6
The texture of the air was strange, like invisible feathers brushing along my fingertips. As the door behind me exploded open, the demoness seized me by the wrist and hurled me behind her in one clean toss.
I crash-landed behind a dresser. At least I think it was a dresser.
Demons stormed into the room I’d just been in, barking orders in a frenzy of guttural voices. I peeked out from behind a shiny metal structure that appeared to hold the prisoner’s belongings. It was light enough to see in here, not like out there. The demoness faced the invisible curtain, watching the demons swarm. It was like looking through a smoky screen.
“They cannot see in here until they part the curtain,” she said, not bothering to turn and face me.
I poked my body up farther. There had to be twenty of them out there. From behind, I could see that the demoness had long blonde hair tinged with metallic green strands. It shimmered slightly as she moved, the green combined with the blond like flowing liquid. I hadn’t thought she’d have blonde hair, or of any demon having blonde hair for that matter, so that was a surprise. I was going to have to refer to her as a her, not an it, because she was so clearly female. I was going to assume she was a demoness until she told me other. She had a curvy figure and delicate hands. I quickly overlooked the fact that she was dressed in a bizarre gray jumpsuit that, at least from the back, appeared to be made of a latex-type material. It wasn’t exactly like what I’d seen the other demons wearing, but similar enough. The shiny material gave her a definite ninja look. Again, I hadn’t been expecting anything like this. The demons were totally surprising me. I’d pictured reptilian horrors, sort of like you’d conjure from all the B movies, half man, half reptile. Instead they were glamoured humans who wore strange jumpsuits. Hardly terrifying at all. My wolf barked, ending on a growl. Well, sort of terrifying in an odd creepy way.
Alarms began to ring as steam shot up through the floor. The invisible curtain must be dropping. I ducked back down behind my small cover.
Immediately the demoness engaged in a violent argument with whoever had broken in to find me. They were all speaking Demonish, so I had no idea what they were saying. I couldn’t see anything from my vantage point, cowering behind the furniture.
All of a sudden there was a huge explosion and the demoness flew back in a shower of sparks. She crashed against the far wall of the cell and fell limply to the ground. There was more yelling, but then, surprisingly, the footsteps retreated.
The demoness lay there, in my sight line, breathing heavily, head down at a strange angle. I had no idea what had happened and I had no idea if I should try to help her. I made a move my wolf snarled, snapping at the air in front of her decisively.
Okay. Fine. Have it your way. We’ll wait. Instead of helping the demoness, I readjusted myself against the cool wall and slid from my crouching position into a sitting position, eyeing her as I made myself more comfortable.
Everything around this place was cold and slippery in the strangest way.
I moved my back in a circle and it slid against the wall like the surface was made of butter. I turned and placed my fingertips against it. What do you think it’s made of? My wolf ignored me in favor of keeping her eye on the demoness. Well, it’s not made from any material we have at home, that’s for sure. There’s no residue, but it feels organic, not artificial.
The demoness made a noise and I turned quickly, watching as she brought her head up. Her features from the front were pristine, very sculpted and angular. She had a long, slim neck and her skin was shiny like the Prince of Hell’s, but there was a marked difference.
She appeared to be more human somehow.
Moaning and in obvious pain, she turned toward me and met my gaze straight on. Good grief, she’s beautiful. My wolf snarled. She was gorgeous in a foreign way—as in, I knew she was beautiful, but I couldn’t explain why.
I extended my power outward, trying to get a better read on her signature.
“Your power feels demonic,” she said as her eyes on mine. “That is very peculiar.”
Her power was heady and strong, but again, different from the Prince’s. “I’m assuming you’re a demoness. Are you glamoured?” I asked, ignoring her comment about my signature. I had to figure out a way to make this work between us—demoness and wolf—if that was even possible.
She chuckled. Her eyes were arresting. They slanted upward at the outer corners and her pupils weren’t full serpentine slits like I’d glimpsed when the Prince of Hell’s glamour failed. They were more like cat eyes, with a wide oval pupil surrounded by a sea of brilliant sapphire. “I am a demoness and I am not glamoured.”
I raised my eyebrows, not sure whether to believe her. “I saw the demons above. They were all glamoured. And I know a demon’s true nature is not human. Why would the demons here choose to look human in their own world?”
“All demons are required to be glamoured at all times and have been for nearly three hundred years.”
“Why?”
She shrugged as she braced herself to stand, using the wall to aid her. Once she was up, she began to rearrange herself as best she could. Her latex jumpsuit had been severely damaged from whatever blow she’d been dealt. She came forward, stopping at the dresser to open a drawer. “They are glamoured because the Prince deemed it so. A demon’s natural appearance is unrefined by nature and with glamour we can become anything we want. The Prince has chosen to have our race represent itself in a pleasing manner, and what you glimpsed above is what he’s chosen.”
“But you said you weren’t glamoured,” I pointed out as I stood, eyeing her from head to toe as she grabbed a new outfit and paced to a small utilitarian bed covered in a single gray blanket—which appeared, unsurprisingly, to be made of a strange shimmery material. “You’re not a full demoness, are you?”
She glanced at me over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing, her oval pupil thinning, making the entire eye appear blue. “You are an extremely curious creature, aren’t you?”
“It’s not hard to deduce. You speak perfect English,” I said, turning away to give her privacy as she disrobed. Out of the corner of my eye, however, I noted her spine looked sharper than any human’s, signifying she was at least half demon. My guess was that the other half was something supernatural, not human.
I strode out from behind the dresser, still keeping my head bowed, running my hands along the top as I passed. I absentmindedly brought my fingertips together to see if they were sticky. They weren’t. “You can’t be an imp, though, because your power signature is too strong. So I’m guessing the other half is supe, something from my world, judging by your accent. And because of your striking beauty, my next guess would be nymph or pixie. That’s why glamour is unnecessary for you.” Not that I’d ever seen a real live nymph or pixie, but that sounded like a good theory based on pictures I’d seen. Nymphs were usually drop-dead gorgeous and had strong abilities in the seduction area.
She turned to face me, zipping up her new, exactly-the-same-as-before latex jumpsuit. “I’m no nymph. But what I am is not important; escaping this place is.”
By her dismissive tone, she wasn’t ready to give me any more than that right now. I glanced around the room. We were in a fifteen-foot-square space. Other than a dresser and the bed, there was no furniture. The floor was tiled in large squares. “How did I pass through the curtain so easily? I didn’t feel a ward.”