Page 2 of Hellish Witch (Playing with Demons #3)

Chapter 1

T wo months later…

A feral hiss cut through the night.

I paused mid-stride, searching the quiet path for any sign of danger. Nobody was around at this late hour, especially not wandering the edge of the Bloodwood on a midnight stroll. It had become my regular route. A way to chew through the long hours.

These days, sleep was overrated.

My heart thudded, but nothing jumped out from the towering trees or the shadowed cottages set back safely beyond them.

A low chuckle underscored another distressed hiss.

I tilted my horns aside, listening intently.

“What’s the matter, pussycat? Don’t wanna be a cloak?” A scratchy male voice reached me again. “They fetch such a good price.”

I turned to a cabin jutting out from the neat row with a frown. It was one of the older structures: a basic wooden square with a thatched roof. The Hybrid Kingdom had only been around for a decade, though, so even our oldest building wasn’t that shoddy, just simple.

The cabin sat away from the others, too close to the forest for most, making it an ideal temporary residence for new hybrids seeking sanctuary in our hidden village.

No lights were on, but a dark figure fell from the shadows behind the building. He stumbled across the open grass that made up a makeshift communal garden, waving a bottle in one hand and something metallic in the other.

Steel glinted under the moonlight. A shiver trickled down my spine at the sight of his blade.

A hiss lashed out again, scraping at my ears. My pathetic night vision finally kicked in enough for me to make out what the male loomed over.

A mass of fur and fury raged behind bars. Claws swiped out through gaps in the cage, but the cackling demon stayed just out of reach.

My thoughts took a slow slide into a dark place. With barred cells and blood. Sneering faces and sharp blades. Fear and pain.

Before I knew it, my feet carried me from the dubious safety of the bleeding trees.

“How about a mop, then?” The demon upended his bottle, tipping the dregs of some cheap spirit over the trapped creature.

It hissed with a ferocity that set my pulse drumming, almost loud enough to drown out my thoughts.

The demon spluttered out a laugh. He narrowly avoided cutting himself as he doubled over with drunken mirth, the handle of his blade whacking his thigh.

“Or I could just stab, stab, stab .” He punctuated the words with the jab of his blade towards the bars. “I’ve always been good at making pussies squeal.”

A darkened lab replaced the hushed village with each blink. Memory and reality blurred back and forth in a nauseating swing as I struggled for control.

My claws ached from blunting them on metal bars. My flesh bled with too many cuts from glinting blades, mocking jeers from my captors just as sharp.

Screams echoed so loud I couldn’t think straight.

I clenched my fists, willing the bite of my claws to anchor me here and now, but my thoughts were slippery. Oily and dark.

My feet carried me towards the cage with a single-minded intensity that strangled any logic. Saliva pooled on my tongue as my stomach roiled.

“Ooh, look! Another pretty creature to play with!” The tall demon slurred, waving his bottle at me in greeting. “The Hybrid Kingdom is just full of treats. Maybe I’ll visit this pile of dirt more often.”

Time skipped, and I was already standing before him, the cage looming between us.

He paused, glassy eyes narrowing. “Heh, the half-mage mutt, right? The healer ? I’ve got something you can work your magic on, witch.” He pointed his blade towards his crotch, snorting with laughter.

I couldn’t unclench my jaw to reply. Instead, I reached a shaky hand for the cage bars, scrabbling at the bolt that held the rusted thing closed. Inside lurked pitch-black fur and feline eyes burning the shade of fresh blood.

A sweaty palm clamped my wrist, squeezing hard enough for my bones to creak. “Fuck off, girl. Or I’ll put you in there with it and sell you in the next kingdom.”

The feeling of someone else’s skin froze me in place.

And then everything happened at once.

Something hungry burst from deep in my chest. Ravenous power lashed out with invisible force. It latched onto the demon with glee and hooked my chest, pulling at me with an awful tugging sensation that stuttered my heart.

Red edged my vision. It matched the blood pouring from the demon’s mouth and a hundred lines soaking through his shirt. Cuts covered his bare arms, widening like screaming mouths. His nose shifted with a crack, blood gushing down his chalky face.

He couldn’t even scream. A wet gurgle of pain spilled from his pale lips. Eyes wide with terror, he struggled to get away from me, slipping in his own blood.

I stumbled back, horror curdling my stomach. But foul magic had me in its grip, wrenching at my chest and strangling my throat.

“No,” I whimpered, scrambling internally to call on my healing magic instead. But no warm glow responded to my desperate cries, my hands unlit and lifeless.

Once bright eyes drained of the last spark of life. The demon collapsed onto the wet grass. His own blood splashed up his cheek.

Dead.

I’d killed him.

Dead. Dead. Dead.

“Shit.” My hands shook as I pushed loose strands of my red hair back between my horns. Power sloshed around in my chest as I struggled to take in what I’d done.

I got my first good look at the male. A middle-aged fear demon, a pureblood merchant likely visiting on his way to a nearby kingdom. He had sky-blue skin and unseeing green eyes. Ram-like horns curled around pointed ears stuck through with countless brass piercings. A smooth tail sagged down to his ankles, no bulbous end to hint at any surprises hidden within the tip.

His face would star in my nightmares. Along with the others.

I turned back to the silent cage, hands trembling as I fought with the lock. It gave with a metallic groan.

The giant beast inside slunk through the tiny opening, unhurried in its escape.

My lips parted, the bizarre sight enough to yank me from my panic spiral.

A hellcat .

I’d never seen one in person, but I’d heard the warnings about them.

The deadly feline straightened until her head reached my middle, all sleek power and vicious grace. Glossy black fur covered her lean frame, damp from the alcohol splashed over it. Crimson tufts lengthened her triangular ears and fuzzed out the tip of her dangerous tail.

She held completely still, blood-red eyes boring into mine.

I frowned. They were the same shade I had. For some reason, that felt important.

Something passed between us, and the night seemed to hold its breath.

“It’s all going to be okay,” I murmured, trying to soothe us both.

I may have just killed a man, but how could I regret saving such a majestic creature?

Her lips peeled back, revealing razor-sharp fangs.

And she struck.