Ruin (Rhodes #1) by Rina Kent

                             I inspect my surroundings before scurrying to the path the girl took. With composed steps, I sneak through shadows and catch up with her in a few minutes.

                             Her heels slow her escape. Their clanks interrupt the calm night and mask my already hushed footsteps.

                             The girl stumbles a few times, but not once does she look sideways or behind her.

                             A few streets later, she stops in front of a two-storey house in an elegant street lit by two yellow lamps.

                             Chest heaving, one of her hands clutches the dog and the other fumbles in her pocket. A key falls from her trembling hand, twice, before she jiggles it into the lock.

                             So, this is where she lives. It’s like a house out of ‘Cosy Family Homes’ program.

                             Interesting.

                             No. Not interesting. None of this is supposed to be bloody interesting. She’s by no means a target, nor someone I can use in my plans. Therefore, she’s of no value. Full stop.

                             And yet, my feet are glued to the ground behind the corner, opposing her house. Close enough to see the tremor in her fingers, but too dark for her to perceive me.

                             A middle-aged woman emerges at the doorway. The girl jumps.

                             “Mae! Where have you been?”

                             A faint smiled appears on the girl’s plump lips. She leans to press a kiss on the woman’s cheek. “I’m sorry, Mum. I got caught with Sydney. You know how she gets.”

                             “Your father and I were worried about you. We called you several times but...” I stop paying attention to the woman’s words and follow the girl’s field of vision. Her squinted gaze falls on the spot where I lurk. She stares at my hideout as if she could see me. Or right through me for that matter.

                             After several long seconds, the girl frowns and follows her mother inside.

                             I stand rooted for a minute, picturing blood flowing out of that pale skin of hers. So red. So metallic. I can almost smell it.

                             “Mae...” I whisper to the dark walls surrounding me.

                             A girl who would never fit as a target, which makes her even more tempting.

                             The poor, poor girl. She should never have stirred my attention.

                             Tonight, Mae has invited monsters to play.





                             Chapter Two

                             Mae



                             My gaze plunges into the darkness of what I painted.

                             The sombre faceless figure with a broken wing stares back at me. No eyes. No features. Just blackness. Deep, swallowing atrocity invites me to his grim, lawless world.

                             I did it again. That suppressed part of my soul took over my hand and plummeted my art into the tunnel of no return.