devil 04 - the devil you know

by Cheever, Sam

  She agreed with my assessment.

  Once we were through the doors of the castle, I started trying to figure out where they might be keeping Darma. On one side of the large, stone-floored foyer, a wide staircase led downward. The stench and cold, musty air coming from the stairwell told me it probably led to the dungeons.

  Normally I would assume that was where they’d keep her. But since Mordat had so helpfully informed us that the Master fancied my acid-tongued sibling, I had to assume she was locked in an upper room somewhere. Easy to reach and pleasantly coiffed and perfumed for maximum enjoyment.

  The poor slob didn’t know what was headin’ his way when he tried to savor that little morsel.

  Hopefully he had scales for skin.

  I had hoped our host would take us directly to his Master, but he was apparently one of those kids who didn’t like to share his toys. He handed Myra’s chain to a lower-form devil and gave it instructions to take her to the dungeons.

  My aunt and I shared a look. I’ll find you later, I told her.

  She nodded and let the devil drag her toward the musky stairwell. I watched her go with a heavy heart. Her gown was already turning brown and her wings hung tattered at an odd angle. Her tiny slippers skimmed wearily along the ground.

  I needed to get her out of there fast. Just being in an outer circle of Hell was draining to a member of the Celestial Army. Having the chain around her ankle only exacerbated the destruction.

  The chain around my wrist tightened as Mordat pulled. “Come, lovely slave. I feel the need to taste your treasures before presenting you to the Master.” His perfect lips tipped upward in an evil smile. “I may keep you to myself for a few days before telling the Master I’ve found you.” He yanked hard on the chain and I fell against his broad chest. His nostrils flared. “You smell edible.” His lips touched mine and a frisson of heat ripped through me. I fought against a brain meltdown as his hands slid over my buttocks and his heated tongue swept out to encircle my chin, trailing upward, over the tip of my nose, where he bit gently. “Every inch of you is yummy. I’m going to have so much fun.” His breath was like heated musk on my face, filled with the threat of sexual events to come.

  My body warmed to the threat, opening for it, panting for it. I reached deep into my psyche, searching for the light side I knew was buried in there. No luck. I’d done too good a job burying it.

  Failing that, I told myself I wasn’t looking forward to being plundered. As warm cream ran from between my thighs I knew it was going to be a hard sell.

  We hurried down marble-walled hallways and up several sets of stairs lit only by smoky, oily lamps hanging from the walls.

  As we climbed high into the castle I cast out with my mind, searching for Darma. I kept my mental forays short, in case Mordat could catch them through the chain joining us. Although I felt a few ripples in my communications channel, Darma didn’t respond.

  I wasn’t discouraged though. In fact, the more deeply Mordat took me into the mountain, the more certain I was that my sister was tucked away somewhere in that very mountain with me.

  All I had to do was find her.

  We’d arrived in front of a heavy wooden door and, with a flip of his hand the door flew open before us. Mordat pulled me through and slammed it shut behind us with another wave of his hand.

  He dragged me through lushly decorated rooms, filled with silks and gilded furniture, and flung me toward an enormous bed, landing on top of me almost before I’d finished bouncing twice.

  His lips covered mine and my Settling roared up to meet him, completely unrestrained.

  He growled against my mouth as my powers tangled with his, spinning us into a vortex of heat and sensual awareness that almost sucked me completely under. His clothes disappeared and he ground an enormous, rock-hard cock against my belly, his tongue spearing between my lips to steal my thoughts.

  My traitorous hands slipped to glide along the soft smoothness of his perfect buttocks, on an impulse diving down between them to explore the tightly puckered spot there.

  He gasped as I drove a finger into him and spread his heavy thighs, giving me better access. I consumed his lips and ruthlessly captured his tongue, falling completely under the spell of my lust.

  Something tugged on the edges of my consciousness. Warning bells clanged. I ignored them and reached between us to clasp his enormous cock in one fist.

  “Pump me, little Tweener. Yes…oh dark lord, yes!”

  Mordat’s mouth left mine and traveled downward, seeking a painful nipple beneath my soft sweater. I arched upward, hungry for his touch.

  I was lost.

  Gone.

  Then my daemon hickey sparked and Dialle’s voice burst into my mind. “Astra! Where are…” And he was gone again.

  But it was enough. I had some clarity again. Lifting my hand, I sucked my sore knuckle and felt a new power surging through me.

  I’m coming, Astra.

  The air behind Mordat shimmered and suddenly the Slayer stood there, grinning at me from over Mordat’s naked shoulder.

  I peaked an eyebrow at him and gave Mordat a shove backward, using every ounce of power I could summon. No easy feat with the cloaking effects of the chain draining them.

  The Slayer caught him and Mordat’s black eyes widened just before the Slayer sliced through his throat with a long, deadly knife, dropping him to the floor at his feet.

  The golden chain that trailed between us hit the ground as he died.

  I lay there, face flushed, body thrumming with unfulfilled lust, legs spread wide, and looked up at the gorgeous creature who’d just rescued me.

  He stared down at me, his eyes filled with answering need.

  The air between us sizzled.

  His nostrils flared as he scented my lust.

  I whimpered, unable to stop myself, and the Slayer took a step toward the bed.

  I reached for him.

  He reached for me.

  And my head exploded.

  Chapter Eight

  Hidden…In Plain Sight

  A voice in Hell doth beckon her, to a room atop a tower,

  But when she stands within that room, the outlook turns most dour.

  Astra! Astra, is that you?

  I rubbed hard on my temples. Inside voice, Darma. You nearly exploded my sinuses. My sister always did have impeccable timing.

  Talk about a buzz kill.

  I sat up and pushed at my clothing. Yeah. I’m here. Where are you? We’re coming to get you.

  We? I could easily hear the hope in her voice. Is Torre with you?

  Shaking my head I glanced at the Slayer. He had settled back against the wall and was smiling at me.

  No. I brought someone else to help us. I don’t know where Dialle and Torre are.

  We have to find them!

  Lacking the strength to argue with her I simply nodded. We need to get out of here first and save Myra from the dungeons.

  The dungeons? What’s she doing down there?

  Looking for you.

  But I’m not in the dungeons.

  All-righty then. We needed to cover all our bases, Darma. If you had been in the dungeons, Myra would have found you, wouldn’t she?

  I’m locked in a room at the top of the castle. There’s this guy, I think he might be from the Royal court, he’s been drooling all over me.

  I grinned. Does he still have all his man parts?

  Huh? I don’t know, Astra! You ask the strangest questions…he’s not a eunuch if that’s what you’re asking.

  Zing! I should have known better. Humor flies right over my sister’s head.

  I grabbed the golden chain off the floor and wrapped it around my waist, figuring it might come in handy. Then I pushed myself to my feet and headed toward the door. Tell me as much as you can about your location. I jerked my head toward the door and the Slayer opened it, peering out into the hallway before sliding outside. I followed him out.

  I’m on the top floor. There are two
guards on my door. I’ve tried to leave the room and they won’t let me.

  Seeing a stairwell at the end of the hallway where we stood, I touched the Slayer’s arm and nodded toward it. Ok, we’re climbing. What will we find at the top of the stairs? Is there only one door up there?

  No. There were several doors. I’m in the room at the very end of the hall, the one with the double set of golden doors.

  The Slayer and I had reached the top of the stairs. We couldn’t climb any higher. The hallway we peered into was empty and had several doors off it.

  As Darma had said, the doors at the end of the hall looked to be covered in gold.

  I see the doors but there are no guards on it.

  Hold on. My mind went silent for a moment. Soft static was the only indication I had that my sister had returned. They’re still out there. You must be on the wrong floor.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I looked at the Slayer, frowning. “She says there should be guards outside the doors and there aren’t any.” I walked to a window and leaned out, looking up and down. “We’re on the top floor. This should be the right place.”

  “Unless we’re in the wrong tower.”

  Realization flooded me. Sighing, I shook my head. Darma, which tower are you in?

  I don’t know, I can’t see any other towers from this window.

  I looked at the Slayer. “Something’s not right. She says she can’t see any other towers. The way the windows and towers are placed she should be able to see at least one other tower from where she is.” I looked at the golden doors at the end of the hallway and started toward them.

  The Slayer fell in behind me as I concentrated my power and shot a power arrow into the doors. They flew open and we strode through, barely slowing to make sure there was nothing waiting for us inside.

  I had a suspicion. And if I was right, it didn’t bode well for my sister.

  As I’d suspected, the room was empty. I strode to the window, looking outside. Darma, where exactly are you in the room?

  Right now I’m standing next to the window.

  I glanced toward the Slayer. He was leaning against the doorframe across the room, his arms crossed over his chest. He peaked an eyebrow at me.

  Describe the room to me.

  What? Are you crazy, Astra? This is no time to talk decorating tips. Come and get me out of here before that creepy guy comes back!

  Darma! Work with me here, please! I’m standing in the room where you said you were and you’re not here. I need to make sure we’re talking about the same room.

  That’s crazy!

  Maybe not as crazy as you think, Darma. I’d experienced a similar thing before, when I’d gone to the Church of the Twined Hands during the investigation that had brought Dialle and me into the same sphere.

  The top floor of the church had been a gateway to another dimension, connecting to an identical room in that dimension. If what I suspected was true, we were a lot farther from Darma than I’d thought, and, with dozens of other dimensions to consider, there was no way to know where she was.

  Darma sighed dramatically in my mind, the long-suffering sister. The floors are stone, the walls are stone, the furniture is not stone but it might as well be. I think I have a blister on my ass from sitting on this divan.

  I cast my eyes on the room’s only furniture, aside from the bed. What color is the divan?

  Mustard yellow, with burgundy fringe on the bottom and dark wine colored pillows.

  Bingo. I started toward the Slayer. Stay put, Darma. It might take me longer than I’d thought to find you.

  But what do I do if he comes back?

  Use your powers.

  Astra, I told you…

  Grow the hell up, Darma! Use your powers. It might be the only thing that keeps you alive until I can find you!

  I brutally severed our mental communications and stopped before the Slayer.

  “What’s going on, Astra?”

  “My sister’s not here. She’s in another dimension.”

  His sexy golden eyes narrowed. “That does complicate things.”

  I glared at him. “You think?”

  His wide lips curved in a smile. Reaching out, he swept his thumb over my lips. “Are you aware that you use hostility as a defense when you’re unsure of yourself?”

  My mind immediately dismissed his observation as I opened my mouth to excoriate him for it. Yeah, I totally missed the irony too.

  Before my acid tongue could kick into gear, he leaned down and placed his mouth over mine. His kiss infused my body with heat, bringing every nerve ending in my skin to life in an explosion of sensation. His hands slid around my waist and he pulled me up hard against his body, so that I could feel the long, firm length of him against my belly.

  I shivered and felt my knees soften under the sensual onslaught. Just like that, all the problems I had on my plate disappeared under a wave of lust.

  Damn Settling.

  The Slayer’s big hands skimmed over my hips and around to cup my buttocks. My hands closed behind his neck, pulling him closer to my hungry lips. I inhaled his heated breath, nibbled on his exquisitely soft lips and generally settled in to infuse myself with his essence.

  Some small part of my mind realized that he was distracting me from my task.

  That he was dangerous for his ability to do just that.

  And that I needed to push him away and clear my mind so I could find my sister and figure out what was going on.

  But my body had shot well past caution and was heading toward instant gratification at breakneck speed. My slut-monkey side had bitch-slapped my reasonable side into silent submission. And my devil side was stomping all over the dazed and supine form of my angel side.

  I was a sexual locomotive heading down a steep incline. And the Slayer was the stop at the bottom.

  Waiting for me to land.

  Static buzzed inside my mind but I ignored it.

  Voices flashed in bits and pieces, lost beneath the cravings of my body. A familiar scent wafted over me, setting off alarms in my sex-dazed mind even as I forced them away from awareness.

  I grabbed the Slayer’s shirt and ripped it open, sending buttons skittering across the floor around our feet.

  He skimmed his hot hands up under my sweater and slid them over my bra, releasing the screaming hard peaks of my nipples from their lacy jail and bending his head to suck one tender bud into his hot mouth.

  I nearly came on the spot from the feel of his heated mouth on my nipple.

  I dropped my head back and groaned, skimming my hands over his smooth chest. I took his nipples between my thumbs and forefingers and tweaked them gently, feeling the vibrations of his resulting moan against my breast.

  My daemon hickey sparked hard, and I jumped.

  But the Slayer bit down on my nipple and the pain distracted me again, drawing me back into his sensual sphere. He slid a hand down my belly, causing my vagina to clench in anticipation, and pushed past the stretchy band of my soft pants.

  I cried out as his fingers found the starving bud of my clitoris and widened my stance to give him room. His talented fingers tugged and rubbed me to new heights of desire, sending me to the razor edge of release.

  Frantic suddenly for the taste of him, I grabbed his chin and yanked it upward, covering his mouth hungrily with my own just as his thick, hot fingers slipped inside my body.

  I started to come, had rolled, in fact, over that first peak and was heading down the wonderful slope toward delightful culmination, when the air around us changed and something bright and deadly sizzled past, exploding the wall behind the Slayer in a spray of dust and rock shards.

  The Slayer jumped back, his hands coming up to defend himself, and I turned, my body screaming over being denied its pleasure and my mind in a sex-induced fog.

  “Step away from him, Astra, so I can kill him.” Dialle’s voice was thick with emotion, rich and husky as I remembered it.

  He stood several feet
away, his pupils swirling with the colors of rage. He wore slim, formfitting black pants and a white pirate shirt, which was open to his waist and billowed around him in a power-induced wind.

  His silky black hair danced around his square jaw in the same breeze.

  His beautiful, sculpted lips were a tight line and a muscle in his throat and jaw jumped as he tried to hold back his anger.

  He stood with his lean, muscular legs spread in a warrior’s stance and his arms held away from his body, ready to do battle.

  He looked absolutely scrumptious. I licked my lips, suddenly realizing how much I’d missed him.

  My daemon hickey sparked and spat angrily and I jumped, gasping at the pain. Gradually my mind started to clear and I realized I’d been under some kind of spell.

  The Slayer had been either the cause or simply the lucky recipient.

  I put a clamp on my instinctive anger because I wasn’t at all sure the Slayer hadn’t been as much a victim as I was.

  My Settling was becoming a force all its own.

  And it was possible I could no longer control it.

  “Dialle.” I lifted a hand toward him and took a step in his direction.

  “Step away, Astra.” His voice was cold and saturated with anger. I shivered under the sound of it.

  “No. Dialle, this might not be his fault… My Settling…” Whatever I might have been ready to say drifted away as he turned his swirling midnight eyes in my direction.

  His perfect golden features could have been made of stone. They were hard with anger and I realized the anger was directed just as much at me as it was the Slayer.

  “I will deal with you later, my queen.” The words were bitten off like bitter fruit and spat into the air between us. “Now move away from this pile of excrement so that I can kill him, and then you and I will have a long, clarifying discussion.”

  I frowned. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to have that particular discussion with him. I squared my shoulders and stepped directly in front of the Slayer. “No.”

  The wind buffeting Dialle increased to the point that he was standing at the center of a veritable wind tunnel. His eyes narrowed on me and I saw that they were almost completely red, swirling madly as he fought to keep his temper under control. “Are you actually standing there protecting your lover from me, Astra?”