The Demon Within Read Online Free

without coercion.
    Determined to follow her findings through to the end, she raised her hand. Her fingers hovered above the image of the executioner then traced the line of blood. The wall wavered beneath her fingers as if the river of blood still flowed after all these years.
    The next glyph revealed the blood draining directly in the temple to be collected by the demons and inspected.
    Whatever they expected to find, they were disappointed. With each failure, the human was killed until there were none left.
    The chill in her heart spread, seeping deep within her bones until they felt brittle. Caly racked her mind for an explanation, but nothing in all the folklore or legends she researched explained anything about this ritual.
    The last image revealed the guards as they entombed themselves inside the temple. She snuck a peek at the skeletons. It looked like each guard had simply lain down and never bothered to get back up again. There was no sign of a struggle, broken bones or any indication that they had been restrained.
    There had to be a reason, something important she needed to learn from the images, but part of her mind just didn’t care. The slim hope she’d been nurturing to find an answer about permanently kicking the demons out of her life came to a brutal death.
    “I bet some museum would pay a fortune for this.” Whirling, Caly’s hand settled on her blade, only to spy Henry lift a skull off the nearest platform and toss it from hand to hand. A flash of metal distracted him, and the skull hit the floor with a sickening crack.
    Like a bloodhound on a scent, Henry bent over the corpse. He rooted around, plucking a gold medallion from the desecrated body. The chain snagged. With a tug, it came free, along with a plume of fine dust. The bones clanked on the stone but thankfully, remained intact.
    She resisted the urge to reprimand him. It would only make the animosity between them worse.
    With a furtive glance at Oscar, Henry flicked his wrist and the chain disappeared within his pocket. He replaced the skull and gave her a wicked smile as if it had never happened. Caly studied the floor behind the altars, sickened by his disrespect for the dead.
    An odd smell like rotten vegetation left too long in the field drenched the air. The same smell as outside. A slight taint hovered in the stones as if it rose from the very ground.
    A grimace crossed her face as the truth rolled over her. Tainted blood saturated the soil. The contamination undoubtedly prevented plant growth and would for centuries to come.
    Every instinct leapt to life, hummed along her skin, blaring a warning for her to leave.
    The urgency mounted, and she belatedly realized it wasn’t just unease. Something was coming.
    Her hands tightened on the knife pommel, unaware when she’d unsheathed it. Legs apart, knees bent, Caly narrowed her eyes and surveyed the room for a target. Pinpricks moved over her arms and across her neck. She cocked her head and swore she heard the screams of the past call out to her.
    One step, then another, Caly drifted toward the entrance when the truth struck home.
    The voices were not of the past, but her team.
    Cunningham!
    Tension snapped her body taunt. Her heartbeat skyrocketed and she took off, bracing herself for a brutal run. She increased her stride as she neared the entrance.
    Oscar swung his spear in her path, too fast for her to dodge even with her reflexes. The impact slapped her across her chest, knocking her on her backside and leaving her gasping for air, a string of fire in its wake.
    “You can’t help them now. Poor bastards.” Bushy brows lowered as Oscar turned toward the mouth of the entrance. “You’d best prepare yourself. They’ll be heading this way next.”

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Three

     
    W hen the last of the life-draining light dimmed on the horizon, the stone encasing him softened agonizingly slow, regardless of the fact it could’ve only been seconds. A roar escaped his throat, and