by Nikki Prince
It was pathetic when a demon pleaded, thought Asmoday. It lessened the other demon in his eyes. Though he ascertained that he needed to keep this particular coward around in case there was some cleanup that needed to be done once he had everyone where he wanted them.
“Damn right you did. Now as for a gift, I will give you the girl once I’m done with her.”
Asmoday saw the light of interest that entered Vestis’s beady eyes. He was such spineless vermin, but Asmoday would keep him around to get things he wanted done.
“Asmo, that would be a perfect present, I accept. I promise to break her.”
Asmoday jeered and shook his head. “Oh I know you’ll break her. You can’t seem to keep your toys in working order.”
“I can’t help it that they’re so fucking squishy.”
“Now it’s time to play a little game with the soft human.”
Perhaps Samael and Clay weren’t as smart as he thought they were. They should have been looking for the female so he’d just modify his plan—he was versatile like that. He was smarter this time, and he’d make sure that they all knew it.
“Now, Vestis, I want you to watch the portal. If you see Clay or Samael come through, you tell me that very instant. You got it?”
“Yes, I got it. But it will cost you extra.”
Asmo watched him tense as if he were waiting for him to blow up. He didn’t give him the pleasure; he was surer now that Vestis would love to be hurt by him. He’d give him pain on his own time and not before. After all he was the one in charge of everything, not the other way around.
“Cost me extra, Vee?” He leered wickedly.
“Yes, I want more of you plus the girl.”
“You’ll get more of me when this is done and done to my satisfaction and not before. Now watch the portal. No one is to come or go without me knowing. Got that?”
“Yes, yes I got it. Watch the portal and let you know who comes and goes.”
“Good boy, I may just fuck your ass yet.”
He left Vestis in search of his other prey with the sound of the other demon’s moans of want in his ears.
****
Eva had decided that she couldn’t stay home. She needed to be busy doing something while Samael and Clay looked for Liliana. So doing the only thing she could, she went to work at the store. At the moment she was knee deep in products and pricing them and setting them up on the display table. She was hard at work in the back of the store setting up a display when she heard someone come up behind her.
Hands slid over her eyes and she struggled, using her elbow to hit whomever it was. She heard a male grunt, but the arms didn’t loosen. She revved up to scream when she heard Oz’s voice.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He let her go.
“Damn it, Oz, don’t do that.”
He held his hands up as if he was trying to ward her off. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would affect you like that.”
“I don’t mean to fuss at you. Just some shit has hit the fan, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Maybe there’s something I can do?” Oz offered.
“Don’t think anyone can help with this.”
“You may be surprised at what I can do.” His words struck her as odd, but then she dismissed that feeling. This was Oz, and he was her friend.
As they talked, she continued to put the small dildos on the shelf.
“Maybe but this is something that I don’t think anyone can do. No offense to you, but yeah, this is something that will take a lot more than just being nice to get it done.”
“One thing I can do is to take you from here for a walk.”
She shook her head. “I can’t. I promised Clay I would stick close to the house or here.”
“Ah, he wouldn’t begrudge you a little walk. Come on, just for a little while.” The smile on his face was charming, and she found that she wanted to go. There was a park just down the street a few blocks. Why not go there and enjoy herself to take her mind off what was happening?
“Okay, okay, you’ve twisted my arm. Let’s go for that walk.” She looped her arm into his and allowed him to lead her out of the store. It was a beautiful day; she would stay optimistic and believe that Clay would find Liliana. In her haste she’d left her purse and cell phone, but she figured they wouldn’t be gone long.
“So you going to tell me what’s wrong?”
“Oz, you’re very persistent.”
“Yeah, I am. I want to know what has such a beautiful woman so upset.”
She still had her arm hooked in his. They’d walked several blocks, and she could see the park in sight in the distance.
“My sister is missing.”
“The sister you said you had problems with?”
“Yes, one and the same. I only have one sister.”
“What makes you think she’s missing?”
“She isn’t the type to just leave and not say she’s going. She’s totally in love with her man, and she wouldn’t have just left him like that. Me, she probably would have. But I deserve everything she wants to dish out.”
“Ahh, I can’t believe that. You’ve only done what you wanted in life. Nothing more.”
She couldn’t help but look at him funny. How’d he know what she’d done or hadn’t done?
“It’s just a guess,” he offered.
“I have wanted what I shouldn’t want and that is what I’m paying for right now. Liliana deserved a better sister than me and if she comes back, I plan to show her.”
“Why don’t you go tell her?”
“Go tell her? I don’t know where she is.”
“What if I do?”
“Oz, what are you getting at? And why would you play about something like this?”
“Who says I’m playing, Eva? I never thought you were this fucking dense. Fuck, have I been wrong about you all this time? Please don’t tell me I need to spell it out for you.”
She gasped. His voice sounded like the snake in her dreams. He still held on to her arm and tightened his hold like a vice. She jerked to get away.
“What the hell, stop and let me go!”
“You’re not as strong as you used to be, are you, Eva?” He pulled her close, with his hands holding her arms.
“Who the hell are you really?”
“Do you really still not recognize me?”
“Oz O’Dea,” she whispered. “It’s you, Asmoday. The serpent in my dreams and from the garden.” She began to tremble.
It dawned on her in that moment who he was and who he had been. She’d allowed the demon from her past back into her life. Now what did he want? And whatever he wanted, was she prepared to give it to him?
“Give the girl a cookie. Has the shit really hit the fan now? Or as you humans like to say, this shit just got real.” His words dripped with sarcasm.
“What is it you want?” She didn’t entertain his question.
“What have I always wanted?”
“I’m not sure.”
“But you should be. You see, whenever you did something selfish and only for you, I got off on that. I thrive on your greediness.”
“I’m not like that anymore.” She didn’t know if she was trying to convince him or herself that what she was saying was true.
“Oh don’t I know it. Which is the reason why I want you to stop this foolishness of trying to be good and be the real you. You’re not fucking virtuous, Eva. You get off on being a fucking bitch just as much as I get off on you being such.”
She looked about the park, hoping to find someone who’d be able to help her, but she knew it was futile. He was a demon. How would anyone begin to help her? In that instant she thought of Clay and was just about to voice his name when Asmoday’s fingernails became claws and dug into her arms.
“You call him, and I’ll have your precious Liliana killed,” he snarled, the calm demeanor of before gone and replaced with that of a cold-hearted killer.
She could hea
r the truth in those words. Asmoday, the demon of her past, had her sister. It was either do as he said or he’d kill her.
“Tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”
“Oh of that I have no doubt. You always were into preserving yourself and no one else.”
“Let her go. She has nothing to do with this.”
He burst out laughing, causing a flock of birds to fly up and scatter at the sound.
“You know as well as I do that she has everything to do with this. You, my dear, can’t help but want what she has.”
“No! You’re wrong! I’ve learned my lesson. I’m learning it. She belongs with him, and I don’t.”
“No, all you’ve learned to do is to hide what you really want from yourself. But you forget I know you better than you know yourself. You still think that she wants what you had. Has always wanted what you had, which in turn has made this a never-ending cycle. A very delicious cycle, because I feed off your greed and lusts.”
“Feed off me?”
What the hell was he? Was he some sort of demonic vampire? Then it dawned on her Oz was a demon of lust and rapaciousness. He fed off her sexual energy as well as her gluttony to have what she wanted at all costs. So all of these years that she’d be torturing Lili she’d been supplying Asmoday his kicks. This was the reason he’d started coming around and invading her dreams. She’d stopped giving him his fix, and he wanted it to continue.
“I have news for you, Asmoday. You will have to look somewhere else to find what you’re looking for. I’m not that girl anymore.”
“I’m not giving you a choice, Eva.”
“Asmoday, let me go before the shit really hits the fan. Let my sister go.”
“Whoa, it’s amazing to see the concern you pretend to have for your sister now. Admit it, Eva. You’ve only ever cared about yourself. The reason you’re trying to be good now is to get back your demon. You hate what they’ve turned you into.” His words were scathing, and she flinched.
There was one thing about demons that you couldn’t get away from. They were sharp and to the point, and it didn’t matter to them who they hurt when they were doing it. Asmoday was out for blood, Eva’s blood. That was unless she played ball.
“That was before.”
“Before what?” he goaded.
“I learned that what I was doing was wrong.”
“Why was it wrong? Was it wrong since they said it was?”
“I hurt Liliana and Samael with my selfishness.”
“Ugh! Don’t want to fucking hear that shit! All the time that has gone by and now you want to play nice? Fuck that shit!” He grabbed her roughly, and the next thing she knew was that she was in the in between. Just as she was looking around trying to make sense of where she was, she was hit over the back of the head and knew no more.
Chapter Fifteen
When Eva awakened she was in a dark and dank cavern and shackled to the wall. She couldn’t see anything, but her hearing was amplified and what she did hear was terrifying. There was a lot of screaming, growling, and other unidentifiable sounds that would have had a lesser person peeing in their pants. She wasn’t a demon anymore, which meant she couldn’t protect herself if one decided to do something to her. She held her eyes closed tightly, and she tried to concentrate on Clay. But she couldn’t feel his presence like she had before. Something was touching her, and her eyes opened up wide. Though she couldn’t see a thing it didn’t stop her from trying to do so.
She heard a small hiss close to her ear and a flick of a tongue, and she shuddered.
“You can try to reach your demon, but he won’t be able to find you where we have you.” The disembodied voice hissed yet again and drew even nearer. So close was it, she could taste its rancid breath. Some demons were plain disgusting when they wanted to be and preferred that. She could only figure it was the same with the one that seemed intent on exploring her.
It was a voice she didn’t recognize, so she could only assume it was one of Asmoday’s minions. The thought that Asmoday wasn’t the only one she’d have to deal with filled her with dread. She shuddered as that wet and rough tongue flicked over her cheek this time, and she turned her face away. She pressed herself against the wall trying to make herself as small as possible so whatever thing was touching her couldn’t. It was all in vain. There was another swipe of a tongue and hands were groping her.
“Get the fuck away from me,” she shrieked.
Her heart was racing, and it was all she could do to calm herself. It wouldn’t do to lose it wherever she was, so she had to maintain calm. She took deep breaths and soon found that the racing of her heart stopped. She sensed the demon moving away, and she was left with the sound of her own breathing. She wasn’t sure what made the demon leave her alone, but she was happy it did. She heard faint movement and wondered if she were already going crazy in the dark. She closed her eyes.
“Eva?” a voice said tentatively.
Her eyes shot open, and she couldn’t keep the relief from her voice. She wasn’t crazy. That was her sister’s voice she heard. It was sort of shocking that Asmoday would put her in the same place he’d put her sister.
“Lili … yes, it’s me, Eva.”
“Why am I here? What have you done?” Accusation was ripe in Liliana’s voice.
“I’m sorry. This is my entire fault. You’re leverage.” She couldn’t blame Lili for thinking that she was capable of this type of deceit. She blamed herself.
“Leverage for what?” She could hear the disbelief in Lili’s voice.
“Asmoday, for him to get what he wants I have to do what he wishes.”
Suddenly she felt extremely tired, and it was all she could do not to just close her eyes to block it all out. She knew it was her body’s way of coping. But she couldn’t do that, because there was too much at stake. For the millionth time since the change she cursed her human body. If there was any time that she needed to be a demon, now was that time. Then she could save the both of them.
“Who the hell is Asmoday?” Lili’s voice was higher than usual, and Eva totally understood the reason why.
“He’s a demon, Liliana. He’s a demon that gorges on lust and greed.”
Lili began to cry. Eva pulled herself up and scooted over in the dark, tentatively reaching out to see if she could find Lili by touch. When her hand came in contact with skin she knew it was Lili and that she could get in close enough to pull her into her arms. The chains did not hinder them that much. Lili sobbed and buried her face into Eva’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Lili. I will get us out of this.” She wished she could see Lili’s face, so that her words weren’t just empty things echoing in the cavern.
“I just want to go home. I want Samael.”
Lord, how she wished that saying their names would bring them. But knowing Asmoday, he had something set up that was cloaking them from their men.
“They’ll find us, Lili. I promise you I will get you out of this, even if I have to sacrifice myself to do it.”
“How the hell do you know you will get us out of this? Tell me how. What could you possibly do to appease that demon?”
“By giving him what he wants. I owe you, and the least I could do is to make amends for what I’ve done.” Lili went silent on her, something she’d done a lot of as a child when she was scared. Eva’s eyes were adjusting a bit, and she could now just see the outline of Lili’s head. She laid her head atop Lili’s and continued to hold her. Unable to stay silent a minute longer, she asked the burning question that she needed to know most in that moment.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Eva asked.
“No, they haven’t touched me.” The way she said it suggested that she didn’t think that it would stay that way.
“I won’t let them hurt you.”
“You can’t promise me that. The demon that brought me in here has already said his reward for helping Asmoday is me.”
“Lili, you’ve got to believe me. I had nothing
to do with this, and I won’t let them harm you.”
“You’ve told so many lies, Eva.”
Eva felt the wetness of Liliana’s tears slide sluggishly down her chest where Lili’s head rested.
“I know and for that I’m truly sorry.”
“Sorry that you got caught?”
Eva took in a sharp breath. “I deserved that. But no. I am sorry that my actions have put you into this mess.”
“You’re damn right about that. Now how powerful is this demon?”
“He’s powerful enough that he can block out Samael and Clay as long as he’d like. He’s older than we are.” Her wrists were starting to cramp from the shackles, but she didn’t want to let Lili go.
It was as if Lili had read her mind. “Don’t let me go. Please, Eva. With you here at least I don’t feel alone.”
“I won’t,” she said with more confidence than she was feeling. This was her fault. If she’d told Clay about the dreams she’d been having along with the demonic visitation, perhaps they wouldn’t be in this predicament.
“Samael won’t stop till he finds me.” Lili’s breath was hot against Eva’s skin. It was a reminder to Eva that they were both still there and alive.
“No, he won’t,” she agreed. “He loves you.” As she talked she ran her head along Lili’s curls to soothe her. Liliana had quieted down, and the soft sound of her breathing let Eva know she’d fallen to sleep.
Those words got her to thinking. Would Clay come for her? He loved having sex with her, but was that enough to keep them together after all that she’d put them through? There were times it seemed as if he cared for her. She was too scared to latch on to that. What if it was just wishful thinking on her part? Clay was there to watch her. That wasn’t a promise that he’d want and love her.
Love. Yes, that was what she wanted from Clay. She admitted it to herself for the first time in forever. She’d always wanted his approval and his love. Hopefully it wasn’t too late. He’d find them, and he’d love her as much as she loved him.
In a perfect world, all she needed was her family. Clay, Lili and Samael were her family, right along with Jess and Remiel. She didn’t care if she ever became a demon again. If she were human and had her family, then that was all that mattered.