Page 116 of Gray

I thought of the lighthouse then, of the roof Mason and I had sat on, holding each other as we stared out over the water. Even in the dark, the light had found a way to shine, to bring hope. But when I really thought about it, the lighthouse wasn’t what had made me feel that way. It had been the man whose arms felt like home.

“Sleep soon,”Sloth whispered.

“No!”I mentally responded, so loud I was sure my brothers heard it too.

Desperate and afraid, I did something I swore I’d never do again. I gripped my dad’s forearms, deeply inhaled, and started to absorb his energy. As his life force began to flow into me, the heaviness in my muscles lifted, and I became more alert.

“Stop, Gradyn,” my dad snapped before touching my temple. “Sleep.”

Power sprang from his fingertips, the same power we had too that put people to sleep. I couldn’t fight it, no matter how much energy I stole.

My last thought before I lost consciousness was of the kiss I’d given Mason before leaving Echo Bay. If only I had known it would be our last. I would’ve stayed just a little bit longer, kissed him deeper. Stretched that single moment into a lifetime.

Chapter Eighteen

Mason

“Take this, you fuckers,” Clara said before throwing a glass vial of swirling green liquid. It exploded as it hit the advancing smokers, their bodies erupting in flames. She grinned at me. “I call that a witch bomb.”

“Do you have any more?” I asked, hearing a chorus of shrieks ring out from up ahead. “Because we’re gonna need it.”

She withdrew another from her bag and waited for the smokers to get close enough before tossing it into the fray. They exploded like small fireworks, the pops creating bursts of bright orange before they turned to ash.

In three days, the attacks had all but stopped in Echo Bay, so we had traveled to the next town over to hunt. And thank god we had. The place was being overrun with demons, ghouls, and the occasional grunting, walking corpse. The only silver lining was it only seemed to happen once the sun set.

Gripping the machete Alastair had given me, I ran beside Clara as we searched for more monsters. We didn’t have to try too hard to find them. I decapitated a smoker, the sharp blade cutting through the thin layer of flesh beneath its burning body.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Clara said, coming to a stop in the middle of the deserted street. A ghoul had attacked one of the corpses, both of them chomping at each other. “That makes our job easier.”

“Here.” I handed her the machete before pulling out my gun. I shot both in the head before lowering it. “Let’s keep going.”

The air stirred to my left before Konnar appeared, his purple eyes glowing in the dark night. “Apologies for startling you.”

“Yeah, you look sorry,” I said, noting the small curve to his lips. “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot your ass.”

“So angry.” The vampire tsked. “I hope we’ll be friends someday, yet I see that day is not this one. Or night, I suppose.”

“What do you want?” I asked, losing patience. “We have shit to do.”

Before he could answer, a shape formed behind him. A demon. Probably mid-level. The weaker ones couldn’t blink from place to place that fast.

I shoved Konnar aside before raising my machete to block the sword that had been coming down toward his head. The demon was an ugly son of a bitch too, with long tusks, horns, and a lionlike face. It broke from the hold and sliced at my arm with its sharp blade, cutting deep into my bicep. I lunged forward and slammed into it with my shoulder to knock it off-balance. Once the demon stumbled, I swung hard, taking off its head.

“You saved me,” Konnar said. “I suppose we’re friends after all.”

“In your dreams, leech.”

He smiled at me before facing off with four ghouls that must’ve smelled the demon’s blood and came running for a late-night snack. He disposed of them easily and returned to my side, eyeing my wound.

“Nasty cut,” he said.

“I’m fine.” I jerked my arm from him. “Just a scratch.” Another thought hit me, and I glowered at him. “Or is it my blood you’re after?”

“Don’t be silly.” Konnar rolled his eyes. “I do have standards, you know.”

Clara dropped her bag to the ground and pulled up her shirt.

“Woah. What are you doing?” I looked away from her.