Hunger gnawed at my belly. Growling, I shoved up from the sofa and pranced toward the door that would lead me out into the sweet, blood-scented night. The human food had done little to satiate me. I needed blood on my hands.
Demons were not meant to eat pizza.
I was down the stairs and out on the sidewalk in a flash. My speed caught me off guard. I’d never seen the others move this fast. A smile lifted the corners of my lips as the bright city lights almost blinded me.
Enhanced senses.
I was going to like this.
Eyes wild, I turned toward the blast of a taxi horn. My skin jumped off my bones, my heart thrumming out an anxious beat. Okay, maybe there were some downsides to this power. The sound was almost overwhelming. The urge to slam my fist against the hood of the car roared through me with a vicious intensity. I sucked in a sharp breath, shuddering.
I should kill the taxi driver.
My stomach roiled. Vision red, I stumbled down the sidewalk. My knees buckled beneath me, and I lurched toward the ground. The pavement smacked me in the face, and the tangy sweet scent of blood filled my head.
* * *
Groaning, I rolled over. My head throbbed. My throat ached. As I blinked open my eyes, I tried to remember why the hell I felt this way. It was like a hangover times a million. But I hadn’t gone out drinking. I hadn’t even had a single glass....
It all rushed into my head in terrifying full technicolor. I’d fallen asleep on Caim’s sofa, and then I’d had a terrible dream. About the beast awakening inside of me. About a hunger unlike any I’d ever felt. A need for violence and blood.
It had felt so real.
Shaking out those twisted thoughts, I pushed up off the sofa and padded over to the windows looking out at the city. The twinkling lights spread out before me like millions of stars. Sucking in several deep breaths to steady myself, I tried to banish all memories of that terrible dream.
But it kept nagging at me, whispering in the back of my head.
Was that what would happen to me if Caim didn’t find the cure? Would I turn into a blood-hungry monster roaming the streets and wanting to kill innocent taxi drivers?
Probably.
The cure was the only way to stop it from happening, but Caim and the Legion shouldn’t be wasting their time looking for it right now. They had so much more to worry about than me. The Cult of Lilith was attacking the city. If the Legion didn’t stop them, there was no telling how many innocent lives would be lost.
Footsteps thundered nearby, and the hidden door creaked open. Phenex poked his head inside, saw me standing there, and audibly sighed.
“Thank fuck. I hadn’t heard anything from you in awhile, and I started to worry a teleporting asshole grabbed you.”
I arched my brows. “People can teleport?”
He grunted. “I only know one person who can teleport. A fallen angel who once worked for Lucifer. Don’t think he’d be involved with the cult, but you can never be too careful.”
“A fallen angel?” I shook my head. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Shrugging, he crossed the room to join me at the windows. “There’s not many of them. The fallen kind, that is. Most of the angels try to stay right where they are. In the frozen lands.”
“Um, what are the frozen lands?”
“You lot think of it as Heaven, but it’s anything but. It’s where the Creator lives. He loves the ice, the bastard. Demons, on the other hand, we like the heat.” Frowning, he swept his gaze across my face. “Hey, why do you have dirt on your cheeks?”
Tensing, I brushed my fingers across my face. Dirt flaked off, peppering the sleek, clean floor. A sharp breath exploded from my throat. “I don’t know. I...”
I’d fallen on the sidewalk. My cheek had smushed against the grimy ground.
No.That had only been a dream. There was no way I’d actually wandered outside, right? If I had, Phenex would have heard me. Unless my demon powers had somehow made me as quiet as a mouse.
I fought the urge to scream.
As if reading my mind, Phenex rounded on me with concern written across his face. “Tell me what’s happened.”
