Marked for Them Read online

Dread sank deep into my gut. I looked down at myself. My nightshirt rode up, exposing my panties and the circular demon mark. He’d seen a demon mark before? “Did a demon cause your accident?”

  The real question that I couldn’t bring myself to ask was: Did the demon kill you?

  A single nod soured my stomach. “They’ve been searching for you.”

  “They, who?” Cold fear burned my insides, reminding me why I’d checked into the Happy Rose Mental Hospital. The demon who’d marked me—the one I’d only seen in my dreams—was looking for me. Even after ten years of hiding, he hadn’t given up.

  I rushed to the dresser, yanked the top drawer open, and pulled out the cup where I kept the dozens of unused meds I’d stopped taking a few weeks ago. They’ve been searching for you. My heartbeat increased. They. As in the demon had recruited backup.

  I shook the cup, dropping two small, round pills into my palm. While under the influence, the dreams of being hunted down by the demon ceased. He couldn’t find me. At least, I pretended to believe that.

  When my hand was a few inches from my mouth, ghost boy slapped it away. The pills spilled onto the floor, bouncing under the dresser.

  “What did you do that for?” My momentary surprise at him being able to touch me quickly faded to irritation as I whirled around and glared at him.

  He frowned at me. “My brother and his friends have been looking for you. They believe that once together, all of you can defeat the demon and find a way to remove your marks.”

  His brother and friends? A flash of a car crash entered my mind. Three boys in an SUV, and ghost boy was in the back seat, with the demon.

  I shook out of the vision, tears filling my eyes. It was strange how I felt like I was there. Impossible. None of the guys looked familiar. Dropping to my knees, I began looking for the pills under the dresser. Oh, gods, make it go away. The pain, the headache creeping in at my temples, and the fear of being the demon’s next victim overwhelmed me.

  The ghost appeared in front of me, his cool, transparent hands on mine as if trying to stop me from accessing the pills. “Stop.” I met his gaze, and he drew his brows together. “You don’t know.”

  “Know what?” Wait. I really didn’t want to know. “Never mind. Just leave and let me go back to my mind-numbing bliss.”

  He shook his head. “You must come with me. Salrus knows where you are.”

  The sound of the demon’s name spoken out loud sent a cold chill up my spine. “How?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe the same way I did.” His features turned from sad to concerned. He glanced at the window and then the door. With movements too fast for me to track, he grabbed my arm and tugged. “We need to leave, now.”

  As the words left his mouth, the hairs on the back of my neck rose. Salrus. He’d found me.

  Just then, the glass in the windows shattered. I jumped to my feet and scrambled to the door. Yanking it open, I ran down the hallway. My heart pounded as I ran toward the stairs. Could I descend them fast enough, or should I risk jumping out the third-floor window?

  The demon materialized in front of me. I skidded to a stop, my heartbeat echoing in my head. Shaking my head and pointing at him, I backed up. “Stay away from me.”

  “I don’t think so. You are the only one who can—” His eyes darkened as he stopped speaking mid-sentence. His gaze flicked over my shoulder, and I wondered if he saw ghost boy. Oddly, I knew he was there. I felt his presence hovering behind me.

  “Jump the realms,” ghost boy whispered.

  What? Oh, yeah. I could enter the spirit world—the Inbetween. I was a traveler, as most witches liked to call hedge witches like me.

  “Grab my hand.” I extended my palm behind me while keeping my eyes on the demon.

  Salrus growled and stared wide-eyed. “No!”

  He was too late. Ghost boy lunged toward me, wrapping his arms around my waist as we jumped.

  I didn’t like the spirit world much. The souls there didn’t like it when I popped in to get away from Salrus. I think it was because they didn’t trust that the demon wouldn’t follow me. He never had before.

  “Can the demon follow us here?” ghost boy asked.

  “He can, but his magic doesn’t work here. I’m not staying long enough for him to follow me, though.” I just needed to get to a safe place to cross back over.

  I thought of this realm as a subway of sorts. This wasn’t the souls’ last resting place, it was the Inbetween, where they reflected on their lives and decided on their next journey. There were different sections that led to the ley lines I could use to return Earthside.

  “We should go to the Rose Lake Coven.”

  I whirled around and faced the ghost. “Why?”

  “D will know what to do.”

  “Who is D?”

  “Dimitri. He’s a witch.” Ghost boy grabbed my hand and tugged me through the streets of the Inbetween. He was in solid form now, and the wound on his forehead was only a scar. I’d never seen a ghost take form before.

  “How come you can take a solid form?”

  “I don’t know. I just can whenever I want to.”

  I frowned. There was so much I’d missed in my witch training because I lived on the run from a demon. “How long have you been dead?”

  “Ten years, I think.” He twisted his lips as if trying to remember. “Yeah, Wyatt just turned twenty-seven. He’s my twin.”

  Sadness filled me. Marked twins would have felt each other’s pain. The ghost’s brother would have felt his death. My chest tightened as sadness moved in. Closing my eyes, I knew I had to do something to stop the demon. It was one thing to hunt me down, but to mark five boys to do his bidding was too much for me.

  Before she died, Mom had told me the Council ordered both her and my deaths. Had she meant they’d summoned a demon to do it for them?

  Looked like I was going to the coven. I sighed.

  I hadn’t been around other witches since I was eighteen. When Salrus killed my mom. The same night I got my scar. I wasn’t even sure I was allowed to return to a coven. The Council frowned on half-breed demons whose fathers were out to kill them. Yep, Daddy Dearest was a real peach.

  “The coven isn’t active. Only D and Zane live there,” ghost boy offered as if picking up on my thoughts.

  “Why?”

  He looked away to scan our surroundings. Out of reflex, I did the same. My mark wasn’t burning, which meant the demon wasn’t close by. After a minute or two, I sighed. “What is your name?”

  “Wade. My twin brother is Wyatt Coleman.”

  He said his brother’s name as if I should recognize it. I didn’t remind him that I’d locked myself in the crazy house and had been there the last two years, not to mention I’d been on the run longer than that. I extended my hand. If he were going to hang out with me and annoy the shit out of me, we should know each other’s names. “Hi, Wade. I’m Reese.”

  He shook my hand and smiled. “I know your name. I looked it up. Salrus wants you dead, which is why I believe you can help us.”

  “And help lead the demon straight to them? If they’re hiding from him, I’m sure your friends will love me showing up at their doorstep. Wanting me dead is the reason he marked them. Did you know that he can control you through the mark?” I threw up my hands. “I didn’t think so.”

  “If that’s true, why was my brother able to resist him? The demon told him to find you and kill you. Wyatt said he would, but I think that was to get the demon to let me go.” Wade averted his gaze and began to walk.

  “Salrus killed you anyway. I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. If I hadn’t been drunk and insisted on playing with that damned Ouija board, none of this would have happened.” His shoulders slumped as he walked. A sinking feeling of guilt and dread settled in the pit of my stomach like a rock.

  “He would have found another way to cross over.” I let my words hang in the air for a few minutes. Would the truth make him leave? Make him
hate me? Yeah, sure, I’d wanted him gone moments ago, but I was starting to get used to his company.

  “You’re his daughter. Of course, he would.”

  I stopped and grabbed his arm, forcing him to face me. “You know?”

  He nodded. “The others don’t. I found out after I died. However, that is why you can stop him. Only a demon can kill a demon.”

  “No, no. I’m not a demon.”

  “You are part demon. You possess the power to stop him.”

  I opened my mouth to deny it, but I couldn’t. I was unsure of the truth. It made sense that I could. Why else would the demon be so hard-up to kill me?

  Wade pointed to what resembled a bus station. “That’s our stop.”

  I sighed, grabbed his hand, and then tugged him through the gateway. We came out the other side a few yards from the entrance to what was left of the Rose Lake Coven.

  The gatehouse was missing half of its roof and one side of the outer wall. Weeds and vines covered the iron gates, and the cobblestones looked like they’d been ripped out of the ground.

  Wade said it wasn’t active anymore. Now, I understood why. “Did everyone die?”

  No longer solid, Wade said, “About eighty percent. The survivors escaped, abandoning the coven.”

  “But your brother and friends stayed?”

  Wade gave another short nod and led me through the coven. The streets were littered with debris from torn-down buildings. “Salrus did this?”

  It wasn’t a question, just my observation. And I wasn’t surprised when Wade nodded.

  A ripple of magic touched my awareness. It wasn’t dark or witch magic. A shifter. I leaned closer to Wade and asked, “Which one of your friends is a shifter?”

  “Zane.”

  As if speaking his name had summoned him, a black wolf stepped out of the shadows. Beautiful and powerful, he mesmerized me. He crouched low and curled his upper lip. “I take it you’re Zane.”

  The wolf cocked his head and watched me. I rolled my eyes. “I’m Reese Summers. I’ve been told you’re looking for me.”

  A snarl vibrated from him before he shifted in a flash of soft, white light. A moment later, he was in human form…and naked. I have definitely been locked up for too long.

  When he stalked toward me, I had to fight to stand my ground. He held the power of an Alpha and a demon. It was deadly and frightening. Yet, I found him gorgeous, overwhelming, and sexy enough to lick from head to toe.

  He stopped inches from me and leered down at me. Green eyes held mine, challenging me. Why did I find it so hot? Right. The mark and the fact that I was half demon.

  Zane was easily three heads taller than I was. Whatever. I’d gone against taller guys. One of them being Salrus.

  “How did you find us?”

  His voice was deep, smooth, and growly. I shivered, but it wasn’t out of fear. “Wade led me.” I stepped around him like I knew where I was going. Where the hell did that ghost go? Now wasn’t the time for the little shit to run off.

  Glancing back at Zane, I said, “I hope you have wards in place. It won’t take the demon long to find me.”

  Zane passed me, releasing a growl as he strode by. “The house is protected.”

  “Good.” I followed, watching his tight, bare ass as he walked.

  Yum.

  Chapter 3

  I stayed a few steps behind Zane as he weaved through the dirty streets of the coven. The more destruction I saw, the more my stomach soured and depression settled in. The demon had destroyed everything and everyone because he wanted me dead. The guys—for whatever reason—wouldn’t do his bidding.

  The latter intrigued me. When a demon marked someone, it was almost impossible for that person to deny an order. They were, in a way, the demon’s slave.

  Zane turned sharply and crossed the yard of the only house that wasn’t dilapidated, torn down, or burnt. I stopped a few feet from the porch steps and marveled at the house. A three-story, gothic-looking building with black shudders and grey stone facing. The porch extended across the front of the house.

  About a half-dozen gargoyles, frozen in stone and perched on the top of the roof, caught my gaze. There was still a few hours of daylight left so I couldn’t really tell if they were real or just ornamental.

  A low growl had me snapping a glare at Zane, who stood with the front door open. His green eyes glared back and narrowed to slits while his jaw worked. It was a good thing he was naked, or I might have been intimated. Might.

  I climbed the stairs and gave him a pointed look as I motioned for him to go in first. I had trust issues. After a moment, he entered, still holding the door so I had to squeeze by his large frame. Two could play that game. I intentionally brushed a hand across his bare ass on my way by, letting my fingers touch the back of his thigh, as well.

  Another growl rumbled from him, and I smiled. I liked Zane. We were going to butt heads often, but it would be fun.

  Zane let the front door slam after I moved farther into the large living room, then he called out, “Dimitri!” before he disappeared down the hall.

  Whatever.

  A door opened to my right, and I turned, my heart hammering against my ribs. Anxiety spiked, and I fell into a defensive stance, waiting for an attack of some sort. It didn’t come. Instead, a male witch stopped a few feet from me, staring as if unsure.

  Meeting his blue gaze, I relaxed and slowly straightened. His light brown hair was cut short with bangs sweeping across his forehead. I lowered my gaze to drink in his broad shoulders and trim waist. The tight, black T-shirt he wore didn’t leave much to the imagination as it hugged his sculpted torso.

  My mouth went dry. Wolf boy was hot without clothes, and the witch was just as hot with them.

  I have definitely been locked up too long.

  After several moments of staring at each other, he blinked and lowered the book he carried. “You’re Reese.”

  The statement surprised me despite the fact that Wade had told me the others were looking for me. I nodded, not trusting my voice. As he drifted closer, the mark on my hip tingled.

  He frowned and roamed his gaze over me. “I see why we weren’t able to find you. How medicated did the hospital keep you?”

  Huh? Oh! I was still in my white gown and hospital robe. “I did it to myself to keep the demon away.”

  “What changed? I mean, how did you find us?”

  I shrugged. “I stopped taking the meds a few weeks ago. Wade found me.”

  What had Wade said this guy’s name was? He’d said Zane and…“Dimitri, right?”

  He gave a short nod. “Wade found you?”

  I simply nodded then scanned the living room that was three-times larger than the room I’d stayed in at the hospital. A moment later, Dimitri’s warm hand settled on my arm, making me jump. When I locked gazes with him again, he gave me a gentle smile but kept his hand on me. “You’re a hedge witch.”

  “Yes.” I leaned in and whispered, “You’re a green witch.”

  A green witch was an elemental witch. Their magic was nature-based. Many were pure elemental and could control all elements. A few could communicate with animals.

  He laughed; the sound filling the room, warming it. A swarm of butterflies took flight in my belly. Dimitri intrigued me. I wanted to know more about him. But first, we needed to strengthen the wards around the house. “Salrus is tracking me. We need to increase the wards around the house.”

  “I can’t.”

  His response was too quick, and I didn’t miss the hint of fear in his blue eyes. “Why not?”

  “I’m not allowed to perform high magic.”

  “Says who?”

  “The Council.”

  I made a noise deep in my throat that sounded close to a growl. The Council. Where the fuck was the Council when I’d needed them? Oh, I remember, they’d banned me from every coven because I was half demon. And because my demon father marked me as such. Cowards.

  “Well, the Council is a b
unch of snobbish idiots. Did they bind your powers?” He nodded, and I blew out a breath of annoyance. “Of course, they did. They fear anyone who is more powerful than they are.”

  Fury swirled in my gut. The witch Council and their holier-than-thou perceptions could all burn.

  “What do you mean, more powerful than they are?”

  I met his gaze again. Confusion clouded his blue depths, and creases formed on his forehead. The impulse to smooth those lines made my fingers itch. He truly didn’t know what it meant to be marked by a demon? “How much research have you done on Salrus and demons in general?”

  He frowned and worked his jaw for several moments before he replied. “I tried. But all I have available is what the Council has.”

  “Or what they want you to have. Which is a bunch of fairytales and lies.” A tingle of awareness sparked the need to run. Salrus was searching for me, trying to reach out through the mark. “We need to secure the house. Now. Can I use your ritual room?”

  Please tell me you have one. All witches had a sacred room for rituals and spells.

  Dimitri opened his mouth and then closed it. He stared at me for a long while. Finally, he motioned for me to follow him up the stairs. I took my time and absorbed every detail of the house. The dark-stained wood railings had an ivy vine carved into them that wound around the handrail.

  When we reached the second floor and turned to the third-level staircase, I gazed over the railing and sucked in a breath. In the center of the living room was a circle in a lighter color wood than the rest of the floor. On either side were crescent moons. Dimitri stepped up beside me, his arm brushing against mine. Tiny tingles of energy bounced between us.

  I lifted my gaze and met his. “It’s pretty.”

  “Yes.”

  Something told me he wasn’t talking about the flooring. Feeling awkward, I said, “The wards.”

  He blinked then and turned away to continue up to the third floor, but not before I caught the slight blush in his cheeks. Cute. He’s shy. I nibbled on my lip and kept my comments to myself. At least for now.

  Usually, strangers set off my anxiety. Having a demon mark you at ten and then show back up on your eighteenth birthday to try and kill you would do that. So, yeah, I have issues.