Page 72 of Soul Redeemed

“I don’t know her, per se. I’m an acquaintance of her mate.” Better to associate herself with the Wrath demon than Ava. The human seemed to have enough knowledge about supernaturals, and most knew not to fuck with a Wrath. And if he didn’t? To hell with him. His funeral.

The raising of his brow left Thais second-guessing herself. “Friend of the Wraths?”

His smile spurred a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach and left her wondering if she’d just fucked herself. “Acquaintance. There’s a difference.”

“And what, might I ask, is the nature of your acquaintance?”

Shit. “I delivered some goods once.” With every lie, she attempted to lessen her connection to them. “His girlfriend happened to greet me at the door. I thought she was pretty, and I used her face.”

“The door? Of the mansion?”

“Yeah, well, the troll who guards it must’ve had to take a piss and left her in charge of the door. Look, I don’t know why she was there. I made my delivery and left. You don’t fuck with the Wrath demons, right?”

“Right. What goods did you deliver?”

“Drugs. For his brother. This is all very secret stuff you’re asking me.”

“Yes. I know.” He lifted a phone from a holster at his side and turned his head to the side to speak. “Bring the injections,” was all he said before clipping the device back at his side.

Thais tugged the chains to seat herself higher on the bed, as if she could get away. “What injections?” The rapid pattering of her heart left Thais one whimper away from falling into panic. “What are you going to do?”

“It’s not so much what I’m going to do. It’s what you’re going to do, my dear. You see, the only time you’re able to flash from one location to another, is if you’ve been there before. It plays off of your memories.” He bent forward, holding himself up over her. “And since you’ve been to the mansion, and have seen Ava there, you’re going to retrieve her for me.”

“What makes you think I’d come back to this shithole?”

“Ah, I’m glad you asked.” He strode across the room and threw back the iron door, revealing the monstrous, gorilla-faced beast who’d brought her there. Standing behind a silver cart, he carried three syringes. “My friend will accompany you. He’ll see to it that you not only retrieve the girl, but that you return her to me. And if you fail to do so, if you attempt to escape, he’ll bring you back here. And what happened to the succubi will be merciful compared to what happens to you.”

Thais swallowed a harsh gulp. “How?”

“I’m going to inject you with the Sang virus. It’ll take a few hours to settle throughout your body. A couple days until you level out. Once I remove the chains, you’ll have the power to flash just by thinking of the place. If you try it with the chains, you’ll decapitate yourself.” He shivered, and his face screwed up into a grimace. “Trust me, I’ve seen it too many times.”

She jerked her head toward the gorilla-faced mutt standing in the doorway. “And him? What am I supposed to do? Walk around with a big, ugly ass demon following behind like a puppy?”

The beast growled at the same time the human male lifted the second syringe.

“I believe that mistakes are made to make us more aware of our shortcomings. So we can fix them. This second injection contains his pheromones.” He glanced back at the demon and smiled. “It works the same way as bonding. He’ll sense you at all times. Wherever you flash to, he’ll follow.” Syringe held before his face, he examined the clear fluid that appeared to have small black specs floating around within. “Shame I couldn’t have used this on Ava, but that would’ve surely fucked with my experiment, and I believe in the fewer variables, the better.”

Disgust churned in her gut as he approached the bed, and Thais tugged on the chains in a futile attempt to break them. “Keep that the fuck away from me. I don’t need some snaggle-toothed bastard thinking I’m his mate!”

“It’s temporary. It’s effects only last a few days.”

“And if he tries raping me in that time?”

“He’ll wait outside the compound for you. I suggest you get in and get out. We wouldn’t want him getting jealous and barging in.” The human ran a finger along her throat, smiling when he found her pulsing artery. “You’re nervous. Don’t be. Do as I say, and you’ll be fine.”

“And what happens to me after? You’ll let me go?”

“One step at a time, dear.” A sharp sting hit her neck, as he jabbed the needle into her flesh there, and waves of euphoria struck her brain. “Let’s first see how you respond to the virus.”

34

Ava hardly recognized the female staring back at her from the full-length mirror attached to the armoire. The white translucent tone of her skin allowed the network of veins to peek through from beneath, while the stark blue of her eyes had begun to dull. The usual shine and thickness to her hair seemed unruly, and frizzier than usual.

Whatever post-coital glow she’d been blessed with the last few days had surely faded away.

Calix hadn’t said a word about it, thank goodness. Even after four straight days of sex, his appetite hadn’t seemed to wane, his lust for her unshaken by her noticeably changing appearance.

Perhaps she needed some time outside. Her human half afforded her the ability to tan, and with the late spring sun shining through the window, she decided that might just be the cure for whatever had taken hold in the last week.