The Book Waitress (Book 1, The Book Waitress Series) (18 page)
Read The Book Waitress (Book 1, The Book Waitress Series) Online
Authors: Deena Remiel
“Derek?” she whispered. Feeling her body lowering, she mustered all the energy she had to call out. “Derek!” Her eyes, burning from the outside in, tried to focus on the man heading towards her with a vengeance. And then he stopped. “Derek, help
me.
”
Her feet touche
d the water and she felt the level creep up her body.
He reached down, grasping at his legs.
“Shit, I can’t move! Camille!”
Turning her head slightly she saw why.
Somehow,
Victor
controlled him, and he
looked to be headed
his way
, his eyes glowing fiery red to match the pentagram on his chest.
“Derek, he’s coming. Do something!”
He pulled out a gun and aimed at Victor. “Release me or I’ll shoot.”
“You have
no power over me, human.”
“You can’t have her!”
She heard a shot and after, wicked laughter
, and then a volley of shots
. The water was now
above
her waist, stinging her raw cuts on her shins
,
thighs
, and worst of all, stomach
. No longer could she see the
dire
situation between the two men.
She could only hear and
prayed for Derek’s safety
. A
nd then h
er concern drifted to her impendin
g death and meeting with Satan.
Would he appear to her in the same manner as before? Would it hurt to die this time? Was she going to Hell? So many questions and they would all be a
nswered in a matter of moments, as the water crept up her neck and over her chin. She instinctively took a deep breath knowing it would be her very last.
Her heartbeat throbbed
in her throat as water consumed her nose, eyes, and the rest of her head. Completely submerged, she willed herself to calm. But as
her cells used up the precious oxygen
, her body
thrashed about
and fought for
more
air.
Don’t open your mouth! Don’t breathe in! Fight to stay alive!
Her lips slowly parted and her lungs sucked in the dreaded water. The familiar feeling from so long ago returned. Her oxygen starved brain played a movie of her life and her drowned lungs burned with pain.
And then, he appeared before her.
Long spindly horns spiraled outward from his forehead
. Eyes, soulless caverns, peered at and through her
. And his face, gruesome enough to make a grown man cry in fear screwed up into a wicked grimace.
“I have come to collect what is owed to me.
Your
soul, denied
to
me for so long
. A
nd
now
,
I can assume
my proper place ruling this mortal realm.”
He touched a clawed finger to every spot where she’d been carved and etched. And as he did so, they glowed, resulting in the paradoxical feeling of being on fire in water. She screamed
helplessly and hopelessly, taking in even more water to her already saturated lungs.
A brilliant orange light shimmered around her, encompassing the entire well.
Shadows, shrieks, moans, and inhuman sounds swirled around her.
At the same time, she felt her body soaring as if to the heavens.
“You’re too late! It’s happened!
The portal has been opened and my minions will soon cross over to wreak havoc never before seen by man.
I’ll be back for you, Camille. You’ve cheated me twice now. I’ll be back for what’s mine!”
Darkness enveloped her, and she only became aware of her surroundings
when
her cheek
kissed
the ground and
she felt
intense pressure on her chest. She involuntarily sputtered up water and in turn gasped for breath.
Someone swiped her hair off her face and then pressed firmly on her back again. More water spewed from her. Coughing, she struggled for more air and dug her nails into the soggy ground.
Wincing and crying out, s
he rolled over onto her back and opened her eyes to find an angel above her
turn into Derek
.
“Easy, Camille. You’re gonna be fine now. Just fine.”
She blinked a few times and raised a hand to caress his cheek.
“Hi there.
” He gave her the sweetest smile and kissed her palm.
“
You’re alive and safe, sweetheart.”
“Victor?”
“I
had to empty an
entire clip of bullets into him
to get to you
. The police have him now.”
She inched her way up to a sitting position and looked around her. Victor lay shackled to a gurney with police surrounding him. As they lifted him into the ambulance, he cackled and rambled on about Hell’s Portal being opened and Satan unleashing untold evil upon the world.
Her stomach roiled and she shook uncontrollably at seeing him still alive.
“
He’s still alive. How is he still alive?”
“
Don’t listen to him, Camille.
” He tried to calm her down
. “
He’s a lunatic. They’ll put him away for a good long time.
”
She wouldn’
t be soothed and grabbed his collar. He had to mind to her.
He needed to know the truth of it.
“We have to listen to him. He’
s right. I helped Satan open the portal. Evil’s been unleashed. I saw it myself. I have to stop it, Derek. Somehow, I have to keep evil from spreading
.”
“Okay, okay. I hear
you.”
“Do you
really
? Have you seen my arms and legs? My stomach and eyes? Derek, I’ve been marked and opened Hell’s doorway so now all manner of evil can come through and wreak havoc here on earth. I started this and I have to finish this.
I
have
to find a way to close that portal.
” She tried to get up
but the pain from her open wounds tore through her, taking her breath away, and she cried out.
He held her gently but with strength she knew she could count on.
“You’re not in this alone, Camille.
I won’t leave you to face this on your own. And I can document every step of this journey.
Let’s focus on the positive for now. You’re alive, Zachary Michaels is alive, and the cult members are being rounded up. It’s over, Camille. It’s over.”
She looked him square in the eye. “Oh, Derek, I’m afraid it’s only just begun.”
Coming Soon from Deena Remiel
The Book Waitress Series
continues with…
Devil Du Jour
, Book #2
Demon a La Mode
, Book #3
Keep in touch:
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…
School teacher and single mom, Emma Livingston, has been through hell--and back so she thinks. While dealing with the night terrors and active imagination of her five-year old daughter, Hannah, she attempts to lead a normal life. That is, until the demon from those nightmares pays her a visit, too, and threatens both of their lives. Desperate, she reaches out for help--and finds Michael waiting.
Michael D'Angelo is known to everyone in Prophet's Point, Arizona, as their loving elementary school principal. But to The Brethren, he is the most powerful Protector. Immortal and angelic does not mean he's without doubts or fears, as protecting Emma and Hannah from Evil tests his ability to fight his tortured past
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As the Trinity is formed, ancient secrets are revealed and faith is tested. When a prophecy is exposed, Hannah becomes the main target and Emma wonders if a normal life will ever be possible again. Hope is like an anchor, but can a mother, her daughter, and an angel overcome the evil determined to annihilate the world?
Relic
Raphael, a Brethren Savior, an angel with a forgotten past, has lost his power to heal and is on a self-imposed guilt trip to get it back. If he can’t, his tour of eternal duty as Brethren Savior will be revoked. On his journey, he winds up enmeshed in a web of attempted murder and resurrection, all thanks to a woman he’s only seen in a photograph and by chance on
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temptation at bay.
Three souls bound together by an ancient relic, bound by a timeless gift, and bound by a love that is eternal.
And coming soon…
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