Master of the Abyss

humiliate a man in front of his friends. There she sat, satisfied with herself, probably even gloating. The darkness of her hair and eyes echoed the blackness in her soul.

Laughter spilled across the tavern, ugly, vicious noise, ripping holes in his mind, letting memories ooze into him. The first demon had challenged his manhood. “Can’t even get it up. Loser. I’ve had it with you.” Had tossed her dark hair over her shoulder and turned her back.

His fingers clenched, squashing the burger in his hand into nothingness. Catsup dripped onto the table in bloodred splatters.

A woman could get under a man’s skin, stealing his thoughts, his very essence until she owned him. And then he’d return to her over and over, letting her tear pieces of him away until clawing darkness streamed through him. Until he felt that life wasn’t worth living.

He dropped the remains of his food and stared at the redness covering his hand. Drops of red had spattered the long white scar on his wrist where he had sliced so cleanly and watched the blood of his body pour out and soak into the carpet.

He’d been wrong to do that and wrong to blame himself instead of her. The knowledge had come to him as he’d recovered. The doctor who saw him had a voice of an angel as he kept repeating that the failure of the relationship hadn’t been his fault. Not his fault at all.

And then he knew-it must have been hers. Some women were evil.

She’d been evil. He’d hit her, then hit her again and again. He saw that by his actions, he’d destroyed the evil and removed it from the world. The shrieking of the demon inside her had confirmed it, hurting his ears until his head pounded with pain. When the noise stopped, he’d known the foulness had gone, for once again, his manhood had responded to his command.

Dark hair and dark eyes. Marks of the devil. Some females fought successfully against the encroaching malevolence; some were overcome by the demon. The fallen ones taunted the men-his brothers-ruining their lives and shredding their souls.

Carefully he wiped the redness from his hand. Now he would risk his own life and soul to destroy this demon.

Chapter Four

An hour or so later, Kallie shoved her chair away from the table. Time to go. By now most of the alcohol had to be out of her system.

Logan had bribed Gustaf to give Johnny Cash a rest-thank God-and play a waltz. He’d snatched Rebecca right out of her chair to dance. In one corner, Serena and Gina flirted with the loggers, but none of the men looked interesting. Not with Jake still sitting at the bar.

Jerk.

Aside from talking with Rebecca, the evening had been a crappy one-because of Jake’s presence and the effort it took to ignore him.

Kallie pulled on her flannel shirt and slipped out. The parking lot was wonderfully cool after the stuffiness of the bar and silent after the loud music. Shaking her head, she slid behind the wheel of her Jeep and turned the key. Rrr-rrr-rrr.

Excuse me? She tried again. Rrr-rrr- rrr. With an exasperated sigh, she thunked her head on the steering wheel a few times, then got out and scanned the area. Nobody in the parking lot to jump-start the car. Didn’t that just figure? She eyed the door of the tavern. Did she want to ask for help…in front of Jake…looking like a wussy girl who couldn’t even get her car to start?

He’d undoubtedly offer her a ride, thinking she’d changed her mind and wanted him, after all.

Nope. It’d be a hot day on the glacier before she accepted help from him. She glanced at the sky. A few clouds. The fat curve of the silvery moon didn’t provide the greatest light, but it would do. She rummaged in the glove compartment for a flashlight. Only half-dead, so it might last long enough.

Oh well. A few miles in the cold air wouldn’t hurt her any. Walking didn’t take that much longer than driving the twisty gravel road. She headed across the parking lot, glancing back as a young man staggered out the back door and bent over in the unmistakable way of someone being sick.

She shook her head. Poor guy. Then again, this wasn’t the way she’d planned to end the evening either. Maybe she should have gone home with David and made new memories to replace the ones of Jake. Like that song, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair,” she might have screwed that man right out of her thoughts.

She huffed a laugh. Interesting as it sounded, it wouldn’t happen. The thought of having sex right now with anyone-except Jake-felt wrong. With anyone, dammit, she told herself firmly. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and strolled down Main Street. Past David’s grocery store across from the police station, past the two antique stores, the tiny museum. Clouds floating in front of the moon sent shadows wavering along the clapboard buildings.

Damn her for being an idiot, anyway. Ever since seeing Hunt for the first time, she’d wanted him. Everything about him appealed to her, from his low voice and quick smile to his broad shoulders-even the way a day’s growth of beard shadowed his square jaw. And nothing had changed since then.

Her boots thudded on the boardwalk, and then she crossed the street, leaving the downtown section. One night of having sex with him-she couldn’t call it making love-had only added more to dream about. How she’d felt with his cock inside her while he’d held her in his arms so tightly that there didn’t seem to be any part of her he hadn’t touched. How his fingers had dug into her hips when he’d come. How he’d watched her when he’d pinned her down, not letting her move at all as he’d…

Great. Now she ached in all the wrong spots. Dummy.

About a mile up the gravel road, houses sat acres apart, and the trees thickened into forest, blocking some of the moonlight. A car approached, its lights shining between the trunks, and disappeared down a side road. Pity. She could have asked for a ride. Occasionally using the flashlight for the darker sections, she forged onward against the ever-steepening rise of the road. Her footsteps crunched on the loose gravel. A slight breeze rustled the trees, bringing the crisp scent of snow from the surrounding mountains.

She’d walked over two miles when a shiver ran up her spine, and she slowed. Stopped. Something-or someone-was watching her, the feeling identical to when she’d spot a cougar or coyote watching nearby. Turning in a slow circle, she studied the area. No eyes flashed in the moonlight. Lights from the distant houses were barely visible through the heavy forest. No self-respecting cougar or coyote would try to worm through the thick undergrowth beside the road.

A human? Whatever it was, right now she felt way too much like prey.

Her shoulders tensed. Whatever it was didn’t make a sound. Great. Where was her rifle when she needed it? Hellfire, she hadn’t even strapped on her knife. Should she head back to town? She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and spun. A small shape sprang across the road and disappeared into the blackness of the ditch. Someone’s cat. The antsy feeling didn’t leave.

Suck it up and keep going. Faster. Her skin crept as if the tiny nerve endings could detect whatever was watching her. Muscles tensed, she started walking again. A rustle sounded behind her, and she turned. On the other side of the road, the bushes swayed. Something big was over there. A bear? Bears hung around campgrounds, true, but they didn’t stalk humans.

Her hands clenched into fists. More likely a human animal-some bastard was following her. The dying flashlight was too weak to reach the other side-and would simply pinpoint her location. Well, thanks to her cousins’ lessons, the cowardly lurker wouldn’t find her easy prey.

The rumble of a vehicle sounded, and a truck came slowly around the curve. The headlights blinded her as she moved closer to the shoulder. It stopped.