Grimm Consequences by Kate SeRine

Author:Kate SeRine [SeRine, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2014-02-14T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

I didn’t have to go far. My connection to Tess led me to a parking lot behind a bail bonds business that was curiously blocked off by other buildings, leaving only one entrance and exit. The waning light cast eerie shadows, so much of the parking lot was obscured. Standing in the small circle of light cast by the lone street lamp was Tess. Her cheek was sporting a nasty bruise that was growing darker by the minute and her lip was swollen and bleeding. She was barefoot, I noticed, having lost her shoes—or perhaps having kicked them off to fight back.

A brief surge of pride hit me when I imagined the bruises the other guy had to be sporting. But my pride and concern were quickly supplanted by relief. I rushed forward, determined to sweep her into my arms and kiss the hell out of her, but I came to a halt when she shook her head frantically. “Stay there!” she whispered, her voice taut. “Please.”

It was only then that I noticed she was trembling, barely holding it together. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” I cooed, slowly edging forward. “I’m here. It’s okay now.”

“Stop, goddamn it!” she yelled as I took another step forward, her eyes darting to her right.

My head snapped in the direction she’d indicated, and I saw Eddie and Gran lying on the ground, unconscious. Then I heard the hiss. It was a strangely undulating sound, almost a buzz. I squinted into the shadows, trying to make it out. My eyes widened as the thing slowly came forward, its misshapen head a cross between that of a goat and a dog. Spikes protruded down its warty back, and rancid green pus oozed from its mouth. A long, reptilian tongue slid between putrid lips to reveal a horrifying maw of jagged teeth as it licked the pus away with a wet slurping that made bile rise in the back of my throat.

But more than anything, I was worried about its claws. Each talon was a poisoned dart that it could launch at its prey, and I knew from experience how deadly those bastards could be.

“Jabberwocky,” I breathed.

“Quite a specimen, isn’t he?”

I turned my head toward the sound of Demetrius’s voice. He had emerged from the shadows and now stood in the pool of light with Tess, one arm encircling her waist as his other hand slid lightly down her arm. “This specimen, however . . .” He inhaled deeply at the curve of her neck as I’d seen him do before, dragging the sweet scent of her into his lungs.

I fisted my hands at my sides, forcing myself to stay planted where I was for fear of what an attack might mean for the people I cared about. “Get your goddamn hands off her,” I ground out, my voice echoing as my anger interfered with my ability to hold my form.

Demetrius gave me a mocking pout. “Or what? Not sure you’re really in a position to make threats, Death Bringer.

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