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The faint trickle of water caught my attention, and my head swiveled around to search for the source. And then I looked at my feet.
Drops of blood hit the ground like a leaky faucet. How much was left inside of me? Ravens healed much faster than humans, but I'd bleed out if I didn’t stop this.
A sharp pain ripped over my arm, and my hiss bounced through the altar room. What the hell? Black veins spiderwebbed around the cut from the sub-demon’s horn.
I bit back a string of curses. That didnotlook good. Poison probably coated those devilish spikes.
My head rested on the column, and I used my good arm to wipe sweat off my forehead. I needed to get out of the Underworld and back to Corvin Manor. This cut could be infected with a deadly toxin that would kill me faster than the blood loss. Coltrane would have an antidote or at least find a witch that did.
Wood creaked through the dim church like the crack of a whip, and my spine snapped straight. I peered through the darkness but no movement registered. I wasn’t stupid enough to believe nothing was there. Maybe Fane Maverick had found me.
I scooted around the other side of the pillar and yanked the dagger Coltrane had given me off the holster on my leg. My hands shook as I unveiled the secret compartment, pulled out the tiny vial of Demise, and soaked the blade. This was definitely an emergency.
If Fane Maverick came for the Infernal Sol, he’d wind up with a blade to his throat. Demise would still do damage even if he was only half demon.
“I thought I smelled a dirty, diseased bird.” Ziva materialized in front of me without a sound, reaching for my throat.
My pulse skyrocketed through the stratosphere. What was it with demons and choking?
I stooped out of her reach and pivoted behind her, slamming my fist into her skull. Hot agony reverberated through my side and arm while my hit barely fazed her.
“I know what you took from Karn.” She tossed her platinum sheet of hair behind her shoulder as her ruby lips curled into a snarl. “And I’m going to get it back.”
A cold, cruel laugh tumbled out of my mouth, and I held the knife up. “Come and get it then.”
Ziva attacked, talons extending from her fingers. I scrambled back and slammed into a pew, climbing over it to get away as my stomach felt like it would split in half. Panic and icy fear clung to my muscles as my injuries slowed my movements. The walls spun, and sickness soured my gut.
Shit. I might hurl.
Before I could jump over the next bench, long fingers tangled in my hair, and Ziva wrenched my head back so hard I’d get whiplash. She appeared, her scandalous black dress blowing around her and those blue eyes darkening to bottomless pits.
I raised the dagger to slice her throat, but she grabbed my hand and twisted it until I dropped my weapon. A cry burst out of me at the pain throbbing in my wrist. “Get the hell off me!”
“Karn said as long as I get the amulet, I can toy with you for a bit.” She lifted me into the air as if I weighed ten pounds and dropped me onto a bench.
Invisible molten steel pokers impaled every inch of me. A copper taste settled in the base of my throat, and I coughed up blood. The skylight pulsated as my lids fluttered.
The royal demon slapped my cheek. “Don’t go to sleep on me now, raven. We’re just getting started.” Her fingers dug into my chin as she angled my head around and opened my mouth to draw out my soul. “I prefer the souls of children, but you’re not much older. Certainly a child compared to me, so I’ll make due.”
As her horrific words sank in, Jayla’s cold body, vacant stare, and graying complexion flashed through my mind. She could have easily been a victim of Ziva’s instead of Fane Maverick’s demon brother.
How many kids had this sick psycho murdered? How many had she tormented?
Rage inundated my veins, filling my muscles with a lethal combination of fury and adrenaline. I crushed my fist into her temple and gnashed my teeth as I bent my knees to put space between us. And then I kicked her off.
She flew across the altar room, shrieking.
I blinked away the blurriness and scrambled up, staggering toward the knife. The royal demon would recover fast, so I only had moments to make my move. Sharp stabs ripped through my side, and weakness stole my balance.
My knees buckled, and I hit the ground, but the dagger was within my reach. I crawled toward it as blood dribbled out of my mouth.
“You stupid human.” Ziva’s presence coalesced behind me. “I can smell death on you. And do you really think a little knife will end me?”
This one would.
A smile twisted my lips, and my fingers curled around the dagger's hilt just as Ziva grabbed my legs and flipped me on my back. She crawled over me, her face transforming into one of a monster with ashen skin, hollow cheeks, and sunken, black eyes.
Ziva scoffed. “What are you smiling at? You’re about to die.”
