Hunter Beaumont doesn't understand his grandmother's deathbed wish: "Destroy Beaumont House." He'd never even heard of the place. But after his grandmother passes and his first love betrays him, the family house in the Wisconsin woods looks like a tempting refuge. Going against his grandmother's wishes, Hunter flees to Beaumont House.<br><br>But will the house be the sanctuary he had hoped for? Soon after moving in, Hunter realizes he may not be alone. And who -- or what -- he shares the house may plunge him into a nightmare from which he may never escape.<br><br>Sparks fly when he meets his handsome neighbor, a caretaker for the estate next door, but is the man salvation...or is he the source of Hunter's terror?

A Demon Inside

Hunter stood slack-jawed in the doorway, watching the fury. A Lalique vase that had belonged to Nana lifted from its place on an end table and headed toward him in a blur of speed. Before he could duck out of the way, it hit him in the forehead. Seconds later, a trickle of blood seeped into his eyes. He stumbled, yet he shouted, “I refuse to be afraid.”


The derisive laughter began. But for the first time, Hunter did not feel scared of it, but annoyed. Didn’t this creature have anything else in his bag of tricks? Hunter found himself laughing back. This demon, or whatever it was, was acting like a petulant child! Hunter knew his mirth was only a hairline away from hysteria, but he used it to shout at the top of his lungs, “I command you out of here!”


Hunter looked around him. The downstairs looked as though vandals had broken in, but the house was once again warm, and the only sounds were the creaking of the branches outside as the night wind tore through them.


Chapter 78