Page 59 of Hidden Sacrifice
“Your pet is a full demon now, congratulations,” she purred as I walked into the room.
“I don’t have time for you right now, Lilith. What do you want?” I knew she would be here, waiting to pounce on me for more information. Lilith was always so greedy. Honestly, she was all my sins wrapped up into one dangerous, destructive alluring package. When I created her, I had such high hopes, and all she has done is disappoint me.
“I want what I have always wanted,” she said sharply, sitting up to stare at me as if I knew what she was referring to.
“I’m not in the mood for sex, Lilith.” I started to unbutton my shirt, feeling suffocated by the collar.
“I want children,” Lilith groaned as she got off the bed, making her way over to me with a seductive strut.
“Go try someone else,” I said harshly as I grabbed her hand before she could run it across my chest.
“I can’t have children because of the curse,” she bit back.
“I’m not having this conversation again, Lilith. I tried to find a way around your curse. A curse you brought on yourself by attempting to have children with Adam. It was his seed that poisoned your womb.” I released her hand, pushing it back towards her. “And don’t think I don’t know about all the lies you have told the other demons about why you are barren.”
Lilith crossed her arms over her chest as she huffed. “I don’t tell lies, Luci. Everyone knows how you used my situation to make me into another experiment for creating demons. And when those creatures failed to meet the expectations of your vision, you abandoned them and me.”
My hand shot out to wrap around her throat as I spun her into the wall hard enough to cause the stone to crack. “I have had enough of the way you twist your words. You begged me to help you make childrenof your own bloodLilith. You begged and pleaded, and I gave you exactly what you asked for. You only gave up once you realized you had passed on your curse to those poor creatures. And even then, I took them in and found a purpose for those you would so quickly discard. You don’t want children, Lilith; you want a legacy.”
Her eyes were wide with fear. Good. She had grown far too bold in her position over the years, and before, it hadn’t bothered me. I knew I could rip the soul right from her chest at any moment. Now, I had bigger things on my mind than her incessant rants.
“Leave my bedroom and forget the way,” I growled, looking her right in the eyes so the command would be set. “Now get the fuck out of here,” I said, releasing her.
Her hand came up to rub her neck, still purple from my touch. The marks quickly faded away after only a moment. I wished she could wear them forever as a reminder that I do not exist to satisfy her drama.
She left with a glare shot directly at me before finally I was allowed some peace. I headed straight for my adjoining office, taking a seat comfortably on what I referred to lovingly as my actual throne.
My desk was exquisitely carved, with a long wooden panel in the front depicting the prophecy of the apocalypse: my divine purpose and the end of my life.
Hell unlocked my side drawer as it recognized my power, allowing me to pull out my journal. It looked like a small but weathered book wrapped in leather. But once you opened it, the pages seemed never-ending. I opened to the bookmarked page, the one I came back to time after time.
The Apocalypse
It begins with four creatures. Ravaging the remains of the human realm with swords, plagues, famine, and through the employment of beasts. The carnage will spread across the realms until the monsters of the deep come forth to claim the land as their own.
Only then, can the governing rules be changed. Past mistakes and hindrances will no longer plague souls.
I re-read the same line again. “Past mistakes and hindrances will no longer plague souls.” That was the only way I would get to be with my daughter again. Once the plague of her soul was finally stripped away, she would be whole again.
“We are getting closer, Nimue,” I whispered, turning the journal over to the last pages so I could write down the little information I gathered today.
CHAPTER20
JACE
We would stay at the palace for a few more days before heading back to the hunting cabin. I wasn’t sure if it was usually like this, but demons seemed to move around a lot, considering how short travel time is. I didn’t understand why we didn’t just stay in the palace since it had so much more space. The portal wasn’t even that far from here if we needed to get off the realm. Everyone relaxed more when we had the room to get away from each other.
“Darling?” I asked, knocking on her door.
“You can always come in, Jace,”she responded lightly in my head. I could almost hear the slight smile on her face as she no doubt was halfway rolling her eyes at the door. Joyfully awaiting me to open it while my heart felt like it carried around lead bricks. The way she had recoiled from me when she first awoke as a demon still scratched and dug into me.
I went inside, making sure to close the door behind me, hoping that I could have a few moments alone with her before one of the others came to steal my time. In truth, the sharing didn’t bother me as much as I feared it would, but working so hard to get moments alone with her was slowly killing me.
“What’s going on, Jace?” she asked. She was perched up in the middle of her large bed cave area. Blankets pooled around her in a circle, and several of the pillows had seemingly gotten sucked into the fray.
“Just the god that wore my face,” I sighed, taking a seat on the bed with her. Her black inked runes drew my attention. I needed to get used to them.
“Oh, Jace, I’m fine now. I’m sorry I made you worry about my reaction. I think I honestly would have been fine if I had seen you a few minutes after I woke up. It went from AJ’s eyes to yours, and I had just traveled across universes. Call it jetlag, and move forward with me.” She smiled encouragingly, and I admit I felt much more at ease now.
