Page 34 of Devil’s Torture

The look he gives me is filled with indulgence. “I thought being scared was the whole point, tonight of all nights.”

I try to fight my smile and fail. “Fine, you might have a good point there.,” I concede.

When Dawn runs back to us this time, I can tell she’s almost had enough for tonight. She looks down at the bag in her hands and then nods. “I think I have enough candy,” she eyes me warily, “as long as you don’t steal too much of it.”

“I can’t make any promises,” I tease her.

“What don’t you like?” Rune asks her with curiosity.

“I don’t do nuts or coconut,” she says it with disgust written all over her face.

“I don’t do coconut either, but I do like nuts especially if there is chocolate involved,” he tells her and I know they’ve made some sort of trade agreement.

It’s kind of adorable.

I check with Dawn, “Are you sure you’re ready to head home?”

“Yeah,” she breathes out, “I’m spooky-ed out and too many people are trying to jump scare me.”

Rune goes on high alert in a way that has me biting my lip to keep from giving him hell about it. Dawn must see it too because when we share a look, her eyes practically sparkle.

As we start back toward home, Dawn notices a house we skipped because it was too crowded has thinned out. She grabs Rune’s hand and looks up at him with big eyes, “I skipped this one before, can we do one more on the way.”

“Do you think they have the good stuff?” There’s a little bit of a tease in his voice as one corner of his mouth lifts slightly.

“It looked busy earlier,” she reasons before pulling him along behind her.

Well, pulling might be generous. If he didn’t want to move, he wouldn’t. I watch them fondly and find I’m smiling without even realizing it.

I turn when I hear the sound of snakes hissing and meet a pair of black eyes. The woman looking at me has wild ringlets around her head and her clothing looks draped around her more than worn. My first instinct is to take a step back, but I find I can’t move.

It’s alarming.

When I open my mouth, she holds up a hand and mutters something under her breath. It feels like a bubble forms around us, and I swear time seems to slow outside of it. “I don’t have long, but you need to hear the message from your mother,” there’s an ominous quality to her voice, like it’s amplified or layered.

It sends a shiver down my spine.

“I’m sorry,” my eyebrows pull together, “who are you?” Then I fully register what she said and I blink before whispering, “My mother has been dead for years.”

“Yes.” She lets that sink in before she adds, “My name is Rene. One day when you’re willing to go back to the family who has been waiting for you, ask Laiken about who I am.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” my tone is filled with disbelief.

“You will,” her words ring out softly but with a stunning clarity that has my breath hitching. “Your mother says to trust the man who has been your anchor since the moment you met. She wants you to know that he was always meant to be your destiny. Nothing can change what was, but you can trust him.”

“Is that all she said?” I don’t even know why I’m asking or why I’m indulging this woman.

Rene’s face softens. “She said he protected you because she couldn’t be there to do it herself.” Her hands shoot out to grab mine. She doesn’t squeeze tightly, but it’s more than enough to get my attention. “Give yourself a chance because the love you have is special, it was brought together by the fates.”

The moment breaks and my eyes close while it feels like everything around us rushes back into focus. When I hear hissing snakes again, my eyes pop open. But Rene is gone.

Not like I see her walking in the distance, there she is, kind of gone. I look in every direction and there’s not even someone I could maybe believe is her. It’s like she was there and then disappeared like smoke.

When Rune and Dawn come back, he gives me a strange look, but I don’t tell him what just happened. I almost can’t believe it happened at all. How the hell am I supposed to explain it to someone else?

Dawn eats too much candy and then whines about brushing her teeth, but Rune coaxes her with the promise of a short ride on his bike. I don’t argue. He wouldn’t put her in danger.

When she crashes, she falls hard. Rune checks on her one more time before sitting next to me on the couch. I can’t help but ask, “Don’t you have a party at the clubhouse or something?”