40

THE WHISPERS HAD FINALLY subsided for the moment and Jude had Rachel alone.

He focused on the soft breaths escaping from her pouting mouth. With every movement, Jude wrestled with the idea of letting her go, wondered if he even could. He needed to keep her here, beneath him. It wasn’t solely lust or some fleeting desire; it was her scent. The scent of innocent humanity. He could smell it filling his nostrils. Every kiss, every connection injected him with a new vitality.

His lips glided over her milky skin, eyes rolled back, her belly exposed and prickling with goose bumps the more his cool fingertips stroked her. As their bodies swayed back and forth between the messy sheets on the motel mattress, Jude’s mind suddenly exploded with violent images. New bodies. Lifeless. Hollowed out and empty. But these were real, murdered victims. Not an illusion. The last several days hadn’t hardened him enough to the vivid reality of seeing more corpses bloom in his mind.

Several rapid blinks exiled these distractions to the depths of his subconscious.

A motel mirror now reflected their bodies as he finished undressing her. The reflection came alive with Rachel’s quiet hesitation and eventual surrender. How long had it been? he wondered.

“Jude, I never thought I could do this,” came Rachel’s tender exhale.

A hush silenced the dim motel room. The lights appeared to flicker, dance to life and death sporadically.

Rachel froze in the rhythmic dance of their bodies. Then she confessed, “You’re coming on…so strong.”

Wrapping one hand firmly around her backside, he scratched her. His strokes had been gentle up until now—welcome—but one glance into her eyes revealed her discomfort. Nostrils flaring, Jude began to snort and grunt like an animal. He wondered if oozing, black saliva would drip from his teeth soon, or if he’d spend the next few moments simply imagining it did. The gruesome pictures flashed; then nothing. Flashed again; then Rachel’s eyes pulsed. Then his eyes finally turned red.

He dropped down on top of her and pressed against her ribs. She was shaking, and Jude knew the reason. The horror had taken root once more, and as a result, heaving took over. Grasping the sheets like fragile, white breaths, Jude struggled to fight it. As he looked down at her, in shock, he saw the veins in his arms grow teeth and then limbs as they bubbled toward the wrist.

“Are you okay?” she said, misty eyed. “Jude?”

No answer. His legs kicked her bony knees, and she fidgeted until the pain quelled. His fingernails clawed at each of her inner thighs until they drew blood. He grabbed her and threw himself on top of her again, breathing heavier.

Jude dragged his face against Rachel’s chest, the beating of her heart muffled in his ear. Her fear possessed him, attracted him, lured him. His lips peeled back suddenly, and with one sharp bite, he lunged at her.

“You’re hurting me, Jude. That’s enough! I thought I was…ready. I’m not.” Rachel jammed the heel of her hand into his forehead, pushing him away for a brief moment.

But he returned with a sadistic grin. He roped her with restless hands and pressed his scabbing lips against hers. They were so delicate.

Rachel pulled away. “Why are you acting like this?”

“Like what?”

“This isn’t what I had in mind,” she expressed, chest pushed out then dropping back in. “It hurts.”

“It always hurts the first time, sonny.”

“Sonny?” she said, arching an eyebrow. “Jude, you were hurting me.”

“Just trying to be romantic, baby. That’s all. Didn’t mean to rough you up.”

“Are you feeling okay?” she said, touching his forehead. “You’re acting strange. Like, really freaking strange.”

“Rachel, don’t be so frigid.”

She blinked a lot. “I’m…not being frigid. Forget this. I let my emotions sway my better judgment.” Her forearm nudged him away. “This was a mistake.”

Jude softly slid his fingers over her leg then kissed her once more. “It’s not a mistake. Just relax.”

He felt a sudden change in the way his body fit around his skeleton. His skin heavier. His organs jumbling. Sweat beaded off his chest and pooled on top of her stomach. Her subtle fight made him crave the pleasure even more.

“Jude, what are we doing?”

No answer.

“I said, what are we doing?” she repeated, her hands lost in his hair. “We shouldn’t be here like this. It’s unprofessional.” She swallowed nervously. “Do you even care about me? I’m not some tap-and-go slut, you know.”

Then something cold slipped from his eyes. He had believed he could keep it caged, or did he? Had he ever been strong enough to beat it? Had he ever been ready enough to take it on?

No. Never. We came here together, sonny. We handled her together.

The red dripped down her neck.

“Jude? What’s going on? Is that…blood?”

“Ease up, baby.”

“Stop calling me baby! It sounds weird when you say it.” She suddenly turned cruel. Using her elbows, Rachel pushed him off again. “You’re scaring me. What is this?” She watched him until he returned to eye level.

He could feel her watching too, seeing the change in him. “Jude, just tell me what’s happening to you?”

“What’s all the fuss, precious? We thought you liked it rough. Sonny here is a bit…complicated to pilot sometimes. He can be such a softy when he sets his mind to it.”

A dark red glare invaded her. A glare surrounded by black lines and a pale human mask.

Jude gripped her back, rubbing his torso against hers, nails seemingly sharper than before. “You see, I could only work with so much. A shame, really, for an artist to be so confined. He’s got the goods, I know. But he’s afraid to let ’em out. Figured you could help loosen the noose a little.”

Rachel snarled.

Jude’s lips slid back, showing teeth, but it didn’t sound like him talking, not now. “I think he likes you, precious. Secret’s out.”

“Why are you talking like that? In that voice?” Rachel felt tears coming on but wiped them away before they had a chance to fall.

He reached for her squirming hips again and licked her stomach. Remaining drops of blood soaked the sheets as she fought to break free. Some of it already began to dry. Some of it mixed with the fear and the sweat. “That’s…blood,” she said, staring oddly at it. “Let me go. Get off me!”

“Don’t like games you can’t win, do you? Stop fighting us. We’ll be done soon.”

“We? Jude, stop it right now! Let me go.” The ferocity in her words was splintering. She swallowed hard, terrified.

A horrible flavor hovered above her face. His breath reeked of something used and dead. A black, mask-like aura engulfed Jude’s countenance like a swarm.

“You’re being disgusting,” she fidgeted. “I’m not enjoying this.”

“Resistance…is…futile,” he said with a grunt. “Always loved that line.”

“Jude, I’m scared. Please…stop.”

“Ah-ah-ah. You keep calling me Jude, but that’s not my name. Your kind call me Azrael.” A sick cackle split the air.

He nibbled the fleshy part of her ear, licking it as a finish. A vile stench soaked into her taste buds. The sadist began to revel as he defiled her with his touch.

“Is this how it happened the first time? Was he on top of you like this? Or was it the other way around? I can never remember how girls like it these days. Tell me, baby, were you a squealer?”

She fumed and clawed at his chest until he smacked her hard. The blow to the head made her like putty in his hands.

“Oh my, I didn’t mean to swing so hard. Please forgive me. Didn’t mean nothing by it. Come now, don’t fall asleep before it gets good.” Half slits showcased her dizzy eyes as he continued. “A gentleman does get curious, you know…Did you like it…even if just a little?” His laugh drilled into her exposed body. Tears swelled.

“Our bodies are a temple, you know. In this scene, you’re the priestess. Purify me some, won’t you? Thus from my lips, by yours, our sin is purged.” He bit her mouth.

“Please, don’t do this. God, please don’t do this.”

“Now, there you go again, getting my name all tangled. Azrael. Say it with me, darling. Come on, say it. I love it when they say it.”

After the silence, she gave in. And with one whisper, it flowed. “Azrael.”

“That’s it,” he gasped, satisfied.

“Jude, can you hear me?” she asked, desperate.

Their bodies shook. Jude blinked. Vision still blanketed red.

“Are you in there? Do you care at all?”

The creature dropped toward her again and forced himself upon her. “We can move a little slower, sonny, if that’s how she likes it.”

Then a scream shattered the room.

Rachel grabbed the landline phone and bashed his jaw. With her legs, she thrust Jude off the mattress, and he smacked hard when his back hit the floor. She reached over the bed to find her jacket and, inside, her gun. Once retrieved, Rachel took aim. She cocked it before her next blink.

Jude froze. Through the crimson blur, he stared at her. How she trembled. Her beautiful skin, so vulnerable. She couldn’t breathe slowly to save her life. The gun wouldn’t stop jittering inside that nervous grip. Still, he was dead certain she would fire the moment she saw need to.

Jude ran his palms down his face. His cheeks were blotchy with red tears. “Rachel?” he murmured. “It’s...me. I won’t—”

“Shut up, Jude! Just shut the hell up!” She bit down hard, clearly wanting to empty the entire clip into his gut. But what kept her from it?

“Rachel, what happened?”

“I screwed up. But I swear it won’t happen again. Just stay back. Don’t you dare take another step, or I’ll send you to kingdom come.” She wiped her cheeks. “I trusted you. With my life…with…my body.”

“Put down the gun. You don’t need it.”

“Like hell I don’t. Don’t even think for a second that you’re coming any closer.” Shaking, she pulled the comforter across her chest.

“You have to believe me,” Jude begged. “I wouldn’t hurt you.”

She glanced down at the bruises on her legs, her stomach, her arms.

“You think I did that to you?” he asked, nearly shuddering. He was still human, wasn’t he? He stood to his feet, rigid, glimpsing the terrible sight of his own reflection in the mirror. A man—a creature—he now despised.

Rachel started counting. Her lids twitched, but her aim never wavered.

“Oh no, what have I done?” He wiped away his stains, and he watched the blood that had once stained the sheets start to evaporate. “Rachel. I swear…Whatever happened…It wasn’t me.”

It is you. The whisper stumbled in. He couldn’t be apart from it, not for longer than a moment. Believe it, sonny. I just gave you a little nudge.

Jude took one step, and immediately Rachel’s lip quivered. “Go!”

“But I—”

She blinked. “Get away from me. I don’t want to look at you. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to smell you. I. Hate. You!”

“Look into my eyes, Rachel. Something changed in those moments. I don’t understand it. But something happened…to me. Just let me talk to you, please. I couldn’t hurt you. Don’t you see that?”

“I want you to leave. One…” she began again. “I want you and your lies gone. Two…”

In the following silence, all he could hear was her shivering. Teeth-chattering, skull-numbing shivering. The sticking of that skin to metal grip, the stuttering of her breath as it escaped those frightened, worn-out lips. He wanted to kiss them, for real. Not with the demon’s lips; with his lips. He wanted to touch her with his hands, again.

But he couldn’t.

After Jude slipped back into his shirt and his shoes, he stumbled out of the motel room, leaving her alone and in tears.