by Claire Marta
A commotion interrupts us. A large male strides in, dragging a girl by her long black hair behind him. The way he handles her is brutal and impersonal.
“Cass?”
How the fuck did they take her from Lucifer’s protection? An echo of Raziel’s voice shouting that the fortress had been breached filters through my memories. She must’ve been snatched then. Tensing, I’m relieved they haven’t stripped her too, although her clothes are torn in places. As she’s dumped on the floor, Markaz wraps his hand around her chin, jerking it up.
“Do you think you can wash away the stains of your sins with your tears?” He clucks his tongue.
Blinking up at him with damp cheeks, she cowers, frightened.
Struggling against the bite of my metal bonds, I try to get to them.
“Leave her the fuck alone. Come pick on someone your own size.”
If they touch her, I’ll kill every last one of them. Scratch that, they’re already dead men walking. Even if it’s the last thing I do, I’ll bring them down while bleeding out if I have to.
Markaz lifts one blonde eyebrow. “Grown attached to this one, have you? I guess that’s only natural as she’s your half-sister. Her mother was easy to seduce and impregnate just like all the sluts I’ve fucked over time.”
Sister? I can’t stop my eyes jumping to hers. Was this what she wanted to tell me? The truth she needed so desperately get off her chest? Did Raziel and Lucifer know?
“What are you going to do? Kill us?” I ask, pushing aside the jumble of questions.
“Oh no, I have a better use for my whore daughters. I need to regenerate my bloodline now that it’s been severed by Raziel murdering my other offspring. The purer the blood the better the link I can maintain. Unfortunately, your will has been too strong to break through,” he confesses with a sigh of frustration. “And I would not risk madness in Cassandra’s pretty little head, so my bastard son’s form will have to suffice until more are created. Take them each to a cell. Make sure you groom them well so they’re both ready for when I come to breed them.”
Ethan, who’s been silent up until now, grabs a hold of Cassandra’s arm. With a rough jolt, he forces her up onto shaking legs.
“Don’t you touch her.”
The snarl leaves me before I can think better of it. Every instinct soars to protect a sister I never knew I had.
“What are you going to do about it?” Ethan laughs, cupping a handful of Cassandra’s breast. “This one’s a virgin with nice tight holes to play with. I’m going to have fun breaking her in.”
A tiny squeak issues from her lips as he pinches her nipple viciously.
“Mavi!” Her desperate cry of pleading makes me grind my teeth in powerlessness as she’s taken from the room.
I know I need to bide my time. Someone will make a mistake and when they do I’ll fuck them all up. Cruel hands clutch my arms, driving me up onto my feet. Battling down the urge to claw and bite, I bow my head conserving energy.
“So obedient,” Markaz mocks softly. “The Devil thought you were unbreakable but look at you now. Nothing more than a slut and a disappointment.”
How wrong he is. I’m more dangerous than I’ve ever been before. So much more to fight for. Biting my tongue so I don’t spew exactly what I want to do to him once I get my claws on him, I continue to stare at the floor.
“Take her away.” He tells his minion with disgust.
I’m marched from the room, my handcuffs resting against my spine, clinking together with the rapid pace.
“I don’t suppose you’d like to have a little fun?” I tease, giving him a wink. “After Ethan’s sloppy attempt at foreplay I need a real man to show me a good time.”
The interest is there. Lust, bright and shining, in his demonic eyes. If I play this right it will be like taking candy from a baby.
Thrust into a cell, the space smells of decay and death. A fist connects savagely with my cheek. Pain sears through the area leaving a ringing in my ears. Legs folding, my knees hit the concrete, sending agony jarring up to my hips.
“Don’t get too comfortable. Someone will be in to see you soon.” My jailor leers.
Looping chains around my wrists, they’re threaded through a metal hoop attached to the dirty ground. Tapering the length, the demon fastens and locks it into place. My ankles are next. Wrenching my legs apart, he bolts them into restraints cleverly fixed to the floor. In this position I’m trapped on hands and knees with nowhere to go. He doesn’t try to touch me, his footsteps ebbing as he leaves.
I sit there for what feels like hours. Staring into space in the dark. Cass is at the mercy of these males. Images taunt me behind my closed eyelids. My feverish mind wild with the nightmare she will be going through. Rape, torture. A single bullet to the head or a knife to the throat would be quicker and more painless. I know Markaz is willing to do anything to expand his lineage. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants.
The clink of the cell door opening is an ominous sound. Attention flicking up, my concentration hones in on the good-looking male blocking the light from the hallway. Another demon. I know this one’s breed well. They feed on fear. The screams of their victims only make them stronger.
“I’ve been tasked with the job of making you an obedient whore. To break you down. Make you crave any male’s cock like it’s cocaine. We want you so addicted your pussy weeps for joy the moment you see one. Fuck, the moment we enter the room.” With deliberate movements, he strips off his shirt revealing a hard-packed muscular frame. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be submissive and ready for another round of breeding. We’ll have fun betting how quickly our Master can get you knocked up.”
Unbuckling his jeans, he drops them and his boxers all in one go. Cock bobbing free, it’s stiff and ready. Precum seeps from the tip, glistening in the light. He lets his glamour fall. The flesh of his chest ripples, revealing two rows of hooks protruding from his skin, running in a line below each of his nipples down to his belly button. White, gleaming, they’re made of bone. Barbed, sharp, I know they will pierce me with a frightening ease.
Circling around, he drops down to his knees.
Stiffening, I flinch the second I sense him draw closer. A scream, raw and brutal, escapes my throat as his hooks puncture through my back, locking us together. The sensation of wetness trickles down, distracting me. Blood. My blood.
His chin rests comfortably on my shoulder, his hot breath against my ear. “I’m going to fuck you like a filthy animal. Take your hot cunt from behind and I’m not going to make it pleasant.”
A tongue slides over the rim of my ear, making me shudder in revulsion. Screwing my eyes shut, I try to block out what I know is coming.
They want to clip my wings.
What they don’t realise is that I cut them free myself, one bloodied feather at a time, long ago.
He thinks he can break me.
I’ve been broken longer than I can remember. It’s made me stronger.
I’ve walked through the fires of hell.
Been burned by the Devil himself.
Once I am free I will leave a bloodbath in my wake.
I will seek revenge.
I will be my own savoir.
Nothing in Heaven, Hell, or Earth will stop me.
They will never keep me from my child. By any means necessary, I will keep my promise to protect her.
Lips clamp down on the side of my neck. Teeth nipping and sucking furiously at my skin, marking, bruising. Biting down, the sting of fangs pierce my flesh. Groaning, he presses his front tighter to my back, his excited cock wedged between my arse cheeks. I can sense him readying himself. Preparing to violate me.
Music.
It started out of nowhere, lapping into my pain filled mind.
I no longer hear it. I am the notes. The primal melody is the beat of my heart and the blood rushing through my veins. It resonates from every pore. A symphony of light and dark perfectly entwined. Sublimely balanced.
Leaning back into him, I keep myself firmly in place, revelling in the bittersweet agony it invokes. Heat pulses over my flushed skin. Righteous, wrathful, it sears right down to the bone.
The demon’s shrieks grow hoarse. His fight waning. They soon become faint sobs before ceasing all together.
Metal shatters from around my ankles and wrists. Sliding easily free, clanking to the floor. Red veiling my vision, his corpse thuds behind me with a squelch as I shake it off. I rise with an unearthly grace. Music still cocooning me in such a lullaby, it makes me want to dance and sway.
Resolve hardens me, reminding me of my goal. Seek revenge and save what’s left of my fragmented family. Glancing over my shoulder at the pulpy mess, I survey it with delicious satisfaction. Still bubbling and boiling, it continues to cave in before turning to thick grey ash.
Death is coming for them all and she will be wearing a smile on her blood splattered face when she does. I won’t stop until I have taken every last one of them down.
Chapter Eighteen
On wobbly legs, I edge my way to the open door. I need to find Cassandra and my daughter. The sound of muffled voices filter along the corridor and I recognize Cass’s high-pitched frightened scream. Creeping along, I pass other occupied cramped chambers. From within, come moans and hopeless cries.
Markaz’s dungeons are filled to the brim with those that have displeased him in some measure. A playground for the sadistic son of a bitch and Hell for its tenants. Eight doors down I find my objective. The torturer within has been cocky enough to leave it wide open for anyone to view what’s happening inside.
Ethan.
Trousers bunched down around his knees, he swings the belt in his hand down, striking it viciously across naked flesh. The shriek of pain twists my heart. Naked, huddled in the corner, Cassandra bears the brunt of his savagery. Raised, bleeding welts litter her bare back as she tries to protect herself with her slender arms.
“I’ll beat the fight out of you, bitch. You think you can get away with biting my dick? Next time I shove it down your throat, if I feel your teeth, I’ll cut off one of your tits,” he snarls, enraged. “I’m going to enjoy getting between those youthful legs and making you a woman. Watch your blood and my semen trickle down your thighs when I’m done.”
Music curls its way through me at the thought of him stealing her innocence in the foulest way. The fucker deserves to rot in whatever Hell is deserved for his kind. He has a soul so he’ll be in with the damned.
Eyes landing on the dirty tray of knives and other implements across the room, I move silently towards it. Scanning further, I see my gun. It looks like he plans on keeping it as a trophy. Too bad that dream is about to go up in smoke.
Cass’s tortured gaze finds mine. It begs for help. Pressing a bloodied finger to my lips, I give her a look of reassurance. I’m going to make this fucker pay. Sensing something, he reaches for the gun. My attack is feral, but experienced. I’m on his back before he has a chance to take it.
Cassandra wraps her arms around her knees, rocking gently back and forth, sobbing.
I cling to Ethan like a limpet to a rock. Pain slashes through me as he digs his claws into my sides trying to dislodge me. Something wet and warm gushes down my skin, but I don’t let go. Keeping my forearm tight against his carotid artery, he succumbs to the sleeper hold.
“Hello, lover,” I croon against his ear, unable to hide my sick delight.
I keep the pressure until he begins to sag. Before he can pass out completely, I let go, sweeping his legs out from under him so he hits the floor hard.
Snatching a knife from the tray, I waste no time crouching over him. Taking his limp cock in hand, I slice it off at the thick, meaty, hairy base. It comes away easily. Blood pours from the stumpy wound. Screaming and writhing in agony, Ethan clutches his mutilated crotch.
“You crazy whore!”
“What’s the matter, babe? Doesn’t it feel as good for you as it does for me?” I grin with glee.
“I’ll kill you.”
Gaze flicking up to my gun, I know firing a shot down here will draw too much attention. It is a dungeon. Screams and the sound of suffering go hand in hand with a place like this, but not the sound of gunfire. Instead, I use the knife in my hand. Burrowing the tip into the side of his neck, I drive it deep.
“Payback’s a bitch and you aren’t going to escape karma this time, arsehole.”
His gurgling cries are music to my ears. He doesn’t know where to stem the flow from either fatal wound. Leaving him to bleed out, I rise and move to Cassandra. Still huddled in the corner, dark bruises and painful welts are raised on her youthful skin.
“Cassandra?” My voice is an uncertain whisper. I don’t want to startle her.
There’s no answer. Chills creep over my limbs as I shiver, adrenaline ebbing.
“Cass, you’re safe now, honey.”
Spying Ethan’s discarded shirt, I snatch it up. Gently as I can, I lay it over her shaking shoulders. Shock will be setting in. She needs to be kept warm and receive medical attention. Gaze running over every inch of her, I see the silver scars of healed cuts along her abdomen and forearms. Old wounds now healed. No longer cowering, she launches herself into my arms, a sobbing mess.
“It’s ok. I’ve got you.” I murmur comfortingly, stroking her blood-soaked hair. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
“Don’t let him hurt me. He wants to kill me. Darkness. There’s only darkness.” Her voice is broken and brittle. “His heart was never mine. Deadly rainbow. It only brings the end.”
Rocking her gently, I hush her words and turmoil. Fear has her visions and thoughts spiralling out of control.
“Raz and Lucifer are coming too.” She weeps softly. “So close, so close now.”
I pray that’s a vision and not a delusion of her tortured mind. Although I stopped her from being raped she will still live with the emotional trauma of the beating. She’ll never be the same now. Less trusting, more cautious and fearful, but I know she’s a fighter just like I am.
“Do you know where they’ve taken my baby?”
The question scorches through every cell. My child. Stolen from me and I need to get her back.
“You have to go before it’s too late.” Cassandra answers feebly, pushing me away. “Some pieces I cannot foresee. I’m sorry, Mavi.”
“But how do I find them?” I can’t search blindly and give them the chance of fleeing before I can discover their whereabouts.
“The shadows. Use the shadows. They will aid you.”
“CASSANDRA!”
The roar of her name shakes the ground and walls to the foundations with its boom. Raziel appears in the doorway like a madman possessed. Nostrils flaring, his eyes are wild. Blood cakes his clothing. A display of the violence he’s shed on his mission to find her. Ruthless gaze falling to Ethan’s corpse, his eyes leap to where we’re huddled. Running the heel of his palm unsteadily along his chin, he takes in all the visible abuse and damage we’ve both sustained.
“Cass?” The word is hesitant.
Weeping harder, she buries her face in my shoulder. Dropping to his knees beside us, his large hand hovers over her hair, uncertain whether his comfort will be accepted. Pain is etched over his rugged features.
“It’s ok, baby doll, Raz is here now. I’ll take care of you.”
Raising my arm, I aim the muzzle of my gun right at his heart. “How long have you known she’s my half-sister.”
He doesn’t hesitate to answer. “From the day we brought her home when she was six years old.”
Which can only mean I’ve been on the Devil’s radar far longer than I thought.
“And the old cuts along her forearms and stomach, who did those to her
? I growl.
Raziel grimaces. “They’re self-inflicted. When her visions become too much she uses pain to blot them out. I’ve been working with her to try and stop the cycle, but it’s not been helping much.”
Hugging my sister closer, I pin him with a glare. “Give me a reason why I shouldn’t blow your lying piece of shit arse away.”
“If you want to do it then pull the trigger, but nothing will stop me from trying to fix this mess. I should’ve watched her better. This is my fucking fault.”
Raking hands helplessly through his hair, I can see the guilt is eating him alive. A feeling I’m familiar with. It’s like an old friend now. He does care for her. I can at least see that is true.
Shifting Cass gently, I lean her into the strength of his muscled chest. She goes without protest, snuggling into him, anxious for reassurance.
“Get her out of here and to a doctor. You can teleport, right?”
Sweeping up her fragile form, he’s vigilant not to touch the welts marring her back.
“No, they have some kind of dampening field that’s blocking my ability, but I’ll get you both out even if I have to carry you.”
Rising, I scan the cell for my shoulder holster and extra ammo.
“I’m not going with you. I need to finish this. I’m going after Markaz.”
Cradling the trembling girl, Raziel easily gets up in one fluid motion. “It’s being taken care of.”
“Like fuck it is. This won’t be over until he’s dead at my feet.”
“You’re going to take him out buck naked?”
Placing hands on my hips, I stand proud and tall. “With just a smile on my face if I have to.”
“You’re such a crazy bitch, Mavi, and that’s why I like you.” Swinging a duffle bag off his shoulder, he dumps it at my feet. “I picked these up a few floors above as I didn’t know what state I would find you both in.”
Kneeling, I find an assortment of clothes. “You came prepared.”
As the second in command to the throne of Hell, he’s probably done more than his share of torturing. He’d know first-hand what a prisoner goes through. Riffling through the garments, I find jeans that look like they’ll fit. Quickly as I can I drag them on. I’m not too fussed about going commando. Fishing out a long-sleeved top that’s a couple sizes too big, I pull it over my head. These will have to do.