I could feel their eyes on me as I dragged the hammer, and it made me feel daring.
"Like ecstasy," Cyn answered a moment later. "I've never had anything like her." They spoke of me like I was some rare delicacy. It should have scared me, but it only sent a fire raging through me.
I hadn’t been in the dining room yet since my arrival, but everything was exactly the way I remembered it, from the long wooden table we used to have Thanksgiving meals at, to the drink cart in the corner that my dad bought at an old estate sale and just had to put on display.
I moved to climb up onto the table, but before I knew what was happening, I felt a weight wrap around my waist, then I was being lifted off of my feet. I yelped in shock until I realized it was a tentacle wrapped around me.
Looking over my shoulder, I saw Kaz in the doorway with a smirk on his otherworldly face. His eyes were sparkling with mischief, and I smiled back as he set my feet down on the tabletop.
One by one, I smashed the chairs to pieces. Maybe I’d even use them as firewood tonight, if I was feeling adventurous. The chandelier came down easily too, glass shattering all over the table, the crystals and wrought iron rolling onto the floor. Some of the glass shards pricked at my bare feet, but I didn’t care too much.
I stopped for a second with the head of the hammer resting on the tabletop as I caught my breath, my chest heaving up and down. I coughed several times as I cleared my lungs of plaster and what was probably seventy years of lead paint and asbestos.
“Looks like the sad one has gone and tired herself out,” said Cilas from across the table.
I was beginning to tell their low, eerie voices apart now. His long hair brushed his shoulders like undulating smoke, and his lips, from what I could barely see, were tilted up.
“Maybe we should relieve her of some of that rage. What do you say, brother?” Cyn replied.
I felt a cold rush of air wash over my back and knew Cilas was behind me. “I think you’re right,” he whispered into my ear as he scooped my hair over my shoulder and placed a kiss along my neck. My eyes fell closed as I tipped my head back. His lips even felt smokey, like they were constantly in motion, yet they were soft too. “What do you say, Iris? Can we eat that rage inside of you?” He nipped at the shell of my ear, and I shivered from head to toe.
Opening my eyes, I met Cilas’ gaze and chuckled wickedly. “Only if you promise to finish your meal.”
I didn’t know what the fuck I was getting myself into exactly, but it was like I couldn’t physically stop the words from coming out of my mouth.
Cilas hissed hungrily, showcasing rows of needle sharp teeth. “I can assure you, I have an appetite.” His words were low, smooth, and melodic—the same tone Kaz had used with me yesterday. Maybe it was some sort of hunting tactic, but whatever it was, it was obviously working. That voice alone could get me to do many bad things I shouldn’t want to do.
I tilted my head to the side, giving him room. “Why do I want this so badly?” Cilas’ hands traveled down my arms to circle my wrists. “I should be running from you, but all I can think about is having you inside of me again. That's not natural…”
It was a question I felt needed to be asked. They’d already come out and said they were planning on killing me, maybe not tonight, but eventually.
So why did my entire body tingle at the thought of being touched by these monsters? Why did I salivate at the image in my head, picturing them ravishing me on every surface in this cursed house?
There was a wet squelching sound as Kaz’s massive dark form came into view. He moved across the floor with ease, using his strong and powerful tentacles as legs, each moving independently. His skin shone in the light of the slowly rising sun through the window, and his long black hair dripped, even though there was no water around.
“Because your rage can sense when a predator is near, and it wants to be consumed,” Kaz said. He thrust the remains of a half broken chair out of his way, smashing it against the wall as he came closer. Cilas’ hands locked around my wrist, holding me in place. Kaz was tall enough that as I stood on the tabletop, our eyes were now level. “Do you want to be consumed, Iris?”
I was immoble as one massive tentacle shot out, wrapping itself around my torso again, coiling there like a snake. I had seconds to answer his question, but it was already on the tip of my tongue. I was sure he could see it in my eyes.
What they didn’t realize yet was that none of them frightened me. Thrilled me? Yes, absolutely. But frightened? No. I’d looked directly into the face of death and gave it the middle finger. There wasn’t much left that could scare me.
Except for Chaos. That motherfucker was gross.
“Take it,” I said. A dare. A gift. “There’s more than enough to go around, boys.” I winked at them, heat curling inside me and spreading through my limbs, as another tentacle locked around my ankle.
This was fucking risky, but then again, weren't the drugs risky too? Wasn't slashing my wrists in the shower risky? Or how about fucking random men every night in seedy clubs and bars? My life was one big fucked-up risk. At least this time, I could say I was surrounded by darkness instead of filled with it. Or maybe I would be filled with it…
Kaz moved before I could realize what was happening. Both of my legs were swept out from beneath me, making my back hit the table hard. Luckily, my head was cushioned from the fall as another tentacle wrapped gently around my neck, barely squeezing it. I couldn’t move my limbs, so he moved them for me, spreading out each arm and leg until I was splayed out on the table.
A feast, just like they wanted me to be.
My shirt was riding up, exposing my bare back to the shards of broken glass on the table, and I could feel them cutting into my skin. The sting felt amazing, as did the tightening of Kaz’s hold on my wrists and ankles. My hips were already moving as an ache filled me. Suddenly, I was too empty. I needed something to stretch me until I couldn’t take it anymore.
Sensing my sudden urgency, shadows moved in on either side of me, Cyn on the right and Cilas on the left. The fact that I could tell the two of them apart now made me a little bit smug inside. By now, I’d come to realize that none of this was happening in my head. These monsters were real, maybe more real than the voices in my head ever were. For once in a long, long while, the voices were silent, and the reprieve was delicious.
“You look like you’re ready to be devoured, sad one,” said Cyn. He ran a claw tipped finger down the middle of my body, starting from the base of my throat and trailing his way down to my navel, until he reached the waistband of my panties. “You're wet already, aren't you? What a good girl. You obey so well for a mortal.”
“This one’s different,” said Cilas. Lazily, I rolled my eyes up to meet his, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. He clicked his tongue. “So ready to see what comes next, and yet you’ve barely even lived.”