Free Love Beyond Oceans by Rebecca Royce Page B

room.
    "Can you smell that?" He looked at Jason who shook his head. Apparently, Drew was the only one who could smell the aroma of a demon in his mouth.
    Samuel moved forward and knelt in front of him. "Look at me."
    He tried to lift his gaze to stare at the other man, it was hard but he managed. "Need something?"
    "Listen to the sound of my voice. Pain is nothing. I mean it. Shut it off. You're Drew Dubowski. The toughest son of a bitch I've ever known. You don't take shit and you live life by your own terms. None of us can ever understand you."
    "You're not helping." If that was what Samuel intended in the first place. Otherwise, when he got through this he was going to break Samuel's nose.
    "Listen to my words. Pain is nothing. There is nothing Sebastian can do you that you won't beat. This is pain. It's nothing. Do you understand?"
    Actually, he did. Samuel had been locked in a closet and set on fire. He lived with pain for years until Jason stopped it. Only Drew remained capable of working the experience out.
    But before he made the pain go away, he had to follow where it took him to the demon.
    He closed his eyes. "Someone remember what I say."
    "Got it." Christophe's voice. Yes, he could count on the professor to handle things.
    "Drew." Marina called out from the crowd. He could hear agony in her voice only he couldn't do anything to ease her yet. "Don't do this. Take it back. This is Sebastian. You never know what's going to happen."
    Drew shook his head. He appreciated the love that made her speak the way she did. And he had no doubt love described what she felt when she uttered the words. He could taste it; her adoration covered the sulfur for a brief moment bathing everything in roses.
    "Marina, if you can't stand watching, leave the room." He almost hoped she would. Although he doubted she'd heed his instructions. Marina was nothing if not gutsy.
    He breathed through his nose and let the heat inside of him travel through his mind. The last time he'd done this, he'd been an adolescent. The sensation had freaked the fuck out of him and when he'd actually been able to see out of Sebastian's eyes the temptation to give in to the evil that flowed through him had convinced Drew never to let the demon in again. Of course, he'd not really understood Sebastian was a demon. He'd come to the understanding much later.
    Drew had only known he didn't want any part of whatever the guy had inside.
    Except this time he did.
    He let his mind travel. Follow where it leads, Sebastian had told him in a letter, don't fight it and the heat will make you stronger than you ever believed you could be.
    The last time he went screaming. Sebastian had known the second he arrived. Drew would do better. He wasn't a scared kid. Sebastian didn't scare him so much as he pissed him off.
    He floated through space even though he knew his body remained on the ground in the Outsider cave. Time ceased to matter. Drew really had no idea how long it took for his consciousness to move from his own body to the demon's incorporeal form. Would it be different since he wasn't going to be landing directly in any body this time?
    Eyesight returned. He blinked rapidly and tried to look around only he could see just what the demon saw. And what he initially saw wasn't particularly helpful. A large brown home, peeling wood, and a shack in the back. Really nondescript. He didn't know if it'd be enough of an image to let him travel there. People were better than places unless he had been to the location many times.
    The demon floated somewhere and Drew went with him.
    "I'm at a house. It's brown. Bare trees. Not much going on. I don't even hear any cars in the distance. Maybe running water."
    Christophe would remember the small details.
    "He's moving. I'm obviously going with him. No sign of Alexa or really anything. Okay, moving again. This time to the side of the house. There's a number. 211 and something written beneath it. The street name. Ah, yes this is good. It