Page 19 of Burn for the Devil
Ramone
My irritation with Branko boiled under my skin. I hated change. Things should’ve been neat, orderly, subject to my every whim and command. With my magic I could control the weather, the scenery, human urges and desires. The very movement of the planets was mine to manipulate if I desired to exert that much effort. There was no reason why anyone else, human or not, should be able to control my fate. Being unable to visit any other realm pissed me off. If I could go there for at least an hour, maybe I’d have answers. I just knew he’d find out somehow and report me when he had the chance if I attempted a visit. With Lucian gone, perhaps it’d be easier. But Julian would find out.
My estate in the Fourth was in ruins and the kingdom I’d enjoyed for its peacefulness had fallen. Branko had stated those supposed facts right before he’d walked out. I was tired of his visits, him showing up whenever he felt like it. Not that I’d spent much time outside of the woods or past the doors of either of my homes, but it was a favorite place.
At one time, I’d been unable to leave and venture here without assistance. Copious amounts of Kiara’s magic had been ingested by me to solve that dilemma, but now the tables had been turned and I was trapped here.
Once I’d changed into a pair of soft lounge pants and freshened up, I checked my appearance. My eyes glowed with hunger, and the ink etched into my skin across my chest, arms, and shoulders glimmered. Would Samantha find me beautiful? Most humans did, but it was only her opinion that mattered. I slipped silver talons onto the fingers of my left hand and closed my bedroom door behind me. One day, it’d be Samantha’s room too.
When I re-entered the living room after Branko left, dinner was served. Two women, in their early twenties from the looks of it, sat on one of the velvet couches. I eyed them as I stalked by, flicking two fingers at one of them. Her legs spread, and a low moan drifted from between her full, painted lips. Those lips would be around my cock sooner rather than later, I decided. The other girl tore her gaze from me to stare at her friend who was now rolling a nipple between two fingers, trapped under my thrall. A lime green sheen wafted in the air around her head, jealousy spreading its thread-like vines. I would have no mercy; she could wait. Besides, jealousy had a spicy flavor I hadn’t relished for a while.
“Drinks?” I asked, holding up a decanter. Not pausing for an answer, I filled three glass tumblers and handed two of them to the women before reclining on the opposite couch. Leaning back, I tossed a long leg across the cushions and waited.
Sure enough, the envious girl slithered from the cushions. She got down on all fours, capturing my interest, while licking her lips. Her eyes skimmed my form, snagging on my swelling cock and she looked up at me, grinning. I laid my head back against the armrest and closed my eyes.
Small hands pulled the drawstring enclosure at my waist, the soft skin of her fingers brushing against the smattering of hair resting on my lower torso. I lifted my hips when she tugged at my pants. A warm, moist mouth licked the bead of precum, and I clenched her hair, arching my back. She gagged, her nails scratching my thigh as I thrust repeatedly, choking her. Tears streamed down her face, but I held her in place. Her arms and hands flailed uselessly, attempting to gain purchase so she could escape. I fisted more of her hair, feeling some strands loosen from her scalp.
The other girl sprang up from the couch. What a hero. I waved my fingers at her, trapping her against the floor while she screamed her outrage. Twisting my wrist, I turned her head and forced her to watch. With a taloned index finger, I pierced the neck of the girl in my lap. Her blood dripped onto my thigh, and I dragged her up, right against my mouth before I sucked in her essence, her soul, while her helpless friend whimpered from the floor. I ejaculated all over my victim's bare stomach with a roar, picturing Samantha’s luscious lips stained white.
I shoved the body onto the floor and laid back while I basked in the sensations coursing through my veins. Cells replenished, the life force renewing my blood and my spirit just like flowers blooming in the throes of Spring. The scents and fragrances of being alive dazzled my own soul as if I were held by the very sun in the skies itself.
A new scent filled my consciousness, the rich scent of deep crimson roses illuminated in a sunbeam. My heart seized, shattering under my ribcage. Nausea filled my belly, bile gathering and burning in the back of my throat and then panic overtook me as I fell from the sofa, landing on my knees.
“Adam!” I bellowed.
The man rushed into the room. I couldn’t see him; I couldn’t open my eyes. “Remove them. Now.” I gestured vaguely; aware he would know what I meant.
“Am I interrupting your ‘come to Jesus’ moment, son?” My eyes opened, but not of my own accord.
Rolling over, I looked up.Fuck. “What in the hell are you doing here?”
“Tsk, tsk,” Julian snickered. “Is that any way to greet your father?”
I pulled myself up off the floor as Adam began to drag the crying woman away, leaving the corpse to come back to afterward. “I didn’t invite you.”
“An unnecessary formality, Ramone.” Julian shook his head, moving the golden blonde strands of hair from his shoulders. He tugged on the hem of his suit jacket, the obnoxious color of an Easter egg, a lacey handkerchief peeking out of the chest pocket.
He sauntered over to the shelf where the cursed wine sat and poured two glasses, holding one out for me. “I’m not drinking that,” I said, forcefully.
His features rippled and I caught sight of discolored flesh before his visage returned to that of a pretty doll. “Very well.” He wrinkled his nose and set the glasses down. “Kill her.”
My gaze darted to the body lying beside me. “She’s dead already.”
Julian giggled. “The other one.”
The compulsion pressed against my skin, the urge to drain the woman dry clawing at the back of my head with a vise-like grip. I could feel her aura, faint as it was due to distance. “What do you know of the poison in that wine?” I asked, instead of acknowledging my father’s directive.
His face twisted into a smug grin. “Whatever do you mean?”
I froze. “You knew?” Another giggle. “What are you playing at? Why the fuck would you do this to me?” His spitefulness and cruelty had never known any bounds when it came to me.
My feet left the floor and my head slammed against the wood paneled wall, a painting crashing onto the carpet. “Your ire is misdirected. Oh, did it affect you? How sad. Perhaps you are too weak. Too much good in you.”
He released his hold and I landed on my knees, my eyes watching his polished shoes travel my way. He was correct, I was becoming deeply flawed. I’d never let a meal go to waste prior to tonight. The newly familiar taste of guilt rose within me, heading off course and highlighting the deceased body across the room. An image of the young mother at the club filled my mind, leaving me wondering whatever had become of her baby.
Julian knew what was going on with the wine, the wine that contained the blood and magic of the Thorne women. Kiara couldn’t have cursed it, her being too ignorant of her own sorcery for such a feat. There was no trace of her mother interfering, either. No, it had been an outside force, and I was beginning to suspect my own father.
A fist met my jaw, and I was sideways again, the fibers of the carpet scratching my cheek. Shaking myself off, I stood up. “Stop it father. Tell me what you know,” I said, doing my best to keep my voice even. He’d messed with me my whole life, and I never knew why. The only thing I could think of was I was slated to take his place, as his heir, and he didn’t want to give the position up.