Page 20 of Corrupt Shadows
He screams, clasping a hand to the side of his neck. Beads of sweat gather on his forehead, then a brilliant flush covers his throat. I chuckle as my mark slowly brands his skin from the inside out.
“Please, make it stop,” he begs.
I ignore him and finish the brand, the thread of our new bond solidifying between us. “Now you will have my mark forever. It will remind you of the consequences of failing me.”
He removes his shaking hand, the angry red welt on the side of his neck darkening to an onyx tattoo.
He goes to touch it again and hisses when the pain throbs once more. “What did you do to me?”
“I solidified our bond. It shows that you are mine, and it will enable me to be able to communicate with you on a deeper level. Welcome to day one of your eternal servitude. When you die, your soul belongs to me.”
“What? My soul? No! I-I didn’t mean it. Keep the fucking Mustang!”
Aiden is a means to an end and is desperate to survive this encounter. Desperate people are foolish and make incredibly poor decisions. For instance, selling your soul to the king of demons.
“It’s far too late for that. What you want no longer matters. Aiden, you are now my valet. You will follow my orders, never disobeying me and always keeping my secrets. I know you regret giving your soul to me. And yes, it was a terrible mistake—on your part. But I’ll make you a deal, one that has never been issued from my lips before.”
Aiden leans forward.
I narrow my eyes, my lips flattening into a straight line. “One soul for one soul. How deep are you willing to sink the blade to save yourself?”
He blanches, then his horrified eyes dart away from mine. “What does that mean? What kind of things do I have to do?”
“That depends on just how willing you are to keep from burning in Hell forever. You can choose to do nothing… live out your days and then, when you inevitably die, I come for your soul. I remove it and bring it to Hell to torture and torment at my leisure. I bite my lower lip. It will be so much fun watching you squirm. Perhaps I’ll cut off your eyelids so you can never close your eyes to the atrocities happening to you. You’ll always see the pain coming, and perhaps that is even worse.”
“Okay. Shit, dude. I get it. Fucking hell.” Aiden is panting. He runs his hands down his face. “What have I done?”
I chuckle. “Don’t forget what’s at stake. You can have your soul back one day. I will release it to you when you have completed everything I have asked.” I raise both my palms. “On one side, you have your soul back, and on the other,” I say, turning the other palm face down, “you burn.”
Aiden steps back from the mirror. “You’re a fucking psychopath.”
I smirk, widening my eyes, and let the madness seep through the black. Guilty.
I open my eyes and stare at Aiden as he holds a pillow against his body, sobbing. I roll my eyes and press my hands against the mirror. He should have known better than to play with spirit boards. They let in far more than ghosts. I’d pity him if I had the ability to care.
“I have more orders for you,” I say into his mind. “There’s something you need to do tonight.”
He balls his fists, then slams them against the headboard, gritting his teeth as he pulls back. “What do you want me to do?”
EIGHT
Lorcan
I sit in the driver’s seat of a shitty sedan, parked in the diner’s lot, as Aiden breaks into Evie’s apartment at my request. The Shadow Realm is silent, with ash and leaves floating around the car. In the Human Realm, I am sure the lot is filled with rats scurrying, and maybe a cat or two. I can’t see them here, except through mirrors, giving me glimpses into the Human Realm. Thunders rolls in the distance, and rain lashes down.
My talons emerge as I remember how turned on I was by her yesterday. Fabric tears under my fingers, and the inner foam spills to the floor.
I never expected a witch to be the focus of my desire; it surprises the fuck out of me.
I recall her blanched face when she saw the symbol from the order, and I grin. I’m addicted to her fear. It soothes my soul in a way I didn’t know was possible.
She’s awakened a side of me I thought long past dead. I’m not sure if that is a positive or negative sign. No matter, my resolve to punish her for her coven’s past transgressions only strengthens each time I lay my eyes on her. This is the only way I can get back at them, and I hope her ancestors’ spirits are watching while I torture their descendant. It’s too bad they got themselves murdered before I had the chance to get them to reverse their spell’s magic.
I’m determined to find new and brutal ways to scare her. My options are only limited to the expanse of my imagination.
The girl is all doom and gloom, inside and out. She tries to hide the blackness in her soul, guilt slowly eating her alive. Regret and despair constantly simmer in the pools of her eyes. I’ve gathered enough from her thoughts that she murdered her brother.
Thankfully, the lights flicker inside the diner, grabbing my attention and dragging me from memories of my past. I watch her through the driver’s-side mirror with rapt attention, making use of a car in the parking lot with its trunk facing the entrance of the diner.