C4 FOUR

As a Man

BLAKE

But I must also feel it as a man

— William Shakespeare, Macbeth

"WE HAVE TO leave. Now.” Rainbow stood with hands on hips, a frown where others had laugh lines.

I reached for my duffel bag and shoved my few personal items into it, looking around the warehouse we’d squatted in for the last couple nights. “Where’s Jasmine?”

“The little bitch betrayed us. Went running to her cunt of a sister. She likely sent the dogs sniffing around this place, so quit messing with your shit and let’s get out of here.” She left her bags for me to carry and lifted the rose bush, caressing the multi-colored petals as if making love to them. “Soon, we can stop running and claim our rightful power. Soon, those dogs will bow to me.”

Rainbow’s delusions of grandeur had destroyed what little sanity she’d had left. She wavered between loud bursts of anger and unrestrained egotism, scaring even me at times. My desire to stay in this form, to remain free from the demon world forever, had taken a few hits as I saw more and more the kind of person who would have access to the Druid power after the ritual was complete. I warred with myself, but couldn’t give up. I couldn’t go back to that hell. No matter what the cost, I had to make it work, even if I never had a chance to get Rose back.

“Who will you use as the sacrifice now?” She’d run off the entire coven, including her daughters. We were running out of viable options to complete the transfer of power.

“Don’t you worry about those details. I have things well in hand. Bring the car around. We need to relocate and plan the next phase of our attack.” With a face scuffed with dirt, clothes that had seen better days, and a body stinking of the mattress she’d slept on the night before, Rainbow had unusual ideas about what constituted an attack.

To me, this felt like retreat, but I was just glad Jasmine had gotten out. The girl had been far too influenced by her mother for my liking, and I didn’t want to see her or Rose suffer and die for this mission. They’d crawled into my heart, each in their own way, and I’d come to care about their futures—a new experience for a demon.

In the end, we didn’t need to face the Druids head on again. We didn’t even need Rose or Jasmine to complete the ceremony. We could find someone else, someone I didn’t have such a strong desire to protect.

Best to just lay low until the solstice arrived and we could be done with this. After that, I’d figure out how to deal with Rainbow.

I fingered the sphere in my pocket, hoping Beleth didn’t need it back anytime soon. It could help me against Rainbow when the time came. For now, it kept me stronger in this body and allowed me to function more effectively until the possession was made permanent. Despite my need and hunger, I hadn’t been able to feed yet on the lust of a woman, sucking her dry as I made love to her. All I could think about was Rose. Her smile, the softness of her skin and taste of her lips. The way she’d looked our last night in her cottage, fire dancing in her eyes.

I had to be with her again. Had to find a way to make her mine.

Lugging our bags with me, I left the warehouse and unlocked the minivan, stowing our belongings in the back.

As I walked around the side of the car, a low growl from behind me made the hair on my neck stand on end.

I turned and faced a large wolf, golden green eyes glowing in the night. And it had friends.