Page 71 of The Wishing Game

I peel off the packaging and take a big bite out of the bar. It's chocolate flavor, and the sugar is already doing wonders for my mood. I close my eyes, letting out a soft sigh as I nibble at the chocolate crust.

Despite playing bait for a dangerous demon, I'm in quite high spirits. My husband's ghost is somewhere around, attached to me. I'm competing for a chance to bring him back to life, and I actually stand a chance to make that reality.

Maybe my luck hasn't completely run out.

I munch slowly on the protein bar, and though filling for the moment, my mind can't help but conjure up pictures of sumptuous dinners, a nice steak, maybe roast potatoes and some greens—but mostly steak. Oh, my. I take another bite and imagine the taste of juicy beef flooding my mouth.

Soon.

After we're done here, we must have a celebratory dinner. And if Thea can't eat the meat, then more for me. I smile cheekily to myself.

Maybe I should have packed more than one bar. I'm clearlytoohungry if I'm already dreaming up these types of scenarios.

Just as I'm about to eat the last bite, the typical demon smell hits my nostrils. The food barely goes down my throat. I gag a couple of times as I try to swallow everything before our guest makes his appearance. God, but this smell is really something. For as long as I live, I don't think I'll be able to delete it from my olfactory memory. It's right there with the smell of death at the hacienda.

The air, too, becomes colder and thicker, so much so it's increasingly harder to breathe.

I stuff the packaging of the bar in my pocket as I get into position, knowing that the demon is not far behind.

A sudden noise erupts in the middle of the auditorium, and the demon appears in his full monstrous appearance.

This is the first time I see him fully as he walks toward me. Yet there's something different about him than before. His arm has healed, and his face now has eyes.

Where did that come from?

His teeth are still the same rotten yellow that gives off toxic fumes, but his face resembles more of a human face. His body is semi-naked, his skin a rusty, peeling color, almost as if he's about to shed a layer. As he walks closer, I note hedidshed parts of his skin, the remaining tissue looking normal and healthy.

Thea had mentioned that there are levels to demons, and the more souls they ingest, the more humanoid-like they become, losing their monstrous appearance for a normal one. Is this what's happening? Did the demon consume more souls? When? From where?

As he steps toward me, I note that it's an ongoing process. He's continuously developing. Oh, God. Does this mean he's more powerful now? If so, what does that mean for us?

Panic grips me as the demon approaches. But when he's a few meters away from me, he suddenly stops, his eyes on the black circle around me. He snarls at me, the power of his breath almost knocking me over—and making me double over from the smell.

"Easy, buddy," I murmur as I hold on to my balance.

His nostrils flare as he glares at me, but suddenly, he tilts his head to the side, sniffing the air.

What...

One moment he's in front of me, the next he's gone. But he doesn't go into hiding.

"He's here!" Thea cries out from the back.

My eyes widen in shock, and without a thought for my own safety, I step out of the circle, dashing off the stage. Cer and Ze are already there when I reach the museum, the two of them circling the demon while Thea is nestled behind Cer.

"He's evolving. We don't have much longer before he reaches the next level."

"Then we'll have to end him quickly," Ze responds in that calm, unruffled tone of his. He takes a step toward the demon, but Cer's voice rings out in warning.

"We need to check the status of the souls first."

Ze doesn't give a verbal answer, but his features tense, his eyes on the demon just as his hand is on the top of the scabbard of his sword.

"He's ascending, Cerenios," he grits out.

"My guess is that he needs one more soul for the process to be complete," Cer adds.

When I step inside the small enclosure, the demon turns toward me, his eyes gleaming with greed as he licks his lips.

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