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I fight like a Hellcat to get away from him, knowing it won't work but hoping I'm putting on a good show.
Rapha overpowers me easily. “There’s no escape this time, Penelope. I let you go the first time because I wanted Mammon to know I was coming for you. For him. I wanted him to experience a fraction of the torment I've suffered since I lost my mate.”
Even though Mammon and I planned this, I'm still terrified. I focus on keeping my breathing steady as I reach for the Vein Venom in my pocket. My hand closes around the vial as Rapha sniffs my neck, licking it like he’s marking his property.
His fangs protrude from his mouth as I turn toward his face. His head dips my throat as he pushes my hair to the side. I strike without hesitation, smashing the vial against the side of his head.
The venom barely coats Rafah’s face before I’m snatched from his grasp and pushed behind my husband.
Rapha hisses and spits as he curls in on himself, sliding down the wall behind him. “What have… you… done?” he demands breathlessly, finding Mammon’s face through the pain. “You know… I will heal… so you'd better… kill me quickly.”
“I don’t want to kill you,” Mammon says, approaching Rapha like the dangerous predator he is. “I want to make a deal.”
“Unless… the deal involves… the death of your mate, I'm not… interested." He grunts at the pain, but his vampiric healing powers will kick in soon, and then he’ll come for us.
“Um, Mammon?” I whisper, tugging at his sleeve.
“A little busy here, little one.”
I clear my throat. “Yeah, about that. We’re, um, surrounded.”
Mammon’s head whips around to see the army of monsters surrounding us: orcs, ogres, demons, centaurs, gargoyles… the list goes on.
“Did you really… think I was… alone?” Rapha sneers.
“And did you think I wouldn’t have my army at my back?” Mammon asks as his soldiers appear behind Rapha’s.
The two adversaries glare at each other. Demon versus vampire.
Okay, then. Looks like we have ourselves a standoff.
Mammon is the first to break the silence. “I was wrong, Rapha," he finally admits, spreading his arms wide. "I didn’t know then. I didn’t know what it was like to love. To have someone you would do anything to keep by your side.”
Rapha stills for a moment before letting out a harsh laugh. He tries to get up, already overcoming the venom’s effects. “So, you plead ignorance… and expect mercy?”
We back up as Rapha finally struggles to his feet and steps toward us. But we can only retreat so far if we want to ensure this ends now. If Rapha doesn’t take the deal, Mammon will be forced to kill him before he fully recovers. And all Hell will break loose. Literally.
"Trust me," I say to my husband as I step out from behind him. Holding my hands out in front of me, I take a single step toward Rapha. “I’m not a vampire or a demon, Rapha. I’m human, and I have no powers, no agenda other than wanting to protect my husband. Killing me won't bring your mate back. But we have a solution that might, so please hear us out.”
Rapha looks up at the sky, pouring its wrath down on us, and grins. He moves so fast that I don’t see it coming. One minute, I’m standing beside Mammon, and the next, Mammon is being restrained by two of his goons, and Rapha has his hand wrapped around my throat, my feet dangling off the ground. Edward Cullen, eat your heart out because this guy is faster.
“Hold!” Mammon bellows as his soldiers surge forward to protect their master, knowing Rapha only has to squeeze lightly to crush my windpipe. “Rapha, don’t do this. Please.”
Hearing my husband beg for my life almost cracks my heart in two.
“Take… our deal… and you can… bring your mate… back,” I choke, looking into Rapha’s hypnotic eyes.
Rapha’s eyes narrow as they search mine. Something buzzes in my brain, and I know he’s doing some vampire mind meld thing like Spock does in Star Trek. He’s searching my mind for the truth of my words.
His grip on my throat loosens, but he doesn’t release me as he calls, “Tell me about the deal, Mammon.”
My eyes widen as I look at the vampire holding me hostage, almost sobbing in relief. He’s going to hear us out.
“Lucifer himself has requested you as his new demon of greed,” Mammon says. “My position, my power, my throne, all the things you crave, can all be yours.”
“Why?” Rapha snarls. “Why would you give up all that power?”
“Love,” Mammon answers immediately. “I love my wife, like you loved Drusilla, and living in The Below isn’t good for her. That’s unacceptable because I only want the best for my love. Take the deal, Rapha. You will hold all the power. Enough power to bring her back.”
