Demon's Vengeance
Page 35
At the foot of the stairs, I reached out and grabbed the beaded pull chain on my first try. The small dirt-floor room was flooded with dim yellow light. Across the room near my work bench, Lilith stood with her arms folded over her stomach as she glared at me. I wasn’t surprised. The shadowy figure had been haunting me since the showdown at the warehouse. At what she hoped were my vulnerable moments, a transparent vision of the Queen of the Underworld would appear in expectation of scaring me out of my current course of action.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, Gage,” she whispered to me. I was no longer sure if I was actually hearing her voice or if the words were merely floating across my brain.
“I don’t see how I have any other choice in the matter,” I replied, walking past her to the one cabinet with a large padlock on the front. From the far wall with the spray-painted demon symbol, I could feel Zyrus stirring. The demon had been giving me a wide berth recently while I was in the basement at the parlor, but then we’d been spending a great deal of time together in my rooms at the Towers.
Of course, the Towers were less than pleased with Gideon’s news that I was dealing with demons. But for now, they held back, watching and concocting a plan to deal with me. For now, they steered clear of me while I was in Simon’s rooms as well as in Low Town. There hadn’t even been a whispered sighting of a warlock or witch in Low Town since the unicorn’s death. The Towers were afraid, though they’d never admit that one lone warlock had a chance at defeating them. But then, they hadn’t a clue as to what I planned.
Without bothering to pull the key out of my pocket, I unlocked the padlock with a wave of my hand and pulled it free of the cabinet. As I opened the double doors, I whispered the reveal spell and a pair of bottles appeared in the very front of the top shelf. There was a slight tremble in my fingers as I picked up the bottle labeled “Styx.”
“Don’t do this, Gage,” Lilith snarled, but I noticed that her image was already fading. “I don’t need you. I will find another. Come into my domain, and I’ll destroy what’s left of your soul.”
The demon’s laugh tumbled through my head and I smiled at the misty remains of the dark queen. “You’re just one stop on my journey to getting the life I want.”
Placing the bottle on the workbench, I pulled my long-sleeved shirt over my head and stood bare-chested in the cold, letting the heavy silence sink into me. I glanced down at the tattoo I’d had Bronx complete for me a week ago. It was the demon’s symbol drawn over my heart. The ink had included a mixture of angel feather and water from Acheron, the Underworld river of pain. The unique potion acted as a buffer between Zyrus and myself, allowing me to have better control over the demon and its powers while not falling to the rush of its emotions quite so easily.
“Are you ready?”
Defeat Lilith and free the Underworld from her grasp, and we will lead an army to destroy the Towers.
It was a fair trade and I had nothing left to lose. Picking up the bottle, I pulled the cork out and held the glass vial aloft in a toast. “For Trixie and my child.”
I drank down the Styx, the very water that was supposed to have made Achilles invulnerable, and I waited for darkness to claim me. When my two years in the Underworld were complete, I’d have all the powers of the demons with me. I would reduce the Towers to nothing but fire and blood.
I’d make this world safe for my love. Or I would make it burn.
Acknowledgments
There was a time when I didn’t know if this book would ever see the light of day. But when I sat at the computer, I knew that Gage had one more story that he had to tell the world. One last warning. One last lesson.
I want to give a big thanks to the Harper Voyager crew who has seen me through nine books. Pam and Jessie, you’re always there to cheer on my books and I will always be grateful. A big thanks to Diana for taking a chance on a dreamer addicted to the written word. We worked on eight books together and I’ve learned so much from you. And a big thanks to Kelly for being there to safely escort Gage into the waiting arms of readers one last time.
Last but far from least, thank you to all readers who have taken a chance on a guy determined to find his way through a strange world while protecting those he loves.
About the Author
Jocelynn Drake is the New York Times bestselling author of the Dark Days series, and lives in Florida. When not at her desk, she is most likely to be found playing video games, watching movies, or hanging with her family.
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Also by Jocelynn Drake
THE ASYLUM TALES
Angel’s Ink
Dead Man’s Deal
The Asylum Interviews: Bronx
The Asylum Interviews: Trixie
THE DARK DAYS NOVELS
Nightwalker
Dayhunter
Dawnbreaker
Pray for Dawn
Wait for Dusk
Burn the Night
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Demon’s Fury copyright © 2014 by Jocelynn Drake.
Demon’s Vow copyright © 2014 by Jocelynn Drake.
Inner Demon copyright © 2014 by Jocelynn Drake.
DEMON’S VENGEANCE. Copyright © 2015 by Jocelynn Drake. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub Edition APRIL 2015 ISBN: 9780062405968
Print Edition ISBN: 9780062405951
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