Page 19 of Dark Rapture
In the next instance, he appears human again. That addictive wave of calm clarity washes over me, stabilizing me.
He’s hiding his true form, protecting my mind. The thought enters like he placed it there himself, kind of like dropping a stone into the calm surface of my psyche.
Every time fear takes hold, the image of the man before me breaks, giving me glimpses of the true demon that stands behind the veil. He meant it when he said he wouldn’t harm me, he proves it every time I panic and he enables me to become calm and clear.
One more steadying breath, and I shake my head in response to his earlier question. He nods his assent. “My true name holds great power, and should be spoken with purpose.” I don’t question him, my most recent research into demonology mentioned that we should only utter a demon’s name if we intend to summon it, or worship it.
“What do you want with me?” I ask next, forcing my mind to focus on his striking blue eyes. As much as I want the truth, I also don’t want to have a conversation with an eldritch horror. I want to help him hold this reality, I want to believe that his warm skin is real where it touches mine.
The demon watches me closely for a moment, before his hand drops from my throat. His fingers brush along the soft contours of my jaw before lifting to slip into my hair.
I sigh softly as I gaze up into his ethereal eyes, suddenly unable to resist his magnetic pull. With his fingers gripping tight at the base of my head, he pulls my mouth to his.
I gasp in surprise as his lips press into mine, his pillow soft mouth capturing my own in a feverish kiss. I melt into him, desperate for comfort from the very entity that has nearly destroyed my sanity not that long ago.
His dark energy pulses around us, and I am lost to his expert mouth. His kiss is so enthralling that for a minute, I forget I am standing in an empty church with a demon who has taken human form. I moan softly as his tongue slips past the boundary of my lips, coaxing mine to move.
His left arm winds around my waist, pulling me tight against his warm body, and I find myself desperate for more. My hands roam his brawny torso, my fingertips following all the dips and curves of muscle.
My body responds to him against my better judgment, intense arousal flooding in and leaving me with a needy throb between my thighs. The demon groans, as though my body’s response pleases him.
Our lips part as he pulls away from me and takes a step back, gazing down at me with lust evident in his sinfully beautiful face. “I want you to let me inside of you, little witch.”
A frown wrinkles my forehead as my eyes narrow, his words snapping me out of whatever spell he put me under with his kiss. “What?”
He doesn’t answer my question, and I get the sense that the sudden change of subject is meant to distract me from the panic bubbling up from the pit of my stomach.
For a single second, a massive shadow flickers into existence in his place. I don’t have enough time to understand what I saw before another wave of calm descends on me.
“Once upon a time, many centuries ago, I wandered the Earth in this body,” he begins, stopping briefly to glance back over his shoulder.
I follow his line of sight, gasping when I see a hundred shadowy figures flicker into existence, scattered around the church in clusters. They watch us in silence, and the shock of seeing what I assume are demons standing here on hallowed ground has my mouth parting in horror.
A strange, unintelligible whispering that sounds like all of them speaking at once can be heard for several disorienting seconds, before the demon sends the entities away with a flick of his wrist.
As though nothing happened, he continues speaking. I focus back on him, trying to pretend like a hundred demons didn’t just pay us a God damned visit.
“The humans called me Daemon,” he explains.Day-mon, not demon, as I had been referring to him in my head. “This name is safe to speak.”
Daemon.
“Yes,” he confirms, as though he can hear me speak the given name in my mind. I shake my head, not willing to let him keep changing the subject when I have one very important question I need an answer to.
“Why would I let you in? If you exist, that means the Devil exists. That also means God exists.” I tell him, and the name of God causes his face to contort in disgust. “Tell me. Why would I let you in, and damn myself to Hell?”
He smiles, then. Something so unsettling, I recoil. “God is dead.”
What?
“God is dead,” he repeats firmly, once again acting as though he can read my internal dialogue. “The only heaven you will find is the one that I can give to you.”
I shake my head, so confused it makes my head ache.How can God be dead?
“I will give you everything you desire, Selene,” he promises, leaning forward to invade my space. My head falls back just enough to drown in the light of his softly glowing, blue eyes. Adoration fills me once again, and I suddenly feel the intense urge to drop to my knees and worship the man speaking such puzzling words to me.
Son of a bitch.He’s manipulating my emotions. The longer I remain calm, the more clarity I’m awarded. There is no reason for me to adore the demon in front of me, so the feeling is not coming from me. These out of place feelings are coming from him.
“A life of pleasure and decadence, of power and wealth beyond imagination. I will awaken your magic and give you all the knowledge you need to bring this world down to its knees.”
