Page 114 of Bad Demon

My mate grabbed for the monster who had tried to break me over and over, and as soon as Relic’s skin made contact, it started to bubble and burn from the power of The Chemist’s sigils. Relic hissed, but he didn’t let go—no, his eyes met mine. Asking what I wanted him to do. I could let Relic kill him—he wanted to. It would be so easy for him to crush my torturer, but when I looked at my friend, so badly hurt, and thought about what he’d done to Phoebe and gods knew how many others, my hatred manifested inside me, pushing outward.

I lifted my arms, and as I did, my rage and hatred radiated from me, dense and vibrant, forming a kind of shield, sparking from my skin like a live wire. I walked toward them, relishing the look of horror on The Chemist’s face. He hated touch, germs, and contact of any kind. Relic holding him was making him freak out already, but I kept coming as Agatheena’s words filled my head.

“Then, when you find him, child, you make him feel the pain you suffered. You make him feel every moment of it.”

The force field around me sparked brighter as image after image of the things he’d done to me filled my head. I fed my magic with that pain until fire ignited, dancing over my palms, just like my mom had done the night I was taken. It didn’t stop there, though; it engulfed me, the hot wind whipping around me.

I kept walking, closing the space between us, and wrapped my arms around The Chemist’s struggling body as tight as I could.

Relic stayed right there, not letting him get away as I poured all that savage fury inside me into my tormentor, my torturer, my abuser. He screamed, and I lifted my head, looking into his eyes as his scarred face bubbled and burned.

“You deserve this. You deserve to die screaming,” I said, my voice shaking with the force of my power and the fury in my heart.

His face melted away, and he went limp in my arms. My power burned higher, and I screamed, releasing all the pain and fear inside me as the rest of his body melted away.

Then, there were massive arms wrapped around me while the fire raged.

Relic. Oh gods.

I cried out, trying to pull away, terrified I’d hurt him, but he just held me tighter.

“You did it, baby. He’s gone. Let it go. Let it all go.”

The power inside me—the magic—slowly subsided, and the fire died down. Shaking, I frantically searched him for burns, but the welts from The Chemist had already healed, and the fire hadn’t touched him.

“You’re okay … you’re okay.”

He flashed his teeth. “Hellfire can’t touch me, sweetness.”

“Hellfire?”

He nodded and pulled me in against him.

Witch and demon, I was both, and my powers had manifested in a way that included my demon blood.

I took in the room around us. The three other hounds crowding it. Jagger was holding Sutton in his arms, and he was licking my unconscious friend’s wounds, growling under his breath, trying to heal her, while Dirk and Roman closed in on the corner where Ghoul had dragged Grady.

“No, don’t go near him,” I cried out.

Grady’s body was tossed from the corner, leaving a smear of blood and gore on the concrete floor. Rome was now within striking distance. Chains rattled, but Rome didn’t attack—no, he cursed in surprise, then reached down, helping the demon, pulling him from the shadows, and holding him up. I stared over at him—at the threat that had been held over me most of my life, Ghoul, the evilthingwho had drunk my blood while The Chemist watched, eyes glittering with glee.

The demon looked different now that he’d drained Grady. He was still thin, but his inked skin clung to flesh and muscle; he was no longer just skin and bone.

Ghoul’s gaze slid to me and locked on, and I stumbled back a step.

Relic caught me, but he was looking at the demon. “Lukan?”

“You know him?” I choked.

“He’s one of Lucifer’s lords,” Rome said. “He’s been missing for a really long fucking time.” He turned back to my nightmare. “Brother, Lucifer’s been looking for you for decades.”

Hand trembling, Lukan shoved his long, tangled hair back from his face, before his eyes met mine, a vibrant yellow-green. “I-I’m so sorry,” he rasped, “that I h-hurt you. When he brought you to me, I was blinded by hunger. I would never have … your mother and me … I loved her.”

I knew who he was instantly. The bony, hissing, starved creature that The Chemist had kept chained, taking him wherever he went, was my father.

“I don’t understand.”

He straightened, looking a little stronger now. “Erwin trapped me with a hex knot a long time ago, and he’s kept me imprisoned since before you were born.”

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