Page 7 of My Demon Desire
Heavy footsteps sound outside, and my breath freezes in my lungs. There's a growl that's a cross between a bear and something worse, and goosebumps break out across my skin.
Monsters.
Everything floods back… my father chanting over Mom's corpse, the portal opening up and tossing him and me into this weird place, and then the three monsters.
I swallow, my throat hurting as the memory has brought back the pain of being choked to death.
No. Not to death, as I'm still alive.
So, did someone come after I passed out and killed the monsters and brought me here? Then why did I hear a growl?
Slowly, I walk to the door, wary of what could be outside. I lean my ear against it, straining to hear.
Nothing.
I take a deep breath and try the door handle. It's still locked. I'm not sure what's on the other side of the door, but I'm sure it can't be any worse than being trapped in this room.
I take a step back and, using all my strength, throw my body at the door.
The door doesn't budge or even rattle.
Then a huff sounds behind it and the door handle turns. I back away, raising my fists, ready to fight.
The door opens and one of the monsters steps inside.
"You're awake," he says like he's surprised.
My stomach knots and I back away. This isn't the one that choked me, but he may as well be. An icy fear skates down my back and I raise my fists higher.
He frowns. “I will not hurt you.”
“Oh yeah?” I arch an eyebrow and my heart accelerates as sweat trickles down my back. “What about the one who choked me?”
The monster sighs, holding out his palms in a gesture like he’s trying to appease me. “That was Thorne and he’s been reprimanded.”
“You expect me to believe that?” I shake my head. “Why bring me here?” I spear a glance around the bedroom. None of this was making sense. Demons didn’t have houses or beds, right? “Why not just kill me and be done with it?”
Or did demons like to confuse and torture their prey?
Movement from the door has bile burning the back of my throat. The other two monsters stroll in, crowding the bedroom and making me feel even smaller and more helpless.
The monster with the broken horn stares at me with his eyes narrowing. "I will ask you once more, human. If you don’t answer, I will force you to. How did you get here?" he asks, his voice husky and deep and not at all what I expected.
My stomach clenches and I lick my lips, its gaze following the motion. "I need to f-find my father," I stammer, stalling while I pray there is some way of getting out of this alive. "H-Have you seen him?"
Don't know why I'm asking these... things. Not like any of them wants to help me and they'll probably gut me with their claws and teeth. Bile races into the back of my mouth at the thought.
Why did I expect monsters to care about anything but their next meal?
“You expect us to believe two humans have breached the border into our land?” he snarls, and I stifle a cry, shrinking back.
"Calm down, Thorne," the taller of the three monsters says as though bored. “We can't kill her yet until we know how she got here."
"She might be useful." The monster with a broken horn shrugs, but still glares at me like I’m the demon here.
Thorne scowls, but steps back, still keeping a close eye on me. And I can’t forget that he was the one who choked me. I shiver, taking another step back, and bump into the trunk at the foot of the bed.
The other monster, a large, hulking creature with dark fur, looks me up and down. "Why are you here, human?" he asks, his voice rough and guttural.
