Our Demonic Hearts - The Craven Pact Book 1

Chapter 26: Schadenfreude

"No...no!"

Ana dashed back to her house, leaving Judas behind in the grove. She ran as fast as she could with an injured shoulder, zipping past trees and startled birds as her shoulder begin to ache with a dull throb. Judas had most likely cracked or shattered something when he had hit her—

Her foot caught on a rock and she fell to her knees, gasping as her arms scraped on the ground. She didn't waste any time and scrambled back to her feet, brushing off leaves and dirt from her arms as she ran. She could see the tree line now, and the blaze that consumed her house through the trees. She increased her pace, her eyes set on the sound of the crackling flames.

A hand shot out from behind a tree and grabbed her. She let out on oof as it collided with her chest, stopping her suddenly in her tracks. Another arm wrapped around her waist as she struggled against the grip, her shoulder screaming in pain.

"Wait—wait! It's just me, it's just me!" Beau's voice came from behind her. She lessened her struggling a small amount, her eyes turning to the burning house.

"The Creed of Solomon—they're here. I had to do it—they would've found the evidence otherwise. Your cat was in there but—I made sure she was out. She ran to the back of the barn." He spoke fast and quick, but Ana was barely listening. He burned my house. He burned down my fucking house!

"Why?! You didn't have to burn it down!" She thrashed against his grip, but he held fast.

"I had to, okay? I don't know what you did with the body or if you even cleaned up the evidence properly—but they can and will frame you for his death! A first-born cambion with a demonic parent who hasn't been captured yet—do you know how rare you are? They would do anything to have you, and they would make your disappearance look like an accident or that you deserved it, trust me. They have more power than you think." He spoke close to her ear as Ana sobbed.

"My—my house..." She watched as the flames climbed ever higher to the second floor, consuming the old wood that lay underneath the blue paint. She felt as if her memories within that house were being burned along with it, consuming whatever happy days she lived before ever going to Livernville and meeting the Motloes.

Her shoulder was starting to really hurt, and Beau had his chest pressed to her back, his arms still wrapped around as if he was afraid she would bolt towards the fire. "Let me go...please."

He let go of her, and she sank to the ground. She reached under her shirt to her shoulder and gathered mageia in her hands. She placed her hand over the tender wound and grimaced as the bone started to fix itself.

"What happened?" Beau asked, standing behind her.

"Judas." She murmured.

"Where is he?"

"Don't know. Don't care." She clipped, taking her hand out of her shirt and staring at the small splatter of blood.

"Did...he tell you?" Anxiety was obvious in his voice, and Ana looked up at him as she rose from her spot. He stared at her with anticipation, arms crossed and gloved fingers tapping against his arm.

She shrugged. "Not really. Just...vague things." She looked away from him and back to the fire. "...Was it true? Judas and I were friends?"

"Yes," he replied, confirming the memories in her mind. "Our—my dad didn't like your friendship, but there was nothing he could do. He could never control Judas. Then you both got into some kind of argument just before you got together with Ophelia and...there was no controlling him after that. He was a feral animal in our own home."

An argument had drifted them apart, one that she didn't remember.

She walked closer to the tree line, something white catching her eye. She hid behind a tree, peeking her head out as she watched the scene before her. Two vans, one large SUV, and many figures in white and red uniforms. Most looked like hazmat suits, while the rest were some kind of police uniforms that were used during heavy riots. They walked around the house, yelling unintelligible things to each other. They had gadgets in their hands that looked like radiation detectors, and they waved them around the house and the barn. A few meandered around the SUV, talking on phones or to each other.