“That will come after.”
He closed his eyes and threw his head back against the wall in stubborn defiance. But he knew how this would end. She would either torture him into unconsciousness, defile him with her body and foreign objects, or she’d find an innocent to torture if he didn’t pleasure her.
Either way, he was in for another nightmarish day that would make him that much angrier at the bastards who had kicked him out of Heaven. He would use everything Lilith did to him as fuel for the vengeance he planned.
His list was long. So long that even Lilith, whom he hated with every feather he’d lost, wasn’t at the very top.
Chapter 10
The temple was delightfully creepy.
Dusty, its walls and floors stained with ancient blood, and cobwebs stretching between gnarled, desiccated roots, it was just the kind of place Raika would expect demons to hang out.
So cool.
She loved the underworld and all its weirdness. The gross, squishy textures intermingled with sharp edges and wicked spikes. The mysterious realms, shrouded in evil fog and given life by unholy wails and agonized screams. She loved all the things that made other people run away in terror.
Sure, she didn’t love the cruelty inherent to evil, but something about the atmosphere that supported it was fascinating. But she also adored horror movies, so that tracked. And her father was the Grim Reaper himself, so…yeah. Her friends sometimes joked that she was a real-life Wednesday Addams.
She was okay with that.
Summoned blade in hand and a delicate orb of light floating in front of her, she crept along narrow passages, sometimes pausing to study the grotesque and erotic images carved into—or painted on—the uneven earthen walls. The scenes of butchery and orgies grew more graphic as she got closer to what she assumed was the main chamber. If she interpreted the symbols correctly, this was a Temple of Lilith. One of dozens, but unknown to Raika before now.
Why had her prey come here? The demon Raika sought wasn’t a succubus.
As she slipped around a corner, her exceptional eyesight guiding her through the darkness that extended far beyond herme-poweredlight, her shoulder brushed some sort of painting nailed to the rough wall. Little more than a stretched piece of hide—or, more likely, skin—the hyperrealistic piece featured six hideous, horned demons feasting on what looked like a human male, his rib cage spread wide, his mouth twisted into a silent scream.
Strangely drawn to the detailed scene, Raika drew her fingertip along the edge, noting the smooth texture of the canvas and the sticky, almost wet feel of the paint. And maybe she was imagining it, but it seemed that, all around her, the air grew heavy. Oppressive.
The chamber spun, closing in on her.
She tried to back up, but something—one of the demons inside the painting—grabbed her hand.
A rare thread of terror shot up her spine as the beast tugged her so violently it nearly wrenched her shoulder from its socket. Its sharp-toothed maw gaped wide enough to swallow her entire head as it dragged her closer and closer.
Grunting with effort, she threw herself backward and sliced at the demon with her free hand. The blade caught the thing in its lower jaw, breaking bone and sinew with such force that the shockwave vibrated through her arm. It screeched, teeth and blood exploding onto the wall and coating her hand in gore.
With a whoosh, the demon retreated into the painting, and the malevolent tension in the air dissipated.
Fool!Raika berated herself as she fell back against a stone pillar to catch her breath.You were caught off guard. So stupid!
She should have recognized thetableau sinistre, an abomination that sucked unsuspecting admirers into the scenes. Once inside, there was no escape. You were trapped, living the horror of your death over and over for eternity.
She shuddered at the thought of being stuck in a painting of a demon feast.
Raika could appreciate the diabolical nature of the art, but that didn’t stop her from shooting it a glare and giving it a wide berth.
The corridor narrowed just as she felt a warm bloom against her abdomen.
Yes!
Halting, she plucked a hot crystal shard from a pocket on her weapons harness. The tracking crystal glowed with heat and pulsed with a feeble, flickering orange light faster than it had before she entered the temple.
She was getting closer to her target.
Excitement drilled through her, and her breath practically burned with anticipation.
“I fucking love my job,” she whispered to herself.
