Blessed by a Demon’s Mark by E. S. Moore Read Free Book Online Page B

turned so they could watch me walk by. They turned the TV off and turned a lamp on in its place.
    I didn’t say anything as I headed up the stairs. I didn’t need to. In the short time I’d been back, I’d already said too much.
    I glumly made my way to my old bedroom, stepped inside, and closed the door firmly behind me.

5
    It was strange to be back in my old bedroom. Everything appeared to be where I’d last left it. I don’t think Ethan had come in even once. The clothes I’d tossed in the dirty hampers were still there. A towel I’d left hanging from the bathroom doorknob remained. It was like I had never left.
    I dropped my bag on the floor and sat heavily on the bed. Dust plumed into the air and settled around me. More dust covered the nightstand and dresser, further confirming the idea that no one had been in the room since I’d been gone.
    The room smelled different than the one I’d been living in the last three months. I could smell old blood and death here. It had permeated the walls of my bedroom. There were a few speckled dark spots on the carpet where I’d bled from countless wounds. No amount of cleaner could fully remove the stains.
    Maybe it was time to have the carpet replaced, the walls redone. It would probably never get rid of the smell completely, but it might help make the air more breathable. I couldn’t believe I’d never noticed it before.
    I sighed. What good would fixing up the room do? I didn’t plan on staying much longer than it would take to talk to Ethan’s demon. Once I’d paid off my mark, I fully planned on going back to Delai. I didn’t care that Eilene didn’t want me to return. I couldn’t stay away, especially knowing Sienna would be waiting for me.
    I knew I should have talked to Ethan about the demon already. He could have summoned him that very night. It didn’t matter if he was tired or that Jeremy was around. I could have taken care of the mark and been back on the road the moment the sun went down again. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about the troubles of my old life ever again.
    Footfalls sounded in the hall and I tensed. They stopped just outside my door, and there was a long pause before whoever was there turned and walked away. A moment later, Ethan’s bedroom door closed.
    A sudden flood of guilt washed over me. I staggered up from the bed and ran to the bathroom, sick with it. I made it just in time, falling hard onto my knees to throw up in the toilet. I heaved until there was nothing left, gagging and spitting until my throat was raw. I slumped against the porcelain, too weak to rise.
    Something was wrong. I could feel it deep in my gut, what was left of it anyway. I didn’t know if it was the demon’s doing or if it was something else, but there was something definitely wrong with me. It went way beyond guilt. It wasn’t the anger at having a wolf in my house. It was something deeper, something I couldn’t explain.
    I lay there, shuddering like a junkie again, wishing I would just die. It was like I was suffering from withdrawal, but I had no idea what it was I was pining for.
    I’m not sure when it happened, but night eventually turned to day. The sun’s rays couldn’t penetrate the heavy drapes hanging on my bedroom windows, but they still made me that much weaker. I stretched out on the bathroom floor, half afraid that if I tried to get up, I’d throw up again. I put an arm over my eyes and just lay there, hoping it would all just end.
    I struggled to make it through the day. Every time I thought about getting up and going to the bed, I’d start to get sick and would end up with my head in the toilet. Nothing else came up, but that didn’t make the experience any nicer.
    As the sun finally went down, I started to feel better. I was able to sit up without my stomach churning. Lying there had cleared my head a little. I wasn’t nearly as confused as I’d been the night before. I could think straight and thankfully didn’t feel like