Damned and Desirable (Eternally Yours Book 2)

by Tara West

  But something about our lovemaking troubled me. Though Master’s passion was rarely tender, he tempered his brutality with soothing words. Not today. I suspected he was upset by Callum’s betrayal, or perhaps he’d heard the rumor that a Grim Reaper had been spotted wandering the caves with a two-headed beast. I could only wonder if that Grim was my former husband searching for his bitch, impossible as it seemed. Why would he save her, when he never bothered to come looking for me?

  I turned down my lip, pretending I was a petulant child. “You did not call me your ‘fair one’ today.”

  He turned to me slowly, orange eyes glowing against dark, smooth skin. “Maybe I do not find you as fair as you once were.”

  My breath hitched, and I was momentarily stunned into silence. “Surely you don’t mean it.”

  He gestured to the cage beyond our bed. “My demons tell me you abused my prisoner, though I did not give you leave to torture her.”

  “She was asking for it,” I spat. How could he care more for the hide of some worthless whore than for my tender heart?

  “You fool.” He stormed up to the bed, leaning over me with a menacing snarl. “I need her spirit whole.”

  I fell back, my baby slithering beside me as she hissed at my lover. “She will recover in time,” I answered weakly, hoping my master was playing a game, though I did not detect the familiar spark of desire beneath the thunderous look in his eyes.

  His gaze raked my nude body as if the sight of me somehow left a sour taste in his mouth. “Do you not know who she is?”

  Though it pained me to become angry with my master, the embers of fury stoked a flame deep within my bosom. Had he forgotten I was his favorite blood slave? His main source of pleasure in this hellish existence?

  I got up on my knees, eyeing him with disdain as my baby coiled above me. “She is my husband’s whore.”

  His lip curled in a snarl. “Ironic, coming from the biggest slut in thirteen hells.”

  Instinctively, I raised my hand to strike, despite the pain from my bubbling skin and boiling blood.

  His tail lashed out, its spike stabbing through the center of my palm.

  I wailed and hissed as I tried to pull back. “Please, Master, please.”

  My baby slithered down my back, trembling against my skin as my master’s tail rattled.

  His spike slid out of me, leaving a gaping wound in my hand. Sobbing, I spit into the hole, sighing in relief as the anti-venom soothed the burn.

  I screamed when he grabbed my damaged hand, yanking me off the bed. “You know this girl is not just a whore.” His tone rose as he squeezed my hand harder. “She is the fallen angel predestined to lead the Nephilim army that will spur the second coming. With her as my blood slave, I will rule the apocalypse.”

  He released me with a shove, and I sank onto the sheets where we’d just made love, cradling my injured hand as tears streamed down my face. The pain was like a thousand tiny needles burrowing into my skin. He slid into his trousers before storming toward the tunnel.

  “Master.” My voice shook as I reached for him. “Where are you going?”

  He turned, gazing at me one last time with a cold glare. “I’ve grown tired of looking at you.”

  Ash

  Callum snored softly beside me on the pallet, while I pressed my eyes shut and pretended to sleep despite the banging of my heart; its pulses echoed loudly in my ears. I’d woken from a fitful dream and landed smack in the middle of a nightmare. I had no idea which was more horrifying, listening to two crazy demons mate like rabid dogs or Scorpius’s admission I was somehow supposed to end up his blood slave and start an apocalypse.

  An apocalypse?

  Well, fuck. And here I thought my eternity couldn’t get any worse.

  Aedan

  “How did I know not to trust the word of a demon?”

  The giants had us surrounded, and there were thousands of them. Jack whimpered as he backed up against a stone structure, and Sarge stood by my side, scythe at the ready. Though what good were our scythes now, considering these monsters had clubs nearly as tall as us?

  “Never fear, Masters,” the demon hissed. “They are Nephilim and friend to mankind. The giant who wears the bright star is King Og.”

  I remembered reading about Og in The Bible. The king was almost eighteen feet tall with a wingspan at least double that. He had an elongated neck, a grey pallor, and big, bulging eyes. It had been a few thousand years since man had usurped his rule and he’d been cast down to Hell. Judging by the way he held that club poised to lob off our heads, he still held a grudge against mankind. The demon probably knew this as well, hence the reason he’d led us here.

  Sarge held up the demon’s head, growling. “What do they want?”

  “Don’t worry.” The demon flashed a devious grin. “Let me speak to them.”

  Sarge shot me a weary look before turning the demon’s head toward the giants.

  “Fellow scorned friends,” the demon called. “I have brought you gifts, bones for broth and meat for stew. In return, all I ask is that you rescue my body and let me partake of your holy water, so that I might be healed.”

  I gaped at the demon. Considering Sarge still held his head, he was a fool to think the giants would save him. Sarge swung around and threw the head into the air. And then to my surprise, a Nephilim raised his club and batted that thing way beyond center field toward the flaming lakes of lava.

  I let out a low whistle. “Home run.”

  Og stomped up to us, rattling our bones with each step. “Grim no welcome to Nephilim den.”

  I held up my palms, slowly backing away. “My humble apologies. We’re not here to harm your kind. We have come from Purgatory to save our friend. She was captured by a demon and brought to Hell.”

  Og scowled. “What this friend look like?”

  I made a face as I thought about the last time I’d seen Ash. There’d been tears in her eyes because I upset her. I had no idea what she looked like now, but in my mind she was always my beautiful, free-spirited girl. “I’m not sure now that she’s been demonized.”

  Sarge puffed up his chest and stepped forward. “Last I saw her she had wild hair, bright green eyes, and the most beautiful smile you’ve ever seen.”

  I shot him a sideways glare. Bastard.

  Og’s massive jowls dropped open. “Is she angel?”

  “No. She’s a ghoster,” I answered before Sarge could say anything else he’d regret later. “She was kidnapped by another ghoster named Shadow.”

  “No angel?” The folds of skin on Og’s thick brow drew down, nearly obscuring his eyes. “No from Heaven?”

  I shook my head. “No, from Purgatory.”

  Sarge turned to me. “What about that night she spent in Heaven?”

  “That hardly counted,” I said. “She was cast out the next day.”

  A wave of murmurs rose from the crowd.

  Og silenced them with a wave of his club. He bent down, looking under my hood until we were nearly eye-to-eye. “She fawen angel?”

  “Of sorts.”

  “We believe she is with the dragon, Callum,” Sarge said as he shrugged the headless body off his shoulders and waved in the direction its head had flown. “That demon told us this was Callum’s den.”

  Og straightened and pounded the tip of his club into the ground. “No dragon den! Nephilim den.”

  Now the pyramid made sense, for I had heard from older Grims the Nephilim had built the pyramids on Earth.

  Og jutted his club into the air. “We must save fawen angel.”

  The other Nephilim roared their approval; the vibrations from their collective shouts felt as if a steam train was tunneling through my eardrums.

  “That’s what we’re trying to do,” I shouted above the din.

  A wide smile split Og’s ugly face in two. “Nephilim help you.”

  Ash

  Time seemed to pass in a blur as I slept beside Callum in our cage. I must have woken up every half
hour to check on him. His face and hands had gone clammy, and he was muttering strange things, like telling Aedan to accept Mr. Ball’s offer and repeating that Katherine was a bitch whore. I had no idea who this Mr. Ball person was, but I had to concur with his opinion of Katherine. The description fit her perfectly.

  My breathing stilled when I heard the sound of boots filing into the cave. Whoever had come to visit us had brought along several friends. Garf’s whimper wasn’t reassuring, either. He must have known our company was no good.

  I kept my head on Callum’s chest, pretending to be asleep while desperately trying to focus on the steady beating of his heart, instead of the blood-curdling fear which coursed through my veins.

  But when I heard the clank of the keys in the lock, I knew my time had run out. “Time to get up, fair one.”

  I pried open one eye to see Scorpius staring down at me, his silver key taunting me as it dangled between us and his creepy tail threatening me as it hung over his head.

  “Wha—?” I asked, but Shadow was by my side, forcing me to drink water.

  I quickly spit it out, though some of it managed to find its way down my throat.

  “Drink, my angel.” Merriment danced in Scorpius’s eyes. “It’s cool and refreshing.”

  I flew to my knees, knocking the cup out of Shadow’s hands. “I’m not your angel,” I growled, “and I don’t want your water.”

  Shadow clucked his tongue, but I was focused on the curve of Scorpius’s tail, which stretched until it was dangling above me. His face appeared impassive, like smooth black marble, but his eyes were glowing orange flames. I almost thought I saw embers flickering beneath his eyes as his tail rattled menacingly. “The least you could do is show gratitude for my hospitality.”

  I waved a hand at my dungeon. “You call this hospitality?”

  “Come.” He held one of his lower hands out. “I have prepared a feast for us. I know you must be famished.”

  I shrieked away from him. “Not famished enough to eat poison.”

  “The food is not poisoned. I give you my word.” He subtly smiled though the flames of aggression still burned in his eyes.

  “How can I trust you?” I motioned to my friend, who still lay motionless and mumbling on the cot. “Look at what you’ve done to Callum.”

  He arched a dark brow. “Do you wish me to ease his suffering?”

  I folded my arms and blew out a huff of air. “Of course.” But I knew he wouldn’t, and if he did, I was sure he’d expect me to repay him for the favor.

  He stepped forward, jutting his hand out again. “Then come with me.”

  I cast a weary glance at Callum as a strange sense of déjà vu overcame me. Last time a demon led me from this cage, I’d had the sickening feeling I’d never see Callum again. I’d allowed that demon bitch to abuse and defeat me, and now there was no telling what Scorpius was capable of doing. Callum was too sick to help me now. It had become clear Aedan wouldn’t be coming for me, either. This left me with only one choice.

  I clenched my hands together, feeling the energy ball in them. My palms crackled as my chest heaved. I slowly stood, refusing to take his hand as I left the cell with stiff shoulders and let him lead me to the table. I did my best to ignore the cluster of demons around us, thankful I didn’t see Katherine among their number. I sat when he motioned to the chair, allowing him to think he had control of the situation.

  But he didn’t. When the moment came, I would strike, and I would strike hard. The stakes couldn’t have been any higher. I wasn’t just fighting for my soul anymore. I was fighting for the souls of all mankind.

  I scowled at the table. There were no steaming plates of grilled spider or headless rats, just a long blade with an ivory handle and a rolled piece of parchment. “I don’t see a feast.”

  “The feast is here.” He laughed as he picked up the blade and slit open his top wrist, holding it out to me as blood spurted from the slash like a geyser. “Drink,” he said.

  I jumped up from the chair. “I’m not a cannibal.”

  “Of course not, my angel.” He stepped around the table, all six of his hands beckoning to me as the blood from his gash splattered my jeans. “Drink, and I promise you will be sated.”

  I pushed the chair between us before rushing to the other side of the table. “I’m not a vampire, either.”

  This demon was certifiably psycho if he thought I was going to drink his blood.

  The flame in his eyes brightened as he turned to Shadow with a scowl. “Bring the dragon to me.”

  Well, fuckity, fuck. I knew this wasn’t going to end well.

  After Shadow and another demon dragged Callum out of the cage, the other demons formed a circle around us. Garf whimpered as he pressed his face against the bars.

  I clenched my hands together, assessing the situation. I was somewhere in the bowels of Hell, surrounded by a dozen demons who were about to torture me and/or my friend, and the nastiest demon of them all wanted me to drink his blood, most likely so I’d become his blood slave and start an apocalypse. Yep, that about summed up my situation. Time to get the fuck out of Dodge. I just needed to figure out how.

  Callum’s head lolled to one side, smoke streaming out of his snout in weak tendrils as Shadow and another demon held him up. Scorpius eyed Callum’s festering wound. “It doesn’t look so bad. I must not have struck him hard enough.” In the blink of an eye, Scorpius struck Callum’s other shoulder, causing him to jerk up and scream before his head lolled to the other side.

  “What are you doing?” I yelled as I balled my fists.

  He turned to me with a smirk. “Easing his suffering. Isn’t that what you wanted? Soon, he will fall down to the second dimension, then the third, and finally the fourth, and the pain of my venom will be just a memory.” He turned back to Callum, tail poised to strike again.

  I jutted a foot forward. “Please, don’t! Please!”

  Garf wailed as he rattled the bars of the cage. The other demons began to get restless, too, pacing and growling like wild animals.

  Yet with all of those distractions, I kept my eyes on Scorpius. He was the one I needed to take down first if I had any chance of escaping.

  He strode up to me, holding out his bloody vein. “If you wish me to give him the anti-venom, you must drink, and then you must sign the oath declaring yourself my blood slave for all eternity.”

  Oh, jeez, seems like a simple request. As if.

  “All right, I’ll do it,” I cried, my shoulders slumping in defeat, “but not until you give Callum the anti-venom.”

  His tail rattled as a wide smile split his face. The demons held Callum while Scorpius spit into both of his stings. I watched with a mixture of dread and amazement as the bubbling boils began to heal.

  “Ash, don’t drink,” Callum whimpered before his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

  I felt the energy racing through my veins now and the hairs on my arms stood on end. If the anti-venom worked a little faster, Callum would be strong enough to help me.

  “I won’t let him cast you to the fourth dimension,” I said between gritted teeth. That part was true. I wouldn’t, but I wasn’t about to drink scorpion blood, either.

  Scorpius walked up to me holding out his arm. “Now, you must drink.”

  “Noooo!” Garf rattled the cage behind me, so hard the walls of our cave began to shake and dust rained down on our heads.

  Scorpius turned to his demons with a snarl. “Stop him!”

  They picked up spears and sticks and began poking Garf through the bars.

  “No drink! No drink!” he cried as he shook the cage.

  With a roar, Scorpius stormed toward the giant, blood spurting along the floor in his wake. “Open the cage,” he commanded.

  That’s when I saw Callum fighting the demons who held him. The color had returned to his face and steam poured from his snout.

  Strike now! My conscience told me. And strike hard!

  I raised my hands and p
oured all my energy into my palms, amazed as twin thunderbolts lit up the cave and zapped Scorpius right in the tail. He flew through the open door of the cage and slammed into the back wall. The smell of burned flesh permeated the musty chamber.

  Holy shit! Did lightning just come out of my hands?

  That wasn’t anything like the little zap I’d used on Cerberus.

  Callum burned demons left and right, filling our cave with more heat as I zapped the demons who tried to flee. Garf did the smart thing and huddled in the corner of his cell, hands shielding his face. Good thing, because I didn’t want him getting hurt.

  I had no idea if this lightning thing was part of my demon powers or what, but I wasn’t complaining. The hair on my head stood on end as I zapped another and another. A few were stupid enough to come after me with fangs unsheathed and claws raised. They didn’t stand a chance. It was like watching insects fly into a porch light.

  Ha, ha! Eat my electricity, demons.

  And just when I thought we’d burned and zapped every evil creature in the place, a shadow fell over the room, blurring my vision and sending my mind spiraling into a pit of confusion.

  I heard a roar, and then I choked on smoke as fire filled the air. A strong hand on my back gave me a push. I turned and looked into a pair of glowing dragon eyes.

  “Run!” Callum screamed.

  But I was too confused to do anything. A series of booms shook the floor beneath me before I was tossed into the air, thrown over a thick shoulder, and bounced out of the cave.

  “Ash, wake up.” Callum stood over me, lines of concern on his brow as he shook me.

  “Callum! You’re okay!” I squealed as I sat up and threw my arms around his neck.

  His steamy breath scorched my shoulders as he hugged me back, but I didn’t care. I was just so happy to see him well again. And then I remembered my last waking moment, and the darkness that had fallen over me in the cave.