Iniquity (The Ascent Book 1)

by Melody Winter

  The heat in my cheeks increased, and I stopped eating.

  “You’re twenty-one. A woman. Have you never had one?” His brow rose as he continued to stare at me.

  “A few months ago,” I said.

  “But you’re not pregnant.”

  I shook my head. “No, as you’ve already pointed out, I’m skinny, all of us are. We don’t have enough to eat. Our diet is basic. It affects all parts of the body.” I wasn’t prepared to tell him about the lace either. It was a secret.

  Erebus nodded once, seemingly satisfied with my response. “In the future, you will eat in the dining room. When you cook your meals, you will also cook and set the table for me.”

  “You’ll eat with me?”

  He shook his head. “No, I will never eat what you cook, but as your husband, I demand that you cook for me.”

  “What? I have to ask Myrtle to provide food for both of us even though you’ll not eat it? I can’t take food from the village like that. It’s a hard life, they need all the food they can get.”

  “That’s not my concern. You will eat properly and you will cook for two.” He cocked his head to the side. “I have to ask; do you think that living with me will be easy?”

  I finished eating my mouthful of food, not answering him. Erebus grinned. “Maybe you should be rewarded with the best food available for having to endure what’s to come?”

  “I . . .”

  “I’ll remind you once again, shall I? You are my wife.” He tilted his hand so the marriage mark was clearly visible. “And we will become physical at some point.” He held his finger up to silence any response from me. “It will happen, and when it does, you will need to keep your strength up. I’m a demanding lover, and you will need all your energy to be able to satisfy me.”

  I lifted my brow, somewhat intrigued by his statement, but quickly covered my reaction. “I don’t ever see it happening unless you compel me.”

  “Let me give you something to think about,” he said, jumping from the table and catching my gaze. “I’ve yet to decide how long I’ll let you play this game, but if it carries on for too long, I may send you to the Master and let him deal with you instead.”

  “I thought I was too scrawny, unattractive,” I bit back, refusing to be intimidated by his threat.

  He stepped nearer. “I never said you were unattractive.”

  My cheeks heated again, and I quickly looked away from his penetrating gaze.

  “You are my wife, and as such I will enjoy your flesh. You belong to me, Athena, don’t ever forget it.”

  “You make me sound like a possession, not a real living person. You showed more affection to your horse!”

  “Were you spying on me? Or not able to keep away?”

  “The door was open,” I said, nodding to it. “And I saw the flickering of the lantern. I was curious.”

  He stood too close, well within my personal comfort zone. He smelt of outside, the freshness of the air and the rain clinging to his unique manly scent. I breathed in deeply and tried to settle on what the underlying scent was. It was intoxicating.

  “You have a very curious nature,” he said, crouching in front of me. His eyes searched mine, and I became lost in their rich burning amber. They were beautiful, but unfortunately, not black like Paymon’s. I really didn’t feed him. Erebus was telling the truth when he said my emotions were weak to him.

  He unexpectedly rested one of his hands on my knee, and I jumped. Not from his touch but from a shock that ran through my knee and straight to my chest. He immediately removed his hand, sprung to his full height, and backed away. He scratched the back of his neck before gathering his clothes.

  “Clean up in here when you’ve finished!” he said before leaving the kitchen.

  I remained staring at the doorway after he left the room. What was all that about? I pulled the hem of my dress up and slipped my sock over my knee to inspect the stinging area. I frowned when I saw a red raised scratch on the skin. Had he caused that, or was it just a coincidence?

  “Crazy demon,” I muttered before rising from the table and placing my plate and the pan on the side. I attempted to twist the bronze-coloured pieces of metal that bent over the nearby sink, but they wouldn’t budge. I stared at the strange design of the metal—taps. Gran had told me of the luxury of running water through the pipes. Hot and cold water, apparently. Life must have been so simple.

  With no idea where the water was to wash the dirty pots, I resigned myself to finding Erebus to ask him. It was one thing giving me orders and expecting me to follow them, but if I had no idea how to do what he said, then he needed to tell me. He wasn’t in the library, and I nearly missed his hunched figure in the lounge. The room was lit by a solitary candle positioned on the desk where he was sitting. He was writing, and his body blocked most of the light, although there was enough of a glow to confirm that he hadn’t replaced the clothes that he’d removed in the kitchen. Unwilling to disturb his concentration, I crept quietly to the sofa and sat down.

  He continued writing, either not aware of my presence or ignoring it. I stared unabashed, revelling in the opportunity to examine him without his penetrating gaze resting on me. He had high cheek bones, a straight nose and a strong jawline, and the muscle in his neck seemed to tense several times whilst he wrote. His hair was tied back, although lengths of it had escaped and gently curled over his ears. But it was his back that caught my attention, just as it had in the kitchen. It was such a large design, thick black lines carved into his skin, with blocks of text written in between them.

  I pushed myself into a straighter sitting position when he groaned loudly and ripped a page of paper from his writing book. He screwed it up and threw it across the room. Only then did he become aware of my presence.

  “Spying on me again?” He turned in his chair to face me. “This is beginning to become a bit of a habit.”

  “I need to ask you something, but I didn’t want to disturb you.” I inclined my head toward the desk. “You looked like you were doing something important.”

  His gaze followed mine to the book, and he sighed before standing and walking across the room to the unlit fireplace. He crouched in front of it and held his hands above the wood and tinder. As he rubbed them together, he created tiny white and blue sparks. The sparks instantly lit the tinder, and within moments the fire was a healthy glowing beast, lighting and heating the room.

  Erebus straightened and stepped to the single chair before sinking into the overstuffed seat.

  “What did you need to ask me?”

  “Water. Where is the water to wash the pots? Bia used to cook and wash and clean. I have no idea where anything is kept or stored. And I need water.”

  “The water will be from the well behind the stables. I spotted it on my way to groom Samael.”

  “So you can’t make the metal pipes work?”

  He chuckled. “No, I can’t.”

  “And what about the water in my tub?”

  “What about it?”

  “How do I empty it?”

  He shrugged, but a smile still pulled at his lips. “I have no idea, but I can tell you how to fill it.”

  I waited for him to continue.

  “You’ll need to make a lot of trips to the well.”

  I sighed, not having the same sense of amusement as he did at the situation.

  “And I expect you to bathe every day,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

  “What?” If the thought of trudging upstairs with countless buckets of water wasn’t enough, I was now faced with the dilemma of how to get rid of the old bath water. “If you insist on me bathing every day, you could at least make sure the water is warm.”

  “You want warm water?”

  “Paymon managed to keep the water at a nice steady temperature for me. Are you not powerful enough to heat water?”

  His eyes narrowed. Did he not like the comparison?

  “What is your power anyway?” I asked. “Paymon’s was f
ire.”

  “So it would seem. But the power to create fire is an ancient one. Not many demons possess it nowadays.”

  “So what’s yours?”

  “That’s for me to know.”

  I leaned forward, nearer to him. “Why won’t you tell me?”

  “It’s of no concern to you.” He sunk further back into his chair and stretched his legs out before crossing one ankle over the other.

  I pursed my lips. I was determined to discover something about him. “You keep reminding me that I’m your wife, yet you won’t tell me anything about yourself.”

  He didn’t reply, and I waited for his expected cutting response.

  “I’m thirty-one,” he said, stroking the material on the arm of his chair. “I came above land when I was nineteen. I initially lived in the south of England, but moved further north with my sister about six years ago.”

  “You have a sister?”

  “Olisha. She’s thirty-four. I have an older brother, Narabus. He’s a general in the Master’s army. I also had an older sister, but she was murdered several years ago.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. I didn’t like hearing of the loss of any member of a family. It reminded me too easily of my own.

  “So what about your family?” he said, sitting upright. “Who have I dragged you away from?”

  “No one,” I said. “My parents and sister died when you all came. My gran looked after me until—”

  “So you’re all alone now? No one to save you from me?”

  I composed myself after his interruption and tried to decide whether he was humouring me or about to unleash a vile demand, but he was too difficult to read. “Hopefully I won’t need saving. I can look after myself.”

  He chuckled loudly and then leaned forward in his chair. “I think you kid yourself. Everyone wants to be saved from a demon. Well, maybe not those who are as twisted as us, but certainly nice, young girls like you.”

  “I didn’t want to be saved from Paymon.”

  “Ahhh, yes. But he was hardly a true demon, was he?” He tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. I saw the pull of a smile at the corner of his mouth just before he looked away. “So, what did Paymon do with you? He obviously didn’t care for the pleasure of your body. So, how did you entertain him?”

  “He respected me. Enjoyed my company.”

  “Respected you?” He began to laugh. “We are demons. We don’t respect anyone, not even each other.”

  “Well, he did. Maybe when you get really old, you develop something of a soul, a conscience even.”

  He threw his head back and roared with laughter. “No, that’s not what we are. We don’t have a soul, and we certainly don’t have a conscience. But I am intrigued to hear what you spent your time doing whilst you were with him. I know what we’d be doing if you were willing.”

  “Books,” I blurted out, quickly steering the conversation away from his favourite topic. “I used to read to him.”

  “Read? What sort of books?” His familiar grin reappeared.

  “Whatever I wanted.” I quickly thought of a way to try and settle him. Show him how Paymon and I used to be with each other. “Do you want me to read to you?”

  His eyebrows rose, and then he controlled his shock. “Only if you sit on my lap naked.”

  “I won’t be reading to you then,” I said, looking away from him. He was impossible. Everything I said he twisted.

  “Oh, I’m sure you will. I see no harm in compelling you to strip and read to me. If I remember rightly, your little strop last night was all about sex and your unwillingness to cooperate. I have no qualms about compelling you to read.” He leaned back in his chair, and hooked one leg over the arm. “And as much as I’d like to get started on our reading session, I think a trip into the village is in order. I’m hungry.”

  “Hungry?” I asked, confused. But then I realised, food wasn’t what he was referring to. Once again my weak emotions were not satisfying him enough.

  He pushed himself from the chair and stretched his arms above his head before turning to me. “Yes, hungry. Unless of course, you’ve changed your mind.” His eyebrows lifted and a hint of a smirk played on his lips.

  I shook my head before standing up. I’d had enough of his games. “No. I’ve not changed my mind.”

  He surveyed me for a moment before speaking. “Pity. I think we’d have enormous fun together.” He leaned forward, and I froze. I thought he was going to kiss me. But there was no kiss. His stubbled cheek rested against mine, and his hot breath blew on my ear. “I know that once you give in to me, your emotions will turn my eyes as black as the sky.”

  I swayed a little, and grabbed his arm to steady myself. What was wrong with me?

  “Careful.” Erebus chuckled, his breath fanning my ear. “I may think I’m beginning to break down these walls you seem to have put between us. Don’t spoil all my fun.”

  My hand fell from his arm as quickly as I’d put it there, and I pushed him away.

  “I’ll just go and get changed,” he said. “And then I’ll go have some fun in the village.”

  “Am I coming with you?” I asked. For some reason I didn’t want to be left alone, but at the same time I wasn’t convinced that going with Erebus was the best idea.

  “Of course. You need to speak to the h . . . old woman about food for the next few days. And you wanted to know what my power was. Well you’ll get the chance to see it in action, won’t you?”

  “You’ll use your power on them?”

  “I need feeding, and the villagers need to know who they are dealing with.” He strode to the door but turned back to me as he reached for the handle. “Oh, and try not to let your curiosity send you to spy on me whilst I’m getting changed.” His brow rose and he shook his head. “I may not be able to stop myself from compelling you if you do.”

  “KEEP UP WITH ME, ATHENA!” Erebus marched ahead, his strides long and confident.

  “You seem excited,” I said, lifting the skirt of my dress to stop it catching on the ground.

  “Excited?” He stopped and waited for me to catch up with him. “I’m not excited, I’m starving.” He winked before focusing ahead.

  “Well you should have had breakfast with me,” I said, recalling the way he sat across the table and watched me eat my breakfast.

  “That’s not the same, and you know it.”

  I stumbled on a small divot in the ground, and Erebus grabbed my arm to stop me from falling.

  “Do you have to feed from them?” I asked, brushing his gloved hand off my arm.

  “Of course. They are my villagers. They belong to me, and for providing them a safe place to live I expect them to keep me fully satisfied. A fact that you ignore.”

  “You won’t hurt any of them, will you?” I lifted my gaze to him, but he didn’t notice. He was fixed on his future meal ahead.

  “Hurt them?” Erebus chuckled. “It depends how resilient they are. Fear is the easiest emotion for me to release amongst the villagers, and I need to make a point of them knowing that I’m not as easy to placate at Paymon. Start brutal, scare them, make them listen to me and respect me. I can always soften up when I get to know them.” He flashed me a sinister smile, and I feared that whoever he selected today would be treated with no mercy.

  I stumbled again, but quickly caught myself.

  “Who does your old lover hang around with?” he asked as we approached the edge of the village.

  “His name is Thomas.” The hairs on the back of my neck bristled as I mentioned his name. Memories, too many memories revolved around him. Unfortunately, the one memory that constantly replayed itself was the one I’d never forget.

  “Who does Thomas hang around with?”

  I shrugged, unsure as to why he was interested in Thomas’s friends.

  “Oh, come now, Athena. Surely your ex-lover must have a few male friends who he joked with about your prudish behaviour.”

  My face heated so much I had no doubt I was
the colour of the roses in the courtyard. I stopped walking, and Erebus spun to face me before stepping closer. He reached his gloved hand to my cheek and ran his fingers across it.

  “Look how you colour when your sexual prowess is questioned.”

  “Stop it,” I said, pushing his hand away.

  His mouth twitched at the corners before morphing into a sneer. I fought the urge to cry when he began laughing.

  “So, you’re not a prude, but your standards are too high for a demon to enjoy your flesh?” He prowled around me, running his finger across my shoulders. I froze, not willing to answer him or play his games. “Let me tell you,” he said, his mouth next to my ear as he stood behind me, “that you are nothing special. There is nothing about you that makes me crave your body. You would merely be a plaything, an object for me to satisfy my own sexual urges. And I’m twisted, Athena. Sick. Evil. Perverted.”

  My breath hitched as the heat from his breath blew across my ear. His unmistakable aroma wafted around me, and I closed my eyes to block the tightening in my stomach—it was too pleasant, too insistent. And it wasn’t right that I reacted like this to him.

  “Now,” Erebus said, facing me. “A list of Thomas’s friends. Names.”

  I shook my head, releasing myself from the drunken stupor he had created. “James is his closest friend, and Jacob.”

  “Only two? Let’s find one of them, shall we?”

  “They’ll be at the field.”

  “Really? Why?” He strode forward, his focus on the centre of the village. “I’ve not restored the light. It’s pointless them being there.”

  I rushed to keep up with him. “So when will you let the light return? You know they need the light for the crops to grow.”

  “Let it return? Athena, I don’t just let it return.” He glanced at the houses as we passed them. I’d become accustomed to the women of the village hiding from me on the few times I’d been in the village, but many of the men also hid this morning. There were a few of them dotted between the houses, mending the thatch roofs or fixing walls where the rain and damp had rotted the wood.

  “I need to see if the villagers deserve the light,” he said. “A lot depends on my visit today. If I’m not satisfactorily fed, then I won’t bother to grant them any favours.”