by Misty Evans
Inside, Lilith sat in front of my fireplace in my favorite oversize chair, a roaring fire burning bright and Victoria seated at her feet.
Victoria? Hone was supposed to be babysitting her at her place. Had Vicky escaped his watchful eye? Couldn’t be. Hone would have called me.
Unless he couldn’t.
My stomach tightened. Impossible that Victoria had gotten the drop on Hone, but then again, she’d raised Lilith from hell. Still, a more likely scenario popped into my mind…
Lilith had freed Vicky.
I dared not look at Rad, knowing I’d see the same thought reflected on his face. Instinct made me reach for my phone, but I couldn’t call Hone at the moment. If Lilith had gotten to him, there was nothing I could do to help him. I still sent a mental message to Damon. Check on Hone and hurry.
Moving into the sunken living room, I realized Lilith was wearing my clothes. Not just any clothes, but my favorite Versace dress, made by the late designer himself. What the fuck? Not only had she taken over my home, but my wardrobe as well?
Of course. It made no difference I was short and curvy and she was tall and model-thin. She embodied sin on all levels, coveting whatever was mine and taking it for her own.
Bowing my head, I kneeled before her, the sick feeling in my stomach rising. “My queen.”
“Alciscor,” she purred, calling me by an old-world term for vengeance. Evil magic rose and engulfed me, heightening my senses. Pride, desire, anger…every sin in hell and on Earth passed through me with exquisite force just from the sound of her voice. “You’re a difficult one to locate. Rise and let me have a look at you.”
Never look Lilith in the eye, my mother’s warning rang in my head. Never question her.
I did as instructed by both the queen of demons and my Earthly mother, saying nothing and keeping my face blank. I pinned my gaze on Victoria, who was openly staring up at Lilith with unabashed devotion. Witch or not, she was human and had no understanding of the demon hierarchy except in relation to her occult teachings. Which from what JR had told me the few times we’d discussed cases involving witches, warlocks and associated occult religions, was far from accurate.
Lilith, however, didn’t seem to mind Victoria’s breach of the rules. Her long, thin fingers stoked Victoria’s kinky hair, talon-like nails catching here and there. Lilith’s fingers never stopped though. Strands of Vicky’s hair fell to the floor, yanked out by the roots courtesy of Lilith’s rough treatment. The witch didn’t even flinch.
Freak.
Lilith patted the top of Vicky’s head and stood. I kept my gaze on the Versace as Lilith circled me, her blistering heat skimming my skin through my clothes and making me want to scratch. Sweat broke out along my hairline.
The red dress was too short for her and much too loose through the chest and hips, causing it to drape erratically in those places. All that glorious fabric, tucked and sewn and molded precisely and specifically for my body, now tainted by her touch.
Was I really mourning my dress at that moment? Hell yes. Even if Lilith’s sinful presence hadn’t been causing an uproar inside me, I would have taken a moment to hate her simply for ruining that work of art created especially for me by a master human.
As it was, jealousy and wrath heated the blood in my veins as hot as Lilith’s essence heated my skin. I had to control what I was feeling, shut it down, no matter how strong the desires were. Too much emotion and my demon would rear her pretty head.
Light from the flickering fire reflected off Lilith’s blue-black hair, perfectly straight and looking as if she’d stepped out of a salon. Her face was youthful, skin unwrinkled. I’d heard rumors that she’d turned wickedly hideous in hell. That she’d looked like one of the monstrous creatures running around torturing lost souls there.
If that was true, her trip topside had rejuvenated her. How many souls had she eaten since Victoria had raised her? My fingers itched to raise my magic.
Easy, Kali. You can’t help anyone if you lose your cool.
Lilith ran a finger down my cheek, the knife-sharp nail drawing blood. I didn’t move, didn’t make a sound.
But my demon woke.
The finger made its way to my chest, the nail slicing the strings that held my cape around my neck and cutting through the red fabric until it fell off my shoulders and pooled in a circle at my feet. I’d released my grip on the whip. It was still curled around my wrist like a bracelet, but without my cape, I felt naked, exposed.
Defenseless.
Which is exactly what she wanted.
Disappearing behind me, she chuckled under her breath and a hot spike of pain ran down my spinal cord. My demon punched the walls of her prison. With my hair in its usual high ponytail, the base of my skull was exposed. Lilith sunk her nails into the skin there and clawed her way down my back, shredding my turtleneck and filleting my skin.
I sucked in air to keep from crying out. I would act the dutiful demon, but I would not grovel at her feet over a little pain. Torture had never broken me in the past—as the Italian queen had witnessed firsthand—and it wouldn’t break me with this queen either.
The demon inside me bared her teeth.
Blood ran down my back, hot and sticky. Both of my blood slaves heaved audible breaths. Rad had hung back in the shadows at my command. Lilith knew he was there, but hadn’t acknowledged him. Now he stepped forward, his damn chivalry mixing it up with the call of my blood. With his emotions spiking, his need to protect me made the shade on the nearby Tiffany lamp wobble. The scent of his anger, strong and briny, assaulted my nostrils.
This pleased my demon and she backed off.
He inserted himself on one knee at Lilith’s feet. “Radison Beaumont, here to do your bidding, my queen.”
If he hadn’t distracted her at that moment, she would have stripped me naked and probably continued to fillet my skin in order to deduce whether I was worthy of her expectations for the job she wanted done. With Lilith, reputation and experience only went so far. She wanted to see how strong you were, hence the torture. Strength was power and most demons were weak.
I was many things, but weak wasn’t one of them. She would have enraged my demon to the point I couldn’t have subdued her and then all hell would have broken loose.
Rad’s distraction worked. Lilith looked down at him, assessed his good looks and the bowed head, and lust filled the room. It slammed against my body with the force of one of Cole’s punches and I nearly doubled over.
Maybe I was weak. At least when it came to the Chaos demon.
She touched his hair, rubbing it between her fingers, then trailed her hand over his broad shoulders. From the corner of my eye, I saw her smile. Wicked. Evil. Seductive. “Well, well, what do we have here?” She sniffed the air and closed her eyes as if the smell was orgasmic. “A Chaos demon with a soul.”
Dammit. She was going to eat that soul if I didn’t do something to prevent it. I stepped forward, willing to divert her again. “I was told you have a job for me.”
She ignored me, grabbing Rad’s coat collar and hauling him to his feet. He looked her directly in the eyes and smiled—that iceberg-melting smile—and all I could think was, oh, shit.
Lust trumped protocol, at least in this case. Lilith took in that charming grin and another wall of desire hit me. My nipples hardened to tight peaks. A hungry ache swelled between my legs. To my left, Victoria moaned, no more immune to Lilith’s rising lust than I was.
Rad responded, too, but he was no longer looking at the queen of hell. His leather coat was unzipped and Lilith shoved it off his shoulders, raking her hands over his chest, down, down, until she hit the bulge of his jeans. She squeezed it and he barely moved, restraining himself almost as well as I had.
The whole time Lilith mauled him, his gaze was locked on mine. The Tiffany lamp shook harder. The pictures on the walls of the living room vibrated as if an earthquake was happening. The fire in the fireplace spit ashes high into the air. Lust, hunger, thirst…Rad’s
eyes told me everything he wanted to do to me, everything he wanted me to feel.
The passion and yearning reflected in those gold eyes nearly felled me.
I told myself to look away, to break the connection, but my body refused. I didn’t want to break the connection. In fact, I wanted to push Lilith aside and take Rad right there in front of her. Mark him as mine.
Lilith began popping the buttons of his shirt, and I regained control of my body’s traitorous desires. If she got him naked and saw the Noctifector tattoo between his shoulder blades, he was dead.
And revenge aside, the only one who got to kill him was me.
“My queen.” My voice shook and I cleared my throat. I was so horny and so jealous, I could barely form words. “You’re not safe here.”
She shoved Rad’s shirt open and scored his chest with her nails. Blood rose and ran down his hard, lean stomach muscles. But my words finally penetrated her lust and caught. She swiped a finger through Rad’s blood, licked it off as if it were cake frosting, and eyed me. “Why is that, alciscor?”
“The Noctifectors are after me. They’ve grown almost unstoppable in recent years. If they show up here and find you, they’ll do whatever it takes to capture you.”
It wasn’t far from the truth. Lilith feared nothing, except, if my guess was right, being exorcised back to hell. She was here, walking around on Earth, enjoying herself. Eating souls to restore her beauty and vigor, stealing designer dresses, seducing my ex-fiancé. Good times.
The Noctifectors could put a crimp in her party. While they’d need a miracle to send her back to hell, they could still imprison her. She’d get a refresher course in torture. Lilith liked torture, but only if she was doling it out.
“Do the Noctifectors know I’m here?” The lust receded, wrath taking its place. She wasn’t angry at me, only at our mutual enemy.
I stopped myself from glancing at Rad. The earthquake had passed. He was in control of his emotions again. “They know,” he answered her.
“Will they come after me?”
Dumb question. A wanted poster with her picture on it was probably circulating the world’s Noctifector break rooms as we spoke. “Yes, my queen,” he said. “Capturing you would be their greatest accomplishment to date.”
She paced the room, touching my things here and there, watching the fire. Rad was still staring at me like he wanted to jump my demon bones.
Lilith faced me. “Where is it safe for me, alciscor?”
I spoke without thinking. “The Bridge Institute.”
Damon yelled in my brain. What?
I locked my knees so I didn’t stagger from his voice vibrating in my head. “It’s the safest place for you, but will limit your freedom.”
She didn’t like that. “And why aren’t you in the Institute?”
“I was until a few hours ago when I got the call saying you wanted to see me.”
As if remembering why she was there in the first place, her anger increased. “I want revenge.”
Don’t ask any questions. My back burned where she’d cut me open. I used the pain to stay focused. “I’ll be happy to seek it for you. All I need to know is who you want revenge on.”
She returned to the chair, sat and buried her talons in Victoria’s hair once more. Then she sighed deeply, staring at the blood on Rad’s chest. The flames inside the fireplace jumped and sparks flew.
“I want revenge,” Lilith said, her voice full of contempt, “on Lucifer.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Outwardly, I didn’t react. Inside I choked. She had to be kidding.
Only Lilith didn’t kid. She was dead serious.
Rad’s expression changed to holy shit.
My thought exactly.
Taking revenge on Lucifer was a ridiculous idea. A deadly ridiculous idea. There were methods, although few, that would return Lilith to hell and bind her there once more. Lucifer, on the other hand, was a fallen angel. Earth was his playground, hell, his kingdom. He could not be barred from here, could not be exorcised and forced to leave. Neither could he be imprisoned in hell. He was free to move between worlds, reigning chaos and temptation everywhere.
In other words, I might be able to banish Lilith, but I could never banish the devil. And if I pissed him off, the only place safe from his wrath for me would be heaven.
Fat chance I’d receive a warm welcome there.
Damned if I do. Damned if I don’t. “I live to do your bidding, my queen.”
Rad’s eyes grew to half-dollars, letting me know he thought I was crazy not to refuse. Of course, I was crazy. But who said no to Lilith? Only those with a let-me-spend-eternity-in-hell wish.
I pinned my gaze on her throat, sizing up my odds of slamming a stake there. Wouldn’t kill her, but it would give me a moment’s satisfaction before she roasted me over the fire in the fireplace.
It’s the little things, after all.
“Lucifer believes he’s in love with a witch.” She sunk her nails into Vicky’s head and finally the woman flinched. “I want you to make her life miserable.”
Wait. She wanted me to take revenge on Lucifer by screwing with his mistress? I nearly laughed with relief. Piece. Of. Cake.
Lilith must have sensed my relief. “I’m told the witch now bares the Mark of Cain.”
Back up the vengeance boat. Piece of cake…not.
No wonder Lilith was coming to me instead of cutting the witch off at the knees herself. The Mark of Cain was a warning. Messing with the witch would provoke the wrath of God. The ultimate vengeance.
What had the witch done to earn God as her bodyguard? “The Mark will make things more difficult.”
Lilith laughed without humor. “That’s why I came to you, alciscor. They say you’re the best.”
Great. No backing out of this.
This, however, was what I got for being a top-notch vengeance demon. Work your ass off and you still get screwed. “Give me her name and location, and I’ll find her.”
Lilith rose from the chair, a smug smile on her face as she crossed to stand in front of me. Like a good demon, I continued to keep my eyes averted. “Her name is Amy Atwood. She lives near here in a town called Eden.” She leaned in, licked blood from my cheek and kissed me on the lips.
Lilith’s lips scorched mine and sent a sharp stinging sensation through my body. I fisted my hands to keep from punching her, her magic zipping along my nerve endings and energizing my demon with enough wattage to make me nearly scream. A deal had been struck. A contract, sealed.
I was so screwed.
When she was done mauling my lips, she stepped back. “My coat, Victoria.”
Leaving so soon? What a shame. I shoved my demon back a couple of steps, took a deep breath. Vicky raced by me to get to the mink trench, tossed on the opposite sofa. I wondered briefly who Lilith had killed for it.
“It would be best, my queen, if you keep a low profile. Stay at the Bridge Institute for now.”
Vicky held the coat while Lilith inserted her arms into the sleeves. “Do not worry about me, alciscor. No one will bother me.”
Her gaze flicked to Rad, and once again lust swirled around all of us. I shivered with the impact of it, the ache between my legs once more going into overdrive. My demon egged me to give into it. “You—” Lilith motioned at Rad, “—come with me.”
No, my brain screamed. “He’s my blood slave.”
It just popped out, but there it was. Not an argument. Those weren’t allowed. Just a statement of fact.
Lilith’s curious gaze turned to me. “You’re not a Child of the Night.”
“No, but he is my blood slave, as is Victoria. They were given to me by an old vampire king before he died. I’m to take his place, and in order to fulfill my promise, I must take their blood at regular intervals and they must take mine. Victoria and Rad should not leave my side.”
Vicky, never one to worry about her own safety, piped up. “I can leave her side. She’s hasn’t fed on me.”
Lilith sized up Rad. “And you? Has my alciscor fed on you?”
“Yes,” he lied, eyes half-lidded with desire. “She’s my master and I can’t leave her.”
The bedroom eyes were overkill but it worked. Lilith hated being denied anything. She also knew the world was filled with handsome human men and equally beautiful human women, eager to do her bidding. Her lust dropped off as fast it had come.
“Find the witch,” she said to me. “Make her so miserable, she never wants to see Lucifer again. Then we’ll discuss your reward.”
Living to see another century would be reward enough.
She climbed the three steps out of the sunken living room, made her way to the entrance, Vicky on her heels.
Damon, I mentally called to him. Vicky jumped forward to open the door. The queen is leaving the building. You might want to follow her.
When an Archdemon grunts at you, even mentally, you know he’s too pissed to speak.
The moment the door snapped closed behind Lilith, I started shaking, well aware I’d just skated through the most serious meeting of my life. My knees buckled and I went down in a heap inside the cape still lying at my feet. The demon inside me paced, scratched at the walls and hissed her displeasure.
The next second, Rad was beside me, examining my wounds and pressing a kiss into my temple. “You did good, K.”
I shook from the adrenaline bleeding off, from corralling my inner demon. Shook from the touch of Rad’s hand. I wanted to crawl into his lap and stay there. Block out Lilith and Lucifer and the witch causing problems for them. Block out the fact that Hone might be dead, that Toel was gunning for me. That I had to become vamp queen in less than forty-eight hours.
He curved a hand over my cheek, drew my head to his shoulder. I should have pushed him away, but I didn’t. I was so tired. For a few minutes, I wanted to stop thinking and just feel. Release the hold I had on my emotions and let my defenses down.
Nestling my face into the crook of his neck, I breathed deeply and let his stormy ocean scent wash over me. His shirt was still open and I placed my hand over his heart, my fingers touching the wound Lilith had left there. He tensed from my touch, his desire, thick and fierce as an ocean wave, swelling around us.