“Go to hell.”
“Once again, I’ll point out that you have no choice.Thiscastle is onlockdownand I just decided to keep itthat way until youagree.”
“What’s going on?”Jedda demanded.“I don’t understand anyof this.”
Razr explained, but his gaze remained locked with Shrike’s,a battle of wills that she had a feeling wasn’t going to end well.
“Azdaiwas an angel before humanseven knew what angels were.Before the rebellion that got Satan thrown out ofHeaven.”Razr sucked air between his teeth as if he was in pain, but Jedda hadno idea what could be hurting him.“Azdaihurt humansin the way human children sometimes pull the wings off flies.He was curiousand cruel, and he had to be punished.Fallen angels didn’t exist yet, so Heavencame up with this glyph and the punishment that goes with it.”He held up hishand, where the feather-shaped glyph burned bright crimson, so angry sheflinched.“When it lights up, it means that it’s time to experience punishment.If the punishment doesn’t take place immediately, we suffer until some assholeangel shows up to inflict the punishment tenfold.”He reached into his jacketpocket and pulled out the most beautiful ivory-handled cat-o’-ninetails she’d ever seen.Even the little bone spurs on the ends of the leatherstrands had been polished to gleaming perfection.“And inflicting thepunishment on ourselves doesn’t count.”He unfolded the compact handle andlocked it into place, and then he passed the torture device to Shrike.Jedda’sstomach turned over at the realization that the cat was about to be used.“Weearn extra credit when the punisher is merciless.”
“Extra credit?”she asked, feeling utterly sick.
“We can go longer between beatings.”
She put her hand over her belly, but it didn’t quell thenausea.“That’s...barbaric.”
“You’ll get no argument from me,” Razr said as he removedhis jacket and shirt.As she suspected, he was as fit as an athlete, hiswell-muscled broad chest tapering to a narrow waist andabsshe’d bet would make diamonds seem soft in comparison.
“Wait.”She leaped to her feet and tried to reason withShrike.“Don’t do this,” she pleaded.“I’ll do whatever you want.I’ll do mybest to find the items you want—”
“You’re already going to do that,” Shrike said.
She looked over at Razr, who was now removing the variousweapons strapped around his hips and looking at her like she was crazy forwanting to help him.She kind of felt that way, she supposed.This was none ofher business.Heck, she didn’t know why he was even in the office in the firstplace except that, oh, right, he’d tried to save her from the Dinner PartyFromHell and had gotten caught up in the trap Shrike hadset for her.So, yeah, this was all her fault, and she didn’t want to see Razrhurt.
“What can I do?”
Razr flung his clothes and half a dozen blades onto a chair.“You can make sure this asshole doesn’t fuck with me when I pass out.”
With that, he reached out and grabbed the wall.
Chapter Six
This sucked.UsuallyRazr’spunishment came fromAzagothor Hades, althoughZhubaalhad filled in a couple of times.Z didn’t like it,not likeAzagothand Hades, who both seemed to enjoydoling out a little torture, even among friends, but sometimes things couldn’tbe helped.
“Please,” Jedda whispered as Shrike’s heavy steps crossedthe room.“Surely this can wait—”
“It can’t,” Shrike said, his eyes glowing with that unholycrimson light again.“Even now, he’s feeling pressure build inside.His skin isburning.His blood feels like lava.Every minute without punishment increasesthe agony.Isn’t that right, Razr?”
Unfortunately, yes.“How the fuck do you know?”
Shrike stroked his finger over the cat-o’-nine’s smoothhandle, and how fucked up was it that Razractuallyexperiencedjealousy?He hated the cat.But it washis, and hedespised the fact that this fallen angelfuckwadwascaressing it.
Yeah, fucked up.
Shrike’s voice was soft, almost...tender.“Does it matterhow I know?”
Not really, but Razr guessed there was one hell of a storybehind his knowledge.“Just get it over with.Six of them.”
“No!”Jedda put herself between Razr and Shrike.What thehell was she doing?He was a stranger to her, and yet she was trying to protecthim.
Unaccustomed to being the recipient of such kindness, hehung his head, at a loss for how to handle this.His wings, bound so tightlythat they ached, quivered under his skin as if wanting to erupt from his backand shield her from what she was about to witness.
He lifted his head and looked at her from over his shoulder.“Jedda,” he said roughly, “it’s okay.Don’t look.It’ll be over quickly.”
For the span of a dozenheartbeatsshe hesitated.And then, reluctantly, she nodded and moved aside for Shrike,but she still cried out as the first blow fell across his shoulders, which,although fully healed, were still sensitive from the last flogging he’d takenat Jim Bob’s hand.
Pain exploded and blood splattered.He clenched his teethand bore the second blow with a grunt.His ears rang, but through the buzz hecould hear Jedda pleading with Shrike to stop.
Nothing she said would stop him.Shecouldn’tstophim.This was something Razr had earned, and he’d learned the hard way that itwas much less painful to take the blows than to suffer for days sometimes untilan angel showed up to flay him with ten times the number of strikes.
