Just as she contemplated getting back in her car she saw headlights moving down the road to the parking lot. She hid behind a tree, trying to get a better look at the car.
It was Naberius's black Saab.
Great. Time to rock and roll.
She turned around and jogged down one of the smaller trails. The only thing she could hear was the beating of her heart and the loud crunch her tennis shoes were making on the dirt trail.
Her plan, as sketchy as it happened to be, was to attract the Nephilim's attention when Asmodeus was close enough to help. It was a terrible plan, but it beat imprisonment in the Abyss.
She hadn't brought a flashlight, which was a terrible oversight on her part. Who jogged trails at night? How could she convince Asmodeus she hadn't been up to any ulterior motive?
Possibly because no one in their right mind would have attempted such a stupid stunt.
Then again, she wasn't in her right mind.
She rounded another turn in the trail. The moon shone through some of the tree branches, and she was able to see more clearly.
Her heart raced faster and faster as she jogged, though part of the breathlessness had to do with seeing Asmodeus again. He had barely left her thoughts all day. What the hell was wrong with her? He'd practically kidnapped her, held her against her will, and then he'd…he'd let her go.
Change of heart or wishful thinking on her part? Why had he let her go after his insistence she summon Michael? Was it possible he knew she had been summoned by the angels and given a mission?
Not likely.
A coyote came tearing across the path only a few feet in front of her. She yelped, skidding to a stop as she watched it run away. Guess she'd scared it more than it had scared her.
She listened as it tore down another path. The coyote ran as though the devil were on its ass, not as though it were pursuing prey.
She turned to look in the direction it had come from.
Darkness. All around her.
Quiet.
Then she found it. A pair of iridescent eyes illuminated just beyond the trail behind a tree. The pupils, which were slit sideways, dilated ominously in her direction. For a moment she stood paralyzed. She couldn't see its body, but from the height of its eyes she could tell it was well over six feet tall.
Nephilim.
Excitement rippled through her as she turned and hauled ass back toward the parking lot. She heard twigs break behind her and knew the thing had bolted out after her.
This was a stupid plan! Stupid, stupid, stupid! She told herself not to look back, but like a dumbass she did. The thing was all legs and arms, elongated teeth, not a stitch of clothing on, and it was fast. Too fast. She'd never anticipated its speed.
She looked forward again and picked up as much momentum as she could. It didn't come as a great shock to her when she was suddenly tackled from behind.
She tried to scream out for Asmodeus, but couldn't. The creature had flipped her on her back and wrapped its long fingers around her neck, cutting off her airway.
This was not going according to plan. A long line of drool came from the creature's mouth and fell to her neck. Struggling was out of the question if she wanted to keep the Nephilim from crushing her esophagus altogether.
The creature growled, and she started to see stars just as it latched onto her neck with its razor-sharp teeth.
A tingling sensation spread through her as her body went limp. Her limbs were rendered useless, and though she was conscious, she couldn't fight to save her life.
She'd served herself up on a platter to this Nephilim, and it took no time in sampling what she'd offered.
Chapter Eight
She could feel the Nephilim taking her blood, consuming her life force, as she lay inept. Her entire body was numb, her limbs heavy and useless. The Nephilim wrapped around her like a breathing, drooling vise.
The creature growled, jerked and clamped down on her neck harder, as if in a frenzy as it straddled her. Death was coming quickly. The tingling in her limbs became hot. The blood in her veins felt like it was boiling.
The numbness faded away, and she was able to move her fingers. Strangely, she felt stronger.
Her limbs became light, and the stars in her eyes were replaced by a clarity she had never before experienced.
She desperately tried to recall a death spell, which was the hardest spell to conjure. She had never tried one before, as she had never needed one. Studying spells had always been one of her favorite pastimes, and now it seemed that was going to pay off.
She wasn't sure she could effectively pull the spell off, because she was certain the power she contained wasn't enough to make the spell work.
Only she could swear power seemed to flow through her. Raw power that traveled from her core being to the very tips of her fingers.