands but it was too late, Brandon had his head in his mouth. There was a crunch and a burst of blood sprayed from Brandon’s mouth. Ben’s arms spasmed and then went limp.
The sky began to clear as Brandon jerked his head side to side. He pressed his massive pawed hand to Ben’s chest and tugged, liberating the head. He spat it out over the ledge. It battered loudly against the rocks as it fell. Then Brandon began to tear into the creature's center, finding soft flesh behind the wooden exterior.
“Love,” Makwa said. I jerked around and gasped at his sudden closeness, my back pressing into the strange stone before I jerked away from it, disliking the strange power that radiated off it. I stepped forward, pressing into Makwa’s chest. He felt solid, his skin soft.
He wasn’t warm though. Instead, his body had the same temperature as the cold air around us, a telling sign that he wasn’t really alive despite how alive he looked.
The wind died down and the sky began to clear.
“Makwa,” I said, looking over at him in shock. His eyes tipped up to the clearing sky. As the clouds gave away, sunlight began to break through.
“I still need you,” he said. His hand came up, brushing through my hair. “I’ll always need you. You don’t need me anymore though,” he said, picking up my blackened hand and tenderly rubbing the stump left from the finger he cut off. Beams of light started to touch his body. Parts of him sizzled and his face hardening in pain. I watched as the places the sun touched turned to black sludge and then started to disintegrate.
“Makwa!” I cried out, trying to cover where the sun touched him.
“Will you still have me then, Ava? Even though you don’t need me.”
“Yes,” I said in a panic, hoping he’d quickly possess me again. He was being hurt, he was dying.
“For my knowledge? Because I can teach you?”
“Because you’re a part of me now. Because I love you. Please,” I begged. A sunbeam hit his cheek, turning it to a spot of black slime before a hole appeared. “Please,” I begged again. He smiled and gripped the hair at the back of my head tightly. He pulled, tilting my head back.
“Just a kiss,” he said, smiling as he leaned over me. “That’s all I want.” He repeated the words from the first time we joined.
“Yes,” I whispered. He made a low noise of pleasure and then pressed his lips to mine in a bruising kiss. His tongue pressed in fast, overpowering my own, holding it captive to its whims. His other hand came up and gripped my neck tightly, fingers biting into the side.
“Just a kiss,” he repeated and then he was everywhere. I gagged, choked, and tried to cry out as he went back inside me like the first time, restitching his place in my soul, making us both feel whole again.
19
Iwoke up while being carried through the woods. Morning light streamed through the trees. Caspian held me tightly in his arms, my head resting on his chest. I took a moment to look at him—the strong, yet elegant lines of his jaw, his long hair framing his face and hanging past his shoulder. I liked the waves and the dark color. I reached up and grabbed a lock, twirling it around my finger, marveling at how clean and shiny it was. Amazing how I never noticed these little things that were more than human.
He looked down at me, his thick eyelashes framing his light brown eyes.
“I accepted Makwa again,” I said, holding my breath. I figured he must know about the exorcism since Makwa had found them at the cabin.
Caspian responded to the statement unexpectedly—he smiled.
“You’re okay with that? With him living in me forever?”
“Ava, even at his weakest I watched a hole in your hand heal in seconds. You think I’ll ever let that bastard get away? Makwa will let me keep youforever.” His eyes seemed to glaze over a moment as a smile a tad side of creepy spread across his face.
“He likes me. I can tell,” Makwa said in my head. I must have been delirious for wanting to smile but finally, it all felt over—no approaching dread building in my gut. It was done. We were finally free of Ben and the horror show of his cult. I saw glowing red eyes over Caspian’s shoulder, blinking down at me. Pollux smiled. I turned and saw Brandon, walking beside us, smiling warmly at me. He reached out and gripped my ankle, giving it a comforting squeeze. A laugh barked from his mouth suddenly.
“It’s over,” he said but then his face began to drop. “It’s over…” His gaze grew distant.
