Rage boils within me and I focus on it, willing the emotion to bubble over. To unleash any scrap of angelic influence this cell hasn’t siphoned out, giving me a chance against this place.
It’s no use. My abilities have been stripped by whatever dark magic lingers in this dank cell.
The smell of sulfur infiltrates my nostrils and I nearly choke on it. Finally, one of them has shown up.
They clap from the corner, and I sit up, rocking the cage with the movement.
“Good deductive skills,Victoria.”
My name is spat like a curse. The voice slithers from a vile tongue, wrapping around my soul and squeezing with a death grip I can’t escape. I cry out.
Zeke’s voice.
I growl, teeth bared in anger. “Disabling my abilities? You must know that if I had them, you wouldn’t stand a damn chance.”
“Tsk, tsk, beautiful. Foul language? Is Hell already sinking its claws in you?” He chuckles, still remaining out of sight. “That’s good. Very good.”
Creeping from the shadowed corner, a carbon copy of Zeke stalks toward me. Dark brown—nearly black—hair curls at the nape, his piercing blue eyes boring into mine.
Anyone else would believe I’d been betrayed—well, I had—but not in this instance. This isn’t Zeke. How do I know? The sinister sneer is all wrong and the smell wafting through the room reeks of a demonic presence.
This demon isn’t trying to trick me but toy with me. He enjoys watching me squirm. The uncanny resemblance is off-putting, especially considering my current anger with Zeke and his betrayals. The demon knows.
Nolda.
“Once again, your intuition fascinates me. Even here”—he motions around—“you see through me.”
“It’s not hard; you’re an underling. Nothing fancy to your power, cretin.”
His lip curls, and a growl with enough force to shake the cage erupts from him. He doesn’t like his power to be challenged. Good—his ego will be his downfall.
“Why don’t you drop the glamour and show yourself?” I goad, wanting to push him.
He snaps his fingers and Zeke disappears. In his place is the same glamour he used in the street that night not long ago.
“Oh, come on. You and I both know you’re just trading one false disguise for another. Show yourself, demon.”
He creeps toward the cage with measured steps as slowly the glamour falls and his true form is revealed.
His grey skin is pulled taut across an overly large head, elongated canines falling over a full bottom lip.Vampire.
The most disconcerting part of this demon is his eyes—or lack thereof. Two black voids stare out in place of eyeballs. I shudder as the depth of this creature’s evil settles over me.
“You should fear me.” The deep rumble replaces the once smooth and alluring voice, showcasing something of nightmares.
The demon in front of me is the epitome of what the depths of Hell can drudge up. He wasn’t sent here this deformed. No, this is what centuries’ worth of torture will do. It warps the already darkened soul of the truly evil until it transforms to something else entirely.
A human couldn’t gaze upon this form without their heart stopping immediately. It’s powerful and dark beyond anything ever written in biblical texts.
My eyes shut on instinct and my lips move as I silently recite the Lord’s prayer.
“Stop!” he bellows, and the cage quakes. “I won’t allow that blaspheming in my home.”
My eyes fly open, but I continue. His gnarled hands push a wave of power forward, crumpling me back to supine. Groaning, I attempt and fail to summon my own power, to return the favor and slam his ass into the wall. It’s no use, and I’m left scrambling back to my knees.
“Make this a fair fight, demon. Give me my powers and we’ll battle to see who truly has the dominance.”
If I’m going to die here in this Hell, I might as well go out swinging. He’s already proven that his greatest weakness is pride. There is no way they’re allowing me to leave. Not with my life.
