Page 99 of Wicked Thirst
I nodded, praying that it was true. I wanted it to end here. If he couldn’t use me, he would kill me, and this torture would be over. From the inside of my circle, the air shimmered with the powers of the Queens. I’d poked at it, ran into it, kicked it, punched it, and used my magic against it, all under his direction.
“How pathetic you are.” He reached forward and I waited for the boundary to stop him. But it didn’t. The magic just peeled away from his head. He wrapped his fingers around my jaw and squeezed. Pain shot up my jaw and into my head. He forced my head up until I could meet his eyes.
I didn’t want to meet his eyes. To look into his eyes was to view a sea of nightmares. I was already in one. He tilted his head from one side to the other, studying my face. “You know what I want?”
“Yes.” I was helpless to move against his hold.
“You will do this, and then I will kill you quickly.” He shoved my face away from him, and I smacked the back of my head on the hard floor. “Now get up and bring her to me.”
“Trapped,” I repeated, not wanting to argue with him any longer.
He scoffed and kicked his perfectly shining shoe through the white drawing on the floor. The magic broke as the white powder scattered across the floor and drifted over my skin. “Now. Get. Up.”
“No.” The word sounded feeble coming from me. “I will not.”
He turned and leered down at me. “Silly vampire.”Pain exploded behind my eyes. I couldn't think, couldn’t speak, couldn’t see. There was only me and the fire I lay in. My skin peeled from my body, and my insides boiled. Nothing would be left of me this time. I was sure of it. Finally, I would die and be rid of this madness. I’d be rid of him. All at once it stopped and he stood staring down at me. “Remember, there are far worse things than death, and I am capable of them all. Now bring her to me.”
I couldn’t fight this anymore. The madness, the pain . . . it was too much. Perhaps he would kill me quickly and I would be done forever. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?” he snapped with that smooth, calm voice that made my ears bleed.
I slowly began to rise from my trap. “Yes, Lucifer.”
