Page 12 of Hellish Witch

Refusing to fit back in its cage.

Chapter 4

Iled Shanlir towards the kitchen, weaving us through the crowd.

A drunken male tripped over the large rug in the centre of the room and almost impaled me on his branching antlers as we passed.

His drink splashed out of his cup and straight over the white dress hugging Shanlir’s lithe frame. She gaped down at the dark stain before a strained laugh bubbled up her throat.

I hissed at the clumsy demon, a hybrid who’d joined a few years back after leaving the shadow-walker kingdomneighbouring ours. The dancers swallowed him before I could shake an apology out of the idiot.

“It’s all right.” Shanlir grabbed my wrist, giving it a quick squeeze right over the tooth-marks left by the hellcat a few days ago.

The bite had faded, but in the right light, I could still see a faint glimmer of red in a circle of points.

Shanlir pulled me through an ornate wooden archway and into the kitchen. Like the living room, it was packed as we edged inside.

As one of the bigger cabins in our village, the place was a regular for parties, and the drinks setup was always the same. A huge clay punch bowl dominated the wooden island in the middle, a fun red liquid sloshing inside with various fruits floating in the mix.

Instead of taking us closer, Shanlir tugged me around the edge to the corridor on the far side. The music faded slightly in the narrow space, and I let out a relieved breath. Dulled senses must be a blessing, because my ears only held a slight ache from the past hour dancing in front of the band.

She pouted down at her ruined outfit as we walked past closed doors to the staircase half-hidden at the end. “I’ve got a spare dress in Mikhail’s room. I’ll be right back.”

I nodded, leaning against the wall. “I’ll wait for you here.”

There was no chance I’d follow her up to the bedroom of the guy she was on-and-off dating. If he was in there, she’d be on him like a succubus in heat.

I might feed on desire, but I had no interest in their lust fest.

She hurried up the wooden staircase, her frilled tail swishing gracefully behind her like it floated on an invisible current.

The second she disappeared, I let my head tip back into the wall, staring at the exposed beams above.

The door beside me swung open. Before I could react, a hand clamped my arm and yanked. I fell into the room with a startled yelp.

Three familiar demons towered over me, fang-filled grins stretched wide.

My stomach sank at the colourful glitter sparking in their pure-black eyes.

A hungry pain demon was a dangerous one.

Three was a blood-soaked nightmare.

“Get off me,” I snarled, jerking my arm from a vicious hold.

Vanita, the silver-haired leader of the violent trio, dug her claws in, leaving deep red furrows as I freed myself. I refused to even wince, blocking out the pain to deny her whatever energy I could.

They’d pulled me into a bathroom, the grey-tiled walls and floor reminding me a little too much of the concrete prison I’d been held in.

“Well, well, well…,” she drawled, raising her silver claws to the artificial light as her friends, Murag and Jessa, snickered beside her. “If it isn’t our residenthuman.” She licked my blood from her metallic claw tip, black forked tongue writhing like a dying slug.

Cut her open and spill out her soft, squishy organs.

The monster in my head snarled at me, batting imaginary claws to emphasise its point.

“What do you skinny wraiths want?” I sneered. The slender demons began circling me, matching layered dresses swishing around their legs, and I turned to keep them in sight. “If it’s about a foursome, I’m not into grave-fresh.”

Especially with what it meant. Their chalky complexions and the prominent veins pulsing around glittering black eyes were a side effect of indulging on unwilling pain. Most of their breedwas careful not to feed on it too much for how it altered their appearance.

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