Eat Your Heart Out (Descendants) (11 page)

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Authors: Jenny Peterson

BOOK: Eat Your Heart Out (Descendants)

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“Now do you see?” Claire yelled, her French accent growing thick. “You stupid girl.”

Luc retrieved a torch from a duffel bag and lit it from one of the lanterns. It flared to life and threw Luc’s face into the angles and planes of a marble statue. “The girl must die,” he said. His voice was flat. Determined. This was just another job.

A sob clawed past Rachel’s teeth, and her knees gave out. Sid caught her and held her up, hugged close to his chest.

Claire shook her head and lit another torch. “It’s not like she’s human. She’s half-demon.”

Sid’s arm tightened around Rachel’s shoulders. He wrenched his other arm out, held it up to the
torch light. Long scratches from Kendra raked down his arm and dripped blood. “We’ve got demon blood too. Just like Kendra.”

Luc sucked in a hissing breath. “We are completely different. We protect humans. This thing”—he spit the word—“is our enemy.”

“This
thing
is one of my best friends. You won’t kill her.”

Next to Luc, Claire growled, sounding nearly as inhuman as the beast inside Kendra. “Fine. But we’re getting
Abbadon out of it.” And she stalked forward to where Kendra huddled under the net and thrust the blazing torch against Kendra’s skin.

Kendra shrieked, and the smell of burning flesh singed Rachel’s nose and snaked down her throat. She struggled against Sid, pounded her hands into his chest in her effort to get to her best friend, but he held her tight. He whispered against her ear, his voice thick. “It’ll be over soon. I promise. It’ll be over.”

And then it was. Kendra’s back arched and she lurched forward onto all fours. Her shoulders convulsed, and then black slime spewed from her mouth. Luc had another net ready to throw on the essence of Abbadon, but the thing bubbled and hissed like a tar pit. It transmuted into a stinking black cloud and shot away into the night.

CHAPTER 13

A shudder rippled through the silent shack.
A cry, small and mewling like an injured animal.

Rachel wrenched away from Sid and raced to Kendra. The net no longer smoked against Kendra’s skin, but Rachel ripped it off and sank to her knees. Kendra fell back against the wall and looked up at Rachel with eyes half-closed in pain and something else. Something haunted that scared Rachel.

Sid dropped down next to Kendra with a med kit. He pulled the arrow free from her thigh as quickly as he could, and Kendra almost didn’t scream. She squeezed her eyes shut, her chin quivering, and let Sid pack the wound with a poultice and wrap her leg. But she pushed his hands away when he tried to treat her burns.

“No,” she said. “Not the burns. They saved me.”

Her eyelids cracked open, and she stared at Rachel. Then her gaze slid behind Rachel to the DuBois twins. “I know what it wants. The beast … Abbadon.” The name was acid on her tongue, and Kendra closed her eyes for a moment. “It’s been eating the hearts of other demons and half-demons to gain their strength. It wants to regain its original body, and it’s close to getting that wish.”

“And what’s that original body look like?” Sid’s voice was gentle.

“I only saw flashes of it. Big and bony, with horns. Wings. Fangs. And bugs.” Kendra shuddered. “Lots of bugs.”

“So it’s not a kitten demon then?” Rachel said, trying for a smile. Kendra inched a hand across the ground and squeezed Rachel’s fingers.

“Not a kitten demon.” Kendra let her head loll against the wall to look at Sid. “It’s going after Descendant families. It knows where your brother goes to school.”

Beside Rachel, Sid tensed.

“We knew that,” Luc cut in. “That’s why we were in Australia in the first place. Abbadon got there first.”

“Where will it go next?” Claire demanded. “You’ve got to give us something useful here.”

Rachel rounded on Claire. “Give her a second.”

Kendra took a deep breath that made her wince. “I don’t … I don’t know much else. I just felt this …
hatred
for everything. The beast thinks it should have dominion, but it can’t do that without its true body.” Kendra tried to push herself to stand and bit back a yelp when she put weight on her right leg. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I can’t help more.”

Kendra staggered away, her hands thrown out against the wall for support. Rachel shared a long look with Sid—a look that said there was much to do, much to say—then scrambled to follow, but Kendra shook her head. “I want to be alone.”

Rachel ignored her and slipped an arm around her waist to help her walk. “Too bad.”

The dark forest was gilded with moonlight and absolutely silent. Even the cicadas were hiding. Rachel held Kendra tight to support her, but let Kendra lead the way. They broke through the trees to the crescent beach and slipped across the sand for the lapping edge of ocean. The sand was cool underneath them as they sat, and the water whispered against their ankles.

Kendra hugged her knees to her chest and stared out over the water. “I killed him,” she said to the ocean. “Grey trusted me, and I killed him.” Her voice was nearly lost on the waves.

Rachel tried to wrap her arm around Kendra’s shoulders, but Kendra pushed away. She crumpled onto her side and wrapped arms around her stomach. A guttural scream ripped from her, but it dissolved into sobs. “I was awake the whole time,” she cried. “I was trapped in my own body as I did
th-these
terrible
things.”

Sobs whined past Kendra’s lips, and Rachel ached to say something that could make her feel better. “I murdered them, Rachel.
Tortured
them,” Kendra moaned and clutched at her sides. “They begged me to stop, but I didn’t. And Grey. Even as I killed him, he tried to save me. He told me he loved me. And I … I never told him how I felt. I was in there, screaming and helpless. And Abbadon made me laugh at him.” Her shoulders heaved. “Oh god, Rachel. What did I do? How do I forget what I did?”

Rachel pulled Kendra against her, wrapped her arms around her best friend like that could keep away all the horrible thoughts and memories rushing through her. She kissed the top of Kendra’s head. She smelled salty like the ocean and like the tropical flower shampoo she’d used for years. Rachel squeezed her eyes shut against the tears.

“This is my fault,” Rachel said into Kendra’s hair. “I dragged you into this. Abbadon would never have possessed you if not for me.”

Kendra sat up and mopped the tears from her face. “No,” she said, voice thick. “No, you didn’t drag me into anything. I’ve been a part of this, whether I knew it or not, since my dad found my mom. And you were part of this since you were born. We had no choice.” Kendra shook her head hard and grabbed Rachel’s shoulders. “You know what was my choice? Sitting next to you on the first day of second grade because I liked your backpack.”

Rachel’s throat tightened and she blinked away more tears. “You had that Minnie Mouse shirt you always wore, and I was so jealous you’d been to Disney World.”

“And during recess you made me practice subtraction on the see-saw.”

Rachel laughed and thrilled to see Kendra smiling, a smile that almost reached her eyes. “And despite what a brat I was, you still came to school the next week with a friendship bracelet for me.”

Kendra sighed and hugged her knees, resting her chin. “I’ll make you a new one.”

They stared out over the water in silence, the constant hiss and crash of the ocean their only companion.

“Rachel?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m right where I want to be. You’re my best friend.”

Rachel buried her face into her knees and burst into tears. She had her best friend back and now maybe—just maybe—they knew what was coming next from Abbadon. The tension in her shoulders melted away, if only just a tiny bit. And even though it was the middle of the night, Rachel felt like the darkness was ebbing. She laughed at her tears and swiped a hand under her dripping nose. “Abbadon’s a big asshole.”

Kendra fell back against the sand and spread her arms out wide. “
Abbadon is an asshole!” She shouted it loud as she could. Her voice echoed across the water, and the trees at their back rustled in approval.

Rachel pushed to her feet and held out a hand to Kendra. Kendra’s hand was warm and alive in hers, and she met Rachel with a smile.

“C’mon,” Rachel said. “We’ve got a greater evil to track down and seriously maim.”

Kendra nodded once. “That bony bastard is a goner.”

And arm in arm, the two friends left the beach behind.

If you enjoyed
Eat Your Heart Out
and haven’t yet read the first in the series,
Creature Discomforts
, get it here. The final novella,
Demon Over Easy,
will be published Fall 2014.

About
Jenny Peterson

Jenny is a
writer and editor based in Denver, CO. Reading and writing YA and new adult is her first love, and she spends an inordinate amount of time dreaming up fantastical worlds for kick-ass heroines. As you do. She splits her time as an assistant editor for a YA publisher.
The Descendants Series
, my e-novella trilogy, is being released by Buzz Books USA.

When not writing or editing,
she enjoys exploring the mountains and lakes of Colorado, shopping local, dominating at trivia and traveling. She lives in an old Victorian house with her husband and two lazy tabbies named after Harry Potter characters. Because she’s awesome like that.

Learn more about
Jenny, her writing and travels at
www.jennycoonpeterson.com
. Or, you can follow her
on Twitter
@JenC_P
,
Facebook
,
Goodreads
, or even
Pinterest
.