Demon Tempted (Karmic Lust)

by Nikki Prince

  If Clay didn’t want her, she’d deal with that when the time came. What she needed to get a handle on was on how she was going to get out of this mess and keep Liliana safe. She’d protected her when she was younger, and she’d do so again with her own life if it came to it.

  She gave a shuddering sigh as she forced herself to hold back the tears that threatened to flow. Crying wasn’t going to help her. She had to be strong for Lili. If there was one thing she was determined to do it was to be strong. It was a waiting game. Asmoday had waited all this time to do what he was doing, so she didn’t expect he would make any hasty moves unless something didn’t go right.

  She’d hold on to that belief, and she’d pray like she never had before. This wasn’t her finest hour. The shoe didn’t feel good on the other foot was the right analogy for how she was feeling. Payback was a bitch, and its name was mockery in the guise of Asmoday the lust demon.

  ****

  “Clay.”

  Clay twisted around at the sound of his name, facing Remiel and Salathiel. It was Remie who spoke first.

  “We went to check on Eva. She’s gone now too.”

  “What? Did you check my place, her place and the shop?” Clay could hear the urgency in his own voice.

  “Yes, we checked all of those places. We did find out that she had been at the shop, and she left with a guy that has been frequenting the place.”

  Clay frowned and then it hit him who that someone was. “Oz O’Dea.”

  Salathiel spoke up with his deep baritone voice. “The girl at the counter said that she left on her own. There wasn’t any issue with her going with him.” Clay wasn’t sure what girl at the counter Sal was talking about. Not that Eva and Lili had a lot of employees, but there was more than one girl there. His face must have expressed that because it didn’t take long for Remie to speak up.

  “He’s talking about Jess.” Remie confirmed who Clay figured would be at the counter when the two had asked.

  “Then perhaps she’s okay, but that being said, I can’t feel her anymore.” That gut feeling was the main reason Clay had sent the two angels to check on Eva in the first place. Something was wrong; he could feel it. This had to be what Kam had been talking about. He’d thought the danger was to Eva alone. That was the mistake he’d made. Thinking that whoever had a vendetta against them would go directly for Eva.

  Remiel took a step forward, his eyes shining fiercely. “We will find them.”

  “Yes, we will. I think our next stop has to be the Nether.”

  Samael, who’d been silent up until now, spoke. “It’s the only plausible place that a demon could have taken the women. Otherwise we would be able to feel their presence.”

  “We will have to go into the Nether and look for them and if need be into hell,” Clay stated.

  “Remie and I’ll have to stay behind if you go into hell.” Sal’s expression showed that he wasn’t too happy with that idea.

  “I know. In that case just having the two of you in the Nether with us is help enough. I know that you can’t go any further than that, and I would not expect you to bend the rules.”

  “It could be a trap, Clay,” Salathiel stated.

  “It most likely is a trap. Whoever has the girls has planned this, and there is no way that he or she will just let them go. I’m willing to offer myself up in their place.”

  Samael placed his hand on Clay’s shoulder. “I’m willing to do the same. Now come on, we need to get to the Nether. I am sure it is being watched.”

  Clay placed his hand out and the other men placed their hands one on top of the other. No words needed to be said. They stood there in unity, and then each of them faded and headed for the Nether.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Eva awakened at some point in the night—at least she thought it was night—to a small flickering light that was off in a corner of the room. There were also intermittent noises that she could hear. Some things were hard to understand, but she did hear a few distinct cries and screams. Some time in the night she’d been moved and placed in an actual room.

  There was a small bed that both she and Lili had been placed on, the only amenity in the room. For all intents and purposes they were in a basic jail cell. The doorway was made of bars, and the walls were still the rock of before. From what she could tell, this wasn’t the Nether anymore. They were in hell. The place where all a human’s nightmares could happen and most likely would.

  Magic. It had to be dark demon magic on Asmoday’s part. She was still leaning against the granite wall holding Lili. She studied the light and held on to it as if it were a beacon. It kept her mind from racing and playing out different scenarios.

  The revolting demon had come back, and she’d found out his name was Vestis. But he hadn’t touched her. He’d brought food and water for the frail little beings, as he liked to call them, along with a small lamp that just barely lit the cave walls, let alone the floor.

  So seeing as Asmoday fed her and Lili it meant he didn’t want them dead, at least not at the moment. She held on to that fact, using it to keep herself going. The food and water had been a welcome addition right along with the lamp.

  “Lover boy is taking his own sweet time to find the two of you,” Asmoday said in a mocking voice.

  She gulped, and her gaze traveled up Asmoday’s form. He’d scared her by just appearing suddenly. For someone who’d been a demon, it was odd to have been scared by that. She had to wonder if she were turning more and more human. Not even just day by day, but minute by minute with time clicking away, was she slipping so far into being a human that she would soon be a distant memory as a demon?

  She’d spent too much time daydreaming and thinking about being back with Clay. She had to keep better watch. She couldn’t let Asmoday win this. He stood before her in his demon form, as pale as the moon with eyes of red. Everything about him seemed serpentine. He even had a forked tongue; the only exception was the fact that he had arms and legs. If she’d been anyone else she’d have been scared of what he looked like. He was meant to be terrifying. But having been a demon herself, this visage wasn’t difficult to take.

  “Startle you, did I? So lost in thought you didn’t hear me come in.” He kneeled beside her, taking one of her curls in his hand, stroking the bit of hair slowly. He chuckled as if he’d made a joke.

  “Fucking let me go, Asmoday.”

  “Oh, that dirty mouth of yours gives me a fucking hard on.”

  “I think saying your own fucking name gives you an erection.”

  “Oh baby, please keep talking dirty to me. Daddy likes,” he jeered and grabbed his cock.

  She rolled her eyes and tried to not focus on him gripping himself. He wanted her to see what he was doing, and she didn’t want to give him that pleasure. Eva noticed that Lili didn’t stir. She nudged her then regarded him with an expression of disdain. She was still breathing, which reduced some of the worry. The fact that Lili was sleeping through all that was happening was a concern.

  “What did you to do Lili, you bastard?”

  “Just making sure she sleeps nice and sweet until I am ready to play puppet master.”

  “You keep your fucking claws off her. You hurt her, and I’m going to kill you, Asmoday.”

  Asmoday burst out laughing. “You’re in no position to tell me what to do or not to do, Eva. As for killing me, bitch please. It would take a whole lot more than you to get rid of me.”

  “Try me!” she threatened.

  “Oh my dear, sweet girl, that’s the idea. My plan is to try you in so many ways till you beg and scream for mercy and then to do it all over again.” He tugged at the curl until a sharp pain generated at the roots from his pulling.

  She bit her lip as to not cry out in pain. She didn’t want to give him that pleasure.

  “Mmm, I admire your spunk, Eva. This is the one reason I hated to see you start to act like the good little girl that you aren’t.”

  He let go of the curl and brought a clawe
d finger to her chin, forcing her to have to see him. He licked his lips, his sharp teeth gnashing together.

  “It is what it is. Why not get over this fucking shit of being good and come back to the dark side with me? We could rule the world.”

  “Rule the world? Are you forgetting that the world doesn’t belong to us and never has?”

  “Oh, but it could, Eva, it could. I want you by my side. I need your greed and your lusts fueling me.”

  “You’re fucking nuts if you think that we could even begin to take over anything. Even you aren’t that powerful.”

  “No, you’re right. I’m not.” An evil grin spread across his face. “You are, though.”

  She knew that her confusion had to show on her face.

  “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “You’re the key I’ve been looking for, for all these years. Basically, my dear Eva, you’re the yin to my yang, and the fucking chocolate in my pudding.”

  “My god you’ve freaking lost it. What kind of key are you talking about?”

  “Did you know the true reason they don’t want you to be a demon?”

  She’d been about to say something else when his words stopped her cold.

  “What the fuck are you talking about now?”

  “They didn’t want you to be a demon for the very reason I want you to be one. You are the key to ruling the world. Anyone that has you has the power. It’s mighty great that you’re fucking hot too.”

  He put his hand on her jean-clad leg and squeezed her thigh. She kept her leg still though the urge to puke and to jerk away was strong. It wasn’t his appearance that did it to her. It was what he represented. The temptation that he was laying at her feet was beyond real. Could she resist it? She had to or she’d doom them all to an uncertain fate. Clay, where are you? I need you now more than ever. Help me.

  She bit her lip, closed her eyes and clenched her fingers together. She sensed her own ability to be childish when she found herself wishing that if she just closed her eyes he’d be gone when she opened them back up.

  When she felt she was centered again she peered through her lashes, hoping beyond hope that Asmoday had left again. She had no such luck. He was still there looking at her with such an intense mien it made her uncomfortable.

  “Just let me go, Asmoday. Find yourself another puppet to play with.”

  “I have the one I want and using the strings that I like.”

  How could she have missed that he was this crazy? The answer to that was that he’d hidden it well and she’d wanted to just have fun. She’d had the urge to piss off Clay and to try to make him jealous as well.

  Which she’d succeeded doing but that act had put Lili in danger. Once again she’d done something selfish and for herself and look where it got her. This was all because Asmoday was crazy, but it was also because she’d allowed greed and selfishness to rule her life.

  She gawked when Asmoday stood and started to dance around the room.

  “What in the world are you doing?” She frowned, watching him.

  “Dancing.” He did some crazy spin.

  “Yeah, I got that part, but why?”

  Asmoday had the most god-awful grin on his face, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his head.

  “I have you where I want you, and I’m told that Clay and Samael have come into the Nether. That means I will have them both soon.”

  Eva’s eyes widened, and Asmoday burst out laughing as he continued to do his strange victory dance. How would she stop him? How could she stop him? She couldn’t let him hurt the others. She’d have to do what he wanted as much as it hurt to even think of it. But to protect the others was the main goal.

  “If I do what you want me to do, will you leave the others alone?” She said the words before she could talk herself out of them.

  Asmoday stopped dancing so quickly he almost fell over. Eva found herself wishing he had. It would have been at least a bit of humor when all she wanted to do was to scream and cry. She squared her shoulders. She couldn’t let him see her pain no matter how much this all hurt. Asmoday would love to see that, and she wouldn’t give him any satisfaction.

  “What? You’d deny me my fun?” He had the nerve to look disbelieving.

  “I want this madness to stop.”

  “Damn you, Eva. You wish to deny me my fucking fun!”

  Blinking Eva looked at him. He was an enigma. A crazy fucking paradox, she thought. “Asmoday, you’re not making any sense.”

  “I lied. Samael and Clay haven’t been seen coming for you.”

  “You lied?”

  “Yep, I lied. I’m a demon. Why would you presume I would give you the truth?”

  He was right in this instance. Why would she have expected him to be truthful with her? He loved to toy with her. The only assumption she could truly make was that he would lie to her and that everything he said would be some form of a lie. This meant that what he said was the truth. Samael and Clay had come through the Nether. They were looking for them. She wouldn’t let Asmoday on to the fact that she knew he was lying yet again.

  The sad part of it was that she and Lili weren’t in the Nether. This meant that Clay and Samael were going on a wild goose chase looking for them. It would be one of the first places to look for them so she couldn’t fault them. One of the reasons Asmoday was so thrilled was that he had two of the strongest demons going around in circles. If Clay or Samael didn’t kick Asmoday’s ass, she definitely would.

  “Tell me this. What will you do to them when you do have them?”

  “I plan to let them both see me violate you along with that pretty little sister of yours.”

  “After all of that, you think I would agree to do what you want?”

  “You will have no other choice.”

  “There are always choices.”

  “Hmm, and let me see, how have you been doing with choices so far, Eva?” He gave a bellowing laugh. “Yeah, you’re not good at making choices. Well unless they are choices that benefit you anyways.”

  She’d let him think that. Perhaps that would be her advantage, him thinking that she was all out for her herself as she had been before. She had to face it; she was going to need an advantage. Human versus demon usually meant bad times for the human. However, she wasn’t going down like a bitch. She would fight until the end to save Lili and herself.

  ****

  Clay and the others moved through the Nether, searching the different caves for any signs of the women, and were coming up empty. Most of the demons and angels that frequented the place that they spoke to stated they hadn’t seen any other beings besides demons and angelic beings. Nor had they sensed them in the area.

  “He has to have them cloaked somehow. Making it so we can’t detect them but neither can others of our respective kinds,” Clay said in frustration.

  “If it were going to be easy, Clay, we’d have found them already,” Salathiel said in a firm voice.

  “Sal, could you be any more the bringer of bad news, please?” Samael asked gruffly.

  “Someone has to be the one to state the facts,” Sal said in his defense.

  The angel was so big that his wings brushed against the cave walls. Some of the tunnels were so tight that they had to move through it single file. They were in one such tunnel at the moment, and moods weren’t the best. Clay felt his frustration building even more and just as he was about to blow, Remie’s hand touched his shoulder and calmed him.

  “You guys need to lighten up. We can’t be tearing at each other if we want to get this figured out,” Remiel stated.

  “You’re right—thanks, Remie. I’m sorry, Samael and Salathiel. Forgive my ill temper.”

  Both males chimed in. “It’s okay, Clay.”

  His diplomacy was a reason Remiel was in the group, though it wasn’t the only one. Perhaps being the ‘dream angel’ as some called him really was one of the reasons why he could get someone to calm down as easily as he did. Cla
y was thankful for him being around. If they fell apart before they even started, all would be for naught.

  The men traveled for a few more hours, having completely explored the Nether, and they were now on the descent down towards hell. They were so close to the edge that one could hear shrieking and moaning and the proverbial gnashing of teeth. The path was wider than it had been for a while, so Clay turned to Remie and Sal.

  “This is where you two turn back.” He clasped both of their arms tightly.

  “You know that if we could go farther, we would,” Remie said solemnly.

  “He’s right,” Sal agreed.

  Samael walked up beside them and placed his hand on Remie’s shoulder. “Yes, we both know, and we are grateful. Isn’t that correct, Clay?”

  “Yes, very true. Truly we can’t thank you enough. It would have taken us forever to go through the Nether. Even though the girls aren’t here, the two of you saved us a massive amount of time,” Clay affirmed with a nod of his head.

  “We will keep vigilant above and in the Nether for signs of Lili and Eva,” Salathiel promised.

  Clay let go of their arms, and with one last nod, he turned back to descend down into the bowels of hell in search of Eva and Liliana with Samael at his side. He would focus on Eva and think of times past when they were happy together. That would get him through this, and once he found her, he’d make sure she stayed happy. He wasn’t letting her go, no matter what.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Asmoday had finally gotten bored and had left her and Liliana alone. In fact it had been a few days since she’d seen him. He’d done one nice thing though and that was taking off the shackles so they could move about freely. That freedom came with a warning that if they tried to escape there were worse demons on the other side of the bars than he or Vestis. The only demon she came into contact with was the vile Vestis.

  The good thing was he seemed to be more interested in Asmoday than he was in harassing her and Lili. She’d heard them on the other side of those magical bars, and she didn’t want to chance it. Least not yet, not until Liliana came back to her and was able to move on her own. One thing it seemed that Asmoday had forgotten—Eva had been a demon too. She knew the place like the back of her hand, and she’d use that to her benefit.