Page 55 of To Crave Truly

“Forget it. Let’s move.” Then she disappeared into the smoke whilst Lucifer did something fun with fire in the opposite direction that she took off in.

God fucking dammit. Why was she so vexing?

I followed her to a door at the end of the room, hoping that there were some stairs or some kind of way out. I didn’t think we’d be able to magic our way out of here, but I really didn’t fancy climbing thirteen flights of stairs either. And that’s even if we were on the numerical thirteenth floor. Who knew what system this place worked to. These rooms could just be suspended in a pocket dimension or created purely by magic. There was nothing to say this place was logical.

Lori flung open a door and I ran through it after her.

“Hold this.” She thrust the box with the stone into my hands before wrapping her arms around my waist.

“Whoa. What are you doing?” I tried to push her away, but she just gripped me tighter.

“I’m just going to Shadow Jump. Well, try. Not sure if my magic will work down here. And I’ve never done this with someone else.”

“What?” Panic bubbled in my chest. She wasn’t choosing now, of all moments, to try something new. Was she?

“Hold tight.”

Fuck. She was! “Lori, you can’t be serious. Surely that’s not going—”

Then I yelped. Me. The Original Demon. I yelped like a scared little child.

Fuck my life.

Coldness seeped into my bones, into the very core of me as my body faded into shadow. Darkness engulfed us and the noises from the thirteenth floor turned to muffled shouts. It felt like my insides were being rearranged, shifting uncomfortably as Lori did… whatever it was she was doing.

Wind whipped around us. Sounds came in and out of focus. Shadows moved like the sea, and I gripped Lori as tightly as I could. She was the only tangible thing I could hold onto.

Suddenly, my feet hit solid ground, sending a jolt juddering up my legs.

The air smelt damp and fresh. Guess we weren’t in the vault anymore. As the shadows began to disperse around us, outlines of trees emerged. Shafts of moonlight splintered through their branches, and I took a minute to recentre myself. I felt as though I’d been pulled apart and shoved back together in a clumsy way.

“Please don’t ever do that again,” I mumbled, still feeling unsteady on my feet.

Lori was still holding me tightly, her head resting on my chest as she drew deep breaths. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

What. The. Fuck. “Are you kidding me?”

“No,” she said with giggle. “I’ve never jumped that far or with someone else. I…”

Her words trailed off and her body trembled in my arms. Shit. That must have taken a Hell of a lot of power to do.

“Lori?”

Her head tipped back, and her eyes went a bright, ruby red. She whimpered and dug her fingers into my arms, her nails sinking into my skin. I hissed at the sharp sting.

“Hungry,” she whispered. “I’m so hungry.”

Oh, fuck. Bloodlust. Great. Just fucking great.

“Call Mordecai.”

She looked at me, confusion swimming in her vampire eyes. “How?”

“In your mind. He’s your Sire. He’ll hear you.”

She doubled over as a scream wrenched itself from her mouth. Fuck. This was bad. Her whole body jerked as tremors ran through her limbs.

“Iver, make it stop. Make it—” Another scream.

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