Page 5 of Mastering Mayhem

Ash’s eyes glistened. “Because you almost died.”

“I can tell.” I tried to sit up, but my muscles screamed. The sigil on my arm felt raw…like someone had attempted to rip the magical ink from my skin. “Mayhem?”

Ash gestured with her head, and I followed her gaze to find my demon lying on the floor, unconscious. “What…?”

“He was almost sucked into the Underworld.” Shade rose to his feet, wincing and clutching his stomach. “We almost lost you both.”

“Is he okay?” I pushed to sitting, and the world turned on its side. My stomach lurched. My head pounded. My breakfast made a reappearance on the floor.

All I’d eaten was a protein bar, thankfully, but the bitter taste of stomach acid made me heave again.

“Here.” Ash handed me a bottle of water.

I swished and spit before taking three huge gulps. Big mistake. It felt like forcing avocado pits through a cocktail straw. “What happened? Why do I hurt so much?”

Ash wiped the corner of my mouth with a cloth. “George… His real name is Donal. He sucked out your life force and was trying to feed it to his father.”

“Huh?” My lids fluttered, my foggy brain unable to process her words. “His father?”

“Donal is a Formorian. A son of Balor.” Shade toed Mayhem with his boot, and my demon rolled onto his back, his chest rising and falling with his slow, steady breaths.

He would be okay. That much I could comprehend, but my face must’ve been contorted in confusion because Ash patted my knee, her eyes holding so much sympathy, I nearly choked.

“The fae eradicated the species eons ago,” she said, “but somehow Donal escaped and brought Balor with him to our realm.”

I sighed, closing my eyes and leaning against the wall. “And he opened a store?” Sure, the fog in my brain was jumbling my thoughts, but I couldn’t have made sense of her words if I were operating at full capacity. “Why would he open a store?”

“Look. He’s been feeding off his customers.” She shook my shoulder, so I opened my eyes and followed her gesture to the adjacent wall. At least a dozen mummified bodies lined the space, their emaciated arms chained above their heads.

Holy Hecate.I wanted to feel bad for the people. I really did, but the pain in my muscles and the haze in my brain made it impossible to think about anything else.

Mayhem groaned and rolled to his side, facing us. His demon form, in all its glorious nakedness, didn’t stir a single hormone inside me. I didn’t even check out his junk.

His lids flew open, his eyes locking on me, his body moving half a second later.

“Ember!” He shot to his feet—erm, hooves—and clomped toward me before dropping to his knees and pulling me into his arms. “Thank Lucifer, you’re alive.”

My skin felt like road rash, his hands like sandpaper against it. “Ow.”

“What’s wrong?” He held my shoulders, pushing me back so he could look into my eyes. “What hurts?”

“Everything.” My laugh turned into a sob.Every-friggin-thing.

He snapped his head toward Ash. “Did you return all of her light?”

She took the empty jar from her bag and held it toward him. “All of it.”

A growl rumbled in his chest, and his grip tightened on my arms.

“Ow,” I said again.

“I’m sorry.” He released me, letting me slump against the wall before turning to Ash. “That wasn’t all of it. Balor…”

“Crappity crap. You’re right.” Ash stood and slung her bag over her shoulder. “Donal had already given some of her life force to Balor when you vanquished him. Come on.” She grabbed my arm, attempting to haul me to my feet, but my legs were too weak to hold me.

Mayhem scooped me into a cradle carry, my skin, my muscles, my joints protesting as he rose to his hooves. I didn’t dare complain. If this Balor dude had a piece of me, I would wrench it from his clutches and rip his head from his body.

Just as soon as my own body recovered from whatever the hell happened to me.

---