Charade (Heven and Hell #2)(58)
Author: Cambria Hebert

I knew it was here. It must be camouflaged.

How did you destroy something you couldn’t see?

I began to move forward, not giving up the search when a humming sound filled my ears. My insides began to vibrate and I cringed. Suddenly, I felt as if I was being electrocuted and I was blasted backward to fall through the darkness.

*   *   *

Damn it. No matter how hard I tried, the thread was just out of reach. It was there, yet invisible. I sat up in the bed, pushing at the covers, irritated that I had been so close only to be knocked out of her head. Not only was the Dream Walker’s thread camouflaged, but it was somehow protected.

If I could only see it, I knew I could take the pain of tearing it away. And there would be pain. The hairs on my arms and legs were still standing from being blasted only moments before. There was a fine tremor in my hands and I felt slightly sick.

I turned back to the bed and looked down at Heven. I would endure just about any pain to take away what was being done to her.

I knew what I had to do. I didn’t like it, but it was the only way.

I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her temple, then stood, moving away from the bed. It made me sick to know that with every step I took away from her, the easier it would be for her mind to be invaded. But the only way I was going to destroy that thread was to see it, and I knew that I would be able to see it if the demon was using it.

I backed away from the bed, toward the opposite side of the room. Heven shifted and made a small sound. I kept moving until my back pressed against the wall. I slid down slowly to sit on the floor and rest my head in my hands.

I did everything I could to relax, to open up my mind. When Heven made a strangled sound, my muscles clenched, but I stayed where I was and pushed my mind out to hers. I had no problem getting back to the place I had been before.

But this time something was different. I felt it the moment my mind touched hers.

He was here.

Heven

Thick, oppressive air made me cough. My eyes sprang open and I knew instantly where I was. There could only be one place as desolate as this.

It could only mean one thing.

Sam was having trouble finding or breaking the thread that allowed the Dream Walker into my head. I wondered where he was, because if our theory was right, in order for me to be here, Sam was not in bed with me. It was useless to try to wake up. So I began walking. The land was dry and unfertile, depressing and crass. I knew now why those sentenced here were like they were. A product of their environment. It seemed like such a waste. I understood the meaning of Hell, the point of it. Hell was a place for sinners unrepentant for their deeds and a punishment for those that didn’t believe in God and Heaven. But sending those kinds of souls here wasn’t really solving anything, was it? Wasn’t it like encouraging the behavior that sent them here in the first place? Like, ‘you don’t deserve to go to Heaven, so go to Hell and continue to act in sin.’ How did that solve anything? Should the demons here really be allowed to just wreak havoc at all times and cause pain and suffering to those on Earth? Where was the leadership—the rule?

My thoughts were interrupted when the ground beneath my feet began to rumble. Something was coming. I looked around for somewhere to hide, knowing that anything that made the ground shake like this was not something I wanted to see me, but there was nowhere to go. It didn’t matter anyway because it appeared beside me in a matter of seconds.

“We meet again,” the Dream Walker said, acting as though I was out for a morning stroll and he just happened upon me while out for a ride. I would tell him how ridiculous he was if I wasn’t so afraid.

He wasn’t alone.

He was riding a huge horse. Only it wasn’t really a horse. It was half horse, half man: a centaur. Something that I thought only existed in folklore and legends. You would think by now I would have known better. Apparently, anything was possible these days.

The centaur was outrageously huge with the body and legs of a giant stallion, but where the head should be was the torso of a man. He was the size of an ogre with a muscled chest and thick arms corded with veins. His head looked human, but he had long, black hair that flowed behind him like a mane. His jaw was large and jutted out, matching the way his forehead did. His eyes were small, beady and too far apart. They looked upon me with hatred and lust and I struggled not to squirm under the venom directed at me. How had the Dream Walker conquered such a vile beast and tamed it enough to ride?

“Come with me,” he said and held out his hand.

“No.” I took a step backward. The back of my head squeezed and the muscles knotted until I thought I might cry out, but I stood tall. The front of my skull began aching and my eyes filled with tears.

He laughed and nudged the evil beast closer. I screamed as it reached out its strong arms and grabbed me. It held me out in front of it while it looked me up and down, making my skin crawl, while it licked its lips. Hadn’t I read somewhere that centaurs liked to rape women?

I kicked out a shoeless foot, not even connecting with the monster, but the act still enraged it. It yelled a deep roar and squeezed my arms until I thought they might break.

“Enough!” he roared, power emanating from his voice. The squeezing stopped as the centaur pitched me over its shoulder. The Dream Walker caught me and planted me in front of him between his thighs. I wanted to retch.

“You’re disgust makes this better,” he whispered in my ear as he urged the centaur forward. The creature took delight in giving us a terrifying, bumpy-as-hell ride. At the castle he let me go and I fell to the ground, hitting hard. Both he and the centaur enjoyed laughing at me as I got up and dusted myself off. Wake up. Please wake up. Sam, where are you?

“Come,” he snapped and walked over the drawbridge to the castle door. Behind me, the Centaur leered and I decided to take my chances with the Dream Walker rather than him. I didn’t hurry to catch up. The idea of making him wait on me was somehow satisfying. When I at last sauntered to his side, he lifted a brow at my little act, then swiftly threw open the castle door and shoved me inside ahead of him. I landed against something, but couldn’t tell what it was because it was so dark. Whatever it was made a noise, a cross between a growl and a screech, and I jumped back in surprise.

The Dream Walker walked through the room and disappeared from sight. I hurried to catch up to him. “Who are you?” I called.

Of course he didn’t reply. I found him in a room, standing with his back to me in front of a large, curtained wall. The curtains were blood red and I prayed that it was their original color and not the leftovers of people who had done this man wrong.