Page 38 of Demon's Prey
When they reached the lobby, he guided her to the back door. Faith didn’t even know that he knew where the back door was. Her journalistic instincts kicked in as he opened the door, revealing a black van that looked way too familiar.
Before she could scream, the demon pretending to be Kurse wrapped his claw around her mouth. It encompassed her head entirely and tightened at her jaw. Faith tried to bellow, but her voice was literally being squeezed out of her.
“That’s enough!”
A voice broke out from the impending darkness. The fake Kurse let go of her, and she fell, almost fainting into a stranger's arms. Faith blinked, and noticed that the man had bright white hair. She looked around and saw four other men, all wearing navy blue, with a small flame insignia adorning their sweaters.
All in one moment, Faith realized what was happening. She was being taken away by Gideon’s Torch, and they had somehow managed to acquire a demon that looked an awful lot like Kurse.
The man holding her was laughing and squeezed her cheeks together.
His voice was harsh, and he spat as he spoke. “I didn’t know chicks got so wet for demons these days!”
The rest of the men joined him in rollicking laughter as they bound her by her legs and wrists. They wrapped a cloth tight around her mouth and threw her into the back of the van.
The fake Kurse sat with her. As they bounced through the streets, Faith implored him for answers.
“Who the fuck are you? And why do you look so much like Kurse?” She managed to say through the fabric.
The demon grinned, tapping the collar that wrapped around his thick neck.
“I’m a doppelgänger sweetie. Gideon’s Torch paid me a pretty penny to look like your demon boy. He even…”
A sharp zapping sound froze the doppelgänger in place. He let out a small grunt, then squeezed his eyes shut in pain.
A voice from the front seat beckoned at him.
“Z, shut the fuck up. We don’t need to be telling her anything! Got that fucker?”
The doppelgänger nodded, then peered down between his legs. Faith was astonished by how quickly and easily he followed the orders. He had morphed from cocky to ashamed within an instant.
Faith could hear seagulls as they arrived at their destination. She knew where they were—by the ocean, at a bay somewhere. The van doors flew open, and the two men grabbed her, one by the head and the other by the ankles. She did what she could to scream, but they shoved a damp sock into her mouth to keep her quiet.
The doppelgänger remained in the van, appearing forlorn. Faith vowed that if she survived, she was going to find him and free him from enslavement.
Faith was tossed onto a boat and driven out to sea. Wherever they are is isolated and isn’t really a bay at all. They were simply parked near an abandoned warehouse where very few visited.
After a few minutes of jetting out into the ocean, a giant yacht engulfed her vision. Three of the men took her as she tried to only give them dead weight, but she realized that they were too strong. Eventually, she gave into walking up the stairs to the main deck of the luxurious boat.
A man with black hair slicked back, wearing a purple velvet robe, turned to her, greeting with the dirtiest of grins. Faith realized that the man was John Savage.
“Well, well, isn’t it the master of my demise, Faith Rogers.”
The men forced her down onto a deck chair in front of Savage, who was standing and looking off into the water. He seemed to speak half to her, half to no one.
“You're very good, Miss Rogers, very good indeed. You’ve managed to get as close as I am willing to allow anyone to get. It was all a fun ride, but I’m afraid that's over now.”
Faith tried to scream through her fabric after spitting out the sock. She enunciated some words she hoped Savage was able to interpret.
“You…son…of a bitch!”
Savage threw his head back and laughed. He was an older man, but he was a man of great wealth, using his position as senator to bend anyone to his will.
Faith hated him, hated him deeply. And she hated how stupid she had been when it came to just following the fake Kurse.
“Fortunately for us, you seem to have an affinity with demons. We’ve been watching you, Faith. He’s really something, isn’t he?” Savage bent over her, his hot breath blowing into her eyes. “But you both seemed to get to know each other pretty well the other night…”
Faith lifted both her wrists and tried to smack him in the face. All she managed was a light whip, moving her fingernails over his cheek with a sad stroke. Savage stood back up, laughing some more, then motioned at the men behind her.
