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My eyes suddenly felt too big for their sockets as I gasped, a vein throbbing in my brow. Each breath was a rattled rasp as spittle flew from my mouth with each attempt. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t rid my neck of something I couldn’t rip free with my hands but still felt as it pressed into the tender flesh of my throat, rubbing my skin raw.
Her pointed nail pushed into the bottom of my chin. “I’m so glad you aren’t going to disappoint me.”
I jerked again and the noose tightened. Somehow, my fingers got between it and my throat as I gasped in a desperate breath, lifting myself so it didn’t press against the front of my throat. “You should know I never disappoint. Just ask my husband.” Each word was a press of my luck. I should have just taken the time to breathe, my grasp on whatever magic rope strangled me slipping.
The corner of her mouth quirked up as the point of her nail pierced my skin. I hissed, once again battling against rage. “Let’s see just how long you can keep up with your posturing.”
“Sure.” I blew a stray strand of hair out of my face as I tried to jerk my chin out of reach. “Whatever the hell that means.” My grip slipped and my eyes rolled back in my head, a strangled sound escaping me.
She laughed the same laugh that was working my last nerve. “Don’t worry. I plan to show you.”
36
ASMODEUS
“Why the hell are we in the woods?” Imani’s voice held more irritation than fear now. Once Eden disappeared, they all abandoned their fear of me, too preoccupied by fear of what happened to my wife. Imani had also stopped trying to banish me, but I knew that had more to do with Lulu and Catalina and the harsh stares they offered without much provocation.
What power they had. I smirked at the thought.
Once all the answers I could give were laid out to the irritating women in Eden’s life, I knew I had to bring them back. Back to her house. Back to the woods. I needed reinforcements.
“Imani, you better stop with all that before Eden’s demon husband makes you blush again,” Alicia teased.
Imani’s lips pressed thin, the muscles working over her jaw before her nostrils flared and she let out a slow breath. “He didn’t.”
“You lie,” Sarika walked up behind her, whispering the words into Imani’s ear.
She flinched before she growled under her breath, arms crossed under her chest.
“There are places in this world that are thin. It makes it easier for us to travel between your world and ours.” I explained, ignoring their bickering, as I walked with purpose waiting for the wave of familiarity to hit the centre of my chest.
“What?” Imani’s voice was high. “What do you mean? You mean y’all can just come through any time you want? Without a book?”
“Yes.”
“That is just… just…” Robotic ringing sounded from her pocket and she fumbled to pull the phone out. “Hey, love. What? No. Absolutely not. We both agreed they wouldn’t have any more ice cream or junk before bed.” Imani shot me a wary look before she walked off with her phone to her ear.
I ignored her. Despite their urging to follow me, I had no use for them.
There had to be a place here. I knew the first time I was summoned that Eden’s home sat on a thinning plane. It was the very reason why the summoning couldn’t be ignored like so many others. I had thought that alone was why Eden was chosen.
I also suspected there was a thinned plane here when her banishing kept sending me out to these woods. Her harsh words could send me home if I wasn’t bound to her. Through the thinned plane and back to the dark realm.
Sarika sidled up beside me. “Her husband is on kid duty tonight.”
I offered her a quick nod before I continued to search.
“What are you doing? Can I help?” She pushed hair behind her ears in a way that reminded me of Eden as her curious eyes searched the ground.
My brows dropped in surprise as I looked over my shoulder at her. “Really?”
She nodded. “Of course. I know we all probably seem ridiculous to you.” She looked at Vi who flinched as a bird flew too close to the top of her head. “Well… sometimes we are, but there is nothing more important to us than each other. I don’t care what you are. You could be the devil himself and I would help you with whatever you wanted if it meant getting Eden back. I think we all feel that way. Though… Lulu and Catalina are surprising me.”
I glanced over my shoulder at where the two older women stood. Lulu’s hand held Catalina’s arm though she no longer needed assistance. They whispered to one another, words that sounded much like the praying Eden had told me about. Leaving them behind was out of the question and once Catalina took off her shoe and whacked me on the chin with it, I felt a fear the likes of which I never had before.
“Tell me what you need,” Sarika continued, her eyes searching as though she could suddenly see what I was looking for.
I released a sigh. “I need help.”
