The Lost Souls (The Holy Trinity #2.5)(4)

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“I’m only going to say this one more time,” the woman said to Carrie and Jason. “You really don’t want to mess with me.”

Pushing Carrie out of his way, Jason yanked the woman up by her shirt collar, bringing her face-to-face with him. “Listen, bitch, I want the keys to that Jeep outside, and I have no problem killing you to get them.”

As Jason began pulling open her jeans, readying to reach inside them, the woman’s eyes turned black. Pitch black. Not a speck of white was left.

Shocked, Carrie began blinking rapidly. Was she seeing things? She hadn’t slept in two days and hadn’t eaten in nearly a week. Maybe she was hallucinating, maybe she—

The woman’s hands were smoking! No, not smoking but…oh my God, they were releasing shadows of some sort, shadows that appeared to be in the shape of skeletal arms and hands!

“Jason!” she screamed. “No!”

“Jesus, Carrie, it’s the only place we haven’t looked.”

“No! Her eyes! Look at her eyes! They’re black!”

“I warned you,” the woman said, her voice eerily calm.

Jason finally looked up at her, and his eyes widened in astonishment. “What the—”

Jason suddenly flew backward, crashed through the wall, and then fell to the floor in a heap. Carrie stared in horror at the blood seeping from the gaping wound on the back of his head. In a state of shock, Carrie barely registered when the woman ripped her shotgun from her hands and tossed it across the room. Stalking past her, the woman grabbed her duffel bag.

Still, she only stared. This woman…or witch…had just killed her brother. Her brother. And now, she was leaving…leaving Carrie here all alone without food, without her brother, without anything…leaving her here to die.

“Wait!” Carrie screamed, not caring what kind of hellish creature this woman was as long as she didn’t try to eat her. “Take me with you! I’ll die if I stay here!”

The woman paused and leveled her black-eyed glare on Carrie. “Good,” she hissed. “It’ll save me the trouble of killing you.”

Fear rippled through her. “Please!” she begged.

“Listen, Carrie, I might have considered it if you hadn’t just held me at gunpoint and tried to steal my only means of transportation. With that said, f*ck off.”

Fuck off.

Her brother was dead and…f*ck off?

Carrie fell to her knees screaming nonsense, screaming out of grief and fear and…

She was going to die. There were monsters out there—red-eyed, fanged creatures with superhuman strength who ate human flesh, who used to be her family and friends and neighbors.

And now, she was alone.

She was going to die, all alone.





Chapter Three


Shandor Asenov smelled the human before he saw it. As it grew closer, he heard its footsteps tapping on the cement, heading in his direction. Fists clenched, his talons were digging into the skin on his palms, painfully drawing blood. He tried not to breathe, refusing to inhale the sweet, delectable scent wafting along the cool breeze.

He wouldn’t kill a human.

He couldn’t kill a human.

Fuck, he really didn’t want to kill a human…again.

Several months ago, he’d awoken in the midst of carnage, the likes of which even his wildest, most gruesome imaginings couldn’t have thought up. And the worst part was…he’d caused it all.

In his newborn haze of hunger, desperate to ease the pain, he ran and ran until he came across a family hidden in their home. He sniffed them out, found them hidden in their attic, and killed them all—the mam?, the tat?, and their three copii.

Children.

All dead at his hands.

Shandor was no stranger to death. He’d worked plenty of jobs with Xan—running guns for the clan, stealing from thieves, and yeah, he’d killed some people. Shitty people who’d done shitty things.

But he’d never hurt an innocent person, and he’d certainly never killed a child.

On his knees, surrounded by human remains and covered with the blood of his victims, he had vowed he would stay as far away from humans as possible, that from that day forward he would feed only on animals to cure his hunger.

But he was so hungry.

No, he was starving.

Animals were scarce, and humans were all but extinct. He’d have to move on soon. Pennsylvania wasn’t just deserted. It was empty, a dead state, thoroughly picked over by Skins and humans, both attempting to survive. It would be winter soon, and although the cold didn’t bother him, there would be no chance of finding food.

Fuck it.

No longer caring, his hunger superseding his morals, Shandor took off running down the alley, crouched behind a Dumpster, leaped, and…

He saw fire the moment it appeared, and reacted with his own fire. Just as he landed on his feet, the dual dark flames collided and instantly evaporated.

Long black hair, bright green eyes, olive skin, and nice curves. She was a little on the skinny side now, obviously not eating well, but she was still just as beautiful as she’d been the first time he’d seen her.

Trinity Deleanu was the last person he’d ever expected to run into. She was the last person he wanted to run into. Anything from his past, any reminder of what he’d once had and lost, he’d hoped to never come into contact with.