Demonic

Chapter 10

The foyer looks as bleak as everything does in this pitiful state. The double doors are open, letting demons enter and leave Hell's Palace as they please. The fountain in the centre letting a spray of water free. The droplets are cool on my skin against the heated air.

Servants, maids and others clear out of my way, their heads dipping as I pass.

Damn. I probably should have cleaned myself up before I left.

I make it half way through the foyer till laughter has me stopping dead in my tracks.

My fists turn white as I clench them, hard enough that my nails bite into the flesh of my palm. Turning on a heel, I face the source of the laughter.

She walks lazily towards me, her head tipped back, a savage grin on her face.

I calm my features till my face is expressionless. Hester stops a good few meters away from me. If she thinks distance is going to stop me from hurting her, she's going to need to add a couple hundred miles.

She stops cackling like an old hag and looks at me with an innocent smile, though her brown eyes fill with cruel mirth and aggression. Her smooth, red skin shines under the three moons light that pierces through the windows. The thought of skinning it off her flesh doesn't sound too bad.

Her keen eyes swallow my appearance once again reminding me that I haven't changed since Odessa's ball.

"Hmmm," she muses to herself, "The last time I saw you, I believe you had someone with you." She tilts her head like a curious puppy. She's heard. Of course she has.

"Tell me, did you even bury his carcass? Or is he rotting away as maggots eat what's left?"

A growl erupts deep from my throat. Hester knows his body will be buried. I wouldn't let him rot underneath the sky, forgotten.

She giggles. I know she is trying to stir me up. I know she's trying to hurt me further with the pain I feel, completely aware that I'm in a vulnerable state and that she is dying to take advantage of that.

"You realise, if it weren't for you he would still be alive, right?" She rambles.
"You were the one who lured him away from the ball and into the gardens. If you had stayed and not pissed your sister off he would have been surrounded by a crowd. Not alone with you in an isolated garden. You gave the killer a perfect chance."

I flinch. Though I hope my face is emotionless, she has no idea how bad those words feel. They hit home like a bullet hitting a wounded creature.

"Shut your mouth," I snap.

Her smirk tells me that she knows she hit a weak spot.

"Does his father miss him? Abaddon? It wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't. I don't think many will miss him actually."

I hiss. Her words, all though hurtful, make me see red like a bull that has been pocked with an iron rod.

Hester continues to spit her words. The demons surrounding us look on, waiting for something to go snap.

"He was quite attractive. Shame I didn't get to fuck him before he bit the dust."

And something does, but doesn't just snap.

It goes fucking kaboom.

A strangled sound escapes my mouth, caught between a scream and a hiss.

Hester shrieks in surprise as my body hits hers with the force of a bus. She lets out an oomf as her back hits the hard ground with me on top of her, pinning her down as I straddle her waist and stomach. Recovering from shock at my outburst, she begins to hiss and claw like an animal. I tilt my head to dodge the sharp nails aimed at my eyes. With a hand, I restrain one of her wrists and with the other, I plunge it into her mouth.