Page 151 of An Unexpected Ascension
A sudden warmth bleeds into my arms with his burning palms. It travels upward and through my body in an unpleasant rush. My eyes widen.
“If I go, the beast will have to come with me, and I cannot hold off the Gods and get Lynx to safety with enough time to recover.”
I shake my head in disbelief. “I can’t—I don’t even...” I trip over my own thoughts. “I'll come with you then. I’ll distract the Gods, and you can go to him. Besides, I have less to lose.”
“Briar.” He pulls me closer, his other hand firmly planted on the side of my face. “You have as much to lose as I do. Besides, I’m sure he’d rather see your face than mine right now. It’s much prettier.”
“Hardly.” I snort, but the humor is short lived.
With soft, gentle hands, Lucifer cradles my head and shuts his eyes. Images of a cold, dank dungeon flutter through my mind; chains rattling, screams echoing. Then, I see him. I see Lynx curled up, blanketed by his own blood.
It’s as if the visions between us grow stronger, showing us things that neither of us has ever seen before. As if the universe is out to set things right between worlds and we’re merely the tools to fix it all.
“Bring him to Heaven, Briar. It’s the last place they’ll look.”
By the time I open my eyes again, I’m gone.
Chapter 51
The Demon
Each bite of the whip against my lacerated back burns like a torch pressed to my flesh. It slips and splashes with blood at each snap. My body has given up many times over, yet I’m still here, still enduring this torture.
The only reprieve I’ve been granted is in the form of lowered shackles, but the damage to my shoulders is already done. Now, I press myself into the stone wall, curled on my haunches and trying to protect my head as the unrelenting leather splits my skin wherever it lands.
I don’t even hear my own screams anymore. Not as they tear from my mouth and die on the stones before me never reaching the ears of my tormentor.
At the very least, the youngest of Achaz’s sons, Silas, would rather make me bleed than rape every hole I have.
For that, I guess I am grateful.
With each lashing, Silas spews on about how a demon deserves his punishment. How he’s merely carrying on with my atonement for all the sins I’ve committed. As if what he and his brother aredoing is only to bring justice to the fallen when it’stheiracts that belong in the dungeon of Lucifer’s manor.
I’ve taken lives like I was the decider of fate. I’ve lied, I’ve tricked, I’ve stolen. I have hated with every ounce of my heart, but what I have never done was debase someone so thoroughly that they begged for something beyond death.
What these Gods are doing here is deplorable.
That’s what I tell myself as I take every bit of their affliction.
“Ask for one more, Demon.” Silas growls, breath heavy. “Ask for one more lashing and it can be your last.”
My lips quiver, slippery with spit and snot. Each shuddering breath of pain draws strings of saliva from my mouth to the concrete floor. I heave, the fire along the flesh of my back is unbearable.
“No? Still too arrogant? Pride is a sin, you know?” I can feel the shift in the air around us as he raises his arm for another go.
“W-wa-wait,” I urge between a sob, the fight to hold back no longer existent. “I’ll take one more.”
He chuckles. “Have you lost your manners?”
My fingers curl into fists. “Please.”
And with that word comes six more lashings.
By the time Silas leaves me, I’m cradling my knees to my chest while lying on my side. Blood pools beneath me, keeping me warm as shivers wrack my body. Death’s icy talons scrape along my insides, taunting me with what I will never know again – peace.
Chapter 52
The Angel
