Page 15 of Soul of a Witch

5

Callum

Beautiful, wicked, bloody woman. Sweet and savory, blood and honey, coating my tongue and making my brain sticky, thick, and dumb.

It had been so long. So goddamnlonglocked up in this room. No stimulation, no pleasure, no indulgence.

Demons do not merelydesirethings. We ravenously, violently, relentlesslyneed.We are wretched, gluttonous, selfish creatures, filled with such a desire to consume that it can destroy us if we ignore it. To survive, a demon must indulge.

And it had been so long since Iindulged.

Yet there she was at last. My feast, my bounty. Tender, honeyed flesh.

Just a taste. A little taste. A touch. One little touch of that perfect warm skin, so drenched in magic it made me dizzy. That was all I needed.

Her terror hung heavy in the air like a rich perfume. Her heartbeat was music to my ears. Her blue eyes, so bright, so clever, flickered this way and that like a curious little fox. She was tall and willowy, with blonde hair so long it brushed against her lower back. Her boots were muddy, her dress blood-stained.

Oh, how easy it would be to catch her. Buteasywasn’t satisfying. A game ended too quickly was no game at all.

She was thinking, weighing her risks, mulling my words; a thousand solutions with a million problems rushing through that beautiful head. Blood pumping, heart pounding. Her pulse was a drumbeat I never wanted to end. Every throb of that frantic little organ made my need worse.

“Run, Everly,” I whispered, and she flinched. “Go on. Run, little witch.”

Thump, thump, thump.Faster and faster went her heart. It was goddamn intoxicating. I jerked forward, and she stumbled back several steps. I couldn’t hold back much longer.

“Run away, run away. Don’t let me get my hands on you…” Laughing at the increasingly horrified expression on her face, I lifted both my hands and twiddled my fingers at her before covering my eyes with my palms. It was a silly gesture. Insignificant. I knew exactly where she was. “Ten. Nine. Eight…”

She sprinted. The sound of her rapid footsteps was like a fist pounding straight into my heart, demanding I go, chase,catch.

“Five, four, three…” I stretched my wings, shuddering from head to toe. It was too good, too fucking good. “Two, aaand...”

I opened my eyes and watched a flash of her blonde hair disappear around the corner as my veins turned black as ink. My physical form lost some of its solidity, my energy swelling, as all my focus narrowed onto one thing: the sweet smell of her magic as she fled from me.

Demons become a little unhinged if we sleep for too long. It must have been at least a couple decades I was in there, lounging the time away. Waiting. Watching. Fighting through the agony of every craving.

But there was no need to restrain myself anymore. I didn’t want to hurt her, but…

But I did. Just a little. Just enough to break open that beautiful magical mind.

“One,” I said and teleported down the hall, manifesting myself again directly in front of her. She skidded to a halt, nearly colliding with me. But she leapt around me, caught herself against the wall and kept sprinting, leaving a burst of sparks in her wake.

“That’s it, girl!Fucking run!” I beat my wings, launching myself after her. My feet barely touched the ground; I leapt from wall to wall, claws rending deeply into the wood wainscoting.

When I teleported in front of her again, she lost her footing and stumbled to the floor, and immediately scrambled up in the opposite direction.

“Fight back!” My volume was too loud, a crack splintering through a nearby window. “Come on, Everly, hurt me!”

Just a little pain. Just a little blood. I needed stimulation before I completely lost my mind. So, I changed my tactic. I stopped chasing and started stalking.

She ran until she was dizzied. Her blood sugar was low, her entire body trembling as she continued stumbling through the halls.

“Don’t be shy,” I crooned, making my voice drift through the air and echo around her. She had no idea where I was. How far, or how close. But I was close enough to touch: crawling along on the ceiling behind her, like a great lizard, head tipped down as I watched her. “I like magic tricks, witch, so give me a good one.”

“Get away from me!” she cried, turning in a complete circle. I was directly above her, shrouding myself in shadow. “I’m warning you…if you hurt me…”

“Oh, yes, please threaten me.” Anger coated her voice, and it made me giddy. I wanted to draw it out, one perfect thread in the web of her fear. “Will I be in trouble? Hm? What will you do to me?”

She ran again, and I tsked, flying after her. “Don’t tease! If you’re going to threaten me, do it properly!”

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