Page 128 of White Hot Kiss
“You’re awake. Good.” A deep Southern drawl came out from the shadows. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
My chin snapped down, to my toes. Paimon had removed the jacket and untucked the red shirt. He came to the edge of the circle, stopped and glanced down. He took a step back, and my suspicion soared. “You’re not going to come in here?” I asked.
Paimon tipped his head back and chuckled. “That pretty little lopsided pentagram can easily be converted into a devil’s trap, and my Hermès loafers are not going one inch beyond that chalk.”
My hands curled into fists and I could feel the ring biting into skin. “That’s going to make doing this incantation hard, isn’t it?”
“Not at all, darlin’,” he said, kneeling down. That Mohawk of his had to be at least two feet high. “That’s what lackeys are for. Oh, lackey!”
To my left, another form pulled free from the shadows. I hadn’t seen him before, but his smile was beyond creepy. I swallowed as my eyes darted between the two demons. No one was going to show up and save the day. I didn’t know if Zayne had survived the Hellion. Roth probably didn’t even know I’d been taken. And unless I could Houdini my way out of these ropes, I wasn’t going to be able to do much to defend myself. At that moment I knew three things. I was screwed. Mankind was screwed. The entire universe was screwed.
“I confess I’ve been disappointed with Naberius. He should’ve been able to retrieve you without me stepping in. Show her how displeased I was.”
The lackey waved his left hand. Four of his fingers were missing. Only the middle one remained. “They’ll grow back. Slowly.”
“Painfully,” Paimon added with a gleeful smile. He rose fluidly. “Anyway, Naberius, spill the blood of Lilith. I don’t have all night.”
Like a dutiful little tool, Naberius stepped carefully over the circle and knelt. My heart dropped. “Wait.” Naberius grabbed my hand with that one finger. Metal glinted in his other hand. “Wait, I said!”
Paimon sighed. “Are you going to beg now? Come over to the dark side? You already had your chance, darlin’. When I get done, I’m going to kill you. Well, I’ll probably have a little fun with you first, but I will kill you.”
Panic clawed its way up my throat, but I knew if I caved to it, that would be the end. Heart pounding, I tried to tug the arm closest to Naberius, but the rope gave no slack. “Why?”
“Why?” He mimicked my voice.
“Why do you want to do this?” My mouth was dry. “Do you really want to start the apocalypse? Do you really think this is going to work?”
Paimon tipped his head to the side. “The apocalypse?” His laugh was deep and it echoed through the gymnasium. “Oh, darlin’, is that what the Wardens think?”
“It’s what Hell thinks, too.”
“The Boss thinks that? Fabulous. While the apocalypse sounds like a good time, I could give a flying rat’s ass about that.”
Surprise shot through me. “You...you don’t want out of Hell?”
“Oh, what demon doesn’t want out of Hell? Take me, for example. I’ve served the Boss for over two thousand years. I’d like nothing more than to say au revoir to that life, but I’m not here because of what I want. I’m here for what I need. Just like you, another means to an end.”
“I—I don’t understand.” I really didn’t.
His lips, wide and expressive, twisted into a smirk. “It’s rather ironic that you don’t. Kind of sad, too.”
“Is it?” Naberius was messing with my hand, trying to turn the ring around. “Then explain it to me? If I’m going to die, I’d like to know the real reason behind it.”
Paimon looked over his shoulder and then his gaze slid back to me. “Have you ever been in love?”
“What?” I so wasn’t expecting that question.
“I said, have you ever been in love?”
“I...” I didn’t know. I loved Zayne, but I didn’t know what kind of love that was, and Roth... I thought I could be in love with him, if given time. Or maybe I already was, in a little way. “I don’t know.”
“Interesting,” the demon answered. “When you’re in love, you’d risk anything to ensure your loved one’s happiness. Even the end of the world.” He shrugged. “When you’re separated from the one you love, you’d do anything to be reacquainted with that person. Anything. What? You look so shocked. Did you think demons couldn’t fall in love? We can. Our love is a little dark and twisted. We love until death. Most wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of our affections, but we feel what we feel all the same.”
I had no idea what him being in love had to do with raising the Lilin, unless he thought his lover would be reincarnated into one.
His eyes rolled. “I can tell you still haven’t figured it out. It’s your mother, darlin’. That’s why it’s ironic.”
“Lilith?” I squeaked.