Page 10 of Wicked (Dark Delights #5)

Isaac

After a mind-blowing dream, Isaac woke uncomfortable and confused.

He’d never imagined having a dream like that about a demon .

It had to be the stress of his situation twisting his reality or something.

The demon had spoken pretty, tempting words, but that was all they were.

The imaginary desires of a broken mind. Mentally shaking it off, he focused on the present.

He had no idea what time it was, as there was nothing but bare, painted brick and dingy tile in his little cell.

His head throbbed, his mouth was dry, and there was a horrible crick in his neck from sleeping slumped over.

Pain lanced up his shoulders and back as he straightened, and he couldn’t stop a choked-off groan from escaping.

His stomach knotted with aching hunger. When did he last eat?

Oh yeah, eggs in the cafeteria. If he assumed he’d somehow managed to sleep through the night, then he was going on twenty-four hours without food.

Weirdest of all, despite going a full day with no water, he had to piss .

Rasping from a dry throat, he shouted, “Hey! Hello! Anybody out there?”

And then he waited. A moment later, the door swung open.

Black Eyes was just as beautiful now as he’d been yesterday.

It looked as though he’d had a good night.

He was dressed in a fresh pair of black slacks and a black button-down today.

The sleeves were rolled up and the top few buttons were undone, providing a tantalizing view of his clavicle and chest. His hair was damp, and several strands had fallen forward to hang above his eyes.

Worst of all, he smiled when he met Isaac’s gaze, leaning one muscled shoulder against the doorframe and cocking his hip out. It was fucking criminal.

“Can I help you, killer?”

‘Does that hurt, killer?’

Isaac shuddered. How could his body even be thinking about attraction when he had so many other more pressing needs? He focused on keeping his face impassive and his attention on all his discomforts.

“I’ve got to pee. You guys got a bathroom I can use, or am I making a mess? Your call.” He would absolutely make a mess just to spite them if they didn’t let him use a toilet.

Shadrach sputtered out a laugh. “No need to be so uncivilized. Give me just a sec.”

He left the door open—which was a maddening tease, to see his freedom so close and yet so far. It appeared to open up into a dark hallway that was just as dingy as his closet cell. A pale blue wall was visible on the other side, but there were no other identifying features.

When Black Eyes returned, he walked right over and circled around behind Isaac .

“Talon’s a fan of complicated knots,” he murmured, but slowly, the ropes around his wrists loosened.

Isaac groaned as he brought his arms in front of his body. His joints burned in protest after having been locked into position for so long. When hands settled on the curve of his shoulders, a shock jolted down his spine.

“Relax, killer, I’m helping,” Black Eyes crooned in his ear. Thumbs kneaded into the muscle, pain and pleasure rolling into one, and Isaac couldn’t stop the sound that left his throat. For just a moment, the tension drained from his body, and his head fell forward.

Startled by his own easy surrender, he stood abruptly, whirling around and staggering away from the demon. He was just toying with him, that was all. Isaac wouldn’t fall for a few kind touches and his own broken mind. He was stronger than that.

“Just show me where the bathroom is,” he snapped, searching for equilibrium.

Black Eyes smiled easily. He gestured to the door. “After you. Take a right.”

Isaac moved slower than necessary, pretending his legs were weak so he had time to get a good look around. Immediately outside the door of his makeshift cell was a hallway. To the left, it opened up into?—

Wow, he really was in a skating rink.

The rink floor had been transformed into a training area with padded mats on the floor and dummies for various activities.

Some had targets on the chest and head area, while others had wooden ‘arms’ for practicing with close combat.

Beyond the training area, where the snack bar and the arcade might’ve once been, there were folding chairs and an old sofa and—was that a table or an air hockey game ?

A hand landed on his shoulder, guiding him to the right. The bathroom was down the hallway, on the opposite wall from his closet. Isaac escaped inside and shut the door behind him.

This was the employees-only bathroom of a bygone era, he realized when he turned around.

A single toilet sat in the corner. A pale light over the mirror gave his gaunt appearance an even more pallid look.

He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was lank, escaping from the bun he’d put it in yesterday morning.

Something niggled at his brain as he emptied his bladder, finger-combed his hair back into a fresh bun, and washed his hands and face.

Then he stuck his mouth under the faucet and drank greedily, despite the fact that he’d just have to piss again later, which would mean relying on the demon to let him out again.

The skating rink. Something about the rink. He slapped the water off and raised his head, bracing his hands on the sink and staring into his own shadowed eyes while he wracked his tired brain.

How did he know it was a skating rink? The demon had told him that in his dream, but he didn’t see the rest of the building yesterday.

He vaguely remembered seeing what might have been a disco ball, but he never would have made the connection between that and a skating rink .

He’d never been inside a skating rink before.

A disco ball could’ve meant any number of places.

How did he know ? How could that knowledge have been in his dream?

Black Eyes told him. In his dream. He’d asked Isaac questions in that dream, questions Isaac would’ve expected him to ask for real. What if Black Eyes could dreamwalk? What if he’d waited for Isaac to fall asleep, to lower his defenses in the privacy in his own mind, and then took advantage?

He watched the realization pass across his own face in the mirror.

Son of a bitch. Last night wasn’t a dream.

Or—it had been, but the demon had really been there.

That was why he didn’t ‘die’ like Isaac wanted when he stabbed him.

He’d just stood there and brushed the blood off like it was inconsequential, because Black Eyes couldn’t be controlled in Isaac’s dreams.

His stomach lurched with dismay. Black Eyes had invaded his mind in a very real way.

That made him far more dangerous than Isaac already thought.

Isaac’s mind was supposed to be his own.

Maybe it was broken or wired wrong, but he’d thought it was at least his own.

If he couldn’t even trust that, what else did he have?

He couldn’t trust himself to fall asleep again while in captivity.

And if sleep was too dangerous, he needed to get out of here.

The human body could go far longer without food than it could without sleep.

If Black Eyes’s goal was to wait him out, Isaac would eventually fail. And failure was not an option.

Three sharp knocks rapped against the door. “Time’s up, killer. Let’s go.”

Isaac cast about for something to use as a weapon. He couldn’t let them tie him up again. He had to get out of there. The traitors had holy weapons, didn’t they? He just needed to find them. If he could get past Black Eyes, maybe he could get to one. That would level the playing field.

There was nothing remotely weapon-like in the bathroom, though.

He could use shards from the mirror, maybe, but the moment he broke it, Black Eyes would force his way in here.

And then his eyes landed on the lid of the toilet tank.

It was heavy enough. If he hit Black Eyes in the head with it, it wouldn’t do permanent damage, but it might give him just enough time to rush past him and get to a real weapon.

It was his only option. Carefully and quietly, he lifted the rectangular lid and hefted it. It was probably close to ten pounds. Better than nothing.

He positioned himself beside the door and took a fortifying breath. If he waited for Black Eyes to open the door, he’d be able to use both hands for a more powerful swing.

So he waited.

It didn’t take long.

The doorknob rattled as it turned. “Hey,” Black Eyes said irritably as the door opened, “I said?—”

Isaac pivoted on the balls of his feet, swinging the tank lid as hard as he could.

It crashed into Black Eyes’s head and sent him straight into the doorframe.

The porcelain shattered between them, and Isaac wasted no time, dropping the broken chunk and shoving past him.

Hands snagged his shirt, but he managed to rip free, careening into the other side of the hall and running.

He leaped over the half-wall into the training area, realizing belatedly that the place wasn’t empty. They were all here, the traitors and their demons.

“What the hell?” one of the demons said. He wore a leather jacket. His voice was familiar. This was the one who’d captured him from the guild. Talon . “Shadrach!”

Shadrach? Was that Black Eyes?

He staggered out of the hallway, holding one hand to his bleeding head. Powdered porcelain clung to his raven black hair and dusted his shoulders. “He fucking hit me with the toilet! Don’t let him escape! ”

Across the room, Alex Hawk jumped up from the sofa with a scandalized look. “You broke a toilet?”

“Guys, wait,” Nathan Accardi said, raising his hands. A white-haired halfling stood beside him, his impressive arms crossed.

“Isaac,” Luke called, holding out a hand. “Just calm down.”