Page 39 of Savage Hunt

Hanren grabbed my left arm as Emerick darted over to snatch my other one, keeping me in place as Alister went after Maddie.

“Get the fuck off me!” I hissed, bucking in their hold.

Maddie spun and punched Alister. The high demon recovered too quickly and gripped her hair, dunking her head into one of the buckets.

Invisible daggers punctured my heart as he held her underwater. The COs were too busy trying to break up the other fight to notice this one. Plenty of inmates saw, but they wouldn’t intervene out of fear of Sorin.

When Maddie gripped the sides of the bucket and tried to force herself out, Alister slammed her head back under the surface. Hot fury swelled through my veins, touching the demon amulet. I couldn’t let her get hurt, especially not because of me.

That delicious power unfurled, overwhelming my system. Malice filled me and twisted my thoughts into something terrible and wonderful.

And fucking deadly.

I elbowed the dark fae off and then Hanren, tossing him into a wash station. The bucket tipped over and spilled water across the ground. My boots slipped as I stomped toward Alister, releasing a vicious snarl.

When Alister looked up, the snarky insult on the tip of his tongue died as he saw my expression. “I’m only?—”

My fist plowed into his nose, black blood gushing out. My heart pounded as I broke his grip on Maddie and yanked her out of the bucket. She gasped and gulped air, water trailing down her jumpsuit.

“Thanks.” She coughed, pushing the tangled raven strands from her face. “I thought I was going to drown.”

My focus remained on Alister as a slow smile melted over my lips. “Fear and fight will never be the same. Fright and flight. You won’t be able to run from me.”

He wiped the blackness from under his nose. “You’re going to pay for that.”

“I’m about to pay you back tenfold,” I said.

Make him see what makes him scream.

Tendrils of wicked, intoxicating power from the Infernal Sol loaded my veins with the desire to make those around me quiver in fear. I should have clamped it down and buried the amulet under those barricades I constructed every day, but the urge to hurt the high demon wouldn’t be ignored.

I snatched his arm, yanked him forward, and plowed through any barriers he thought would keep me out of his mind.

A fear instantly jumped out of him trapped on Earth and unable to consume souls. “How funny.” I snapped, plunging Alister into the sensation of being ripped apart from the inside out as his body craved souls to remain topside.

Maddie’s brown eyes widened in my direction. “What are you doing to him?”

“He likes to make you shake and tremble, so I thought it only fair he felt the same.” My head fell back, and I inhaled the energy his terror admitted, feeding the darkness within me. The Infernal Sol wasn’t completely at the helm, but it was inching closer, wrapping long fingers around the steering wheel to shove me aside.

Alister’s shrieks finally caught the guards' attention, and when the witch jogged over, her cheeks paled as she realized his torment came from me.

He dropped to the ground, clutching his chest. “Make it stop. I need souls. I can’t breathe!”

Desiree cursed, grabbed a gun off her belt, and held it up to me. “These are magical bullets, inmate 487331. They will harm you.”

Maddie jumped in front of me. “She was only trying to help. Alister would have killed me if not for her.”

Another CO rushed forward, flanking Desiree’s side. “Get on your knees, 487331, or we’ll shoot both of you.”

A sinister chuckle rolled out of me, and I stepped in front of Maddie. “No need to threaten. I’ll be cooperative.” They were no doubt full of fears. “Please come closer. I’m famished, and that demon was just an appetizer.”

“She did something to Alister.” Emerick jerked his long finger to his high demon friend. “He’s in some kind of hallucination.”

Desiree’s lips thinned as she tried to keep the gun steady. “Whatever you did, make it stop.”

I tapped my chin. “I’m having too much fun watching him beg and cry.”

“Tate, just stop this, please,” Maddie whispered behind me. “I don’t want them to shoot you. And they will.”

---