Finally, I pushed open the door and recognized the blonde hair hanging off the bed. My chest tightened to the point I could barely breathe as I walked forward and rolled her over. Her eyes were heavy, barely open, like she’d been drained of all life.
“I’ve got you,” I promised her as I lifted her into my arms. We’d barely made it out of the door and past the sigil keeping him out when I called out to Ivar. He popped in, flames burning bright at the sight of her. “Take her to our showers. I’ll meet you there, I can’t travel like you can, and she needs to get out of here.Now.”
“He’ll come for her.”
“He won’t have that fucking option,” I promised him. With a nod of acknowledgment, he popped out of existence with my girl secured in his arms.Our girl.
I had one more thing to take care of before joining them.
For the first time in my life, I pulled on my demon powers with a calm confidence, letting them wash over me. Instead of cringing away from the icy shadows coursing through my veins, I embraced them with open arms.
And the feeling was incredible.
My body felt stronger, more powerful. The shadows and fire dancing along my fingertips felt like they could purge the world in seconds.If this is how I feel as a half demon, how would I feel with full strength running through my veins?That kind of power would drain me fast, however, so I didn’t waste time as I stalked down the hall to Vane’s office. His secretary looked worried at the door flying open, but she couldn’t see me. Neither could Vane as I closed and locked the door, only then allowing him to see me. Demons were masters of disguise, and now that I felt more demon than ever before, it was an easy switch of intent.
The look on his face was priceless.
His usually cold eyes were wide with fear, and his body shook as he backed away, chair slamming to the floor and making him topple over it. And in reality, he should fear me. Though from his confusion, he didn’t realize who I was. Not yet anyway.
“You keeping pets, Vane?” I asked in a voice that was so deep it was almost hard to recognize myself. He stuttered but couldn’t find his words, so I picked him up and slammed him to the couch. “What did you do to Harlow?”
“She’s fine,” he argued. But I wasn’t just speaking of this incident. I knew exactly what he’d done that first night she’d arrived, or the biggest part of it. That, combined with him using the hall as his personal feeding ground for a group of demons easily coerced, was enough damning evidence for me to act.
“No. When she arrived. What. Did. You. Do?! And if you lie to me, I will kill you,” I promised, digging claws into his arms to prove my point. Blood trickled down and he swallowed hard.
“She, I-I just welcomed her,” he said. “Like I do all the new patients I can.”
“Explain,” I growled.
“I fucked her!” His scream was one of desperation as he lost all sense of composure. Good. He deserved it. The man’s sins were stacking up and many people in my life were already affected. His reign here was ending, and I was more than happy to knock him from the throne he’d erected for himself here at Dark Haven.
“And for that,” I said before grabbing a heavy metal paperweight from his desk, lifting it, and slamming it as hard as I could down on his lap. The scream of agony that tore from him was unnatural, and I breathed in his fear and pain, feeding from the human who’d wronged not just Harlow, but this entire institute.
“P-please,” he begged as he tried but failed to grab his broken dick. His arms were pinned to his sides, courtesy of me, and I wouldn’t give him the relief that might bring.
“You want mercy? From me?” I asked with a hollow laugh. “After you took what was mine and abused her. Did they feed from her night and day?”
“Yes,” he said with a whimper. He was pale and sweaty now, tears pooling in his eyes from the pain and the desperation for his life.
“Five days, so that’s five punishments. The first doesn’t count,” I mused, liking this a bit too much. The thrill of drawing out his fear scared me, but the human side of me was tucked away where it belonged for now. This was no job for a human, and as a demon, I’d bring him to the brink of death and savor every fucking scream.
“No, p-please,” he pleaded as I cracked my knuckles. The smell of urine and a guttural scream filled the air. Rendering such a proud man to a babbling, feeble coward was satisfying. And I was just getting started.
“One,” I counted gleefully before lifting him and slamming my knee into his already broken dick.
“Fuck!” he yelled out as he writhed against my hold.
“Two,” I said as I dropped him to the floor and let hellish fire fill my hand, then slammed it into his chest. The fire burned through his shirt and blistered his skin, turning it black.
He scrambled away, patting his chest and shaking violently. Though I gave him as much mercy as he showed the patients in his secret hallway.
“Three.” This time I bent down and carefully carved a line with my claw from temple to chin, diagonally across his face. No longer would he be the egotistical narcissist he once was. His face was ruined, and a scar that deep would be jagged and a constant reminder of his sins.
He choked out a sob, no longer able to speak. That was fine, he would have more screams for me in a moment.
“Four,” I sang out as I broke both of his hands. At this point, he was barely able to scream.
“Don’t kill him,” Hel shouted in my head. It was so much stronger in my demon form that I nearly dropped to my knees. “He’s done.”