“You think sorrowful things,” he whispered, concern etched in his eyes. “Why? Tell me and I will find a way to bring back your smile.”
She did think sorrowful things and it was beautiful of him to notice and to want to vanquish her dragons for her, freeing her of her fears.
Liora undid the clasp of her necklace and offered it to him. “I want you to have it.”
Asmodeus stared at the pentagram in her palm. “Why?”
“Because it will protect you. It was my mother’s and my grandmother’s before that, and it goes back generations in my family. It has powerful magic. It will keep you safe. No one will be able to hurt you while you wear it.” She moved it closer to him.
He placed his hand under hers, curled her fingers over the pendant and held on to her. “You need it more than I do. I cannot accept it.”
Liora frowned. “I want you to have it, Asmodeus.”
Asmodeus sighed, kissed her fingers, and then shook his head.
Liora wanted to force him to accept it but the steely look in his eyes said that he wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard she pushed.
He took the pendant from her, placed it back around her neck and fastened it. He ran his fingers over the pentagram.
“Later, if you still want me to have it, I will accept it… when all this is over,” he whispered and looked back into her eyes.
Liora nodded, hooked her hand around the back of his neck and lured him down to her. She kissed him, pushing her fear out of her mind.
Asmodeus loved her and was thinking in terms of success, planning a future with her, a future he believed they would have together.
She had to think that way too.
She had to believe that they would make it through whatever trials lay ahead for them.
They would have the future she wanted for them.
They would have forever.
CHAPTER 20
Liora smiled as Romulus bounded after Remus, chasing him along the white sandy beach. Turquoise water lapped the gently sloping shore to her left as she walked, watching the two hellhounds. A gentle breeze caught the skirt of her summer dress, causing the black material to flutter around her thighs. The sun played on her skin, warming it and chasing the chill of night from the island as dawn broke, painting the sky in hues of gold, pink and green. It was a beautiful place, idyllic and quiet, and she had grown used to life on the island during the week she had passed here with Asmodeus and the others.
She had spent every day with Asmodeus, settling into a routine that she looked forward to repeating every morning that she woke wrapped in his arms, snuggled up against him.
They would share breakfast with the others and then spend some time with his hellhounds, walking them around the island a few times in an attempt to wear them out. Normally, all it did was wear her and Asmodeus out instead. Romulus and Remus had boundless energy and found every inch of the island fascinating, and most days they had gone off alone to investigate it, returning every so often to steal food from plates and check on Asmodeus, and sometimes growl at Apollyon.
After their morning walk, Liora and Asmodeus would have another small meal, and then they would try to help the others with whatever work they had to do. It had been her idea and Asmodeus had been uncertain about it at first.
After the initial couple of days, the frequent arguments between him and Apollyon had subsided, and the two had formed an uneasy truce. Asmodeus had started working more with Veiron, leaving the others to work together. It wasn’t the ideal solution, but Amelia and Marcus seemed to be finding it hard to trust Asmodeus.
Once they had done their work for the day, or Asmodeus had stormed off in a foul mood and she had gone after him, they would sit together on the sand, holding hands and watching the sun setting. Every evening had been beautiful, a colourful and vivid sunset that would stay with her forever.
Erin always called them over, labelling them as unsociable lovebirds. Asmodeus had bristled the first time she had called them that, until Erin had explained that she was teasing him. Veiron had said he didn’t think Asmodeus knew what teasing was and her angel had informed him that he knew very well what it was, because Liora often teased him.
In the time they had been on the island, she had felt as if someone was watching her more than once. The latest time had been last night, when she had been showing Asmodeus how to cook the chicken and other items he had acquired during a mission he had volunteered for. The normal fishing trip had produced nothing, not even small ones, and Asmodeus had refused to allow her, and everyone else, to eat the remains of their scant vegetable supply as dinner.
He had disappeared before anyone could say anything, casting a portal and stepping through it. She had worried about him from the moment he had left to the second he returned, carrying two large green baskets that told her that he had visited the scene of his previous crime to re-enact it. Apollyon and some of the others had given her a look that suggested she correct his behaviour.
She knew that she should, but he had brought cakes and chocolate, and she was a sucker for the sweet things. Erin was too. She had almost snapped Asmodeus’s arm off when he had taken three big bars of chocolate from a basket and held them out to Liora. Asmodeus had tried to resist her, but Erin had been vicious and merciless, not giving up and even resorting to flashing fangs and claws.
Liora had told him to let Erin have them, mostly because the poor woman was clearly craving chocolate and Veiron had had that edge about him that warned he was close to going demonic to ensure his female got the food she wanted.
Liora picked up a stick and dragged it behind her, scoring the sand with it.
This morning, Veiron and Erin had wanted to talk to Asmodeus about the Devil, and Romulus and Remus had decided that they didn’t want to wait for their morning walk. She had offered to take them alone when they had growled at the couple who were responsible for the delay, and Asmodeus had reluctantly agreed, saying he would catch up with her.
Remus shot across the sand and into the wooded centre of the island, re-emerging with a huge stick. Romulus tried to snatch it from him and Remus growled, baring his fangs. Romulus uncharacteristically let him have his way and trotted along the edge of the palm trees, digging in places and burying his nose in the scrub.
It was the same every morning. She was sure that there wasn’t an inch of the island that they hadn’t turned over and investigated, but it didn’t stop them from checking it out again. Liora didn’t think that it could have changed much overnight.
Remus grew bored of his stick and went off to find Romulus, who had ventured deeper into the thick, lush green forest.
Liora wiggled her wrist so the stick trailing behind her caused waves like a snake on the sand and she basked in the sunlight as she walked. It was truly beautiful on the island.
How long was Asmodeus going to take to catch up with her?
She was already halfway around the island and was getting bored. She missed talking to him while they walked, sharing the sunrise with him.
A breeze blew against her back, the familiar sound of wings reaching her ears. She smiled and waited, knowing he would come up beside her soon and slip his hand into hers.
She felt his presence behind her and his eyes on her.
A prickle ran down her spine. Her blood chilled. She knew the feel of that gaze. Her heart stopped.
Black clawed fingers closed over her mouth, pulling her back against the hard body behind her. She grabbed her attacker’s arm and yanked on it, lifting her legs and using all of her weight and her strength in an attempt to break free. Her magic rose to the fore to help her and she almost managed to pull the male hand away from her face. The man grabbed her with his other hand and covered her mouth again, silencing her before she could cry out for help. His finger and thumb pinched her nose, cutting off her air supply.
Liora panicked. Her magic burst out of control, lashing out at the man behind her and spilling his blood down his arms. He growled into her ear an
d she struggled, flailing wildly and kicking her legs. His grip on her tightened, his other arm moving to her chest to grab her arms. She fought him even as the world grew dim and her head spun, darkness encroaching and threatening to carry her away.
She couldn’t pass out. She couldn’t give in.
She lashed out and the man grabbed her arm, catching her necklace in the process. The chain snapped and Liora blindly grabbed for it, barely catching it. Remus barked. The man’s grip on her mouth and nose tightened and she lost her fight against him and the darkness. It swallowed her.
Liora’s head hurt. It felt as if someone was kicking it repeatedly, the rhythm of their assault leisurely but vicious, perfectly timed to keep her cringing with each thump.
“She wakes.” The deep male voice roused her further. Her attacker?
She tried to open her eyes and failed. They hurt as much as her head and her lungs. Acrid air filled them, the disgusting smell telling her exactly where she was without her having to see her surroundings.
Hell.
Liora focused, calling her magic to her, wanting it readily available in case she had to fight.
Nothing happened.
She concentrated harder, trying to call it to her. It failed to respond and cold stole through her veins. It wasn’t gone. She could feel it inside her. Deep inside her. It had never felt so distant to her.
The man moved closer, his gaze locked on her, intense and creepy. Not the gaze of the man who had attacked her on the island. This was someone else, someone infinitely more powerful and more evil.
Liora finally managed to open her eyes and looked up at the face of her captor.
The Devil.
He preened black hair from his face and his golden eyes flashed with amusement, as if having her at his mercy entertained him.
“Having trouble with something?” he said, his voice curling around her and taunting her. It wasn’t having her at his mercy that amused him. He was entertained by the fact that she had tried to call her power and it had failed to come, and that she had been dismayed to find it locked deep within her, beyond her reach. “The first rule of engagement is to disable your enemy’s defensive line.”
“I’m your enemy?” She looked around her at the elegant black room, cataloguing her surroundings. The first rule of being a captive was to know everything about your location, including the nearest available objects that could be used as a weapon.
Large mirrors took up most of the four walls, their decorative gold frames a decadent contrast against the black. Ebony cabinets lined the two walls on either side of her, their broad flat tops empty, and a fireplace stood behind the man before her.
Other than breaking the mirrors and using a shard of the glass as a knife, there was no weapon available to her if she had to defend herself or turned insane enough to launch an attack on the Devil.
“Indeed... although I would prefer to think of you as my guest. The choice is up to you.” He looked her over and sighed emphatically. “It is a shame Asmodeus chose to disobey me. Things could have been far simpler, and better for all involved, had he carried out my commands.”
His golden eyes roamed back to hers and she could see the similarities between him and Asmodeus, and Erin. He had built Asmodeus in his image, moulding him to be everything he was, but Asmodeus was so much more than this man before her. She couldn’t believe what Asmodeus had told her about him. There was no good in him. Her senses were still online and all she could feel in him was pure evil and darkness.
“What do you want with me?” Liora went to stand and only then realised that she couldn’t. Her eyes darted down to her wrists and she stared in horror at the thick black cuffs locked around her arms, pinning them to those of the gold chair she was sitting on. Her ankles felt similarly restrained. “I would hardly call this the behaviour of a good host.”
The Devil smiled, flashing small fangs. “I told you. I had wanted us to meet on better terms. Asmodeus’s behaviour means we cannot. He declared himself my enemy, and you are aligned with him, making you my enemy too. If I released you, you would seek to fight me, would you not?”
There was little point in lying to him. “I would seek to kick your arse.”
He shook his head and sighed. “So many females in your world believe they can defeat me. I do wonder where you all get these ridiculous thoughts.”
“Erin will kick your arse one day, and I will be there to lend her a hand.”
He laughed now and did something that unsettled her even more.
He removed his crisp black jacket and set it down over the back of an elegant red padded armchair near the fire, and then undid the top button of his black shirt. He rolled the sleeves up his forearms as he moved towards her, his golden gaze boring into her, making her want to shrink back as he neared. His power washed over her, potent and dark, pressing down on her.
“How can you be there when you will be asleep?” He cocked his head to one side, his gaze gaining a twinkle she didn’t like.
“Asleep… as in dead…” Liora swallowed hard. “You mean to kill me?”
He shook his head again. “No. Asleep as in unconscious. Killing you would defeat the purpose of having you in my care.”
In his care.
A guest.
“What do you want with me?” she snapped, fear making her brave.
The Devil captured her jaw in one cold hand and shoved her chin up, forcing her to face him. He held her there, his claws pressing into her cheeks, and stared down at her.
“You are dangerous. I intend to render you safe.”
Like a gun with the safety catch on?
“Why am I dangerous?”
He released her jaw and patted her cheek. “You do not need to know. All you need to know is that I will see to it that no harm befalls you while you sleep.”
She wasn’t taking that as an answer. She had a right to know why she was dangerous and why he wanted to flick her safety on.
“Is this because of my magic?”
He shook his head. “No, and that is the only question I will answer.”
She wasn’t taking that as an answer either. “Why do you want to protect me? I would have thought it would be easier to kill me if I’m so dangerous and you’re so powerful.”
“Why kill what I may one day have a use for?” The Devil turned away from her and waved his hand over the top of a small black table beside his chair. A silver knife appeared on it.
The Devil picked it up.
Liora swallowed hard, her gaze riveted on the dagger.
“What are you going to do with that?” she whispered, trembling as he advanced on her, toying with the delicate blade.
“This?” He pressed one finger on his left hand against the end of the hilt and one on his right against the point and turned them so the blade was vertical with its tip at the bottom. He released the hilt and the knife balanced on his fingertip. It stayed there, motionless and straight, not wobbling in the slightest. He smiled at her. “There is some truth in fairy tales. The myth of a prick of a poisoned needle sending someone into a deep, endless sleep in which they never age can easily come about from the truth of a prick of a special blade fed with powerful blood… and none come more powerful than mine.”
Liora stared at his finger, watching it pale and turn bluish. He was feeding the blade. He was going to use it on her to send her into a timeless sleep.
“No.” Liora struggled against her bonds, grimacing as they cut into her wrists.
The Devil frowned and flicked his other hand towards her, and she froze in her seat, crying out in frustration when she found she couldn’t move.
“We cannot have you harming yourself now.” He flipped the blade in his other hand and caught it. “I promise, dear child, that this will not hurt. I will not spill a drop of your blood.”
Liora desperately called on her magic but it still didn’t come. It lingered deep inside her and she realised that just as the Devil had trapped her within her own body, rend
ering her powerless to move, he had trapped her magic inside her blood.
“Please,” she whispered, her heart calling out for Asmodeus to come, to burst into the room and stop this madman before he sent her into a sleep she feared she would never wake from.
She struggled again, her body not responding to her commands and her magic unable to help her break the spell the Devil had placed on it.
He kneeled before her, looking up at her, his amber eyes showing her no pity or remorse, and took hold of her left hand.
“You must sleep,” he said in a low voice that sounded practiced to her ears, designed to soothe and placate, to calm and subdue.
She rallied and focused harder, calling on all of her strength and trying to force her body to move, to knock the blade away. He edged it towards her fingers and tears slipped down her cheeks as it pricked her skin.
Heat spread up her arm like fire and she cried out, screaming in agony as it burned her flesh and melted her bones. It hurt like a bitch.
Darkness loomed again, terrifying and crushing, endless.
She wouldn’t have her forever that she wanted.
Everything ended here.
“Asmodeus,” she whispered, hoarse and afraid as she sank into the gloom.
The Devil’s voice echoed around her, soft and offering a strange comfort as oblivion claimed her.
“Sleep, Liora… the world will be safe then.”
CHAPTER 21
The moment Asmodeus heard one of his hellhounds barking, he cast a portal and leaped into it, coming out on the other side of the island. Romulus bounded up to him, his red eyes glowing with fury. Asmodeus’s heart pounded and he looked towards the shore and Remus, fearing what he would find. Remus pawed at something on the white sand and whined, the sound pained and heightening Asmodeus’s fear. He sprinted to Remus and ground to a halt when he saw what it was on the sand.
Liora’s pentagram.
He dropped to his knees and gathered the necklace into his fist, clutching it and using his senses to scour the island for her.
“What happened?” he said in the demon tongue to Remus and Romulus, his fear crushing his heart. Liora was gone. “Who took her?”
Her Wicked Angel (Her Angel Romance Series Book 6) Page 27
