And then something hits me, and at first I think it’s the demon, but we’re both flying backwards, and her grip loosens and she releases my neck. I crack the back of my head against the fireplace before slumping to the floor, my skull aching, acutely aware of the writhing presence beside me. A flash of metal cuts through the darkness and she disappears, like before.
Three dark-skinned faces appear, each identical and framed by well-trimmed gray hair and webs of wrinkles. I shake my head and the three faces become one.
“Mr. Jackson?” I say, glancing at the long sword my neighbor’s carrying in his left hand. Hastily, he shoves it into a loop on his belt.
“She’s gone, son,” he says, bending over and picking up my body as easily as the demon did, surprisingly strong.
“So are they,” I say through the tears and the wave of dizziness that assaults me, and he nods with sad eyes.
“Salem’s Revenge has begun a day early,” he says gruffly, just before my vision fades and I lose consciousness.
BREW by David Estes is available NOW!