Page 131 of The Demon's Pet

He just grinned, cocking his head at me. “Cute. But you don’t know how to fight a fae. Shift, Cleo, so I can bind you.”

“No,” I said. “I refuse. Let me go. Whatever I am, it won’t be your business once I leave.”

“You’re too rare, Cleo,” Zadis said. “I must have you in my collection. Besides, I would be a poor warrior if I released you to deceive anyone else. I’m fond of you. Bonded to you. After this, you’ll always be where I can find you.”

“You psychopath,” I growled. “My friends will never allow this.”

“They can’t do anything about it,” he said, touching a red stone on one of his rings. “Blood ruby, the stone of blood-binding. After I do this, no one will be able to release my hold on you but me. Unless I die, you’ll be trapped forever.” He looked around at the other creatures. “And that’s the plan.”

“I told you, my friends won’t stand for it. And when they see this creepy place—”

“Everyone here knows I’m simply protecting my community. These things trespassed in our woods. Or I found them while hunting gems. Either way, they are mine, and I have blood-bound them, thanks to the rubies from that void walker. And I will find more.” He smiled. “It’s my duty and privilege as a fae warrior. Nothing but a celestial can challenge us at all.”

“And you think it’s okay? Keeping them prisoner?”

“They’re all tainted by demonic influence, like you,” he said. “If I claim dominion over them, it doesn’t matter. At least I’m not letting them be killed. I couldn’t blood-bind that void walker, so I made sure to trick him into killing that family by forcing him to make a portal so the celestials could come deal with him instead.”

“You suck,” I said, walking out to face him. “A lot.”

He smiled at me. “And you deceived me, so I suppose we are even.” He pointed his finger with the red stone on it toward me, and tendrils of red smoke shot out of it.

I gasped and tried to stumble back, but the tendrils were winding around my arms, my hands, my legs. I looked up to see Zadis engulfed in a cloud of red mist hovering around him. Was that blood?

I screamed, knowing no one could even hear me, and felt the tendrils work their way into my skin. As they did, I lost control of my muscles. I couldn’t move anymore as the tendrils sank into my skin and disappeared, locking me in place like they were controlling me from the inside out.

I looked up at him in terror.

“Don’t worry about food,” he said. “Once a day, I come down to feed everyone. Give them a short respite from immobility.” He smiled gently at me. “I’ll look forward to seeing you then.”

I could still move my eyes, and my mouth, though stiff, could speak, even as I felt my lips pulling closed. “Sam will—”

Zadis whirled to face me. “No, he won’t. Even if your friends wanted to, they couldn’t do anything about this. Even if they found you. Because in order to free you, they would have to kill me. And no celestial is going to kill a fae prince.” He laughed. “Such an issue would go all the way to the ninth realm. We are allies. If an angel killed a fae prince for a demon… let’s just say even that reckless waste of space celestial with black wings wouldn’t be immune to the consequences.”

Zadis walked over to the stairs and started to jog up them. “See you tomorrow, Cleo,” he called back. “And every day after that.”

I could hear the grin in his voice. That psycho.

Was he right? Was this the end for me?

As he disappeared upstairs, the light went out, leaving me in darkness, utterly still. I hadn’t ever been so afraid. I didn’t want to die here, yet living in this situation seemed almost worse.

I could only pray my friends would find me.

It was clear Zadis had only wanted me when he thought I was something other than a demon.

Sam and all the others had been right. The second Zadis found out about what I was, it was all over.

And I’d been stupid enough to think I had somewhere to run for help.

30

Almost as soon as Zadis disappeared, leaving me in darkness and closing some sort of trap door to hide the stairs, I heard a loud thud shake the ground somewhere above me, sending dirt falling onto my head.

Then I heard a hugeboomof an explosion, as if something made of cement were instantly blasted apart.

Then I heard a voice that was unmistakable.

“Where is she?” Sam growled out in a yell. I heard another smaller explosion, and then the trap door must have been opened because light streamed in, hurting my eyes against the pitch black.

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