Paymon’s eyebrows lifted at the same time that Odin squawked.
“He was with Hannah,” I added.
Paymon sighed heavily before addressing Odin. “Did you try to stop Athena seeing them? Is that why she’s back early? You called her before I asked you to?”
Odin made a clicking sound in his throat and fluttered across the room to perch behind me on the back of the sofa.
Paymon chuckled before turning serious. “Odin’s actions are most peculiar. I have never known of a raven becoming so attached to a human.”
I sat upright and leaned away from Odin, unsettled by his proximity. Even though I was becoming used to him, I was still uncomfortable around him. Birds were not an animal I had ever been close to.
“So Odin called for you just before you saw Thomas and Hannah?”
I nodded again, unsure of my voice.
“And what exactly were they doing?”
I frowned at him. He knew, surely he knew. It didn’t take much guessing.
“Athena?” he encouraged. “Tell me.”
My body became uncomfortably warm and heavy. I recognised the feeling immediately. He was compelling me. This wasn’t fair. He had to stop doing this to me.
“Stop it!” I jumped to my feet before the loss of movement took control. “Don’t compel me.”
“Then tell me.”
The heat left me and I sunk onto the sofa again. “They were having sex!” I blurted out.
Paymon smirked. Black eyes met mine. “And did it excite you? Seeing them together like that?”
“What? No. It upset me.”
He closed his eyes, a serene smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He didn’t speak, and I realised that my angry reaction had been like a bolt of lightning to him—he was feeding from my heightened emotions.
Eventually he opened his eyes and drew in a deep breath.
“It seems you’ve had an upsetting morning. If I was a gentleman then I would offer you sympathy and apologise for my somewhat unorthodox response to your anguish, but I won’t do either. Selfishly, I am enjoying your turmoil. Your emotions are incredible at the moment. I only wish you could feel their strength in the way I do.”
I turned away from him, willing myself to be calm. Odin hopped from the back of the sofa onto the seat beside me. He made a clicking noise in his throat before settling against my thigh.
Paymon shook his head but grinned at Odin before rising to his feet. He stood in front of me, only a few steps away.
“So, Athena, are you ready to make your decision? I told you that I expected you to tell me as soon as you returned. I’ve already humoured your arrival for far longer than I intended. Will you agree to be my wife, or do I send you to the Master?”
The decision, so easy to make after seeing Thomas and Hannah together, stuck in my throat. It wasn’t that I was undecided, but part of me was still struggling to come to terms with the life I would be leaving behind. I hoped Paymon would understand and give me time to mourn what I had lost. My lover, my best friend, and the trust and friendship of everyone in the village.
“Your decision?” Paymon prompted, leaning forward.
I looked to him, black eyes bearing down on me, waiting, and anticipating my answer.
“I’ll marry you,” I said. “I accept your proposal.”
His eyes widened and another smile crossed his dark features, but he immediately regained his composure.
“Then the ceremony must take place immediately. There’s no point in waiting any longer.” He looked around the room before returning his gaze to me. After shooing Odin from the sofa, he sat next to me. “You need to know that the bond created when a demon marries is unbreakable. Most of us are completely honourable in our relationships.” He reached for my hands before continuing. “The ceremony is sealed by the union of the bride and groom’s bodies.”
“You mean sex?” His words did not surprise me. I’d always assumed he wanted more than my companionship. This was his way of getting what he always wanted.
“I mean more than sex, Athena. It’s a sharing of so much more. I can compel you to stay calm, but the ceremony would have more intimacy for me if you were free to feel.”
“I don’t want to be compelled, and I don’t want to have sex with you.” I frowned and fidgeted on the seat. “I hardly know you.”
“And you think you would have sex with me if you knew me?” He cleared his throat and then continued. “So I find myself giving you another choice. Do I have your permission to join with you completely by the sharing of our bodies during the marriage ceremony?”
I shook my head, no doubt about my answer. “If it’s my choice, then I choose not to.”
“And what about compelling you? Think carefully. It would be easier for you.”
I glanced at his face, trying to work out whether this was some sort of trick. If I was compelled, he’d be able to do whatever he wanted to me.
“No, I don’t want to be compelled.”
Paymon nodded. “For what it’s worth, you have my word that I will not force myself upon you or compel you during the ceremony.” He released my hands and stood. “I can be most trustworthy when required.”
I snorted at his declaration.
“So what else happens at the ceremony?” I tilted my head to the side. “You said you’d tell me when I’d agreed to marry you. You told me it wouldn’t be pleasant.”
“It’s old magic,” he said, his words rushed, excitable. “Once we enter the room where the ceremony takes place, I will not be able to offer you any verbal reassurances. I will be chanting spells and incantations in my own language.”
“Demon language?” I sat on my hands to hide their shaking. Unfortunately, I could do little to hide my inner emotions. Paymon was in his element.
“Yes. You will not understand me, and I will not be able to stop and explain. Once again, I ask you to trust me.”
“I can’t trust you. You’re a demon.”
He took a quick stride forward and pointed his finger at me. This time his tone was sharp. “If you were to be married to the Master, he would have insisted you had sex with him.”
I snapped from my reverie and jumped to my feet. “And you weren’t prepared to tell me that before I made my decision? Don’t you think it was important information? What if I’d decided to be married to him and not you?”
He closed the gap between us, our chests beating against each other’s. I refused to show any sign of weakness.
Paymon sneered. “If you had chosen the Master, I would have cut all ties with you and your emotions. I would have let him have you as the worthless whore that Thomas left behind.”
I backed away from him, my bravado and anger slapped aside by his cruel words. Once again I saw the true demon spring to life from under his calm and controlled façade.
“I think I prefer you better when you act naturally,” I bit back at him. “There’s no surprises when you talk to me as your true nature dictates. It helps me remember that you’re not human, that you’re a demon who crawled out of the centre of the earth.”
He smiled at my outburst. “All your anger does is feed me, Athena.”
His words made me stop any further sarcasm.
“A feeder,” I said, Hannah’s categorisation sprung to the front of my mind. “That’s what the categorisation is. Hannah will feed the Master through her emotions.”
Paymon nodded, his coal dark eyes seemingly sparkling with new excitement. “It is the worst categorisation I can give of the three. She will not be well looked after. In fact, the more pain and humiliation she receives, the more the Master will feed. Seems fitting for her after she deceived you in such a way.”
“That’s so wrong,” I said, looking to the carpet. The swirls of dull browns and reds diverted my attention from his eyes. Even though I was angry with Hannah and doubted I’d ever forgive her deceit and betrayal with Thomas, I couldn’t wish her any harm at the hands of demons.
I held my ha
nds up in front of me, stopping any further revelations.
“I need some space,” I mumbled before turning to the door.
“You’ll stay here.”
I shook my head. “I’m going to my room. I . . . I can’t think straight.”
“No, you’re not. We need to be married.”
“It can wait!” I snapped before running from the room.
“You’ll take your belongings and then come straight back,” Paymon shouted. “The ceremony must happen immediately, and I can’t marry you without you being there.”
I picked my bag from the floor in the hall and trudged up the stairs. Odin followed, bouncing alongside me.
“You should stay with Paymon,” I snapped. “You’re his bird, not mine. I don’t want you with me.”
He ruffled his feathers but stayed at my side. When I reached my room, I crept through as narrow a gap as I could manage and kept him out by waving my foot around so he didn’t get close.
Once in the room, I leaned back against the door and breathed heavily. All my emotions hit me at once: Hurt ripped at my heart, tugged and stamped on it after seeing Thomas with Hannah. Disappointment and bewilderment that my best friend had lied to me so easily. Anger at both of them for deceiving me. Frustration for not doing anything when I saw them, for just standing there silently, disbelieving what I was witnessing. And most of all, fear—fear of what was to come.
“Athena!”
I quickly opened my bag and pulled out the book. I also searched for the pouch of lace. Grasping both of them tightly, I slipped them into the drawer at the side of my bed. I hadn’t needed the lace yet, but I still wasn’t convinced about Paymon’s assurance that he was only after my companionship.
“Athena!” Paymon was outside my room. I ambled to the door, not willing to rush the impending event, but also not wanting to anger my future husband.
On opening the door, Paymon greeted me with a false smile. Odin was nowhere to be seen.
“Ready?”
I sighed, doubting he wanted my true response.
He offered his hand and waited for me to hold it before leading me along the corridor and down the stairs. I bristled at the unwanted contact. His skin was warm, uncomfortably so.
I didn’t speak, and neither did Paymon, but the quietness was false. It was full of unanswered questions, nerves, and my very obvious fear. There was no need to keep checking Paymon’s eyes to know what colour they were.
He led me to the same room he’d taken me when I first arrived at the house.
“Take a seat,” he said, releasing my hand and wandering around the table that our conversations had taken place at only yesterday. He waited for me to sit before pulling his own chair to the table. He drummed his fingers on the wood before speaking. “Each house that a demon resides in has a secret room. You will only be allowed to cross into it with me today. But after this first visit, it will also let you enter whenever you please.”
“I doubt I’ll ever want to,” I said. Why would I need to visit the room where I was begrudgingly married?
Paymon raised his brow. “It’s a safe room for you if ever you need it, not just a place for us to marry.”
“What’s in this room?”
“Not much. It’s a room of purpose rather than a room to live in. Now, before we enter, I must remind you that no harm will come to you, but the things that happen whilst in there may frighten you and cause you distress. It will all be temporary.”
I inhaled a deep breath, desperate to control my panic.
“How long is the ceremony?”
Paymon smirked. “Long enough.”
I widened my eyes at his response.
“Remember, I will not be able to talk to you once we enter the room. Any questions you ask will go unanswered.”
“Just like normal then,” I muttered.
“Athena, I will talk to you properly, but not before we are married.” He stood, his tall frame rising above me. “After all, I wouldn’t want to scare you away, would I?” The edge of his mouth twitched, and he turned away before indicating, with a wave of his hand, for me to join him on his side of the table.
Fighting every bone in my body as it begged to stay where it was, I forced myself to my feet and walked toward him.
“This is how you open the entrance,” he said as he tilted the picture of the Master. Once he replaced the portrait to the correct position, a click sounded out from the right-hand side of the fireplace, and a panel of the wooden wall slid to the side. Paymon stepped to the revealed opening and nodded at me.
I followed his silent instructions but paused at the doorway, staring into a dark void.
His hand rested on the small of my back, and he gently pushed me forward.
“Down the steps,” he said. “The room is at the bottom. There’ll be no more speaking from now on.”
As soon as Paymon moved behind me, the wooden panel that had revealed its secret passageway closed. His warm breath blew across the top of my head, and he placed his hands on my shoulders, pushing me further into the unwelcoming darkness. His proximity made me anxious, and I was uncomfortable with his overheated body touching mine. The enormity of what I was about to face was too apparent, and I fought the tightness in my stomach and the need to run screaming. My breaths caught in my chest, and I swallowed several times, suddenly thirsty. I was trapped. There was no turning back.
“I’m here. Don’t worry.” Paymon said as he squeezed my shoulders.
I pushed my hair away from my face and took a deep, calming breath. This was necessary; it would save me from a life with the Master. It would ensure the villagers were safe and not subjected to Paymon’s torture.
Sliding my left foot in front of me, I searched for the edge of the step. When I found it, I moved forward. A candle on the side of the wall sprung to life, lighting the way. Each hesitant step I took, another flame ignited. The stairwell was straight, and as I reached the bottom step, Paymon released my shoulders. He chanted words in an unfamiliar language and the room became lit in an orange glow. The room was circular, high stone walls with five narrow recesses in which a candle brightly burned. The floor was also cold, unforgiving stone. There was no furniture.
I stepped further into the room, and Paymon pointed to the floor. My racing heartbeat accelerated even more as I noted the lines etched into the stone, ones that created an all too familiar shape: a large circle, with a pentagram drawn in the middle of it. At each point of the pentagram, where it touched the circle, a metal ring was fixed to the floor. Each point aligned with the flickering candles.
My feet refused to move; they stuck to the floor like glue, dead weights unable to be lifted, but Paymon led me to the circle before moving behind me. His hands pushed down on my shoulders, and I took his action as a sign to sit.
“Bee-enn-el dee-ay,” he said.
He crouched behind me and, supporting my shoulders, pulled me backward onto the floor. He took his time laying me out, placing each limb in a point in the pentagram and my head in the remaining one. I suddenly understood the position of the metal rings—they were to hold my wrists and ankles. Another crippling wave of fear washed through me. I was going to be restrained.
Paymon stepped over to one of my hands and bent down before closing my fingers around the metal ring. He squeezed my clenched fist before repeating the same procedure with my other hand. I swallowed hard, fighting the rising unease in my stomach. I kept my gaze on Paymon but didn’t move away from the position he had put me in. If I kept hold of the rings, I hoped he wouldn’t restrain me with ropes or chains.
Paymon moved around the room, circling me five times before standing between my feet. A whispered chant left his lips as he closed his eyes and raised his hands to his sides.
My eyelids became heavy, and I dropped my head back onto the ground. For one brief moment, I thought he was compelling me, but as I twisted my foot to the side, I realised there was no accompanying paralysis of my limbs. So what was this strange, so
othing calmness that had taken a hold over me?
Paymon’s chanting continued, a jumble of mismatched words. The tiny flames from the candles appeared to glow brighter and then fade again. When the chanting stopped, I lifted my head to focus on Paymon. He had his arms raised above his head and a large circular bowl in his hands. He stepped forward before sinking to his knees between my spread legs.
“Ef-eh-el eye-hu-enn-bay.”
I didn’t move. The calmness that had flooded through me was replaced by uncontrolled fear. My chin trembled and my throat restricted. My breathing became shallow and fast. I wanted to jump to my feet and run from the room, but I gripped the rings in my hands tighter and forced myself to take deep, slow breaths. I didn’t move my gaze away from Paymon as he stared at me. When he began chanting once again, the familiar calmness returned.
He reached into the bowl and lifted a knife into the air. I concentrated on the surreal way the flames danced in the reflective blade. They were beautiful, each one licking the shiny metal as Paymon turned the blade to point downward. His action should have made me scream, and a split second image of the blade being thrust into my chest coincided with Paymon’s chant becoming louder and faster. He lowered the glistening blade toward me and sliced my leather belt. His chanting stopped, and as soon as it did, I whimpered. My previous panic spread through me as the fast thump of each heartbeat echoed in my ears. I willed him to start the chant again.
I fought back tears as Paymon cut my dress at the hem and placed the knife back into the bowl. He tore my dress and ripped open my under-dress. I squirmed on the ground, exposed, vulnerable, desperate to cover myself, but not daring to move my hands from the metal rings. I was racked with a sudden heat and then a frigid cold. My body shook, my skin bristled, and I struggled to catch my breath, but I stayed where I was. Paymon would compel me if I didn’t behave, and I had no doubt that behaving meant I didn’t move.
Several further rips ensured he released me from the covering of all my clothes, and he calmly collected the tattered pieces of material and placed them in the bowl. I paid great attention to what he was doing. It helped keep my mind preoccupied and away from the fact that I was naked and spread out on the floor before him. I turned my head to the side when he sought my eyes with his own. I couldn’t look at him, not when I was this vulnerable.
Iniquity (The Ascent Book 1) Page 8