'Til Grim's Light (A Grim Awakening Book 2)

by Michelle Gross

  I twirled and watched myself in the mirror. I wore it well. I was actually suited for this look. I grinned foolishly at my next thought. I look like someone Grim Reaper might date. But I also annoyed myself. I was once the girl that mocked Tess and her boyfriends with jealous thoughts and now I felt like I was falling into that same deep hole. So, love did make you stupid. I sure felt like I was prancing around like an idiot, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.

  The door opened and I turned around. Ralph’s eyes widened when he saw me before a smile formed on his lips. “Grim awaits,” he instructed. I didn’t miss the mischievous way his tail sashayed back and forth as he watched me. “You’re radiant. Very well suited for Grim’s date,” he added and I blushed—like I hadn’t just been thinking the same thing.

  “Thanks.” I followed him out the door where they waited for me. Grim stood with his back turned—his cloak completely covering him. Killian was next to him and they were deep in conversation and hadn’t noticed me yet.

  Killian wore a black tux with a red tie. He still looked pale, but he looked to be concealing some of it. He had his hair styled—well, if a Mohawk counted. He normally left it in a mess—I supposed from his habit of running his hands through his hair. All these emotions put a clamp over my heart; he was so devilishly handsome it hurt to freaking look at him.

  Killian was the first to notice me and I loved the way his mouth fell open—and the way his eyes drank me in. As his heated gaze traveled over me, I wanted to look away just because sometimes I couldn’t handle the way he looked at me, but I calmed my nerves enough not to. He had this crazy effect over my body that left me with no control and I didn’t mean his incubus voodoo. I knew the difference between how I actually reacted to him and the way I reacted toward his seduction. “Melanie… you’re beautiful.” Killian sounded choked up.

  Grim finally turned around, his eyeless gaze swept over me in the same manner Killian’s had. His essence pooled around him and I hoped that meant he liked what he saw.

  Building up some nerve, I stood straighter—exposing some of that glorious cleavage I wielded at them. I had one of those Cheshire cat grins as I walked toward them. “I’m actually quite suited for this sort of thing… am I not?” I smoothed my palms over my hips. They devoured my every move.

  “Definitely,” Grim croaked.

  “One could even say that I could get used to this lifestyle,” I baited. Neither of them seemed to notice what I was implying, so I went on, “With me by your side… I compliment your darkness perfectly.” Killian realized what I was doing first and tore his gaze away from me. He faked a cough and turned completely around.

  Grim did as well, his cloak moving with him as he did. “Let’s go,” Grim motioned. They ignored what I said. I covered my mouth to keep the grin at bay. They were helping my confidence because I knew they were affected by me the same way I was drawn to them.

  I followed behind them. “Where exactly is this festival going to take place?” I asked.

  “All of the Underworld is free rein for the Human Festival, but we are headed for the City of the Dead. It’s the main attraction and highest potential for power,” Grim answered.

  Despite telling myself I wouldn’t be afraid, I still felt the chill creep over my back. It reminded me there were bigger things to focus on right now. Would everything go as planned? I grabbed my arms and began to rub them, trying to keep the chill of my own dark thoughts at bay. “Are humans taken by force to this festival?” I asked, already having a good idea what the answer would be.

  “Yes,” Killian confirmed. “But a good lot of them come on their own free will. There is a lot of humans that are obsessed with demons or into Satanism and seek them out on their own. Then you have the ones that are taken by force.” Killian’s face grew dark, and his fist tightened at his sides. “They are brought to be raped—eaten, tortured until they’re broken. Most of them lose their souls to Satan because they are willing to do anything to end the suffering.”

  I felt sick—nasty that we had to go to the very place where these things happened. “How can that be allowed?” I couldn’t even get my throat to swallow—it was blocked off with dread. “Because here in the Underworld, this is Satan’s domain. Angels can’t enter freely—it takes a lot of willpower to do so. They also risk being tainted,” Grim replied. “It’s not like they don’t try. They manage to save a lot of humans in the human world before they are taken, just not all of them can be saved in time.”

  “Why do you live so close to the Underworld?” I didn’t sound accusing, just curious.

  “Where else would I belong?” Grim opened the door and I followed them outside. The sky didn’t look much different than it did during the day if this was supposed to be the night sky here. It did seem a bit darker, and there was no moon, but the trees and plants all had a colorful glow to them—like a rainbow and it made it easy to see.

  “I will never set foot in Heaven. In order to slay demons, I had to be created from them. And this is home, it doesn’t matter how close I am to the Underworld. Not all demons are bad but they are all judged the same. No demon can ascend to Heaven, even if that demon lived a life as a saint,” Grim informed me. That didn’t seem fair.

  Killian studied the look on my face. “I am a demon, Melanie, and the Underworld is my birthplace. When Grim and I merged, that’s his burden as well. We are creatures of the dark, not the light.”

  “It doesn’t matter, I am created of demons regardless,” Grim spoke to Killian.

  “But, that’s not fair to the demons that deserve a better afterlife,” I spoke too fast, my words become a tangled web of heartbreak. “It’s not fair to you.”

  “I know who I am,” Grim told me. “I won’t accept the look on your face. Not from you, I thought you finally understood that I am in fact the Grim Reaper.”

  “That is not what upsets me,” I corrected him. “It just doesn’t seem fair that you or other good demons can never go to Heaven.”

  “I’m immortal, Melanie.” I looked away from Grim. Killian busied himself with something black in his hand. He used it to open a portal. My worst fear had just been realized. I blinked a few times and tried to sooth my new worries.

  “Oh,” I whispered.

  “Until the world finally ends, I’ll keep doing what I do. It’s my only purpose.” He sounded distant… sad.

  “That sounds incredibly lonely,” I admitted. Killian watched us quietly.

  “It is.”

  “Hopefully, this is the last time we go somewhere as two beings,” Killian interrupted. It only reminded me of the good that would come out of going to this place.

  “Go with Killian through the portal. I’ll be waiting for you on the other side.” Grim faded.

  _____________

  I entered the Underworld with Killian. Grim was there waiting like he said. We stepped out of the portal and I eyed everything curiously. It was quiet. There weren’t any demons around. The place was cleaner than I imagined, and it didn’t look like a festival was going on. The ground looked to be black stone. There was no grass, no trees. Everything was a rock surface. I wondered how in the world I was getting oxygen down here.

  There were a lot of shops. They all seemed to be made the same way—same build. Simple one story buildings, clean. All gray, black, or dark blues. One shop was called Love Potion and the letters were in a hot pink. Another was Food: Dead or Alive. Then there was a Demon Clinic. I tried not to let my eyes stay too long on the next one. Semen Shop? I shook my head and looked somewhere else. I didn’t want to know.

  “Where’s the festival?” I asked. My stilettos clicked along the stone pavement.

  “We have to cross the gateway,” Grim moved beside me.

  I scrunched my nose up and gave him a moronic look. A gateway? I thought every place in the Underworld was celebrating the festival? Killian stepped behind me and placed his hand against my back “Look straight ahead,” he told me. I couldn’t help but notice how nice he smel
led as he leaned over my shoulder. I didn’t know what I was supposed to be looking for, though.

  I sighed. “What? I don’t see anything. What am I supposed to be looking for?”

  Killian smirked and it was pure chaos for my heart. I crossed my arms in frustration. “You’re not paying enough attention, look closer.” I tried to pay attention and focus on what I might be missing. “See that, there’s a glamour.” After he told me what I was looking for, it was easy to spot. The town almost had a faded look to it—like a mirage. It wasn’t noticeable and could be overlooked, but every few seconds there was a glitch in the spell and a crack would show. Maybe this was similar to what Vengeance had done to Grim’s entire land. Now that I noticed, even the shops looked like a reflection in water.

  I smiled, pleased that I could see it. “I see it.”

  “All we have to do is walk through and we will be at the festival.” Killian’s hand slid down my back. I felt the goosebumps rise on my skin. He leaned away from me, but I was still responding to him with a slight shiver.

  “It’d be best if you ignored everything you’re about to see. Block it out if you have to,” Grim said, almost sounding desperate to make me understand what he meant. “Don’t leave our side.” I nodded. I wasn’t about to leave their sight in a place filled with demons.

  Grim stood at my right; Killian my left, both extending their arm out to me. I grinned and linked my arms into theirs, pulling them close. Grim grunted but otherwise didn’t protest. Killian went rigid at my touch. My body pressed against his was only making him worse.

  “Shall we?” Killian muttered.

  I nodded and we walked through the gateway: into the hidden world that I shouldn’t have seen. No amount of self-preparing and time could have prepared me for what I saw. The moment my eyes took everything in, I froze in place, unable to make myself go any further. Demons crowded the streets—monsters, no human would dream existed. My fear took me places my mind didn’t want to go, but then I was sure this was the worst of the worst. There weren’t enough words of disgust to explain this place. Absolutely horrifying. Sick. Brutal. I didn’t think I could actually comprehend the things I was seeing. Now I understood all too well what Grim had meant about blocking everything out.

  Demons were having sex everywhere. I wished it was that simple. If only I could blink away the sick and twisted things I was seeing. Sex in the air—upside down, at my feet—taking turns, and massive orgies. A girl wrapped in tentacles—legs spread apart as one of them thrust inside her. So many tentacles held her high in the air above the waterfall—whatever the tentacles belonged to had to be somewhere in the water. She writhed and moaned. Another woman was pinned in between two giant demons as they took her at the same time; whether she was crying out in pain or pleasure, I couldn’t tell. A beautiful female was sucking on the throat of a male—he looked dazed and confused. When she raised up, blood was dripping from her chin onto her naked chest. Vampire. There were no chairs, no beds—nothing. This was on the street that all of this was taking place.

  There were all kinds of screaming and moaning, but one caught my attention above the others. I turned around when I never should have. The woman was running naked. “Don’t look.” Grim tried to steer me in another direction but it was too late. I saw everything. I watched as the demons gathered around the human woman, mocking and laughing at her. Her terrified cries only fueled them more as they tore at her clothes and continued the violation. I would never forget the look and sound of her terror.

  I couldn’t turn my eyes from any of it because every direction I turned, there was something to see. Sex wasn’t the only thing, there were humans being torn apart and eaten; others fighting one another. Human men and women were nothing to these demons. I watched several jerking off as a woman with strap-on screwed a guy from behind while he did the same to the demon beneath him.

  Something bumped into us—we had yet to move any further than the entrance. It was a slimy reptilian creature and his snake-like eyes flickered over me in the process. Grim stepped in front of me when his tiny tongue darted out toward me. He kicked it back, but it was Killian that spoke. “Don’t even gaze upon her.”

  This place had managed to suck the life out of my willpower. My resolve to be brave, not weak, completely diminished now that I was here. My skin felt clammy and my body was feeling less of bones and more like strings. I was close to panicking. I tried to take in oxygen but the only thing I sucked in was hot air. I gulped over and over trying to regain composure. It wasn’t working, I was losing it. I gasped.

  Someone moved me slightly. “She’s losing it.” Grim was wound up and worried. I no longer felt his arm close by. He bent down and grabbed the back of my neck. “Breathe,” he ordered me but I couldn’t. I could still hear everything around us. Nothing was fading but me.

  Grim swore and turned around as his scythe materialized in his hand. “Stop, Grim. You’re only going to make it worse,” Killian hissed next to me.

  “None of this should be allowed.” Grim tightened his grip on the scythe as his essence flared out of his cloak. “They all belong at the tip of my blade,” he growled.

  Killian sighed. “You know you can’t. Just as you know that we can do nothing to any of these demons until it’s their time!” Grim looked around once more before he let the scythe disappear.

  “I can’t,” I whimpered. “Please.”

  “We should probably take her somewhere quiet,” Killian said.

  I didn’t think I could stay here any longer. Grim ran his hand up my back. “Go and calm her down. You don’t have much time, I’m sure he will be looking for us.” Killian nodded at him, and I gripped my sweaty palms. “I’ll make my arrival known,” Grim added before looking at me. “I want to see a better look than that when you get back.”

  Killian grabbed my wrist and began to lead me through the crowd with him. I didn’t focus on anything but him. My eyes were burning and so were my lungs—I needed to get a grip on myself. He took us to an empty alley. Well, there was an unfortunate guy getting a blowjob before Killian threw him out with his lady giving us the evil eye.

  He caught me off guard next—slamming me against the brick building. He smacked his palm against the building so that it rested by my head. I swallowed down some of my nerves, but Killian gave shaky legs a whole new meaning. “Ow, Killian. What are you doing?” I tried to move, but he pinned me to the wall.

  He growled—really growled and Lord help me, it was sending the wrong signals to the place between my legs. I shouldn’t have reacted that quickly to him, not after everything I had just witnessed, but nothing could ever waiver what I felt for this demon. Shame heated my face and neck. “You only have a couple of minutes to pull yourself together.” Just the thought of going back out of this alley had me feeling sick. “Don’t you dare make that face. What happened to your confidence? This world—or yours isn’t pretty, you of all people should know that. Hasn’t Fear taken enough from you?” he scolded me, and I knew he spoke the truth but it was harsh.

  “I didn’t expect—”

  “Did you not understand the words ‘prepare yourself’?” His breath was hot against my neck as was his anger. Intense dark eyes studied me with aggravation.

  “Why are you being so cruel right now?” I tried so hard not to make that question come out as a whimper.

  His features softened, for just a moment, then he was angry again. He punched the wall beside my head and I flinched. He stepped away, took a deep breath while running his fingers through his hair—so much for the styling. I eyed him curiously as he loosened his tie. “Melanie, this place is a nightmare; I’m well aware of that. But don’t think humans aren’t capable of doing the same things, some are just as twisted as demons,” he informed me like I didn’t already know that humans were just as ugly. I did know. He was upset, but I could tell he was trying to relax for my sake. “You’ve never seen anything like that before and you should have never had to, but we have to get through this. Tog
ether, okay? I would rather die than let anything happen to you, do you understand?”

  I nodded softly. I noticed the change in his eyes—the liquefied blackness that always seemed to take over every time he was about to start slipping out his voodoo on me. “Killian.” There was an edge to my voice.

  “Melanie, I think…” He grabbed his head, but his movements were quick to change. He stepped forward, pressing himself against me. His hard chest squished me against the rough wall. I tried to wiggle from his grip; we did not have time to deal with his horny personality! His mouth came down over my collarbone and his hot breath lit up every nerve-ending I had. “I’m at my limit,” he half admitted, half pleaded in my ear. Oh… we are so screwed because I didn’t know how to turn off my own flood between my thighs. First, he needed to stop whispering in my ear. That might save us.

  “Do not lose control, Killian,” I warned him, leaning away from his dangerous close mouth. His hand cupped my boob and—crap. “If you start letting out those fumes of yours, we are screwed.” Literally.

  I was already going slack against the wall, my body melting for him. “I will if we don’t do something. I’m going fucking crazy—please, just help me,” he whimpered, and it was the sexiest sound I have ever heard.

  “What can I do,” I didn’t hesitate to ask.

  “Just… let me touch you,” he mumbled, voice ragged. Every part of me responded to his words, but I still couldn’t see past where we were.

  “I don’t think I can here.” I gripped his shoulders so that he would stop feathering his breath across my skin. “Not in this kind of place.”

  “Melanie, I just need to touch you…” He faced me—eye to eye, nose touching nose. I was losing myself to him, I knew it, I could feel it. I was reaching a point of no return. “This place reeks of sex and it’s only complicating what I’ve been trying so hard to fight. I can’t anymore.”

  “Go ahead,” I said softly, bringing my arm up to hide my eyes. I wanted him—everything he would give me.

  He jerked my arm down that hid my face from him. His eyes no longer flickered black, brown eyes moved over me. “When did I become so pathetic?” He laughed out of pity. “All I need is sex and I wouldn’t be in this situation if I could bear the bloody thought of laying with any woman besides you. You’re all I can fucking think about anymore. A human I met a few weeks ago. You want to know why I was so fucking mean to you when I first met you? Because I was terrified of you. You were a fragile little thing, scared and nervous all the time.” He grabbed my hand and placed it against his chest. His heart was pounding. “So why the hell does my heart fucking fall out of my chest every time I see you from the moment I laid eyes on you?” He sounded angry, but it wasn’t that, his emotions were spilling out. I felt my own ribs cracking, responding to everything he said in a way that could never be understood. “But then I knew… you’re what I’ve been waiting for… what I’ve always wanted for so long… for thousands of years…”