Page 42 of Paramour of Sin

That someone who could portalinsidewithout warning, given the bitter sulfur that still permeated the air. Which meant they were powerful enough to teleport alone.

Unless it was a Portal Demon—a pest I could easily handle on my own.

The other option, however, I could not. But a surprise attack might give me enough time to flee.

With that thought in mind, I crept upstairs to my bedroom. I’d already put on my little sleep shorts and a tank top for bed, but fighting an unknown threat barefoot and without a weapon didn’t rate high on my to-do list. I found a pair of old tennis shoes shoved in the bottom of my closet and slipped them onto my feet, then pulled my trunk of weapons out from under my bed.

Gleason had made me a silver knife with a black metal handle—one I could wield without burning myself, though its proximity still caused a small amount of discomfort. He’d taught me how to use it effectively, though, continuing the training I’d once kept up with Eve.

Before she assed off to Heaven and left me here without her.

Back downstairs, I unlocked the side door off Gleason’s office on the lower level, thankful for the freshly oiled hinges and his penchant for having multiple escape routes in a single place. Sometimes it paid to have a roommate that viewed our house like a fortress.

Slipping outside, I bounded quickly down the porch steps and into the shadows of the yard, trying to narrow down the location of the interloper.

I crept around the side of the house, every nerve-ending in me focused on that feeling.

Headlights from an approaching car washed over the side of the house, and I hunkered down in the bushes. The last thing I needed was for some human neighbor to see a shadow crawling around my yard and do their “neighborly duty” by calling the cops.

Cops couldn’t do anything about demons.

Except get killed.

And I really don’t want more human blood on my hands.

After the headlights vanished, I peeled away from the wall and moved back toward the side yard, scanning the darkness. Rustling sounded nearby, followed by a burst of sulfur. My nose twitched, and my limbs crawled with the sensation of someone approaching.

A demonic aura.

It was no longer an assumption, but a certainty.Definitely not alone.

I couldn’t pick up what kind of demon prowled nearby, but it radiated violence. My succubus soul latched onto the aura, reading into the demon’s vibes.Ill-intent. Discontentment. Anger.

A lust for pain.

I clutched my knife in my hand and prepared for a fight as I sidled around the edge of the house, venturing into the deeper shadows of the backyard. If a demon was hiding on my property, it would be here, away from the streetlights that illuminated our little suburban street.

The distinct sound of footsteps filled the air. Low. Quiet. Hesitant.

The demon was stalking me, too.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over me, nothing but darkness against darkness.

I reacted on instinct. I whipped around the form, kicking out my right leg to the back of the demon’s knees. It grunted and wobbled, but didn’t fall, so I followed up with an elbow to the face to stun it, and kneed it in the diaphragm to steal its breath. Then I grabbed its arm, bent its joints backward, and put enough pressure on the demon to make it cry out and fall to his knees. Another elbow to the tender place between the demon’s neck and shoulder sent it sprawling on the ground, and then I followed it down, straddling the asshole as I jammed the knife against its neck.

All of it took less than five seconds.Thank you, Eve and Gleason.

“Who sent you?’ I demanded, meeting the being’s eyes.

And freezing.

Shit.It wasn’t an intruder beneath me.

It was Zane.

My face and neck flushed hot with embarrassment. “Oh! Zane! You scared the shit out of me!”

“Likewise,” Zane wheezed, his hand coming up to grab my wrist. He shook his hair out of his face to look up at me, though his eyes were a little dazed and confused.