Page 54 of Sleeping Redemption
Sparing a glance at him, I added my snarky comment, “Worried he’s gonna piss on your leg again, mate? Or would you rather he humped it?”
Atlas shook his head. “I thought you did your whole illusion thing, Rook?”
I was on edge knowing I had filled that man’s head with so many thoughts of a drug-fueled orgy that he should have been in therapy for the next twenty years. The illusion I had presented him was a fabricated video of him barking while getting stuffed full of dick in a glorious display of sexual deviancy.
“I did.” My response came out defensively.
Sylas grumbled, “Maybe you’re losing your touch.”
“Careful, mate. Don’t give me a reason to show you just how powerful a trickster’s illusions can be.” My tone dropped low, bearing a light warning.
While Kinley frantically searched downstairs, Sylas perked a brow and turned to Atlas and me.
“Do you smell that?” His face twisted in disgust before something appeared to dawn on him as his eyes darkened.
The scent lingering in the air was faint; the closer I got to the stairs, the stronger it got. Before I could pinpoint it as death’s fragrance with a nauseating undertone of burnt meat, Kinley jogged up the stairs, still calling for her man-dog.
Instinct took over. She only made it halfway up the stairs before I sped past her with my enhanced speed. I blew down the hallway, the odor growing stronger the nearer I got to her room. Within seconds, I found myself inside her master bathroom.
Life as a demon had shown me some twisted and grotesque shit, but I was not prepared to see what was displayed before me.
Wolff, or what was left of him, still smoldered there in her bathtub. His body burnt to a crisp and the chain of his collar still around his throat, the outer layer of his skin had been peeledback from the rest of the bloody flesh like a severely overcooked rotisserie chicken. The air was hazy from the lingering smoke still coming off the corpse.
I was at a loss for words at that moment, but what was not lacking was my sense of anger. The body may have been a blackened mess of flesh and bones, but all I saw was red.
Kinley’s high-pitched scream behind me chased away my rage enough to allow my awareness to come snapping back to me.
“Get her out of here,” I growled as I turned to see both Atlas and Sy arriving just behind her.
She had a look of absolute horror on her pretty little face, her eyes struggling to comprehend the sight before us.
Without hesitation, Atlas wrapped his arms around Kinley’s waist and pulled her back, dragging her away from the bathroom.
Her shouts and tearful words filled the air. “Is that my Wolffy? No, don’t let it be him! It can’t be! Not my good boy!” There was a weight of intense agony in her words that twisted my heart into painful spasms.
My gaze settled on Sylas, who stood there, taking in the scene. The shifting of his eyes indicated he was tracking the movement of something unseen to me. Without bothering to look at me, he spoke up in a serious tone. “The soul is here. It’s entropic.”
Fuck. The leaping lizard demon strikes again.
We were oh-for-three, it seemed—the spunked doll, Christina number sixteen, and now Wolff.
I took a few steps toward the door and paused at the glass shower stall to my left. In a swift blur, I turned and drove my fist into the thick wall of glass. With my demon strength, my hand plowed through it like it was nothing more than a thin sheet of candied sugar.
The impact immediately caused a violent shattering of that entire section of glass. It all rained down like tiny diamonds, scattering across the floor.
I heaved out a few breaths as my hand quickly began dripping blood onto the white tile floor and glass shards. My skin was broken and shredded from the strike, but I didn’t feel a damn thing other than rage with a side of concern for our fallen angel.
“Rook.” Sy stepped up to me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. “I will take care of things here; you go help Atlas with Kin.”
Shaking my head, I ground out my words. “We need to find this motherfucker. The coward knew we weren’t here. He knew what Wolff was to her. This wanker is trying to single-handedly break her without so much as laying a hand on her.”
“We’ll find him, but right now, we need to make sure she doesn’t unravel into a homicidal train wreck.” For the first time, I heard the smallest inkling of fear in Sy’s voice.
Something else lingered under the surface that he appeared to be heavily masking, but not well enough for a master of illusions like me. Standing there, my eyes bore into his, letting him know that I knew there was more to this than he was letting on. However, now was not the time to press him for explanations.
“Go,” he urged.
Swallowing past the knot in my throat, I gave him a nod as I walked out of the bathroom to check on Kinley and Atlas.
