“Stop it! Stop it!” I cried, grabbing at his arms.
“I cannot take it, Maren.” He clawed at his head. “I’m going mad here. Go, just go! Get it done! Go before I can’t let you!”
I pulled myself away and ran. Boom! I heard him hit the trunk again, but I didn’t look back. I couldn’t.
I would come back out alive, and unharmed. I had to.
CHAPTER 35
The massive front door of Campbell Hall creaked open when I pushed on it.
“Hello?” I called out. No one answered. I took a deep breath and slipped inside. The door slammed behind me. I spun around, but I was alone.
I tiptoed into the lobby, my steps echoing on the marble floor. “Hello? Graham? I’m here. Now let me see my grandmother!”
A wooden panel in the wall to my right slid open.
“Come in,” Graham’s voice called.
I followed it into a room decorated like a ski lodge, with dark green carpet, overstuffed brown leather chairs, and an equally overstuffed moose head gazing blankly from above the fireplace.
Graham was in a chair, partially facing me. “Please, sit.” He motioned to the seat across from him with the drink in his hand. The clinking of his ice cubes was followed by a deep rumble. “I hear your friend is outside,” he said with a chuckle. “Temper, temper . . .”
“Where’s my grandmother?” I demanded. If he had harmed her in any way . . . I couldn’t bear the thought.
“I’m not telling you anything until you sit and have a wee chat with me,” Graham purred, taking a sip from his glass.
I sat down on the very edge of the empty seat. “Where is she?”
“She’s perfectly safe,” he said. “And if you want, I’ll let her go right now. You did show up, and you certainly can’t leave.” He picked up a small, black remote control from the table next to him and pressed a button. “There, it’s done. Your grandmother is on her way outside right now.”
“How do I know that? That button didn’t do anything.”
“You’ll just have to trust me,” he said with a shrug.
Not in a million years.
“Maybe when that fly boy of yours stops killing all the trees in my garden, you’ll believe me,” he continued. “I’m guessing he’ll stop banging his head like a big baby once he sees dear old Grandmama.”
The noise outside had stopped, but I wanted to keep Graham talking until I had some kind of confirmation my grandmother was truly free.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked. “And why did you save me from Anders?”
“I’m doing this because it’s in my blood,” he said, licking his lips. “And I saved you from Anders because I didn’t want you sullied by his stupidity. I want you for myself.”
I remembered Gavin saying the demon in Campbell Hall was an incubus demon—a lowlife, a thief. I knew what they went after, and it wasn’t love. Graham wasn’t obsessed with me; he was obsessed with my virginity. This was a game to him, and I was the spoils.
I ignored his disgusting innuendo and tried to keep control of the conversation. “I saw Anders in church today,” I said. “How is he not a demon if you’re related? You’re both Campbells.”
“We’re related in name only, not by blood,” Graham answered. “He likes to play the prince, but really, he was adopted. It’s a pity too, because he would make an excellent demon, don’t you think?”
“He was adopted? Demons adopt kids?”
“Not usually, but my aunt and uncle had an incident with a girl a number of years ago. She came to live with them, to work for them, really, and when she got pregnant, they were delighted, of course, because demons aren’t supposed to be able to sire children . . .” He paused to let the scenario sink in. “Unfortunately, the baby wasn’t one of ours. When she’d come to them, she was already pregnant. She died in childbirth, and they were stuck with the baby, so they adopted him.” He took another drink. “Did he give Mrs. Dougall my regards at the funeral?”
His words punched me in the stomach.
“What did you do to Jo?” I gulped.
“I needed to get your attention. It was easier than I thought, really. I met her out on a walk and took her . . . for a little ride, if you know what I mean.”
“You didn’t!” I screamed, jumping to my feet.
“Don’t get your knickers in a twist,” he said. “It wasn’t that kind of ride. Please,” he sniffed. “I don’t waste my time with just any girl. I took her for a little sightseeing flight. She didn’t like it, of course. So when she scratched me, the little witch, I dropped her.”
“You just dropped her?” I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I wiped them away. I had to be strong.
“Yes, just like that. I dropped her. She wasn’t what I wanted.”
I knew what he wanted, and he planned to get it from me. Coming in to Campbell Hall had been a big mistake. I stood up.
In a flash, Graham was standing in front of me, blocking my path. His breath reeked of alcohol. “You’re a special girl, Maren. Very special.” He walked his fingers along my shoulder.
I slapped his hand away. Unfortunately, he seemed to enjoy it.
“Oh, I like a feisty one,” he whispered, moving closer to me.
I tried to step back, but the chair was behind my legs. I twisted and ducked around him, but he caught me by the wrist. He threw his drink on the floor. It shattered in a mess of liquid and broken glass. He grabbed my other wrist with his now-free hand, and pushed me backward into the wall.
“We can do this the easy way,” he breathed. He leaned forward and licked my cheek. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to quiver. “But I do so like the hard way.”
When he pressed his body against mine, I heard a high-pitched whistle. He let go of me to put his fingers in his ears.
“What is that?” he wailed. “Make it stop!”
The noise was so quiet I could barely hear it, and it didn’t bother me at all. It stopped as soon as he stepped away. He straightened up, his face furious. He planted his hands on the wall behind me, trapping me between his arms.
“Now, where were we?” he hissed. I turned my head as he pushed his body against me and again, as soon as we touched, something screeched ever so faintly. He jumped back in audible pain. It stopped, and he realized the noise was coming from me.
He pulled my sweater down at the neck and spied the Tudor rose necklace. This was why Gia told me to use it for Anders, I thought. The necklace was some kind of ultrasonic demon agitator.
Graham ripped the necklace off my throat, and threw it across the room.
“If you thought a little buzzing would stop me, you were wrong,” he sneered. “Dead wrong.”
A low gong sound reverberated through the room. Graham cocked his head and sniffed. He had a strange look in his eyes.