Page 40 of Marked By the Dark Lord
“Inside,” he growled, distinctly unhappy. His hand snatched my wrist, pulling me along in his wake.
“I hope Lily survived,” I murmured to the empty bakery as we pushed through the open back door. “She was nice to me.”
My nose wrinkled as I took my first breath of the air inside. “That’s strong.”
Korr’ok just grunted. Apparently, the scent of harsh cleaning chemicals didn’t bother him. At least it was faded enough not to make me cough or my eyes water. I could only imagine what it must’ve been like at first.
“Could the police have come and gone? Crime scene released back to Lily, maybe?” I asked. There were other scents in the air, though they were mostly overwhelmed by the cleaner. The bakery had clearly been in use. Ingredients were on the prep tables. A rack held some buns, and a quick glance showed they lacked mold. I touched one with a finger. It wasn’t warm, but it was still quite fresh.
“Someone has been in here,” Korr’ok growled. “Recently. Using this.”
I glanced at the oven against the back wall. The one where Victor had been turned into a hot-cross bun. Nervously, I reached for the handle, unsure of what I would find. But when I pulled it open, it was empty. The stench of abrasive chemicalswas stronger, however, proof that someone had cleaned up the evidence.
“Something is very wrong here,” I reiterated. Nobody would reuse an oven with a body burned in it. That had to be illegal. So, why had it been cleaned, and why was it still here?
Looking inside, I couldn’t spot any fresh residue. At least it didn’t look like Lily or whoever had been cooking in it, but still …
The outside light was fading as the sun dropped lower, forcing us to rely on the dimmer interior lighting. Only the overheads were on, providing just enough to walk by, while the prep table lights were off. I went to turn them on, but Korr’ok grabbed my hand, stopping me.
“We should go,” he said instead. “Now.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I said so,” he barked, and my chest grew warm at his command.
“Oookay,” I said. “Temperamental, controlling, doesn’t like to be questioned. Probably can’t take constructive criticism, either. Perfect, perfect. I do love me a good toxic man.”
Korr’ok stiffened. I thought he would lash out at me, but then he seemed to release. “Do you ever shut up?” he growled.
“I was taught not to speak with a full mouth,” I said. “You could feed me. That might work.”
His eyes blazed red for a moment from beneath his human disguise. “I don’t need food to fill your mouth, tiny witch.”
All the air was dragged from my lungs at his comment, leaving me frozen, unable to come up with a witty reply. Nor could I stop my brain from conjuring up various images of the outline of his cock under his pants or the bulge he’d sported in the courtroom.
I gave thanks for the darkness, knowing it would hide the absolute furnace that was my cheeks, a dead giveaway that I was thinking about his statement with more eagerness than disgust.
I should be disgusted, though. I don’t want to suck on some monster cock. Ew.
“We’re leaving,” he repeated.
He gestured at the door the same moment it opened, and Lily walked through, stopping dead at the sight of us.
“You!” she hissed in abrupt recognition of me, her eyes widening until I could see the whites.
“Lily!” I gasped. “You’re alive, thank goodness!”
I took a step toward her in relief, which just caused her to backpedal out of the doorway in terror.
Before she could turn to run, Korr’ok was there, moving like a blur until he snatched Lily’s wrist and dragged her inside, pulling the door closed behind him and blocking the exit.
“Lily,” I said, running up to her.
She backed away fearfully until her shoulders pressed against Korr’ok. That reminded her of his presence, causing her to pull away, forming a triangle between us. I skidded to a halt, not sure why she was so terrified of me—okay, maybe she had a reason to be. After all, the last time she’d seen me, I was wielding some sort of demonic light.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” I said, holding up my hands placatingly. “But, Lily, what’s going on here? What happened to your father’s body? Why doesn’t it look like the police have been here?”
Trembling in fear, Lily tried to pull away again, but Korr’ok held her firm.
