Home.
No.
This warmth was too blissful to be home.
A sweet voice, like the screams of the tormented, pulled me from my slumbering grave.
My whole body became enveloped in a strange embrace as I fully woke. I opened my heavy eyelids to a poorly lit room, dimly illuminated by the moonlight streaming through an open window beyond an open door.
Shit, how long have I been asleep? Where am I even?
It felt like an eternity since I closed my eyes and fell into a never-ending darkness. There were many times when I questioned if my slumber had been death, but I always went back on the idea because death meant nonexistence. I wouldn't or shouldn't be aware of anything if I were truly dead.
What even happened?
I hated the empty feeling in my head, even though I knew my thoughts were there. They were all muddled in a thick fog.
Groaning lowly, I slowly stood, hissing and cursing when I hit my head on some shelf. After a few slow blinks, my vision returned to full focus, and I adjusted to the dark area around me.
Both sides of me were lined with rows of wooden shelves, with a rod stretching down the room's length, which seemed quite long. Backing up to the room's entrance, I carefully soaked in every inch of it. The 10 x 13-foot room seemed to be a closet or storage room, which was odd because it seemed rather excessive for a closet or storage room.
Also, I don't remember houses having such spaces. Then again, I don't remember houses having such nice wooden floors, decorated walls, embroidered curtains, or… What the heck was that contraption on that desk, even?
Suddenly, bright lights flashed out of nowhere, causing me to let out a growling hiss at the harsh assault on my poor eyes.
Rotten balls of Lucifer!
The wooden floorboards creaked under my weight as I stumbled backward deeper into the closet's darkness, shielding my eyes with my arms.
What in the frozen pits of home is that light? Am I under some kind of attack?
A snarling growl from the main room made me peer over my arms to see the source of the noise. Expecting some rabid beast, I was sorely confused and disappointed at the mutt I saw hunched at the doorway with its teeth bared in my direction.
"Goldie, quit it. That's just an empty closet." I immediately focused on finding the source of that melodic voice, the one that woke me from my madness in darkness.
More importantly, I wanted to seek the voice to put a face to the enchantress who set fire to my soul.
Sweet Lilith.
The female human took no notice of me as I slowly approached the doorway, being mindful to keep myself hidden in the shadows. She was strange-looking and wore clothes that weren't typical of what I knew females wear. I have seen demonesses dressed in such ways, but the humans I knew wouldn't dare show as much as an ankle. Yet this woman wore a dress that came to above her knees, and half of her chest hung out because of the dress's plunging neckline. I wasn't complaining about the nice sight of such beauty. If this was how the human males allowed their females to dress now, then I fully supported it.
"Goldie, what is your problem? Do you see a mouse or something?" Her voice sounded like a choir of tortured souls to my ears.
So lovely.
Even when she scolded the mutt, she sounded nice while irritated.
However, one thing I couldn't ignore was her hair. Why in Lucifer's name was it such a shade of pink? Had the humans fully mastered magic to change their appearance? It looked odd, and usually, I hated such soft and bright colors, but I wasn't too bothered by hers. The only thing that bothered me was the urge to run my fingers through those long locks to determine if they were as soft as they looked.
Unfortunately, that urge would need to be settled some other time. Much to my displeasure, the woman turned and left the room before I could make it out of the room I was in. I couldn't go after her either because when I tried to cross the room's threshold, a force slammed into me, preventing me from going beyond the door frame.
What in Lucifer's balls?
Irritated, I held my hand up against this invisible wall, pressing against it to test its strength. The irritation quickly turned into full-blown anger the moment I realized my situation.
"Fuck!" I angrily shouted, pounding against the magical barrier.
Chapter 3