Page 66 of A Cursed Heart
“Yeah,” I lied. Mal would be back before help could get to me.
“Hold tight.” He ended the call.
My heart was hammering in my chest. What was taking Mal so long? It could only have been a minute.
“Ah, there you are.” A hand fisted in my hair, wrenching me out of my hiding place behind the kitchen island. I struck out with the knife only to have my hand frozen in place.
The blow came from nowhere. My head rang with it. Hit after hit came until I wanted to pass out to avoid the pain.
Scythe—this was the darker form of Salvatore in front of me—pulled me onto my knees.
“Where is my ruby? I know it’s here.”
“Fuck you!” I spat.
He punched me in the face with a sickening crack. I coughed, spewing blood while the darkness tried to suck me into it.
It felt like a lifetime, but it could only have been a few minutes, all filled with agony as Scythe used a mix of magic and his fists to beat the information out of me.
“Here,” Mal said, forcing calm and appearing behind Scythe. “It’s in the sink pipes.”
Scythe backed away, heading for Freya’s bathroom where Mal had pointed. My demon came to my side. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Can you get us out of here?”
A pained expression crossed his features. “He’s blocked me. I’m stuck here.”
I tried to sit up properly. “Fuck!”
“Let me heal you.”
“No, save your magic. I’m fine.”
“Ryan—”
“Oh, how touching! You are so cute together.” Scythe returned to the kitchen, the heart ruby in his hand. “So this is it, huh? How does it work? How do I get a pet demon for myself? I’m not really looking for a boyfriend, but a hole is a hole.” His laugh was dangerous, unhinged.
Neither of us answered him. He knew? How?
Scythe laughed once more. “Did you really think I didn’t know the legends? I speak all the old languages, so of course I heard the humors.” He made a barking noise at Mal, who froze in place, completely immobile. He sauntered towards me, the gem glowing faintly from the light of the moon through the kitchen window.
His hand pulled my hair, extending my neck, his threat implicit. With his magic, he could cut my throat. “Answer me!”
“Blood,” Mal answered. I noticed his hands twitching. Could Scythe see it too?
“Mine, yours, or his?” Scythe’s fist clenches, tearing a cry and what felt like half my scalp out of me.
“Yours.” Mal’s eyes barely left me. Something about the magical hold on him had unraveled his human appearance. His tail, horns, ears, and eyes were all back to how he was when I met him.
I was tossed to the floor, barely catching myself in time to save my face. My nose hurt like a motherfucker.
It was impossible to tell if Scythe missed it, but his magic was weakening. Mal had inched closer to me. He looked like he was barely keeping it together.
“Why isn’t it working?” He was dripping blood from his palm onto the ruby. “It’s him, isn’t it? He’s still your master until he’s dead.” He pulled a gun and aimed it right at my head.
“What? No! Please!” I begged.
Scythe shrugged. “You were never getting out of this alive, Mr. Mallory. You’ve ruined my life. Now it’s time to end yours.”
