Page 6

Chapter

Five

MALICE

“ O h, my little hellcat, what are you up to now?” I muttered as I watched the screen record of her computer from the comfort of my room. She had no idea I had this kind of access, but really, what kind of self-proclaimed protector would I be if I didn’t make sure she wasn’t getting herself into trouble?

She hadn’t begun a session, so I couldn’t see her, but watching her scroll through comments and messages was entertaining in and of itself. Especially when she got to a few of mine. Of course, she didn’t know it was me, and she wouldn’t if I had anything to say about it.

TheSingularity: I like the pink, but I think purple would look better on you.

Merri-Go-Round: And here I thought you were going to say you’d like it better on your bedroom floor. Way to keep me on my toes, cutie.

I scrolled back up to her original post and the photo of her in nothing but a robe, holding up two options for the day. Her hair was in a thick braid, her face free of makeup, and she held a pink pair of leggings in one hand, a deep violet in the other.

Fuck me, she was striking. There was no question about that. A natural beauty by any definition.

MakeItClap22: Damn, baby girl. What if we just drop these options on the floor and you go naked?

URDreamLover: I’m with MakeItClap22. Let’s have a naked day.

Magic_Fingie_Dingies: I could give you a massage. Then you could give me one... with your mouth

EverySteve: Yoga? I love your yoga sessions.

OnMyKnees4U: Yoga is better with friends. I’ll be your partner! We can practice some new positions.

These supporters of hers were nothing more than a bunch of lecherous bastards. It was a good job she was feeding from them. If all she was getting was money, I’d already have corrupted the entire website and burned it down.

Thankfully, not everyone was as disgusting. She had a few more respectable comments sprinkled in as well.

Brookec_reads: Okay, but where did you get those? They look so soft.

PrettyPenny: One for today, one for tomorrow. Why choose, baby?

bookwhore69: The bralette is cute, but will it actually keep the girls contained? Mine always try to escape.

Estar92: Can you link me to your favorite yoga channel online? I’m getting supes bored with my usuals.

Merri had made a point to respond to all of them with the requested links and information. Now that I was getting to know her, I could tell she enjoyed those interactions far more than the ones with her more... excited fans. Though I’d be willing to bet she was also a fan of mine. Her comments felt more genuine and less like her persona.

Unable to help myself from testing my theory, I typed out a quick response to her comment.

TheSingularity: You said it, not me... and it would be rude of me to disagree with a lady.

Her reply came almost instantly, a wicked sort of glee bubbling up inside me as I watched her type.

Merri-Go-Round: Is that an invitation? How forward of you. You haven’t even bought me dinner yet and already you’re trying to get me out of my clothes.

Before I could respond, a DM popped up on her screen, interrupting the flirty banter I shouldn’t have been enjoying.

PrettyPenny:

Good job with the outfit tease today.

Merri-go-round:

You were right. They love to dress me up like I’m their own personal doll.

PrettyPenny:

More like they love to feel included in your day. Girlfriend experience, remember?

Girlfriend experience? What the fuck did that mean? And why did the idea of it make me want to punch something?

Merri-go-round:

I know, I know. Most of these people don’t want that from me though. Just one in particular.

PrettyPenny:

ShyGuy. He really likes you.

Merri-go-round:

If I’m being honest, I like him too. He’s sweet. Different from the rest of them. He makes me feel seen, not just like an object.

And now I had a target for my fist. Who the fuck was ShyGuy? I already had a tab open and was about to launch a full-scale hack of his account when her next message came through.

Merri-go-round:

It’s probably a good thing the internet has been so unreliable. Otherwise I think I’d be in danger of catching feelings.

PrettyPenny:

What’s so wrong with feelings? Haven’t you seen Pretty Woman? Maybe he’s your white knight and he’ll come sweep you off your feet in a limo with roses and opera playing or some shit.

Merri-go-round:

Who are you and what have you done with my friend?

PrettyPenny:

What do you mean?

Merri-go-round:

Aren’t you the one who made a point to warn me never to catch feelings for a client?

PrettyPenny:

Well, yeah, but rules are made to be broken.

“The fuck they are.”

I needed to put an end to this. Merri was typing, but I was done playing this ridiculous game of her fantasy man rescuing her from me. Fuck. From us. We were the ones doing the rescuing; she just didn’t realize it yet.

With a few calculated keystrokes, I shut down her connection and changed the Wi-Fi password.

A sly grin twisted my lips as I heard the sound of her frustrated shout.

“Goddammit!”

My grin widened into a smirk as I heard a door slam shut and footsteps stomping down the long hallway.

Three.

Two.

One.

“Mal,” she shouted as she opened my door.

“Hellcat,” I said, failing to hide my smirk as I clocked her outfit. She’d gone with the purple.

Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “I thought you said the internet is fixed.”

I shrugged. “I must have been wrong.”

She glanced at my computer screen and the very obvious web browser I’d purposely left open. “You did it on purpose.”

“We had a date, hellcat. You were late. I was simply helping rid you of the distraction.”

The way she had her hands on her hips, in some sort of display of defiance I supposed, only added to my amusement. Oh, I liked winding her up. If her eyes could flash with fire, they would have.

“We do not.”

“We do so.”

“I would have remembered you asking me on a date, Malice.”

“Oh, but I didn’t.”

She flung her hands out in exasperation. “Then how the hell can I be late for something I didn’t even know about?”

“You know about it now.”

She huffed at me. “You are impossible.”

“Among other things.”

“I’m not just at your beck and call, you know.”

I raised one eyebrow. “Aren’t you? My mistake.”

She made like she was about to leave.

“Sit down, Merri.”

“No.”

I made a show of standing. “Sit. Down.”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

She crossed her arms, which was more distracting than it had any right to be. “That is not, nor will it ever be, a good enough reason for me to do anything.”

“We’ll see.”

There was no mistaking the threat laced through my words. Merri stiffened, finally seeming to remember who exactly she was mouthing off to.

“What are you going to do? Use your Pestilence power to knock me out again? That won’t get you very far.”

I strode toward her, my gaze desperate to drink in her luscious curves. Instead of giving in, my eyes remained steadfastly locked on hers. To her credit, she didn’t back down. Not until I was a breath away from her and even then, it was only the slightest shift backward.

“Come in. Close the door. And don’t argue with me again,” I said against her ear, no small amount of command in my whispered words.

“Fine,” she snapped, though there was a lack of strength in her agreement as she ignored my command about the door and stomped her way across my room to the armchair in the corner. On her way, she passed a bookcase and slowed her steps.

My chest tightened when I followed her gaze and discovered what had captured her interest.

Fuck.

It was obviously a child’s toy. There was no disguising it, misshapen and faded as it was. The fabric had worn from age, but I’d kept it preserved as well as I could over the centuries. Looking at it now brought a rush of shame and betrayal. Foolishly, I’d hoped I could one day give it to Pan. Not that he had any need for such things now. But after all this time, I still couldn’t find it in myself to part with the wretched thing.

“What’s this?” Merri asked, fingers reaching for the doll. I was on her before she made contact, snatching her by the wrist and stopping her.

“Nothing,” I lied.

She jerked out of my hold. “Mal, we’re not going to get anywhere if you’re not as open with me as I have to be with you.”

“That’s not true. I’m the teacher. You’re the student.”

“So lead by example.”

“You want answers, you’ll have to discover them yourself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If you’d sit down like I’d asked you to, you’d already know.”

“You’re a shit teacher, Mal.”

“And you might be the most trying student of all time. You’re lucky I don’t have a switch handy.”

“Your age is showing. Beatings went out of vogue a long time ago, Malice.”

“More's the pity. Now sit.” I pointed to the chair and waited. “I have all day.”

I saw one more spark of defiance light in her eyes before she huffed and finally did as she was told.

“Good girl.”

My, my, she was a beautiful challenge.

But one I was more than up for. They’d named me Malice for a reason.

“All right, professor. I’m sitting. Now will you tell me what the hell we’re doing?”

I indulged in a moment of fancy, picturing Merri in a short skirt and knee socks whilst I stood in front of a chalkboard. Tears were in her eyes over her poor grade, and she was begging me to show mercy.

I blinked and cleared my throat. No, I would not stand here with a throbbing erection at the whim of a succubus.

“Stop that,” I grumbled.

“Stop what?” She blinked at me innocently.

“Using your power to distract me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not doing anything.”

Closing my eyes, I pressed my consciousness into hers, instantly sensing she was being truthful. Fuck. That was all me. Annoyed with myself, I reopened my eyes and pushed harder into her mind, not giving her a chance to prepare for the invasion.

That was the entire point, if I’m being honest. She needed to realize what was at risk and how woefully unprepared she was. She needed to understand beyond all doubt why these sessions with me were vital to her survival.

Which meant I had to be absolutely ruthless.

I was the worst of them.

I’d show her how truly terrible I could be.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.

“Like what?”

I dug deeper into her head, latching on without her knowledge.

“Like I upset you.”

“You did. You do. Now, hellcat, tell me... did you enjoy fucking my brother?”

Her eyes blew wide with shock, even as she answered. “Yes.” The sound of her admission startled her, and she stiffened before adding, “I didn’t mean to say that.”

“Yes, you did. Now tell me how you really feel about your power.”

“I love it. It’s addicting, which is a little frightening, but when I’m in the moment all I care about is taking.” Merri slapped a hand over her mouth. “What the fuck is going on?”

The question was only slightly muffled. I ignored it and asked, “Taking what?”

“Everything.”

I grinned. “And how do you feel knowing you could take and take from us without killing us?”

“Ravenous.” Her eyes widened.

“I suspected so.”

“What are you doing to me, Mal?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I dove farther into her mind. “Tell me your most embarrassing moment. One you will never recover from.”

Once again, she was speaking without a second’s hesitation, the story pouring from her like water bursting through a dam. She couldn’t get the words out fast enough, thanks to my influence.

“They called me Mary Magdalene in school. Even listed me under that name in the yearbook. All because when I finally fought the girl who bullied me relentlessly, the principal let me off with a slap on the wrist. They said it was because I was a whore who gave him a blow job to get out of punishment. But I didn’t. He knew what was going on and that I was just defending myself. He was trying to be kind, but they didn’t see it that way. It only proved what they all said about me. That I was a slut who fucked her way through the faculty.”

A single tear dripped down her cheek, and a pang of guilt momentarily pierced me for making her relive such a memory.

“Lock that away and never think of it again, Merri,” I said through a tight throat.

I didn’t have the power to make her do that, but I’d still suggest it.

Confusion marred her brow for a moment before her eyes cleared and she really caught on to what I was doing to her.

“Mal . . .”

“Stand,” I ordered, nearly done with my show of power.

She did, even if her face betrayed that it was involuntary. My essence was so strong, so able to infiltrate both the bloodstream and the unprotected mind, that I could have her writhing on the floor in untouched euphoria, hallucinating, or attempting to fly off a cliff if I chose. We weren’t doing any of those today, although the first seemed like a viable option.

But, Malice, you say. Malice, you’re Pestilence. You can’t possibly control people’s minds. To which I’d reply, it’s called mental health for a reason, darling. I did warn you I was the most impressive horseman. Best not to ever underestimate me or my reach.

“Turn in a circle three times.”

She did.

“Hop on one foot until I tell you to stop.”

She did.

“Pat your head and rub your stomach while reciting the alphabet.”

She continued hopping as she followed orders.

“Stop.”

Merri went still and silent.

“Now, tell me the truth. Do you fear me?”

“No.”

That both pleased and surprised me.

“How do you feel?”

“I want you.”

Interesting. Very interesting.

“Just me?”

“No. I want all of you.”

“Why? Because you’re hungry and we’re your only viable food sources?”

She blinked a few times, then licked her lower lip. “I... don’t know.”

Was that hesitation because she was finally catching on or because she truly didn’t have an answer for me?

Only one way to find out.

“Strip.”

Merri’s cheeks flamed red as she reached for the bottom of her sports bra.

“Stop,” I said before she could actually remove anything.

So she still didn’t have a clue how to resist my influence. Which wasn’t surprising. One rarely learned how to swim by being dropped in a body of water and left to their own devices.

I retracted from her so fast she swayed on her feet.

“You were in my head,” she murmured. “I couldn’t even tell until my body started moving without my permission.”

“Yes. You have absolutely no protective barriers. You’re ripe for plucking.”

She looked a bit peaked.

“Sit,” I ordered softly, making it clear that this was a suggestion.

The way her knees gave out, it looked more like a collapse than an intentional choice. She was reeling both from the mental assault and the revelation.

“Are you going to help me with those barriers then?”

“That is the goal, yes.”

“And that little display you just did?”

“Proof of how badly you require my assistance. So that the next time I tell you to do something, you understand why it’s in your best interest to do so.”

She wrinkled her nose. “This is your ‘because you said so’ moment, isn’t it?”

“You’re a fast learner.”

“Sure doesn’t feel like it. How can I defend myself when I can’t even tell that my mind is being fucked with?” She rubbed at her temples, discomfort evident in her posture.

“Headache?”

“Yes. I feel like I haven’t slept in days.”

“It’ll go away in a bit.”

She sighed. “I’m not even sure where to start. How does one build a mental barrier? Is it something I need to focus on at all times? What about when I’m sleeping? Or focused on something else? I’m a decent multitasker, but that seems impossible.”

“No one creates a worldwide pandemic on their first go-round.”

Merri stared at me. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“I just mean to say that you must crawl before you run. Every plague begins with a sneeze, you know?”

“Pretty sure that can’t be accurate.”

“Oh, are you an expert now?”

“I’m just saying, some diseases aren’t airborne, so how can they start with a sneeze?”

“You’ve missed the point.”

“Have I? Or is your analogy flawed?”

“Now I have a headache.”

She was returning to her plucky self, the infuriating brat I couldn’t help but be drawn to. This back and forth with her was, dare I say, fun.

“So how do you build a wall?”

“Well, like most good defenses, first you must become familiar with what you are defending against. You need to a : recognize the threat level so you can respect it, and b : become familiar with the sensation—or symptoms, if you will. Once you can recognize that, you will instinctively understand how to block it.”

“Now I know you’re bullshitting me.”

“I’m not. Think of your immune system. It has to come into contact with a contagion in order to create the defense required to resist it. Same idea.”

“That . . . actually made sense.”

I smirked.

“Did you know when I was little I used to imagine my blood cells like an army? The white ones were dressed like knights and rode white horses because they were there to save the day.”

She might be the most adorable creature I’d ever laid eyes upon.

“Is that so?” I murmured.

She nodded.

“So work with that. When it comes time to start building your barrier, use your army metaphor. Eventually your white knights will know when it’s time to patrol and when it's time to call in for reinforcements.”

“Wow, you’re really running with that metaphor, aren’t you?”

I shrugged. “If it works for you, there’s nothing wrong with it. They could also be a bunch of builders, laying the bricks one by one. Eventually shielding will become as natural as breathing. You don’t have to think about it. You just do it.”

“Can we try?”

Shaking my head, I took a long breath. She wasn’t strong enough now for another test. Drained as I’d been from Hel’s ritual, technically I shouldn’t be either. But I felt great. Refreshed and strong in a way I hadn’t since before she’d summoned me.

Of course.

I’d just flexed my Pestilence muscle, much like Chaos and Sin had done. This was the first time I’d actually utilized my gift since we’d gotten free.

I could have slapped myself for being so stupid. How had I not thought of this?

Then I smirked, my mind already running away with plans to use this to my advantage. Huh. Maybe ShyGuy needed a little computer virus?

Mal ware, if you will.

I chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. I think we’ve done enough for one day. We’ll pick this up tomorrow. Run along now, hellcat. I’ve got work to do.”

“Don’t you mean plagues to spread?” she teased, having absolutely no idea how right she was.

“Just the one.”