Ruined (The Eternal Balance #1)(39)

As I spoke, Azirak shifted and squirmed. It flashed another one of the battlefield scenes. Fire and brimstone and piles of bones in a battlefield so high, they reached up into the clouds. The flash was so intense that I could smell the smoke. Burning flesh and otherworldly screams echoed in my ears, making me feel like I was right there in the middle of the field.

“Jax?” Sam’s voice, and the warmth of her hand resting atop mine, pulled me from the scene.

“Sorry. The demon was showing me something.” Deep breath. A cold sweat broke out at the base of my neck.

Knowing Sam, she wanted to ask questions, but thankfully, she bent over the file.

I needed something to take my mind off the images. Tapping the table, I said, “Lemme see the folder for a sec.”

Sam slid the papers across the table. On the outside, I was calm. Inside though, Azirak churned, encouraging the bubble of fear and unease that brewed. I opened the folder. First page. A girl seven months ago in Farmersville. She was cute. Long brown hair and dark eyes. No known family, but a friend had reported her missing. I’d passed through town around that time on my way to check on Rick and Sam. I’d rented a room for two weeks before moving on. I vaguely remembered hearing something on the local news about the search.

I flipped the page. Two weeks later, a girl went missing from Hempstead Township. Again, I’d been in town around the time.

In fact, I’d been in all the towns. The list went on and on. The dates and locations matched my travels.

“Jax?” Sam asked, worry tainting her voice.

I swallowed, unable to answer. Another page. Another girl.

“Jax, you’re freaking me out here.”

I was freaking myself out. All those girls. All those towns. The air around me bled gray, my own fear nearly choking me.

When I found my voice again, I faced Sam and pushed the file back across the table. “Listen to me carefully, Sammy. I want you to get up and walk out that door. Go anyplace other than Kelly’s. Go someplace where I won’t find you.”

I thought I’d made myself clear, yet Sam was still sitting across from me, looking like I’d lost my mind. Waves of black rose from her shoulders.

“Did you hear me? Get out!” I couldn’t help raising his voice.

She sighed and began gathering the papers in no particular rush. When everything was collected in a neat pile, she stuffed them back into the envelope and stood. “Well?”

“Well, what?” I snapped.

“Are you ready?”

“Was I speaking another language? Was it confusing that I wanted you to leave without me?”

“Nope. Crystal. Not doing it though.”

Fuck. She was going to make me spit it out. “I think this all has something to do with me.”

“You? How could—”

I flipped the file around and slid it back across the table, tapping the top page. “I was there. In the same city at the same time each and every one of these girls went missing.”

Leaning back, eyes wide—Sam laughed. Not a sexy giggle or an amused chuckle, but an all-out snorting chortle.

I couldn’t decide if I should be worried about her sanity—or furious because she wasn’t taking this seriously. “Since when does cold-blooded murder tickle your funny bone?”

She pulled it together, grabbing the edge of the table to steady herself. “I’m—I’m sorry, but you? Never.”

Sam held up a hand, then reached across and pulled me from the seat. Stunned by her reaction to my confession, I let her drag me to the door.

“I didn’t mean I was the one who attacked you. I mean, it’s too much of a coincidence that I was in each one of those towns at the time.”

“So you think this demon is, what, out to frame you?”

That wasn’t what I thought—was it? No. If there was some kind of warrant for me, Spencer would have been more than happy to lock my ass away. “I’m not sure. I just know that everywhere I am, it seems a girl disappears.”

Sam herded us through the door and onto the sidewalk. Once outside, I pulled away.

“If that’s the truth, then it’s really good news.”

“How is that good news?”

She was grinning. “Because then we know who his next target is. You can protect me.”

Sam had blinders on when it came to me. I’d told her the truth. She’d seen the demon. I’d been a dick. Treated her like shit. I’d even tried—and failed—to scare her. What more could I possibly do?

Try harder.

Snatching her wrist, I turned and dragged her into the alleyway across from the diner. She stumbled twice, tripping, but I didn’t slow down. Once we were concealed in the shadows, I shoved her against the building.

“You think this is a game? I told you, I’m a monster.”

“Right,” she said, nodding. There wasn’t even the smallest hint of gray swirling above her head and it pissed me off. “A vicious monster. One that’s sticking around to protect me?”

“You need me to spell it out for you? Okay. I’ve ripped people to shreds, one limb at a time. Slowly. I’ve made them suffer, taking joy in their pain and agony.” I pulled away so I could see her expression.

“Whatever you’ve done, it’s because of the demon,” she insisted.