Besides, for all I knew, they had him on the same drugs Dash had doped me with. Anyone would be stupid with that crap in their veins.
"Ungh," I said. It took everything to get one syllable out, not that it mattered with the ball gag in my mouth.
"I do not have a greater context to understand their motives. Perhaps if a library were made available to me I could understand their puzzling desire to cause you harm."
At least he cared.
A hot tear trickled down my cheek. I closed my eyes against the pain. Elyssa's face filled the void. I looked longingly at her full lips, her bright violet eyes, her porcelain skin. I might never again touch those lips or feel her warmth press tight against me.
I miss you.
I groaned.
Someone made a noise to my right. I looked and saw a middle-aged woman I didn't recognize standing there. "I'm supposed to come here," she said, looking around. "Uh, Maximus sent—"
My demon surged for her so fast she didn't have time to complete the sentence. My essence latched onto hers and drew long and hard, an alcoholic having the first drink of the day. She moaned and rubbed her hands up and down her body. I felt the feverish hunger in me burning in my eyes. The woman straddled me and pressed her lips to my face, my chest.
I was out of control. Part of my mind watched in fascinated horror. Another part was too angry and tired to give a damn. Energy flooded into me, rich, warm, and fulfilling. Within minutes, the woman slumped and rolled off me, thudding on the floor. Guilt stabbed into me and I jerked control from the demonic force within before it killed this woman. She might love Maximus and want to be a vampire, for all I knew, but killing her wouldn't solve a thing.
Maximus was the first in a short list of people who needed killing.
Amanda appeared, an evil grin on her face. "Enjoy your dinner, spawn?"
I glared at her. It was all I could do with the gag in my mouth. She tossed the woman over a shoulder, and carried her away down the hall.
Fully refueled, but thoroughly depressed, I stared at the ceiling and wondered how long I would suffer this fate. My only choice would be to let myself die. But would my demonic urges allow me to do such a thing or would it take control at the last minute?
A hand gripped something on the back of my head and the gag popped loose. I spat it out and looked into Maximus's eyes.
"What are you doing down here again?" I said. "Come to gloat more?"
He leaned against the wall to my side and regarded me with a serious look. "Who is your mother?"
"As if you don't know already."
"Humor me."
I considered telling him to screw himself, but saw no harm in telling him something Daelissa must have already told him. "Alice Conroy."
"Are you certain?"
"Go screw yourself." I felt marginally better going with my first instinct.
He smiled. "I'm genuinely curious. You are mixed spawn and human which should make your blood worse than a pureblood, and yet even Dash agrees your blood is far superior."
"Have you ever met someone with my pedigree?"
"No. So for all we know, the assumption that a human-spawn mix is inferior might be wrong." He shrugged. "Dash finds you fascinating. I suspect he would like to take you apart to satisfy his magical curiosity."
"Thank heavens you're such a good, caring person."
Maximus pulled up a stool and sat down. "You realize we don't have to be enemies, Justin. Although I have cooperated with Daelissa, she is far from being a true ally. If anything, I'm just a tool for her."
"Then why help her? She plans to let her other angel friends into this world, and guess who they won't need anymore?"
"I'm not a fool. You think I don't know her plans? I'm a diversion, nothing more. I know she has true allies who are far more involved in her plans, but I don't know who they are. The Master is my true ally, my mentor, and there are several Arcanes who also believe in our cause."
"To do what? Form a vampire army and rule the world?" I snorted. "Maybe you could be a little less cliché with your plans for world domination. Hey, I have an idea—how about you and your vampires sponsor a roadside trash pickup? You can save the environment and feel great about yourselves."