Page 5 of Hell of a Thing

Life or death?

He wrapped one strong arm around my waist and pulled me close to his broad chest while the other skillfully flipped the knife. The rough handle pressed against my folds. Moaning, I thrust against it, loving how the lines and ridges of the wood grain increased the pleasure as it moved back and forth.

“My king.” Moaning, I looped my arms around his neck to press my body against his. I wore very little, but the bits keeping us apart felt like too much. I wanted to rip them off and let his hot skin burn my tender nipples.

With a slight adjustment to the angle, he slipped the handle inside me, moving it in and out without hesitation. The texture of the woodgrain slidthrough my slick, leaving me gasping. My legs grew weak as he worked my pussy, dragging the tip of his claw over my clit. My breathing picked up. The world started to spin out of control. I broke, bucking painfully against the handle, past it to the cutting edge beyond as the release screamed through me. Digging my nails into his shoulders, I clung to him as waves of pleasure flowed through me, mixing now with the pain of being cut and making it impossible to stand on my own.

Would my weakness please him or anger him?

“You better not disappoint me tonight, Isra,” he said, withdrawing the handle.

I breathed a sigh of relief. He was pleased then.

This encounter had been about pleasure and life.

Tilting his head, his eyes never left mine as he brought the knife to his mouth and drew his long, forked tongue across it to taste my fluids. Then down the blade to clean up the streaks of blood with a wicked curl to his lips. “It would be a shame to have to kill my favorite pet.”

My heart slammed into my ribs, both from the excitement of the moment and the anticipation of what was to come. Demons were made from corrupted souls. We are what’s left behind once all of humanity had been squeezed out of them. Under The Devil’s care, our souls last an eternity. Nothing could truly destroy us, only cast us back to Hell, and force us through the process of reforming on the mortal plane. The Devil, though. He could snuff us out in an instant if he chose, leaving us as… nothing. Gone into the void.

It would be a true death. Anxiety twisted my guts, and I tried to swallow despite my newly parched throat. Yet, I spoke with assurance.

“You won’t be disappointed, my king.”

Heat trickled up my spine from where The Devil’s long black claws rested lightly on my lower back. He maneuvered us through the shadows with ease, lending me some of his power so we could pass between the crowds largely unseen. Every now and again, a set of human eyes would spot us. They would nudge a friend to point us out, but we’d already be around another corner, and lost in the throng of people.

No need for anyone to see The Devil yet.

We called the entrance a funnel for a reason. We wanted the humans to advance happily on their own, like little lambs for slaughter. There were frights, of course, but nothing so alarming as to scare them off and cause a panic.

Not yet, anyway. I grinned as we came to our first stop. The ticket booth where everyone signed their lives away before entering. The Devil remained quiet throughout most of our walk, and I couldn’t deny how each passing second of silence made my skin itch. Knowing better than to leave his mind wandering, I cleared my throat and offered my most impressive smile.

“As you can see, most of the attendees are more than eager for the festivities. During the days leading up to tonight, only our mild games were open. We have altered those slightly to set the humans at ease, the only frights being a few odd little prizes and fortunes which never should be told.”

“Keep talking.” The Devil’s command only made the wetness between my thighs increase. Absolute power radiated from him. Tension stitched my muscles together, making my movements stiff and calculated. My body, still amped up from the way he’d made me climax with hardly a touch, ached for more.

Mind consumed with what lay within the fur of his lower half, my voice came out breathy. “At night, we open the more dangerous games. The ones that push people’s limits of what they’ll encourage and participate in. It all starts here, though, at the gate. Once the contract is signed and sealed with blood, their soul is ours for the taking. Next, we begin the process of flavoring and distilling.”

The Devil nodded along, his gaze turning critical as he eyed one of the game fronts where humans popped balloons for a prize. I’d modeled it after a real carnival game, and it looked convincingly benign.

Maybetoo convincing.

I needed to do better.

Clearing my throat, I launched into an explanation of the trap doors hidden in the Ferris wheel as we rounded a series of tents. Beyond was the ticket booth, where unsuspecting people were pouring through in a steady stream. Ignorant smiles plastered on their faces, they filtered into the carnival with wide eyes. Many looked around, their expressions changing from curious, to impressed, to horrified.

Now that the last rays of sunlight faded into star dust and darkness, many of my little creatures were creeping out from the crevices and screams of shock and fear began to fill the air. Some spirits from Hell were far too twisted to control a human body—even a dead one. They weren’t fit to become ghouls, but with a few ingredients and animal parts, I could craft them something temporary. Many of them were designed after various monsters and nightmarish creatures I’d found in musty, old human libraries. The very creatures of their nightmares. They scuttled across the ground, reaching for legs and hands and whatever parts of the humans their claws could catch. One that couldn’t be more than three feet tall, with bony arms and legs, scurried from beneath the curtain of a nearby table game towards two women, who screamed as they turned and ran back to the exit.

“Will they be able to get out?” The Devil asked.

“Yes. Weaklings like that are of no use to you, my King. The flavors we’re after are far more refined. There are plenty of others with more cultivated souls. This is why I set up the Carnival this way. The contract, the demons, the games, attractions, rides, everything. Each one is a layer of tests to weed out the weak ones. My purpose here is to find the strongest souls for you. Only the strongest, most worthy souls may enter the final show at the end of the night, where they will be harvested for your stores.” Just as I finished my explanation, the frail ghoul who’d been hiding between the tents earlier skittered towards a couple.

“Holy fuck!” the woman shouted, jumping behind her massive boyfriend. The man clenched his fist. “Stay back! Iwillkick you across the carnival, you little shit.”

Strings of large white light bulbs were strung from tent to tent, allowing just enough light for the ghoul to be seen. Mottled green skin stretched thin over jagged bones, thin enough to see blue veins beneath the surface. Every movement of its mismatched limbs looked painful as it bounced from one bare foot to the other.

Rolling my eyes at his antics, I caught sight of a beautiful young woman standing off to the side, taking pictures with a chunky digital camera. She wore a skintight bodysuit made of a leather I couldn’t smell. Fake then, a mockery of the human tendency to skin and wear animals—a tendency I rather admired. The neckline plunged, giving the perfect view of her modest cleavage. Her breasts were smaller, her stomach round, hips wide, and ass large. Fear and excitement were written into the tension of her shoulders. Wetness gathered between my legs as I watched her full lips part in surprise before curling into a smile as she raised the camera to take a picture. Curse the metal contraption for blocking the view of her enticing face. At least the black ears atop her head gave me something to look at.

When the ghoul pushed closer to the burly man, he didn’t hesitate to slam the sole of his boot into the bare chest of the weaker creature. With a garbled shriek, it flew back, hitting the pavement as it bounced and rolled across the hard surface. I was thrilled at the sight, turning to the waiting mist demon nestled in my shadow.

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