Oracle Rising (2 page)

prologue

Crosspointe

He hunted her.

He plucked them from life like they were nothing more than petals of a flower. His reasons were lost to all of them, but that didn't stop him. With each woman, he found, stole, and destroyed her.

It wasn’t perfection he sought.

Actually, it was the opposite.

With each woman, he found someone flawed and took them to be his.

It was all because of
her
.

See…she surrounded herself with terrible people.

They were crass.

Vain.

Obnoxious.

He’d made it his job to steal their lives, all the while, closing the cage on her a little more. In the grand scheme of things, she was his ultimate goal. While he knew her from his dreams, he couldn’t help but want to possess her in his waking hours.

He had a gift.

His mind was strong, vivid, and in control, and he needed someone who could match his abilities.

He craved his equal.

So, she was going to be his.

When she ran, he chased.

Oh, if she thought she could get away from him, she was mistaken. He was a predator, and she was the prey. While she raced away for her life, he was going to be right on her trail.

He was subtle enough to blend in.

He didn't stand out.

No, he was just like everyone else…on the outside. On the inside, he was different.

He hated.

He hunted.

He destroyed.

There was nothing on the planet that could stop him from achieving his ultimate goal. He was going to reap her away from life at his soonest opportunity.

She was helpless against him.

While she believed that she could run free, escaping his icy claws of death, she was mistaken.

She was his.

In his heart, he knew that she had to be the one he caught, used, and destroyed.

He was torn. 

His mind wanted to conquer her.

His body wanted to own her.

His soul…it wanted to destroy her.

She was the only person who stood in his way. With her mind picking up his ‘sins’, he knew she couldn’t be free for long. At some point, she would cause him pain. She saw everything he was doing, and that made her a liability.

How she did it, he didn't know. All he could do was find her before she destroyed his world.

Here, in his mind, he was powerful.

She was weak.

This one woman wanted to ruin his game, ending his destiny.

Well, he couldn’t let that happen.

He wouldn’t let her break him.

So, he would hunt her.

Stalk her.

Kill her.

When she slept, he crept into her dreams to steal even more of her soul. It started there. Piece by piece, he was systematically breaking her life apart.

She had no friends.

No family.

No life.

Being on the run weakened her, and there would be no one she could trust to keep her safe. Essentially, she was all his. He would be the ultimate winner in this game.

It was a battle he wouldn’t lose.

It began with terror and would end with him getting his ultimate prize.

Why?

Because she knew everything about him, and that was scary. No one, in all his life, knew the truth. They didn't see him hurting people, taking lives, or enjoying the kill. That was his secret and until her, it had remained hidden.

Then she appeared.

She saw everything he did, and that couldn’t be forgotten. She was dangerous, and he couldn’t let her live with the knowledge of what he craved.

She had to die.

Before long, she’d be one of his victims.

Oh, he’d enjoy her first, but in the end, he’d steal her away from life, adding her to the body count.

It was only a matter of time.

He’d take her life, crushing it out like a bug under his heel. What he did was none of her concern, and that first night he saw her in his dreams, he knew the truth.

She had to die.

There was no choice.

From that day, he’d been obsessed. He craved finding the woman who saw the real him.

She was going to cause him trouble, and that couldn’t happen. So, while she snooped around in his mind, he made sure to return the favor.

Now he was closing the cage door.

One victim at a time.

There was no doubt that she would figure out who he was. She’d know him once they were near. Maybe she couldn’t pick out his face, but she watched what he did to all of them. That alone was too much leverage.

She haunted him, and he hated it.

When he slipped into his victims’ bedrooms, wrapping his hands around their throats, she saw it happen.

Somehow, she was with them.

She shook in fear as he slipped into their unconscious bodies, taking what he craved.

This mystery woman knew what he did.

She silently observed him douse the dead women in gasoline, only then to toss that match onto their nearly dead bodies.

She must have liked it just as much as he did, and that turned him on. She was like him, and he had to have her.

In the end, she would be his greatest reward or ultimate downfall. It was a risk he was more than willing to take.

He lusted after her mind.

Even when the woman tried to stop him, he still found himself aroused. Who didn't want an audience when you did something so vile, sickening, and taboo?

He loved knowing that she was afraid.

It egged him on.

When he first realized she was watching him, he was scared, but now…it was a game.

It was cat and mouse, and he couldn’t wait to have her trapped under his lethal claw.

She would be his.

Mark his word.

Deep down, he suspected that she wanted him too. If she saw his face, she didn't report him. Maybe it was because if she tried, they’d all think she was crazy.

Then again, maybe it was more.

She wanted him to chase.

Some women liked that, and he hoped she did too.

His body reacted at the mere thought.

Yes, she would be his.

Until then, when she could see him more clearly, she was more an inconvenience than a danger.

This sexy little mouse was helpless, and he loved that in prey. There was nothing better than knowing she was locked in that little closet, scared by what she saw. When she huddled in the dark, hands pressed to her brow, he wanted to kiss her senseless. Then he wanted to make her scream in pain.

She was helpless, and that’s how it should be.

Oh, she wasn’t going to live.

He’d make sure of it.

There would be no choice. When she ran, he followed. When she hid, he sought. This was a game for him, and he loved it.

There was that rush.

There was a feeling of euphoria.

As she was a rabbit, trying to get away, he was the hungry fox, needing his meal. So, as this precious little gem left the town she loved, hiding in some small cottage in the middle of nowhere, he was pleased.

Everything about it made him happy.

She was isolated and soon to be his.

It was a matter of time before he shut the cage door, locking her away.

Death was coming for her, and she’d never be able to run again. This was the final stretch of the race, and he was going to be victorious.

He was biding his time.

Soon, she’d be his.

Just like the others, she’d go up in flames. It would be her body he watched writhe in twisted pain, and she would deserve it. While he had mercy for the others, she wouldn’t be given such a gift.

No.

She would really suffer.

With the countless others, he felt compassion. He at least knocked them out. With this woman, for being a pain in his ass, he was going to make sure she was wide awake.

When he struck that match, she’d be bound and ready to accept the gift of death.

As the flames licked at her flesh, devouring her whole, he’d laugh. It would be fun to watch her squirm and scream as the heat devoured her body.

Oh, she’d been asking for it.

This game would be coming to an end, and soon. When he found her in a very familiar small town, she’d beg him to set her free.

And he would—right into to the hands of death.

Why?

Because he could…

There was no place to run, and before it was over, he was going to make sure his little peeping Tom suffered.

She had to be punished.

The time was upon them.

                                  
* * *
   O  R A C  L  E   * * *

Two Days Later

Three A.M

He’d found another one.

She was perfect for his plan.

Everything about her made him angry. Oh, he’d watched her flaunt herself in front of the other men—like a peacock showing its feathers—and he knew she had to be the one he took.

She was flawed—just like the rest.

This woman actually thought she was worthy of his time. When she flirted and offered herself up, he wanted to laugh.

Well, she’d picked the wrong person to come on to. Yes, he’d been waiting to find that special woman, but until he could get his hands on the one who haunted his mind, she’d have to do.

It wasn’t as gratifying, but who was he to turn away someone so flawed and vile?

So, he let her take him home.

He wanted to laugh at how eager she was to get laid. It was simply more proof that she needed to be added to his collection of disgusting specimens.

She fit in with the rest of them.

This slutty mess was more than willing to offer up her life, and he wouldn’t say no.

This time, it was more about his peeping Tom than his needs. He could feel her in his mind, begging him to stop. That alone made him want to offer her a gift.

So, he would.

He was going to give her a life.

The evening was coming to an end, and while he did his best work at this time of the night, he wasn’t focused on the redhead before him. He was talking to his little mouse in his mind.

He was warning her.

He was showing her.

He was trying to impress her.

It was hard to hold back. This woman was his obsession, and he wanted to share his kill. A small part of him hoped she’d enjoy it too. Then they could be a matched set.

Honestly, he wanted her in the worst way.

She was powerful, and he could tell she’d make the perfect conquest.

Knowing she existed offered him one thing. Now, he wasn’t a freak. Peeking into the minds of others was a curse and a gift, but he’d found someone who could do the same.

That appealed to him on some sick level.

He wanted her.

He loved her.

He hated her.

He had to destroy her.

If anything, he was torn. This mystery woman was something he’d never seen before. For once, he wasn’t alone. He’d been using his inner sight to hunt for those who deserved to die for so long, and now he had a chance to have a partner.

When the redhead moaned in pleasure, he was forced to shut off the conversation. Later, he’d relive her fear and screams, but for now…

He had work to do.

The woman who lured him to her needed his attention. She was going to die, and she deserved at least that. It would be his final gift to her.

As she knelt before him, his dick in her mouth, he couldn’t help but hate her.

No, that was too kind a word.

It wasn’t lost on him that she was nothing like the woman in his head. This mess was nothing compared to her.

It filled him with anger.

Not at the woman before him, but the one he truly wanted. She was ruining his fun by just existing.

This was why she had to pay.

While his conquest was giving him a blow job, in the back seat of his vehicle, he should be enjoying it.