2
Ryleigh
“I’m bored,” I murmur. Although, with my zombie accent, the words come out sounding like a bunch of moaning gibberish.
Luckily, for the sake of having no one else to talk to, Max understands my zombie gibberish. I just wish he was another creature, other than a demon. Or, well, the old Ryleigh would wish for that. This decaying flesh of a corpse that I have morphed into doesn’t seem to care for shit about chilling with a demon. I can even admit he’s very attractive.
Tall, lean, with short dark hair, and glinting metal covering his brows and lips, he’s wearing all black, from his boots to the leather collar around his neck. The old me who wore pink and flowery dresses wouldn’t have looked twice at him, but that girl didn’t have rotting flesh covering her body, along with very distinct blood veins.
I sneak a glance in the mirror hanging on the wall, then instantly regret my decision. My once silky blonde hair is now nothing but a tangled mess of pale strands, and my eyes, which used to be so bright, now bleed when I’m hungry. And don’t even get me started on how many times I’ve caught myself drooling.
Gross. I’m so gross. That’s all there is to it.
Sighing, I redirect my attention back to the cards in my hand. “Why are we playing this, anyway? Isn’t there something else we could be doing?” Like eat brains. Brains. Yummy brains.
I mentally roll my eyes at myself. I’m so over this brain obsession.
Max lays a card down on the table. “We don’t need to do anything else just yet.”
I resist a grimace.
We’ve been playing Texas hold ’em for the last couple hours. I’m not certain why he’s making us play, other than he might be either trying to distract himself or me—maybe both. I don’t even know why we’re hiding out in his lair. I mean, one minute we’re in the tent with Eva, Hunter, and Peyton, and the next thing I know, Max is transporting us back here without Eva. It doesn’t make any sense. Getting ahold of Eva was supposedly his point of luring her to that tent to begin with. Well, that and outing Opal for being a traitor.
I think there’s more to why Max wants Eva than he’s letting on. While he insists it has nothing to do with him wanting her, I saw the lust in his red demon eyes. He wants her whether he’ll admit it or not. So, why bail out of his plan without even trying to get ahold of her?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad my sister isn’t near the demon or around me, her witch-zombie fake sister who has hardly any control of her brain hunger. Still, I want to understand why Max just up and ditched out on his plan.
“Why are we in your lair?” I ask as I study my cards.
“Because I want us to be,” he replies evasively as he takes a sip from a glass of whiskey.
Damn demons. They never really tell the full truth. Then again, I’m not any better. I’ve lied a lot throughout my lifetime, especially to Eva, something I’ll always regret. I’ve lied to my parents more than a handful of times, too, and to the Mystic Willow Bay Society. I even lied to Max, and I’ve only been with him for a handful of hours. He may be a demon, but I still feel bad. Or, at least I feel bad about what I did that I had to lie about.
I didn’t plan on doing it. The incident just sort of happened when we first arrived here and Max left me in the living room alone. I was standing there, totally minding my own business, when his little snake fire dragon pets entered the room and started tormenting me. One thing led to another, and I ended up eating one of their brains. When Max returned, he questioned why only one of his pets was hanging around, and also why I had a bit of gooey brain on my lips.
I quickly licked my lips clean and told him, “It must’ve been a piece of my brain or something.”
He didn’t look like he believed me, but he didn’t question me further.
I wet my lips as I recall the taste of brain on my tongue. Zombies of hungry zombies, I’m starving and starting to drool again.
Max glances up at me, and then at the drool dribbling down my chin. “Relax. We’ll get you some brains soon.”
I wipe the drool from my lips with the back of my hand. “We should get some now.”
“We’ll go soon.” He flips over another card.
I impatiently tap my cards against my rotting palms. I’m starting to learn that, as a zombie, I’m very restless and get distracted easily, especially when hunger takes over. The only exception is when I’m eating a brain. Then I’m calm, which is so beyond gross, but I can’t help it.
I drop my cards onto the table and flick a piece of molting flesh off my skin. “Can we do something else? This isn’t distracting me. In fact, I’m so bored all I can think about is eating brains. And since you’re the only one with a brain around …” I lick my lips.
He doesn’t even so much as blink. “You won’t eat my brain.”
My stomach grumbles … I bet his brain would taste so yummy. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”
“If you did, then you wouldn’t have my pretty face to look at.” His smug smile makes me want to devour his brain. When I snap my teeth at him, he sighs, laying down the cards. “Fine. What do you want to do, my little zombie pet?”
I don’t bother correcting him on the pet part since I kind of feel like his pet. If it weren’t for him feeding me, I’d have either starved or killed someone by now to feed myself. Yeah, I never thought I’d ever say this, but without Max around, I’d be doomed.
“I don’t know. Maybe eat or …” I chew on my bottom lip, and a layer of skin peels off and lands in my mouth. I spit it out and frown. “You said you know how to stop the decaying process. Maybe we could work on that.”
He thrums his fingers against the table, his gaze drifting to the clock on the wall. “I’m already working on it. The first step should be arriving any minute.”
“The first step?”
“You’ll see soon, my little zombie pet.”
Hmmm … Do I trust him? No, not really. Demons are the most untrustworthy creatures in existence. Back when I was just a witch and worked for the Mystic Willow Bay Society, I spent most of my time fighting to keep them under control. I also fought to eliminate zombies.
“Oh, will you quit pouting?” he says amusedly. “I’m telling the truth, I promise.”
“Demons lie all the time, so I’m not sure if I should believe you. Plus, I’m really hungry.” I slump back in the chair and cross my arms. “Being brain hungry sucks.”
He assesses me with mild amusement. “What? Did eating my dragon fire snake b
aby not fill you up enough?”
I examine my bluish-black fingernails. “I already told you I didn’t eat it.”
The sparkle in his eyes darkens. “Yes, but zombies are known for lying almost as much as demons.”
“Well, I’m not lying.” I lower my hand to the table and give him what I hope is a look of indifference. “I’m a truthful zombie.”
He smirks. “Keep trying, but you aren’t a very good liar, my little zombie pet.”
“You know I have a name, right?”
“Yeah, so? What’s your point?”
“Ryleigh.” I ignore his question. “My name is Ryleigh.”
“I know, but I like my name for you much better.”
“Well, I’m not sure I do.” I cross my arms and stick my nose in the air. The hungrier I get, the crankier I become. “It sounds an awful lot like my little rainbow trout. You know, the nickname you gave my fake little sister. My sister who you’re obsessed with, yet you ditched her back at the tent, even though you had a plan to get ahold of her.”
He slants his head to the side as he studies me curiously. “I’m not obsessed with your sister. At least, not for the reason you’re implying.”
“I never implied a reason.”
“Not verbally, but your tone suggested otherwise.”
“Yeah, so? Deny it all you want, but I saw the lust in your eyes when you looked at her.”
His gaze bores into mine, his eyes glittering with hilarity. “You sound jealous.”
“I am not.” As my stomach growls and my eyes fill with blood, my temper boils over. “And FYI, you have very glittery eyes for a demon. It makes you look like a faerie or a pixie.” I secretly smile. Demons hate being called anything other than demons or their name.