Page 5 of The Monster's Desire

My chest heaves as I sidestep a lust demon just before he can dose me with his venom. I spin, slamming my foot into his back, and his silvery-pink magic spews into a gluttony demon instead.

I don’t get a moment to revel in that success as several lesser demons swarm attack. They’re disturbing little creatures without a free thought between them. Lesser demons are basically animalistic in nature. They pledge to a higher demon and do their bidding, lest they be slaughtered and recycled into the pit.

I grab a small purple and black demon that looks like an alligator. My claws dig into his scaly shoulders as I spin, tossing him into several other crawling creatures.

“I wish Malice would sayenough is enoughand get his lazy ass down here,” Knight says, breaking the neck of a basilisk. The crunch is gruesome, even from several feet away. His boot lands firmly in the face of an envy demon as he stares at Malice, giving him a look that indicates he’d like our brethren to get the fuck up and help us end this.

In my distraction, I allow a claw to rake across my cheek. A low, menacing growl escapes as I spin, shivering my hand through the wrath demon’s thick armor plate that lines his chest. My hand clutches at his still-beating heart as I remove it from its cavity. He’s immortal, but that’s going to take quite some time to regenerate.

Malice’s smoky tendrils dance around the arena, and I finally let out a breath of pure relief.

“Oh, look. You finally decided to join the party.” I spin, slamming my fist into the head of a lesser demon.

“Motherfucking finally,” Knight says from somewhere behind me.

My cluster is essentially unstoppable when we’re together. But I have no doubt tonight is going to get worse before it gets better.

ChapterThree

Nadia

Ialways know shit is going to hit the fan when my nan gets weird.

Seers are unique because they don’t live on one plane of existence in one fixed time.

It makes me feel guilty to admit, but I’m grateful I didn’t inherit her gifts.

Being a witch with my type of magic is controversial enough.

Constantly reliving moments in time, especially ones that may or may not end up existing in our reality, doesn’t interest me in the least. She doesn’t talk about it often, but she has said enough that I know it must be overwhelming to remember so many possible futures and outcomes.

It makes my brain hurt when I think about it too much. She can actually recall events and memories of things that never came to fruition.

It’s freaking wild.

I edge my way down the alleyway toward the back parking lot of The Monster’s Den. She told me exactly what time to arrive tonight, but she was clear that I’m not to intervene.

So, why the hell am I here at all?

Watching the horror unfolding before my eyes serves no purpose. I clutch the coarse brick of the wall as I take it in.

Dead wolves litter the ground behind The Den, but I’m far enough from the action that no one notices me.

Nan stands looking completely at peace. She’s holding my friend Emerson’s daughter.

Ember is currently in animal form. Her furry face rolls from side to side as she whines, desperately trying to escape Nan’s hold.

I’m sure I could focus just a little magic without anyone picking up on it, right?

Yeah, I could totally do that, and no one would be the wiser.

Ember is the one factor that needs to be removed from this altercation so the rest can play out. It’s obviously why I’m here. At least I think so.

It can be extremely frustrating to deal with a clairvoyant. They know how you’ll react, even before you do, because they’ve seen it.

I raise a hand, blowing a sliver of shadow magic toward the pup.

Most of the town of Haven believes I have fertility magic.

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