Page 5 of To Crave Deeply
The wounds were healing but not fast enough. I needed to consume more energy. Unlike Lori, I had a perfect grasp on my lethal skillset. I knew exactly how to handle my powers and how to manage the dark energy flowing through my body. I also enjoyed the taste of a soul. I could quite happily consume one without a single twinge of remorse. But I’d need to hold back on that little indulgence, because that’s what got me killed last time. I went on a bit of a rampage one day and, well, let’s just say it didn’t end well for me or anyone who’d pissed me off that day.
I had managed to get an old dark witch to do me a favour and I’d survived the death of my original body. Now, I had the ability to reincarnate when death caught up with me. Although, I thought that angel Camael was going to come close to wiping out the magic that bound my soul to life. I really had to resist the pull of that magic, but it was only looking for one soul, not two.
Which meant I merely had to be patient and watch as Lori’s soul was claimed by Camael.
I felt a bit bad for her. She’d been surrounded by so much love as she died. Even that idiot mage, Fenris. I could feel how much pain and grief they had at losing her and I suddenly wondered how she’d managed to win their affections.
I’d never even had a friend. Even my father hated me. It was his fault I’d had to make the deal with the witch in the first place. He was the one who wanted me dead. Talk about a blow to the old self-esteem. My father was so ashamed of me that he thought I’d be better off dead than walking the earth. Maybe I should have taken the hint and curbed my darker side, but where’s the fun in that?
I rolled over onto all fours and made it to my hands and knees. Fuck. That was a lot of effort. Lori must have taken more damage than I thought. Strong hands dug under my armpits and dragged me to my feet. My head swam at the fast movement, and I could feel the contents of Lori’s stomach… No, the contents of my stomach churning horrifically. I did not want one of my first actions as a new demon to be vomiting all over someone’s shoes. That was not classy.
“Lori?” someone said breathlessly. The world was still spinning so I had no idea who was holding me. My hair was brushed back from my face as someone looked me over. I had no idea what I looked like — probably a Hell of a mess considering the fight that Lori put us through, but I was distracted from that thought when lips found mine. They were hard and demanding and I instantly knew they belonged to the vampire she loved. The one who was full of deep-seated rage at the world.
Perfect.
As he kissed me, I opened his mind to me and took the energy I needed to heal myself. He realised too late what I was doing, and I could hear the screams deep in his mind as I feasted on the pain he hid from the world. I feasted until his legs crumbled beneath him and I had to use my own strength to hold him up. I devoured everything until his eyes glazed over, until the moment his soul was bared to me. I wanted it. I was just about to rip at the threads that bound it to him when a hand fisted my hair and yanked me away from the vampire.
A vexed scream escaped my throat, and an angry red haze clouded my vision as I was cruelly torn away from my first proper meal in years. My claws extended as I tried to swipe at the hand that kept me from what I wanted.
“Pipe down, little Hellcat.” The voice was a deep soul-rumbling tone, and I knew this was Torsten. He was the only one here, apart from Lucifer, who could make me submit.
I fucking hated it.
I just needed some time to work on my skills and retrain this body. Then, I knew I’d have a chance at beating the Shadow Fiend.
He yanked my head backwards, so I was staring up into his face. His pale skin glowed against the darkness of his hair and his eyes swam like whirlpools of shining silver and gold. Those mercurial depths had the most penetrating gaze, and I knew he could see through me right to my very soul. He could see a soul from the shadow world, a plane that existed alongside this one, made completely out of the shadows of death. I saw souls too, but only when I was feeding. They looked like beautiful gold ribbons, just waiting to be unravelled and consumed.
“Hello again, Torsten.” My voice was breathy as the dark energy I consumed from the vampire coursed through my system. I could feel it healing my body and giving me the strength I was going to need to escape this collection of creatures that loved Lori so much. “Did you miss me?” I asked, grinning saucily up at him.
The hand in my hair tightened as his scowl deepened. That was interesting. It seemed that the Shadow Fiend had formed more than just a servant’s bond with a Master. When I was buried deep in Lori’s mind, I struggled to feel everything that went on in the real world. I knew she’d fed off the demon, but I didn’t realise it was more than that between the two of them.
“Where is she?” he growled as his jaw tightened with the effort to contain his rage.
“She’s gone,” I spat. “Now let me go.”
His hand instantly released the death grip on my hair, and I didn’t miss the look of surprise that crossed his features. Wait, did I still have some power over the Shadow Fiend?
I wasn’t given a chance to find out.
A blast of air hit my side and launched me backwards towards the wall. The torrent of air pinned me to the surface as Fenris marched towards me, determination written in every line of his face.
“What have you done with her?” he demanded.
Oh, dear. He was going to need to be a lot more intimidating than that to scare me. But the sooner they got used to the idea that she was no longer around, the sooner I could escape.
“I haven’t done anything. She’s dead. The angel killed her with his fancy sword.”
Fenris’ face paled as my words sank in. “No,” he breathed. Something that looked like shame and regret darkened his brow, but I didn’t give two shits. He was an idiot and had treated Lori like one, too. He deserved those feelings and a whole lot more in my opinion. Making the poor girl fall for him and then letting her find out he was engaged and unavailable as he introduced her to his fiancée. Talk about a dick move.
“She can’t be dead. Look, he’s still breathing.” I turned my gaze to the feminine voice and saw the fire sprite standing over the body of the Devil.
Ah, fuck. That was going to put a spanner in the works.
The bond that Lori shared with Lucifer linked them together heart and soul. If one died, so did the other. But only her soul had been taken by the angel. Her heart was still beating inside my chest, which meant that Lucifer wasn’t dead.
It also meant that they had a way to bring Lori back. I just didn’t know if they knew that.
“Perhaps there’s a way to bring her back?” Saskia supplied hopefully. “She can’t be completely gone if Lucifer is still alive.”
