Iniquity (The Ascent Book 1)

by Melody Winter

  Erebus grinned. “A wife, interesting.”

  I hated that he found my categorisation even slightly amusing. “Why? What’s so funny about it?”

  He laughed quietly.

  “Tell me? What would your categorisation have been?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure, I’ve not spent years observing you in the village. Interesting though. He must have seen something that made you suitable. The wife of the Master is a difficult category to be chosen for. The Ascension Ceremonies across the country don’t always provide him with wives. Some years there are none.”

  He crossed the room and closed the door before returning to stand in front of the fire. He kept his back to it as he continued watching me.

  “I need to ask you about Paymon’s death.”

  I sighed, staring at my hands on my knee.

  “It’s obviously upset you,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “Your emotions peak whenever he is mentioned.”

  “I liked him. He was kind to me.”

  “And you didn’t kill him?”

  “No.” I lifted my chin, and pushed my shoulders back. “I didn’t kill him.”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  I sighed again, not wanting to relive the last moments of his life. “We went to the village for the monthly feast. When we returned, he started to feel unwell. By the time we got home, he was struggling to stand and was in a lot of pain. He died in my arms.” I sniffed, recalling the look in his eyes when I insisted he fed from my emotions, when I begged him to take everything I was feeling in order to save himself.

  “He was poisoned,” Erebus said.

  “Poisoned?” I reeled backward. It was sudden, but I never once suspected that someone would want him dead. “Who would want to poison him?”

  “I suspect it was someone at the feast last night. I presume he will have eaten, not wanting to upset the villagers by refusing?”

  I nodded.

  He turned around and picked an ornament from the mantelpiece, inspecting it closely. “Sometimes our humanity springs to life, and it doesn’t always end well.” He continued to focus on the red glass object in his hand. “He didn’t need to eat at the feast, but he did so as not to upset the villagers. In return, one of them killed him.” He paused for a moment. “Tell me more about your lover from the village.”

  I froze, this was the first question I was unwilling to answer.

  “What makes you so sure I had a lover?”

  He sighed but still kept his attention on the ornament. “Tell me, Athena. Don’t make me compel you to tell me. I know it was the boy who tried to stop me taking you.”

  I swallowed hard, my upset at Paymon’s death turned to panic. Why was he mentioning him?

  “What do you want to know?” I failed to keep the shaking from my voice.

  He cocked his head, and his gaze met mine. “How serious was it between you two? I want an honest answer.”

  I paused for a moment. “I’m not sure,” I said, settling on the exact truth. “I thought he loved me until I caught him having sex with my best friend.”

  Erebus’s eyes widened before he turned back to the ornament in his hands.

  “And I thought I loved him,” I added, lost briefly in happy memories. “But I’m not so sure now.”

  “What was his reaction to you being sent away at the Ascension Ceremony?”

  “He suggested running away together.”

  Erebus shook his head. “Madness. You know you’d have got caught?”

  “I didn’t then, but I do now. Anyway, I refused. And that was before I found out about him and Hannah.”

  “Hannah?”

  “My ex-best friend.”

  Erebus chuckled. He proceeded to remove his glove from his right hand and crouched in front of the fire. Without any hesitation, he reached forward and held the ornament in the flames.

  “Why did you refuse him? Surely running away with a lover was a better option than marrying an old demon.”

  “Better than marrying any demon.”

  “Indeed.” Erebus twisted the ornament in the fire. It was glowing brightly in the flames, yet his hand remained untouched. “So why stay?”

  “Paymon said a few things that made me stop and think about where my life was heading. I hate the cold, I hate the darkness, and I hate the rain.”

  “So life here was easy?” His cynicism was easy to hear. “Paymon showed you a life you desired?”

  “No, not really, although I can’t deny the appeal of the warmth that was around me whilst here. I made the best decision I could considering the options.”

  He straightened to his full height. “For what it’s worth, I think you made the right decision.”

  His declaration stunned me, and while I remained silent, unsure of what to say next, he replaced his glove and walked to the old desk in the corner of the room. He sat on the chair and picked up a pen and a notebook.

  “It’s late,” he said, scribbling away furiously. “You know where Paymon’s bedroom is. Go there and wait for me. We need to get acquainted as husband and wife.”

  “But—”

  “I won’t be long. I have a few things to sort before I join you.”

  I swallowed silently, lifting a shaking hand to my forehead. I’d never been in Paymon’s bedroom, and I certainly had no intention of going into it now that it was Erebus’s. I tried to calm my shortness of breath and glanced at the seated demon across the room. Get acquainted as husband and wife? He could forget that.

  “Go now, Athena,” Erebus said, as if bored, “or do you want me to drag you there?”

  I SOMEHOW MANAGED TO STAND and walk on shaking legs. As I left the room, I was acutely aware of Erebus’s eyes resting on me, but he didn’t speak.

  With a stomach full of rattling nerves, I turned to the grand stairway. My racing heart sank even further when I climbed the stairs and caught sight of the dying rosebush through the hall window. I missed Paymon. And it didn’t seem right that I’d never ventured into Paymon’s bedroom when he was alive, yet now I was being ordered to go there by Erebus.

  With a new resolve to ignore his request, I strode past Erebus’s bedroom and into mine. I shut the door, knowing that he could enter at any time, but still felt the need to put every possible barrier between us. I didn’t lock it, though; I saw no point. He’d just break it from its hinges.

  I slumped onto the chair at my dressing table and watched Odin through the mirror whilst waiting for Erebus’s inevitable arrival. Odin was still sleeping on top of the screen, hunched down and fluffed, like a black ball of feathers. I grinned as I looked at him. His proximity calmed me, and at this very moment, I needed to stay as calm as possible.

  It had been strange seeing Thomas today. He’d stirred old memories, and not all of them were the ones revolving around his infidelity. He’d stood up to Livia, something I would never have thought him brave enough to do. He’d also stood up to Erebus, eventually, even though it ended in misery for him. I was glad he was okay, but recognised that any future life with him, whether I wanted it or not, wasn’t possible. Not now. Erebus was a young demon, not old like Paymon. There would be no outliving him. He was here to stay, and as such, I was going to have to get used to him and his ways. I lifted my chin and made a promise to myself to stay as strong as I could around him. I wouldn’t just let him boss me around.

  As expected, he didn’t knock when he came into my room. I jumped when the door flew open and banged back against the wall. Odin immediately woke up, squawked in alarm and flapped his wings as Erebus stood in the doorway staring at me. I didn’t turn around to face him, but viewed him through the mirror as he approached.

  He scowled. “I didn’t tell you to come into your room. I told you to wait in mine.”

  “I have no desire to go into your room,” I said, calmly turning to face him.

  His eyes widened. “I don’t care what you desire. You do as I say.”

  “Well, maybe if you asked me
nicely, I’d do it.”

  “Ask you nicely?” He jerked his head back and stared at me incredulously.

  I grinned at his reaction, and he instantly recovered his predatory persona.

  “Have you forgotten that I’m a demon? I don’t ask nicely for anything.”

  “Well then, be prepared for me to ignore you.”

  I stood, intending to walk to the door and ask him to leave, but he grabbed my arm. Backing me against the bed post, he pressed his lower body against mine, pinning me in place. Once again I was reminded of his height and how easily he moved me to his will.

  His gloved hand held my chin. My heart raced so much, I was convinced he’d see my chest pounding.

  “I treat you how I want to, not how you want me to.” He tipped my face to his. “If I tell you to wait in my room, you do it. If I tell you to get on your hands and knees and crawl at my feet, you do it. If I tell you to beg, you beg. If I tell you to eat, you eat. If I tell you to lie down and spread your legs, you do it!”

  “No, I don’t,” I said as calmly as I could manage, although my words were not as strong as I’d have liked.

  His eyes widened to a seemingly impossible width before he narrowed his gaze. His eyebrows practically met as he frowned.

  “If you don’t do as I say, I’ll compel you. I’ve done it once, and I’ll do it again.” He held my chin tighter, the smell of his leather glove creeping under my nose.

  But I wasn’t going to let him scare me into accepting his orders so easily. My bravado, however ill-placed, leapt forward. “So that’s your answer? If I don’t do as I’m told, you’ll compel me?”

  He nodded, anger flashing across his features.

  I straightened my back, and squeezed my arms between us, crossing them over my chest. “What fun that must be for you. You told me that you’d never forced yourself on a woman, she was always willing. But if you compel me to have sex with you again, I’m telling you that in my mind I’ll never be willing. You will only be fooling yourself!” I gripped his wrist and tried to move his hand away from my chin, but he held me firm, easily ignoring my physical attempt to move him.

  He glared at me for an impossibly long time, not speaking whilst rich amber eyes surveyed me. Without any warning, he released my chin. His arm twisted from my grip, and he spun around before striding to the door. Odin squawked loudly, several times in succession, before the door slammed shut.

  Left alone, I relaxed against the bed post. Odin fluttered onto my shoulder and leaned against my head. I rubbed my chin where Erebus had held me. His grip had been firm and strong, and I knew he could have compelled me to do anything he wanted. But I’d managed to fend him off with my words. My declaration of never being willing to sleep with him appeared to have struck a nerve, one I would never have expected. At least I knew what he expected from our relationship. I did as I was told, no questions asked, regardless of how unpleasant or derogatory it was. But I wouldn’t be treated like that. He needed to know, and I intended to tell him.

  The next morning, I dressed quickly, another front fastening dress so that I didn’t have to ask him for his assistance. The less he came near me, the better. Odin flew to the window, and I let him out, watching until the darkness swallowed him.

  When downstairs, I peered into every room to see if Erebus was around. He wasn’t, and I assumed that he was still in bed. Content that he was asleep, I headed to the kitchen hoping that there was some food. I was starving.

  I opened the kitchen door hesitantly, recalling my only other visit to this room when Bia attacked me. Erebus had told me she was dead, but he hadn’t mentioned whether there was another infernal around. An ensemble of lit lanterns was on the table, and whereas they provided enough light to see across the kitchen, I had to stretch onto my toes to see if there was anything curled up in the basket. A huge sigh of relief left me when an empty floor was revealed. There wasn’t even a basket.

  My peace of mind was quickly replaced by a streak of curiosity as a blast of cold air blew across my face. The door that led outside was ajar. My first instinct was to shut it, but the flicker of a light outside caught my attention. What was it? I wedged the door open with one of the wooden kitchen chairs, and stepped outside. The cold air made me shiver and I rubbed my arms with my hands as I headed toward the dancing light. I stilled when the normal endless silence was disturbed by a horse neighing. Erebus had arrived on a horse. Of course he would be tending to it, making sure it was fed, watered and brushed. Were there stables out here?

  I crept closer, keeping out of direct sight by hanging to the limited shadows. The horse sniffed and huffed, but the voice of the man with it didn’t sound like Erebus. It was too soft, too comforting to be him, but whoever it was, was brushing the horse quite vigorously.

  “We need to go out every morning if you’re going to run like that, Samael. Do you like it here? Free in the hills and the fields, running like there’s no tomorrow? It wasn’t just you, you know. I felt that freedom as well. It was glorious.”

  Too curious to just walk away, I peered around the stable door, careful to stay hidden. The man had his back to me, and threw a blanket over Samael. When he stepped around the horse to straighten the covering I caught his profile. I shifted away from the stable door. It was Erebus. How could he have so much compassion and kindness in his voice when he spoke to his horse but speak to me the way he did? Every word he said to his horse, Samael, was edged with a tenderness I didn’t think him capable of.

  I stepped away from the stable and walked back to the house, my moves slow and careful, my mind racing with confusion over Erebus. Once in the kitchen I pushed the door back to the narrow gap it had previously been. Hugging myself, I stood in front of the lit stove and rubbed my arms furiously, tying to generate some heat. It was bitter outside, and I wondered if we’d get snow. I remembered it from before the demons came. Cold, white crystals that fell from the sky like tiny angel wings. I wondered if angels existed when I was a child, but never gave any thought to the others—the evil ones that walked amongst us now. It was strange how childhood prepared you for the best of things, never the worst.

  Once I was warmed by the heat from the stove, I resumed my waylaid search for food. Nestled on a shelf in a small walk-in cupboard was a basket of eggs and a half loaf of bread. There was a small jug of milk next to a block of butter, but as I smelt the milk, I decided to leave it alone. Eggs and toast—it was a more than adequate meal.

  I reached for the pan, cracked three eggs into it, and stirred them before placing it on the stand over the flames. I cut a thick slice of bread, speared it with the toasting fork, and settled it close to the flames before resuming my whisking of the eggs. Minutes later, the eggs were scrambled and the toast was burnt along the edges, just as I liked it. I pulled a chair out from under the table and found a space between the lanterns to put my plate.

  Halfway through my meal, Erebus entered the kitchen. He closed the door before catching sight of me.

  “Athena?” He jerked his head back. “What are you doing in here?”

  I couldn’t reply. Not only did I have a mouthful of food, but his appearance caught me completely off guard. His hair was wet, water dripping down his face. His clothes were also soaked, but even from where I was sitting I caught the bright amber of his irises. They were made even more striking by their contrast against his tanned skin tone and his dark stubble. I found myself thinking what a handsome man he was and then scolded myself for seeing him in such a way.

  “Erebus,” I managed to eventually reply, grateful that it didn’t sound like a laboured breath after my shear ogling of him. “I was hungry. I made myself some breakfast.”

  His nose twitched, and a slight smile pulled at his lips.

  “So you’ve made yourself some breakfast, but none for your husband?”

  “I didn’t think you’d want anything. Paymon never ate, well, apart from at the feast.” I cut my toast with my knife, aware of his gaze resting upon me. “Do I have to c
ook you something?”

  He pulled his gloves off and then his wet cloak. His coat underneath wasn’t any dryer.

  “No.”

  He removed his coat and threw it over his cloak whilst I continued eating. I tried not to look at him, but as he unfastened the tiny buttons at the top of his smock, I found myself strangely mesmerised. When he pulled the garment over his head and discarded it the same way as his other clothes, I stopped eating and stared unabashed at his naked torso.

  I swallowed loudly, glad to be sitting, as I was sure I would have swooned at the sight of him. Tanned, toned and sculpted, he was more an Adonis than a demon. He had lots of intricate designs drawn in ink on his upper arms and torso, and as he turned to lock the door, I tipped my head to catch the familiar design of the pentagram and the circle etched into the skin on his back.

  He perched on the corner edge of the table near the door, no concern about his half-naked body, and watched me eat. I didn’t like his scrutiny, but I was too hungry to care.

  “You will need to go to the village today to speak to the old hag about providing you with food.”

  “Her name’s Myrtle. And she’s not a hag.” I was about to place another forkful of eggs in my mouth, but halted my action. “Did Myrtle bring food here?”

  “Someone must have done. I presume Paymon had the infernal cooking your meals. So now it isn’t here you’ll need to cook. I don’t want you to starve, you’re skinny enough. I like my women to be soft and curvy, not bony and angular.” His eyes travelled down my body. Luckily I was sitting so his inspection was limited, but I didn’t miss the curl of his lips as his gaze settled on the soft curve of my breasts.

  “I can’t help what I look like. Years of hardly having enough to eat made me this way.”

  “Perhaps, but you have no need to starve now, do you? Whatever you want, she will provide you with.” He broke his greedy staring of me. “Which brings me on to my next point. When was your last monthly bleed?”