by Eve Newton
He does as I instruct, but he doesn’t look at me as he unlocks the cage. “Do you require an audience?” he asks quietly.
“Nope, this’ll do,” I snarl and stepping forward, I swing my bat aiming for the gnarly hand that finger fucked me without my permission.
The Gargoyle yelps with agony as I smash his hand into tiny pieces that fall to the ground as bits of stone and dust.
Aleister steps back, but he doesn’t leave. I know that he will suffer through this. He is connected to his cluster in ways that I can’t even imagine. They are made from him, born of his flesh and blood. They, like the Hellhounds, are true creatures of Hell.
It almost makes me think twice about this.
Almost.
The blood lust of the Devil has reared its head and I couldn’t stop now if I wanted to, which I don’t.
I swing the bat again and smash his other hand to bits and pieces.
Then, I lose it.
His cries and shrieks of anguish echo through the dank prison as Babe slams into the Gargoyle again and again.
I take out his knees, his feet, his elbows…saving his head for last.
It has dropped to the floor. He is dead. Completely and utterly gone. To whack his head into little pebbles could be considered a pointless act.
I’m breathing heavily as I raise Babe one last time and bring it down with all of my strength onto his face. It crumbles under the force and I pant, leaning on the bat as I take in what I’ve done.
I need a good fuck right now more than I ever have.
But I won’t get it from Aleister.
He is on his knees, mourning the loss of his Gargoyle and that sliver of guilt that I feel over my father suddenly blooms into a campfire. Should I have treated Razor the same? Yes, but he is way more powerful than this little shit was and his followers are enough. It won’t be as easy to annihilate him in cold blood. As far as the Demons are concerned, he did no wrong. I didn’t fight, I didn’t say no, and even if I had, so what? There are no morals down here. There is no right and wrong. Razor will hear about this and he will expect the same. He will wait on tenterhooks and I’ll make him until I’m absolutely ready to take him out. I will string him along. He will fear my every move, thinking that I will attack. He will be a paranoid mess when I’m through with him and then I will exact my revenge. I want to destroy him completely. This Gargoyle would have been killed without me. Aleister would’ve taken it into his own hands if I hadn’t stepped in. It’s the way it is. It’s the way he is. Razor doesn’t have that authority figure. He has me, and he has wronged me. I will make him pay. When he least expects it. When I’m ready.
I drop to my knees in front of Aleister and take his face in my hands. “I’m sorry,” I murmur and brush my lips over his before I stand up, step back and flame out, needing to leave him to his grief. I’m the last thing he wants to see, let alone screw right now.
I feel a tug on my essence, and I know it’s him. He wants me to return, but I won’t. I need to figure out what that means first and secondly, I need to speak to Elijah again. I know he lied to me yesterday and now I want answers.
I stifle my yawn again as I land in the courtyard of the kennels.
“You’ll be mine soon, Annabelle.”
I shake my head to clear it and wake myself up a bit. I could fall asleep on my feet after that kill, the sexual tension with Aleister and of course, no sleep last night.
The sizzle under my feet makes me move forward.
I find Elijah on his knees in one of the kennels, facing off with the middle head of one of his hounds. They are growling at each other, but she quietens down when she catches wind of me.
Elijah pauses and turns his head slowly, warily.
He turns and to my surprise, stays down. “My Queen,” he says gruffly.
“Elijah. Get up.”
He raises an eyebrow at my brusque tone, but does as I say.
“To what do I owe the honor of a third visit in two days?” he asks quietly.
“If you are hoping for another fuck, forget it. You lied to me yesterday and I want to know what’s in your desk.”
“Nothing,” he states and walks away from me, through to the back. “As you can see, it is empty.” He points to the smashed-up wood that he has neatly leaned up against the wall.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Fair enough. What was in it. I know there was a spell cast, no one has a desk with nothing in it.”
I see him debate with himself and know that I’ve got him cornered. I push it. “What did my father give you?”
He sighs and rubs his hand over his face. “Ask your brother,” he says quietly and turns from me to take off his coat and hang it up on a peg.
My heart stops for a second. “Shax?” I ask carefully. “What’s this got to do with him?”
He shrugs. “Ask him.”
“Oh, I will,” I grit out, my fists clenched. The betrayal stings. My twin is supposed to have my back and now I find out that he is hiding shit from me. I flame out, but not to kick Shax’s ass. Not yet. I’m exhausted. Every time I use my power, it gets worse. I need to sleep, but I don’t want to. My head is going a bit fuzzy, so I’m going to have to rest. I just don’t want to do it alone.
I knock quietly on Gregory’s door and wait for him to answer it instead of barging in. I’m not sure that I can take walking in on another surprise almost blow job. I feel quite territorial over my therapist. He’s mine. He isn’t here for other patients, or to get his rocks off with slutty Demons.
“Annabelle?” he asks in surprise as he opens the door cautiously. “Is everything okay?”
His concern for me almost brings tears to my eyes. I clench my jaw and tell myself it’s the tiredness.
“Can I come in?” I ask, gesturing inside.
“Of course,” he says and steps aside to let me in. “What can I do for you?”
“Look, Doc. This Night Mare creep has gotten into my head. I don’t want to sleep in case I end up in a situation like last night. But I’m exhausted. I didn’t realize that the power drains me so much.”
“You need sleep?” he asks.
“Yeah, I guess I’m figuring out that it’s a weakness.” I glare at him, daring him to comment.
He is wise and doesn’t.
He takes my hand. “What can I do?”
“Stay with me while I rest,” I mutter.
“Me?” he asks, shocked. “I’m afraid that I will be no good to you if this nightmare Demon shows up.”
I grin at him. “You leave that bit to me. I just don’t want to be alone. If I fall asleep, wake me up straight away, okay?”
He nods. “I can do that, but, Annabelle, this is only going to get worse.”
“It’ll do until I can find a solution. Please.”
“A ‘please’ from the Demon Queen? How can I refuse?” he says with a little laugh.
“Fuck off,” I growl good naturedly. I make a move towards the couch, but he guides me over to the far side of his office, to the door that leads to his bedroom.
“You’ll be more comfortable on the bed,” he murmurs.
I let him get me settled on the double bed and watch as he pulls up a chair. “You can join me, you know. I don’t bite…unless you ask me to.”
He blushes a bright red. “Uh…”
I pat the bed next to me.
He hesitates for a second before he climbs onto the bed with me. He lies flat on his back as far away from me as he can get without falling off the bed.
I decide to have a bit of fun at his expense and curl up next to him, my head on his chest. His heart hammers loudly in my ears, but he slips his arm around me, making me smile.
We lie in silence for a while, but the peace and quiet, the reassurance of him there makes my eyes heavy and soon I feel myself fall into oblivion.
18
Elijah
I don’t know if I’ve made a big mistake pitting her against her brother or if I’ve made her see that I’m not totally th
e bad guy. I guess only time will tell. I give up pacing and worrying about Annabelle as I feel a presence behind me that is filled with conflict and antagonism.
“E,” the deep voice of the Horseman of War rumbles through the building and I turn with a smile.
“Killian. I wasn’t expecting you back today.”
His eyes, as white as the sexy top Annabelle was wearing earlier, give me a shrewd look. “Hoping I’d stay away longer?”
He stalks towards me. He is slightly taller than me, wider as well with shaved auburn hair. When he reaches me, he leans forward to brush his lips against mine, his hand on the back of my neck. I open up when he flicks his tongue against my lips. He massages my tongue with his in a sensual kiss that makes my heart pound.
“Of course not,” I say softly when he draws back. “Just surprised. You’ve been gone eight months this time. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too. What happened here?” He gestures to the broken desk.
“Our Queen paid me a visit,” I inform him.
“Ah. She discovered the box?”
“Not exactly,” I reply, “She was looking for something. She didn’t know what.”
“So you didn’t give it to her?”
I shake my head. “But her brother has it.”
“Oh?” Killian gives me a curious look. “Interaction with both of the twins while I was away. You have been busy.”
I give him an eye roll, but he isn’t fooled. He knows me too well, so there is no point in even denying it. “Just the one twin,” I say lightly.
His eyes hood, but he nods. “I see. The Queen, I presume?”
“Yes.”
“Did you enjoy it?” he asks, his voice low with desire.
“Yes, she is something else.”
“So I hear,” he comments. “This is the first female you have been with for a while.”
I don’t say anything. I know he isn’t jealous, just working through it in his head. We have an understanding. We are free to fuck whoever we want. It has been longer for him since he took a female to his bed, enjoying it but preferring the company of males. I prefer it the other way around. I don’t fuck other males. Females are my main interest, except where Killian is concerned. Especially this one female that I now can’t get out of my head.
“You like her,” Killian states. “More than you should.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I growl at him.
“She is the Queen, off limits to the likes of you. You are a brute, E. There is no way she will accept your behavior and the day I see you change to be with a female is the day my dick will prefer pussy over ass.”
“How profound,” I mutter, pissed off that he has pointed out my fault. “I know what I am. Annabelle has made it perfectly clear what she thinks about my arrogance.”
“Annabelle?” he inquires with a smirk. “First name basis. This fuck must’ve been good. Too bad I missed it.”
“Stick around, Lian, you might see it happen again.”
He lets out a loud guffaw and I relax. I’m always tense around him when he comes back from Earth. Creating conflict, war, amongst humans takes its toll on him. Oh, he enjoys it, far more than is normal even for a Demon, but he doesn’t see that it also drags him under. He is lighter, more fun after he has been back here for a while.
“Now this I have to see. Breaking furniture is something that even we haven’t done for a while.” The heated look in his eyes stirs my cock.
I take a step closer to him, but he holds his hand up with a look of regret. “I have to report in. I came straight to see you. Hold that thought until I get back.”
I nod. “Lian?”
“Yes?” he presses when I remain silent.
“I do like her,” I admit. “More than that. She has clawed her way under my skin. I—I just wanted you to know that.”
“I appreciate the heads up, but you know you are free to enjoy others,” he says, but the look on his face contradicts his words. He is hurt. I knew he would be, that is why I wanted to give it to him straight. Fucking is one thing, craving someone else to the point where you can’t stop thinking about them, is a whole other bag of messed up shit.
“I know,” I say lightly.
He doesn’t respond, he bolts out with a flash of lightning that hits the stone with a loud crack.
I go back to brooding. Killian was right about her being off limits to me. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t try. I know my attitude pisses her off. I also know that when I knelt before her when she showed me the Devil, it pleased her. She is used to having males bow down to her. So she should. She is our Queen. There’s just something about her own attitude that makes me want to piss her off. It’s fucked up. I’m fucking this up just to see her eyes flash with anger and danger. It turns me on something fierce.
I groan as my dick, still aroused by thoughts of being with Killian, grows harder. Somehow, I’m going to have to get into a position to surprise her. I need to show her that I can be a good little puppy in her presence but also that when she wants me to slam her through walls as we fuck like animals, I’ll do it.
That is if she lets me. I feel like I’ve run out of chances and the possibility of getting her back here on my territory, where no one is likely to interrupt us will be a challenge.
My mind wanders to what it would be like to have Killian join us.
My blood heats up at the image, but I push it aside. Before any of this can happen, I need to survive Shax’s wrath. He is going to be beyond pissed that I ratted him out to his sister. I saw the fleeting look of betrayal on her face before it went hard. She is going to kick his ass, and then he is going to come here and kick mine.
Again, I wonder what the key opens. I hope that whatever it is, Annabelle doesn’t get hurt because of it.
The baying of the hounds brings me out of my thoughts. It’s feeding time and I’ve been neglectful.
I stride out to the kennels and see Musmortus laying in wait. She pounces on me, knocking me back on my ass, licking my face happily.
“Hey girl,” I laugh, stroking her heads. “Miss me?”
More lapping.
“I’ve missed you too. Tell your Mistress to bring you down here more often.”
She tilts her heads at me in question.
I get to my feet and scratch her behind her middle pair of ears. “If only you could help me, Mouse. I feel I’m gonna need it.”
She grunts her agreement and then pads over to where I keep the locker full of fresh meat.
I grin and forget about Annabelle briefly as I see to my hounds.
It is only as I finish up that I see Mouse waiting impatiently for me at the door. I frown at her as it is clear that she wants me to follow her.
Curiously, I do, wondering where she is going to lead me.
Hopefully straight to her Mistress, but my senses have spiked which tells me differently. Wherever we are going, there is trouble ahead.
19
Annabelle
I open my eyes, having the feeling of cloistered darkness. Just like before.
“Dammit! Gregory!” I yell into the heavy blackness.
“Annabelle?” he calls back.
I frown. “Gregory?” I shout. “Are you in here?”
“Annabelle!”
I see Gregory’s face swim into view, and I sigh. “If you’re in here with me, who is going to wake me up?” I complain.
“Little bit more concerned about why I’m in here with you,” he mutters.
“Yes, well, it’s subjective,” I say sarcastically. I turn around in a circle and see a flash of white mist making its way closer to us. “You!” I spit out as it zips over, getting in between me and Gregory and then flitting away.
“Annabelle,” the Night Mare sings. “I told you, you’d come to me.”
“Ugh,” I say with a shudder. “Not to you, not because I wanted to.”
“No,” he answers with a sad sigh. “No one ever comes willingly.”
> I blink and look at Gregory. He sounded so full of sorrow.
I’m about to shout at him to fuck off out of my head when his Night Mare form appears right in front of me and he says, “My existence is so lonely.”
“Oh,” I murmur and exchange a look with Gregory.
This isn’t exactly going how I thought it would.
“What are you trying to do to me?” I ask him, for lack of anything else to say.
“Feed on your fears, but you don’t have any,” he replies but then turns towards Gregory. “He, on the other hand, has plenty.”
“Leave him alone!” I bark, pushing Gregory behind me.
“Oh, no, he can feed me until I’m strong enough to get out of this world.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not corporeal. I haven’t fed for hundreds of years.”
“While you were in prison?” I venture cautiously.
“Yeees.”
“Who let you out?”
I feel Gregory squeeze my shoulder, but I ignore him. The Night Mare is talking about himself and I want answers.
“S-s-s-nake,” he hisses.
“A Serpent Demon?” I press.
“Hmmmm.”
“Razor?”
“I have no name, girl.”
“No, I mean the Demon, was he called Razor?”
“I don’t know.”
“You have no name?” I ask.
“I did, a long time ago.”
Okay, now we seem to be getting somewhere.
“What was it?”
“Sid,” he sighs.
I try to keep the look of surprise off my face. An odd name for an odd Demon.
“Why did the snake let you out, Sid?”
“To get to you, of course.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Ask him what grudge he holds.”
No need. I already know.