Page 27 of Malice: The Mate Games (Apocalypse #3)

But, Sin. Why wouldn’t you just kill the demon?

You ask. Good question. I would love to tell you.

These demons altered consciousness. They sucked their prey into a dreamlike state, much like Merri and I could.

This was almost like sleepwalking or a night terror.

Everyone knows you don’t wake someone up in the middle of that without risking serious damage.

The last thing Malice needed was more trauma.

Slipping into someone else’s mind was second nature to me, but it was still jarring every time.

If only because you never knew what you would find waiting for you on the other side.

And this wasn’t a normal situation; I was quite literally sliding into a demon’s lair.

It just so happened to also be Malice-coded.

If I was being honest, I was pretty curious to find out what Malice’s deepest, darkest desire would be. Gotta say, though, as open-minded as I was, I was in no way prepared to come face-to-face with Malice standing off with a seven-foot tall purple demon.

“Can you ever forgive me for my absence, Pan?” Malice was asking, a pathetic plea in his voice. “I want to be a father to you. I always wanted to.”

Oh shiiiiit. I really shouldn’t be seeing this.

“You’re not capable of being a father. Why else would my mother bar you from my presence? She knew what a waste of space you were. You’ll never be part of my life, no matter how you beg.”

Yikes. No wonder Malice was struggling to break free. This had to be a nightmare scenario for him.

“Hey buddy, it’s time to go,” I called, propelling myself forward until I was right beside Malice. I’d heard the word tormented before, obviously, but I’d never seen it in action. Not like this. A couple more barbed comments from Pan and Malice would be in the fetal position.

“Pan... p-please. Just listen to me,” he whispered.

“I. Despise. You. And I always will.”

One hand on Mal’s shoulder, I gripped him hard enough to cause pain and said, “This isn’t your son. Open your eyes, Mal. This is trickery.”

A shudder ran down Pestilence’s body, but his gaze was still locked on the manifestation of his lost child. “Pan, please,” he whimpered.

Whimpered.

Fuck my life. He was going to murder me when he realized what I’d seen. He barely forgave Merri, and he liked her.

“Okay, listen, I didn’t want to do this, but I’ve got no other choice.” It wasn’t the wisest decision to interfere, but Malice wasn’t getting on top of the creature’s power. He’d forgive me. Eventually.

I reached past Mal and grabbed the demon’s shoulder, sending my magic into it in an attempt to break the connection between them. If I could get the glamour to drop, Mal would snap out of it.

It was harder than I wanted it to be. Not only were these demons powerful in general, but this one had been allowed to latch onto Malice without challenge, which only strengthened its hold.

The longer the fantasy played out, the tighter the bond became until it was the equivalent of mental superglue.

We were somewhere in the setting cement stage of things.

In other words, difficult but not yet impossible to undo.

It went a long way that my desire to overpower the demon’s mind was stronger than the demon’s desire to hold on to Mal.

They weren’t here for us. We were an obstacle keeping them from their goal—Merri.

I guess you could say they were just following orders while we were fighting for our lives.

Willpower went a long fucking way in evening the score.

Being a horseman didn’t hurt either. The demons were badasses, but so were we.

The clash of wills went on until I sensed the first crack.

If it were a physical thing, I’d say the demon’s knees buckled.

I pounced, seizing the opportunity and pouring more of my influence into the opening until I was the only one in control.

In a rush of shifting energy, the veil lifted, and Pan disappeared, revealing the truth. He’d never been there at all.

A guttural snarl escaped from somewhere deep inside Malice as the change registered. I released him, backing out of his mind and letting him take control so he could get his vengeance.

It was a thing of terrible beauty, watching Malice rage.

With a movement so fast I almost couldn’t register what I was seeing, Mal’s hands penetrated the creature’s sternum, splitting the bones with a sickening crack.

“Open wide,” he growled. “Show me that demented heart.”

The demon sputtered and screamed but couldn’t move as Malice spread open its chest and exposed the beating black organ. He was a doctor performing surgery. If the doctor was a vengeful god and the surgery was extermination. Maybe he was more of a mortician.

With a cruel smile, Malice tapped a single finger against the creature’s heart.

The organ visibly stuttered, like a runner losing its rhythm and stumbling before reaching the finish line.

Before I could blink, the organ started to bubble and melt.

The effect was immediate, and frankly, terrifying.

That would have been enough to get the job done, but Malice was nothing if not thorough.

His infection spread, moving from the heart to the rest of the vital organs, and it didn’t stop until the once alien-like beauty was a pool of bubbling black liquid.

“Well... that should do it,” I said, hands in my pockets as I rocked back on my heels.

Malice’s eyes slid to mine, and for a moment, I thought he might punch me. Instead, he placed his goo-covered hand on my shoulder and said, “Thank you.”

To my credit, I didn’t flinch. This shirt was a goner, anyway.

“Yeah, man. No problem.”

It went without saying I wasn’t about to mention what I’d seen. It would go in the vault. If I had one. Which I didn’t. But, you know, bro code.

Chaos and Grim joined us, both of them spattered with blood and other things. The demons were nothing more than stains on the earth.

“Fuck yeah, we are such a badass team,” I said.

“Always were,” Grim said. “Where is she?”

“Safe with Christian. She even promised me she wouldn’t leave.”

Grim let out a disbelieving chuckle. “And you took her at her word?”

“For once, she seemed to be on board. Probably because she saw what we were up against and realized she would be more of a hindrance,” I said.

We exchanged loaded looks, all of us thinking back to Merri’s insane takedown of the humans. I’d seen Sabine take down plenty of mortals, had done the same myself even, but never more than one at a time. Merri was something else, powerful in a way none of us fully understood.

“What the fuck just happened?” Chaos asked.

“Well...” I started. “As you know, those were lust demons. And we fought them and just won.”

Chaos glared at me. “But how ?”

I opened my mouth, and he stopped me with a dirty palm over the bottom half of my face. “Not you. You,” he clarified, pointing to Malice.

Malice looked from the gate and then back toward the house, shaking his head. “Demons should never have been able to pass the barrier.”

“So how did they, then?” Grim asked, echoing the original question.

A breeze set the tree limbs rustling, and Malice frowned. “Not here. Let’s get back. We need to talk to Christian.”

I, for one couldn’t wait to get back to Merri. Everything had changed after this fight. I was pretty confident that it wasn't just in relation to me. Everything had changed... for all of us.