Page 41 of Demon with Benefits (Hell Bent #3)

And the monster, Meph’s monster, fed off it somehow. It made him stronger. She’d felt his energy swelling as he ate up her terror and self-loathing. The more fear she’d had, the deeper and more intense the vision had become.

That was why he was so powerful, she realized. That was why Raum had said he could defeat almost any other demon, no matter how much stronger they were than him. Everyone had fears. The more powerful and mighty, the more they had to lose—and the more they had to fear.

“Mephistopheles.” Valefor’s voice was chiding, like he was speaking to a child. It made her feel sick. “You will come now.” He simply lifted the whip in his hand, and Meph flinched like he’d been struck by it.

Slowly, Meph rose to his considerable shadowy height. Without a backward glance at her, he floated away toward his master.

The entire thing made her want to scream and throw up. He was terrifying, and what he’d just done to her was the worst kind of psychological torture, but somewhere in there, he was still Meph. And he still obeyed Valefor because of the centuries he’d spent here being “broken,” as Raum had said.

Worse, her Meph was gone. She didn’t know this Meph, didn’t know how to communicate with him. She didn’t think he would care enough to try. Rationally, she knew there was only one Meph, and that this monster was part of him, but it still felt like a loss.

Valefor bid Meph to stay put and then walked toward Iris. She was still on the ground, her bound feet preventing her from standing easily, and her fingers scrabbled uselessly at the cold stone floor as she tried in vain to scramble away.

Valefor snatched her by the throat and lifted her to her feet. She tried to scream despite the constriction on her airway, thrashing in his grip, her bound hands landing blows that did nothing against the powerful demon’s strength.

All the while, Meph watched with complete detachment. He didn’t move. He didn’t so much as twitch.

Valefor dragged her out of the chamber and down a long hall, leaving Meph behind. He didn’t give Iris a chance to stand on her own—not that she could do much with her ankles tied. She screamed again as he dragged her away, calling for Meph even though she knew better than to hope he’d come for her.

“Quiet, witch!” Valefor hissed. “Or I’ll tear out your tongue and force you to consume it.”

That shut her up. She had no doubt he’d do it.

“Remember, I vowed to let you live, not more. Defy me, and I’ll make you beg for a death you won’t receive.”

Valefor kicked open the door to another random chamber. He tossed Iris into an empty room with nothing but a tiny window high in the stone wall.

Valefor stared at her, crumpled on the floor. “You call for him when he would kill you in a second if I allowed it. That beast is not the same as the pathetic human form you care for.”

She didn’t reply because she knew he was right. The hopelessness of her situation seeped into her bones, and she couldn’t even drum up the will to make an antagonistic remark. She just stared at him, waiting for him to tell her what he planned to do with her.

“He knows nothing but unending hunger,” Valefor said. “I keep this entire floor empty of my servants because he would devour any that crossed his path in seconds. Do you know what would have happened if I hadn’t stopped him feeding?”

Valefor’s smile was cold. “He would have kept going until he’d sucked every drop of life from your bones, leaving nothing but a withered husk behind.

His way of feeding may not mean permanent death to a demon, but it would certainly mean so for you—a mere human.

He’d drop your mummified corpse and go in search of his next meal without a second thought.

I’ve seen it happen, witch, more times than I can count.

You’re nothing to him but a paltry snack. ”

As that horrifying image sank in, Valefor stepped closer and bent down, gripping Iris’s chin and yanking her face up to meet her gaze. He was in human form, but there was nothing human about the dark hatred in his eyes.

Tears swam in her own eyes from the pain, but she blinked through them and met his stare. She remembered her conviction from when she’d faced off with an angry Belial. The last thing I will do is show a demon even a glimpse of fear.

Still, it was hard. If she saw Belial now, she would hug him with relief. That was how different these circumstances were.

“If you so much as think of escaping,” Valefor said, “I will make you regret it. And it won’t just be you who suffers.

Remember, I know where your twin sister is.

I will bring her here, hang her by her ankles, and eat her flesh while she’s alive and screaming.

I’ll start with her fingers and finish with her brains so she can survive as long as possible. ”

When he smiled, it stretched too wide, and his blunt human teeth suddenly grew into points.

His canines sharpened on each side, upper and lower jaw, framing his lengthening face.

His nose flattened and then widened into two hideous, flared nostrils that were vaguely horselike.

His pupils bled out and filled the rest of his eyes with black.

Horns coiled up and up from the sides of his head.

It was terrifying, but Iris had already faced her worst nightmare today. This? This was nothing.

She gathered up a wad of saliva and spat it in his face.

His roar of fury echoed off the walls, and he slapped her so hard, she went flying. Her head cracked against the wall hard enough that even she heard it, and when she hit the ground, her body bounced in a way bodies should not.

She heard the sound of the door slamming and a bolt being slid into place.

The hopelessness fell over her like a shroud, and the next thing she knew was darkness.