Her Soul to Take (Souls Trilogy)

Monday morning brought clear skies, cold and pale blue overhead as I walked to campus. I was jumpy, constantly looking over my shoulder, as if Leon would sense I knew his secret and get rid of me before I could let it out. I’d saved a screenshot on my phone of that damning frame from the video. I felt as if I’d already stared at it for hours, trying to glean the truth from that haunting picture.

No one would believe me. They would think I faked the video, photoshopped the image. But after staring at that golden-eyed figure, blurry but undeniable, I knew: Leon wasn’t human. The thing in that photo wasn’t human.

I believed the summoning ritual had worked.

I believed I had summoned a demon.

I believed that demon was Leon.

And I, perhaps every inch the fool he claimed I was, intended to call him out on it.

I kept my cold hands shoved in my jacket pockets so no one would see them shaking. I was riding a bizarre high, somewhere between terror and elation. On the one hand, all my years of seeking the paranormal had come to this; I had video proof of an inhuman, supernatural creature. It was real, it was all real.

That was exactly the problem.

I had a very real demon coming after me. Any paranormal investigator worth their shit would say not to mess around with the demonic. In my paranoia, I even began Googling the names of local priests.

What was I supposed to do? Exorcise him? Convince a priest that a campus security guard was, in fact, demonic? They’d laugh in my face.

I, somehow, had to make Leon leave, and not by handing over the grimoire. I didn’t know exactly why he wanted it, but that book was likely the only power I had over him. I wasn’t just going to hand it over because he asked. I’d stayed up late the night before, translating even more of its passages, trying to figure out if I had any means of defense. I found punishing spells, said to be useful for “taming the unruly servant.” And I found instructions for a binding circle said to be able to keep a demon contained within it.

But what made the entire situation so much worse, was part of me didn’t want Leon to leave. Part of me was reveling in this, part of me was aching to see what he’d do once he hunted me down. He was playing a game with me, and I knew it. How easily could he have caught me in the church, or in the woods, or as I was sitting alone in my house?

It all made so much more sense — why I was so drawn to him, why I’d been so willing to let him get his hands down my pants, why it seemed like he’d invaded my brain with insatiable lust. He was a demon. The literal embodiment of sin and debauchery.

I was a toy to him now, a little doll in his game. But when he came for me, I was determined to be prepared.

I wasn’t.

I’d made it through classes, unscathed. The sun was setting, a dull orange glow beyond the black silhouettes of the pines, and the campus was emptying. I’d kept a wary eye on Calgary all day, half-expecting to see Leon standing there in his usual spot, guarding the place. But so far, there had been no sign of him.

It wasn’t accurate to say he appeared out of thin air, but it certainly seemed like it. One moment I was walking toward a group of girls headed in the opposite direction, my eyes flickered away for a moment — and Leon was there, walking behind them. 

I froze in my tracks. My heart thundered against my ribs, pumping me with adrenaline. Run, run, run.

I stood my ground, folded my arms, and waited. If I was going to confront him, this was as good a place as any. What could he do to me with so many witnesses? He was watching me, pale eyes bright. He wasn’t dressed in his guard uniform, but instead wore a gray knit beanie and black Converse with his casual jeans-and-hoodie ensemble.

“Well, well, well.” He stopped in front of me, smirking, a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Were you looking for me, Raelynn?”

“No,” I lied. “I thought you’d take a hint and stay away from me.”

“Aw, so mean.” He pouted. “I told you what you were in for. I told you I’d hunt you down and make you sorry for defying me. It’s been fun watching you looking over your shoulder for the past few hours, but…” He shrugged. “It’s time to get down to business. Where’s the grimoire?”

“Somewhere safe, away from you,” I said. “I’m not giving it to you. You need to leave. Be gone!”

He snorted, tweaking an eyebrow at me. “Be gone? Okay, Merlin, are you going to wave your magic wand at me next?” He shook his head, eyes scanning the campus. He was nervous. On the lookout for someone…or something. “What are you going to do, Rae? Are you going to run, add a little excitement to the game?” He was already standing close, well within my personal bubble. But then he reached out, nudging my chin teasingly with his knuckle. “Look at you, so big and brave now.”

“I know what you are,” I hissed. I waited to see a crack in his calm facade, hoping to see him twitch with fear.

Instead he said drily. “Do tell. We’ll see if you get it right.”

I blinked rapidly, suddenly doubting myself. Did I dare say it, here and now? I pulled out my phone, nervously looking around at the students passing us by. We were in the middle of the sidewalk alongside the quad, in the open. I opened my photos and held up the screenshot to him.

He narrowed his eyes. “What’s that?”

“That’s you,” I said softly. “Why do you have yellow eyes, Leon? And sharp teeth? Claws?” My hand shook, but I clenched my jaw and plowed on. “What the hell are you?”

“I thought you said you know what I am?” Mischievous sarcasm dripped from his words. “Looks like a good edit to me. I didn’t know you had so much time on your hands.” His fingers twitched, tapping impatiently where they were folded against his arm. “Your lack of cooperation is disappointing. I thought after a good night’s sleep you’d be thinking clearer. But apparently not.”

Suddenly, he slung his arm over my shoulder. I yelped, wiggling, but he squeezed me to his side and started walking, leaving me no choice but to stumble along with him. I fit neatly under his arm, squished into the warmth of his chest and surrounded by his intoxicating scent.

“You and I are going to have a problem, Rae,” he said softly, “if you don’t run home right this instant, get the book, and bring it back to me.” His voice was gentle, but a threat lingered in it: a threat that made tension swell in my abdomen, and made me feel small. All the while we kept walking casually, but I could see where he was going. 

We were headed toward University Drive — off campus.

He cocked his head to look down at me, curiously.

“So tense, Raelynn,” he said. “Would it make you feel better to run? You could get all that nervous energy out.” He chuckled sadistically, as the thought of running from him made me gulp with trepidation. “I’ll catch you again, don’t worry. You can’t get away.”

I took a deep breath, and turned my head to look up at him. He was looking straight ahead, smiling, so damn pleased with himself. I squirmed, trying to remove myself from under his arm. “I’m not giving you shit. I’m not playing your game.”

“No?” He stopped abruptly, turning to me as if he were shocked. “Not in the mood to play? Fine then.”

I wriggled free of his arm — a lot of good it did. His hand whipped out and gripped my face, squeezing my cheeks as he pulled me close and bent down to look me straight in the eyes. “No more games then. We’re going to your house, you’re getting the grimoire, and you’re going to hand it over before this escalates any further.” His eyes were changing. They weren’t so pale green anymore, there was a glow of golden light to them. I was unable to look away, frozen in his gaze. His touch dug into my skin.

“More threats,” I said. We were right at the edge of campus, if I could just get away… “You don’t scare me, Leon. You’re not going to trick me into giving you the grimoire.”

He chuckled, bringing his face close to mine. He examined me, his eyes stroking over me. It was as if his gaze was peeling back my skin, laying bare my bones and all my wicked thoughts. “You don’t even know what tricks I have in store for you yet, Rae,” he said. His free hand tucked my hair back behind my ear, his fingers tracing down over the piercings in my cartilage and making me shiver despite myself. When his fingers reached that tender spot right below my ear, my eyelids fluttered as the overstimulating sensation prickled all the way down my spine.

“Mm, Raelynn…it’s going to be fun breaking that stubborn mask of yours. You have no idea…” Another shudder went over me at the caress of his breath on my ear.  “…what absolutely filthy things I’m going to do to you.”

My body was betraying me, but I still had some self-preservation left. I jerked from his grasp, pulling away so hard that I stumbled over my own feet and landed hard on my ass. He looked down at me curiously, a sardonic smile making him bare his teeth.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to play?” he said.

Panting, I scrambled to my feet and ran.