Redemption (Book 4, The Redemption Series) by S.J. West

Author:S.J. West
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Watchers Publishing
Published: 2014-09-08T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

I hold onto Malcolm afterwards because I can’t seem to make myself let him go. My body is trembling uncontrollably, and my heart feels like there’s a war raging inside about to tear it to pieces. Malcolm’s love for me has tempered my fury for the moment, but I still feel like I’m on the verge of losing control of who I am.

The way I spoke to Malcolm earlier shames me to the core. How could I have said those horrible things to him and actually meant them? I feel like there are two versions of me now. It's as if the part of my soul filled with all of my hatred and contempt is chasing after the part that holds my love and compassion. In Alto, my darker side caught up to my lighter side, almost destroying it. But Malcolm’s love and refusal to let me go tipped the balance back. I know the race for my soul isn’t over yet. I can’t shake the feeling that it’s only a matter of time before the darkness inside me proves victorious. Maybe Helena is right. Perhaps we are more alike than I want to admit.

“Anna,” Malcolm says as he slowly trails kisses down my right shoulder. “Are you with me again?”

I loosen my hold around Malcolm’s neck enough to lean back and look him in the eyes.

All I want to do is permanently wipe away the worry I see on his face. I lean in and kiss him on the lips gently, lovingly.

“I’m better,” I say to him, not completely sure I’m telling him the truth, but I know it’s what he wants to hear from me.

My words don’t erase the concern from Malcolm’s eyes, but he nods as if he accepts what I’ve said, at least for now.

I feel an intense stinging sensation in the middle of my back and immediately lower my legs from around Malcolm’s waist. I bring my arms down from around his neck and press them against the ache I feel.

I turn so my back is facing Malcolm.

“Do you see Baal’s seal?” I ask him, assuming its presence is causing the pain.

Malcolm traces the circular pattern of the seal on my back with the tips of his fingers, easing the ache it’s generating.

“Yes,” he says, not sounding at all happy about the fact, “it’s there.”

I turn back around to face Malcolm.

“What does his seal mean?”

Malcolm looks me in the eyes and says, “Torment.”

It seems like a fitting term to describe the way I feel, tormented in both body and soul.

“Well, at least I know Baal actually gave me his seal, unlike what happened with Belphagor. What I don’t understand is why he thought I would be weakened so much by it that Mammon would be able to kill me without a fight.”

“What do you mean?” Malcolm asks.

“Right before Baal set off the explosives to damage Alto’s propulsion systems, he said whatever they did should have worked. That I should have been knocked out by it.

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