Page 38 of A Match Made in Hell
His yellow eyes glow red, as though, like Sath, he holds a part of Tartarus within himself.
Unlike Sath, though, he has no desire to keep it under control.
His tail whips back and forth. Harper and her friends hold hands, cowering away from its movements. If they wanted to return the favour and come to my rescue, now would be the time,because I regret both my life and death choices right now.
I should have kept my nose out.
Aric springs into the air. I dodge him, barely, and the spectators, such as they are, gasp and scream. His claws tear through my shirt; scattered pieces of yellow fabric drift to the floor around me. I bare my teeth. Aric swipes at me, catching my chin this time, the pain a sharp sting along my jaw. I brandish the pool cue, trying to act threatening. I’m not sure what my plan is here. Aric is all muscle and I’m, well . . . I’m five foot five and have never set foot in a gym.
He lunges again. This time, I’m ready for him, sidestepping the attack and ramming the cue towards his stomach. He moves so fast I think he impaleshimself; the cue punctures flesh with such force I can’t take any of the credit. He doesn’t stop coming though, allowing the cue to go deeper while leaning towards me. Blood leaks out the side of his wound, coating my hands.
I gag, trying to pull away, but instead he drags me closer, arms locking around mine, and I can’t escape, can’t get away from his hot, putrid breath as his face draws near. My arms tremble.
He burrows his nose in my hair and all but moans, ‘You smell . . .divine.’
Ugh. Fuck this creep. I twist the cue with all my might, and eventually I must hit something that hurts because he whimpers, spasms, and drops to the floor. He rolls from side to side – acting like a bit of a baby, honestly, I’d have thought a demon would have a higher pain threshold given how much they enjoy dealing it out – while his hands grapple to pull out the cue.
Standing over his writhing form, staring into eyes which burn with hate, hate forme, hate for what I’ve done, I can’t deny the small thrill I get from having this much power over him. I’ve never had power over anything before.
And with that power, I can stop him hurting anyone in thisroom.
I march over to the wall and retrieve another pool cue hanging from a rack. I stare at Aric again, cue poised to strike. The humans whimper, but they don’t speak. Don’t try and stop me. They want this too.
Maybe we really are all bad people.
I ram the cue into Aric’s eye. His legs jerk out, like I’ve jolted his nervous system with electricity. His arms flail around. He’s desperate to get up. I can sense how badly he wants to hurt me; every snarl is a promise of retribution.
He can’t do a thing. Not now, not when he’s at my mercy.
Finally, he goes still, and I exhale a shaky breath. A smile threatens to bloom on my face as a jolt of victory shoots through me. IsavedHarper and her friends. I did something good, for once.
The next thing I know, I’m engulfed in bubblegum and fluff as Harper throws her arms around me. ‘You saved us.’
A tentative smile spreads on my lips. I pat her on the back, awkward at first because she’s unfamiliar in my arms, softer than Sasha and smaller than Noah, but soon my body relaxes, relishing in the first human contact I’ve had in weeks. It feels a little like peace.
And then she pulls away, lashes stained with tears, and anything resembling gratitude on her face fades into worry as she looks at Aric’s prone form.
Oh shit.
Only the flames of Tartarus can truly destroy a demon.
What have I done?
All the adrenaline in my veins drains away, leaving me shivering in its absence. Panic gnaws at me, chipping at my victory until it seems like more of a loss.
Tantrums will get you nowhere, Willow.
This is exactly the kind of situation a calm, responsibleperson would not be getting themselves into. I toss the cue on the floor as though it’s a red-hot poker. Sath might not pardon me for this.
Maybe Aric won’t remember what happened. There’s a pool cue in his eye, that’s got to leave some lasting damage. His brain will be so scrambled he won’t ever be able to accuse me. No one will find out I screwed up yet again.
A girl can dream.
‘We have to leave,’ I tell the others. ‘Don’t tell anyone you saw me here. Don’t tell anyoneyouwere here.’
They nod. Like they’d dare do anything else. Harper’s friends are staring at me like I’m a demon myself. Maybe I am.
But then a voice sounds from the doorway, and any hope of covering this up drains away.
