Page 16 of Stalked By Pestilence
In this form, I controlled all my powers. I negotiated better with them, too. My snake eyes helped track more than mortals and my tongue tasted more than scent. My venom was pure torture for demon and angel alike. Or deadly pleasure. Depended on my mood.
My hand squeezed around his neck, holding dominance over the hellish beast. He couldn’t slip away with my scales anchoring him to this plane. “What business do you have here?”
His eyes skittered to the side, fear eating away at his demon face. “I…”
Snarling, my hand constricted and coercion coated the words leaving my mouth. “I don’t have all night, Morcius. Either you tell me why you’re following the human, or I end this my way—withan eternal prison in my own personal realm, curated to your specifications to loosen your tongue.”
His eyes went wide in panic, and he tripped all over himself despite the hand keeping him snuggly pinned against the brick. “He wants the human. He sent me here to bring her to him.” The demon nearly bit his own tongue in all his haste to answer.
But his words piqued my interest.
Sending out lesser demons to collect a soul usually meant a stronger demon—one who couldn’t cross over without starting a war with Heaven. What would a demon like that want with my human?
Unless this was a part of the war already ongoing thanks to that absolute twat, Dead. Leave it to him to make my life a living Hell. Literally.
“Who?” I demanded on a growl.
Before he could answer, the demon’s eyes went wide and the fires of Hell burned him and the mortal vessel he’d commandeered to ashes. I’d pulled my hand back swiftly enough to avoid a burn. The fires of Hell rarely did much more than annoy. A burn would heal over a few hours’ time, but I’d rather not deal with it at all.
Realizing I hadn’t gotten an answer, I slammed my fist on the wall. The brick cracked and splintered with the impact. My eyes cut from left to right, but I didn’t sense another demon or otherwise in the area. My jaw ticked in agitation and I brushed my hair back, after a good bit of it had fallen in front of my eyes after my outburst.
If someone was aftermyCounter Soul, then leaving her unattended could spell trouble. I hadn’t been keen on the idea ofleaving her at all, really, and now I’d been given the perfect excuse to hang around.
Well-meant stalking, as she’d called it.
I grinned to myself and leaned back. Taking out my mobile, I swiped through and texted my contact. He was quick to reply. He knew what happened if he didn’t. I wasn’t known for my patience, and he’d sold his soul to me to avoid getting it snatched up by the Devil. I’d argue I was a much better option, all things considered.
A sly smirk stretched across my face when he came back with nothing but good news, and the first leg of my plan came together without a hitch.
Shadow snakes slithered across the floor and spiders crawled near the wall next to me, summoned by a whistle no human ears could hear.
They crowded me, and I tossed my long-standing companions a greeting glance. “I need you to keep an eye on things here while I get a few things handled. Anything happens and you know what to do. I want the entire area covered for the next two hours.”
Their shifting and swaying bodies were all the answer I required. Unlike Thanatos, I didn’t make a habit of carrying on a conversation with my underlings.
Kicking off the wall, I whistled again, and this time, a bike came careening down the street, its tires tearing through loose asphalt and dirt. It stopped in front of me, absent its driver. I threw a leg over it and peeled out of the street, planning my next move before dawn was upon us and I could take action.
Chapter Eight
Emily
My alarm went off for the fifth time. I reached, patted, failed to find it, and groaned in sleepy woe. Lifting my head with a grumble, I located the horrible thing and smashed the stop button on the screen.
Ten a.m.
My eyes snapped open wider. “Shit.”
Scrambling, I spirited around my bedroom for nearly five minutes before remembering one very important detail. No more job. No more hauling ass into the office. No more asshole partners blowing up my phone to demand I work on another case with my caseloadalready overwhelmed.
“Fuck yeah,” I said, pumping my arm in triumph. “New Emily rocks!”
I took my sweet-ass time getting ready—a luxury I hadn’t been given with my nine-to-five bullshit responsibility. After ensuring I didn’t look like the gremlin that lurked in the shadows, I made coffee and lounged in the kitchen for nearly an hour, pondering my new life.
Should I take up reading? Asha seemed to go gaga over the fictional boyfriends she collected in those spicy books she always read. Maybe I could find me a saucy little sub in one of them.
My finger hovered over our text chat, tempted to ask for what books I should start with, but I refrained from messaging her. My girl was off having ridiculous amounts of sex with her criminally hot beau. I wouldn’t bother her. I’d figure this shit out and shock my bestie the minute she came back to the new person I was.
I stared at the stove, contemplating a hobby of cooking. With a firm nod, I set out to do just that, until the billow of smoke and burnt eggs had me pivoting.