Page 130 of Guarded
“If by ‘raised me’ you mean dragged me from childhood kicking and screaming, then sure, you raised me.”
The blow was swift and hard, sending several of my teeth flying. It wasn’t like I could’ve blocked it with my arms strapped to the table like this, but I hadn’t been able to brace myself either.
I turned my head to the side to spit blood out. My teeth were already regrowing. Not that it mattered.
He’d likely knock the new ones out too.
“You should be grateful, boy,” he hissed. His pleasant facade was gone now. Lucifer was done pretending. I’d never understood why he bothered at all. “Abandoned by your parents and family. If I hadn’t taken you in, who knows what would’ve become of you.”
“I was handed into your care. Don’t sugarcoat the facts, Lucifer. No demon is born free.”
“No,” he conceded. “But at least most of them aren’t stupid enough to think they can trick or manipulate their way out of here. We’re all trapped down here, Jeremiah. None of us can change that.”
“Your sons did.”
“My sons,” he hissed in disgust. “My biggest disappointments. But at least they didn’t rely on anyone other than themselves to protect them.”
It hit me then, what I was forgetting. The part of the deal Lucifer was alluding to.
“Not only will our mates not harm you, but they will put out an order that you’re under their direct protection.”
With Nox, that protection hadn’t kicked in until his immortality had been under threat. Given how the wolf shifters had ambushed me earlier, I was going to assume there was a lot that Lucifer could do to me before it’d be enacted.
The good news keeps rolling in.
“There won’t be any permanent death for you.” He leered into my face. “You’ll just wish for it instead.”
He picked up a roller covered in thick, sharp spikes. It was a device we reserved for supes. It was coated in a venom that stifled our healing abilities. So, not only did it painfully and slowly tear your flesh apart, it made it so that it took forever for it to knit back together too.
I turned my head to look at the other items he’d assembled for today’s session. None of it was a surprise. The bubbling tar to pour over my skin before he ripped it off. The tweezers to pluck out my feathers one at a time. The syringe filled with a powerful mix of Adamanthea and vampire venom. Not enough to execute me, but enough to induce powerful and terrifying hallucinations.
I’d both used and experienced all of them before. Either when punishing or being punished. But I’d never used or experienced more than one of these techniques during a session before. It was considered a cruelty beyond what we were supposed to deliver.
I should’ve known that rule wouldn’t apply to Lucifer. I’d betrayed him using his own children. Thanks to the deal we’d made, his torture roster would be almost empty. We’d left a massive gap in his infrastructure that he would’ve struggled to fill.
See? Even in Hell it all boiled down to what was and wasn’t convenient for the big boss. Lucifer rarely dirtied his hands himself, letting his minions do it for him.
Really, I should’ve been flattered that he’d deemed me worthy of his attention.
Lucifer began to whistle a cheery tune. Another classic technique. He wouldn’t start immediately, letting the tension build until I was going crazy with it. Until I was begging and pleading, offering him whatever I could to escape what was coming.
Well, fuck that. Lucifer might get to do what he wanted, but he couldn’t touch my heart and soul. They already belonged to Noah.
Noah.
Tears pricked at my eyes as sorrow washed over me. He’d said he’d come for me, but fuck, I hoped he didn’t. There was no way they’d get me out of here. I was nine circles deep and being guarded by Lucifer himself.
The Seraphim wouldn’t risk themselves by challenging Satan directly. Gloria was already gunning for them. This would give her an excuse to strip them of their rank. Micah wouldn’t risk it.
And I wouldn’t want them to.
It’s going to be okay,I told myself.Micah and the others will talk sense into Noah. They won’t let him do anything stupid.
It was the only thing giving me any comfort. That, and knowing we weren’t bonded. I might know what was coming, but I didn’t want Noah to experience it. He’d haveno idea what I was feeling or going through. It was unlikely that he even knew where I was.
Maybe he thinks you’ve run away again.
Fuck, that was a depressing thought. But maybe it’d be better if he thought I’d betrayed him. Noah hating me would be better than him coming down here to try and save me.
