Page 74 of Hell Bound

Another strip was cut free, drawing a fresh scream from my raw throat. A vicious roar matched it, but I couldn’t see past the fresh deluge of blood that poured down my face.

Why did he have to be here? I didn’t want him to see me like this, it would kill him. And if it didn’t, it would still end in his demise when he sought vengeance against Asmodeus for his abuse.

Please, just let it end.

The rapid pace of my pulse slowed, and if not for the chains holding me spread eagle, I would’ve collapsed long ago. Blood dripped from my mouth, but I was too defeated to even spit it out.

With the last beat of my heart, I heard his bellow of agony and I tasted copper.

Frantically wiping at my eyes, my hands came away clean. My heart pounded wildly as I frantically felt my body for wounds.

What the fuck had just happened?

I’d just died.

Or I’d experienced someone else’s death.

My body ached from the torture of being flayed, but my quick examination hadn’t revealed any missing skin.

“This is my favorite part. I only wish I got to share it with you, my dear. I’d love to witness my greatest moments again and again. Which one shall we do next?”

His hand clamped around my wrist and he yanked me along with him, heedless of my limping gait as I struggled to stay upright. Excitement igniting his eyes, he slapped my hand on another gravestone.

Limbs trapped in some horrendous device, my body was suspended over a roaring fire. Flames licked at my belly, the fabric of my dress long since burned away.

Again, my screams tore through a throat raw from useless pleas for help.

The fire below me hissed as fluids from inside my abdomen dripped down to mix with the charred bits of flesh that had fallen away.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Asmodeus standing beside the horrifying machine that kept me prisoner. His ever-present smile of sick enjoyment made me want to hold back my screams, but it was impossible.

He’d won again, and all I could do now was beg for the end.

The graveyard reappeared around me.

“That was a good one, one of my favorites.” Another yank of my wrist before the graveyard had even come back into focus around me. “How about this one?

My torn and bloodied fingers scraped at the ligature wound around my neck. Asmodeus must have been feeling lazy that evening, simply reaching for the nearest thing he could reach that could do the trick.

The drapery tie tightened as he yanked on it, my vision darkening as air no longer entered my lungs. Tavila looked on in glee, her joy doubled by having been the one to fetch the tie for Asmodeus.

I wished I could stop struggling. I welcomed the dark, if only to get away from their hellish enjoyment of my suffering.

I struggled to breathe, hyperventilating from panic coupled with the absolute whirlwind in my mind.

How was this possible? Each of those deaths had been mine. I’d experienced them firsthand, not as an observer removed from the horror.

Asmodeus released his hold on me, flinging my wrist from him like he couldn’t stand touching me a second longer.

I snatched my newly freed hand to my chest, terrified that I might accidentally touch another of the gravestones.

“Spend a little time here, Lilith. It’s time you remember your role in this court. Your newfound attitude may have amused me at first, but I’ve grown bored.” He crouched so he could look me in the eye. “Cross me again, and you’ll be making another gravestone.”

Then he stood and strode to the door, leaving me in a heap.

“Walvor, ensure my wife has uninterrupted time to enjoy her special garden. She needs a break from court life for a few hours.” A guard I’d never noticed stood by the only exit, giving Asmodeus a sharp nod.

“Yes, my King.”

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