Page 38 of Lourdes & the Mafia
The overwhelming words finally catch up to me. She talks fast, and when she speaks, a forked tongue flickers out, giving her a slight lisp.
“Wait a minute—”
“No time to wait.” The demon clasps her hand around my wrist. It’s cold and clammy and makes me want to saw my arm off. “We must go now.”
“Wait!” I cry out before she tugs me along. This is so sus. So, so sus. I shouldn’t trust any creature in the Underworld, but Rami’s earlier words come back to me.
They are too afraid of our wrath to misbehave.
I don’t even think I believe him.
Those wings are definitely suspect.
Who hangs from ceilings anymore anyways? What is this, a Bram Stoker novel?
“I can’t trust you,” I say finally.
The demon woman nods as if in approval. “Good. Trust no one.”
“So why are you trying to help me? Like, what do you want in—”
She hisses, the sound like a rattlesnake that sends shivers of fear down my back.
“Never make a deal with a demon, foolish girl.” She pulls me close until our faces touch. Her skin is rough and leathery and cold, and her breath smells like brimstone. “We will eat you alive if you let us.”
“That’s not comforting at all.”
Instead of acknowledging me, she gives a great flap of her wings. All of a sudden, I’m being hauled up… up…
I bite back my scream and cling to the demon on instinct just as she gives a powerful push of her wings, and we are airborne.
We rush through darkness, her grip light around my waist while I’m choking her for survival. I hear her chuckle and open my eyes to glare, only for the expression to wipe away when I see her hurtling towards an open window.
Oh, fuck no—
It’s too late.
She zips through it, and I’m suspended above the flaming grounds of hell.
From here I can see the High Cliffs and the outside of the castle in its entirety. There are shrieks and I catch sight of other demons flying through the air. Equally as big with the sharp teeth and wingspans that rival the she-demon who currently carries me.
I lose my breath and a scream catches in my throat unable to be released. I cling to her in my fear. And she senses it, cackling in the sky, the sound drowned out by the rush of wind that blows over us both. Her wings flap as she twirls through the air, going higher and higher until we can see the castle below.
A black structure with tips that point like knives towards the sky. She encircles one of the towers before diving into an open window and landing inside.
Once her feet delicately touch the ground, she releases me. Only I can’t let go of her. I’m still trembling from the crazy, wild ass ride I just went on. The adrenaline rush still clings to my bones and refuses to seep out.
She awkwardly pats my back, and I feel the sharp talons of claws against my skin. It’s only that that has me releasing her neck and jumping back.
She lets out a low laugh of mischief. “You humans are strange creatures,” she marvels.
It doesn’t sound like a compliment.
Reluctant to take my eyes off of her, I step back, putting enough distance between us so that if she tries anything, there’s enough space for warning so I can fight back if I need to.
I look around the tower she brought us into. Ramiel’s room is something sprung out of an old opera theater. It’s filled with black velvet and lace, the curtains billowing against the light wind that drifts in and out. The bed is a massive four poster structure that takes up the center of the entire room. In the corner he has a piano on a raised platform, sleek and black and shining.
The whole place is devoid of color, and yet his personality breathes through every crevice of the room.
