Page 11 of Make Me Lie (Rich Demons of Darkwood 1)

I tried to suppress my shiver; he’d trained me to do it, but it was still fucking hard.

We both watched as a tiny rivulet of blood trailed down my arm.

"Now you try it," he said after a long moment where I was honestly afraid he was going to lick the blood off my arm. I'd seen him do it before.

He moved the knife back to the counter where he had his "tools" all set up. My heart rate slowed as his attention moved back to the main event, i.e., the man currently strapped to a medical table in the middle of the room. His gaze was flicking back and forth between The Demon and me, and there was a terrified, bleating noise coming from his throat as he continued to struggle against his bonds. I knew the struggle wouldn't last long though. The Demon would eventually inject him, and then he wouldn't be able to move at all. He'd evidently spent three years concocting some kind of venom that trapped the victim inside their body. They were conscious, completely aware of everything that was happening, and able to feel every cut against their skin, but they were unable to move.

The Demon was especially proud of that creation.

"I've been watching this guy for weeks," The Demon said gleefully as he inserted a needle into a large bottle filled with the venom. He carefully measured out just the right amount and then expertly squirted a bit of the liquid out from the top so that there would be no air bubbles. "He's had a crush on one of the girls who worked in my office. He would wait around the coffee bar in the lobby because he knew she went there every day for lunch. It was the cutest thing."

I waited for The Demon to tell me what the man’s sin was, like usual, but this time, he never said...

The Demon leaned over the sniveling man. My breakfast threatened to come up just thinking about what was about to occur. If I'd known that he had this guy down here, I never would have eaten in the first place. He'd just killed someone two weeks ago, he was going way off pattern here. I'd thought that I'd been safe. I'd thought that I'd have at least a few more months...

The man slowly went still as he was injected with the venom. His eyes moved around crazily though, the only sign of the panic and utter terror he was experiencing inside.

The Demon fiddled with some buttons on the wall, and I tried not to follow the man off the edge of sanity as Sweet Caroline started to blast through the speakers. It was his go-to song when things were going to get really messy, and I'd seen enough while listening to it that it was a guaranteed panic attack if I heard the song at any point outside of the basement. Somehow, the song seemed to belong down here, in the land of nightmares. Hearing it played anywhere else was more than I could take.

My father laughed as he picked up a mechanized chainsaw, the buzzing song interspersed with the lyrics. Suddenly he turned towards me and...

"Aurora!"

My eyes opened and I sat up, my breath coming out in gasps as I struggled to shake off the nightmare determined to hold me in its grips.

Jenna was standing over me, a concerned and wary look on her face as she stared. What I presumed was my morning coffee was clutched tightly in her hands.

I wiped my face, trying to get ahold of myself before she inevitably started asking questions. Beyond the fear of somehow being recognized, I'd been most afraid about sharing a room with someone. Nightmares were something that haunted me frequently. They'd been happening less and less since The Demon had been locked away. But yesterday's note must have triggered them.

"Sorry, just a bad dream," I said hoarsely, wincing at the sound of my voice. I must have been screaming judging by how much it freaking hurt to speak. I let out a deep breath and tried to smile and not look like a psychopath while I was doing it. Sometimes I wondered if the lessons The Demon had taught me were so ingrained that it wasn't possible to escape them, no matter how many times I changed my face.

"Quite the imagination. Remind me not to suggest any scary movies. Looks like you don't need any help in that department," she tried to joke. But I could see it in her eyes, she was thinking differently about me. Just a few days in and I was already rocking this wholebe normalthing.

Not.

"Yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of horror movies," I agreed, grabbing the coffee from her hands and stepping towards the bathroom.

After showering, I hurried to get ready. Jenna was noticeably already gone from the room, not bothering to wait for me like she had the previous mornings.

I was both relieved and upset about walking to class alone. On the one hand, it gave me a break from having to be so fucking cheerful every minute, but on the other, it felt lonely. Jenna had already given up on me. I'd already spent most of my life feeling that way, and it was an unwelcome emotion.

At least I would be surrounded by people in class, I guess.

* * *

"I've been lookingfor you everywhere!" Jenna shouted as she practically pounced on me as I was walking to grab lunch. I twirled around, shocked that she was acting so...normal. Evidently she'd recovered from this morning faster than I thought she would.

"You are never going to believe what just happened to me," Jenna squealed as she grabbed my hand and started to drag me away from the cafeteria.

"Um, where are we going?" I asked, practically having to jog to keep up with her.

"We have to get ready," she panted.

I was lost.

"What exactly do we have to get ready for?" I asked, throwing a longing look behind me at the food that was rapidly going out of reach.

"There's a party at the football house tonight, and the Sphinx is co-hosting it." You would think she'd won the lottery by the level of enthusiasm in her voice.

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