I have no idea if Gabriel really reverted back to his old ways and decided to spare my life, or if he was simply undercover this entire time for the witch council. That doesn’t matter. He saved my life, knowing that it would be the end of his long one.
Fuck! Stop thinking about him, Peony! I mentally berate myself.
“Emmett, please—” I try again, but before I can get another word out, my lips tighten into a straight line. I look to see Emmett has his hand over the doll’s mouth, eyes wild and frantic as he stares at me.
“No talking,” he hushes, mouth twisted in a rictus grin. He glances around at the bodies of his fallen comrades. Gabriel managed to eliminate all of the ones I hadn’t before he fell, and dead bodies now litter the ground around us. Blood pools at my feet, staining my bare soles, and I know this moment will haunt me until the end of time. I’ll close my eyes, and I’ll see this exact, horrendous moment. Everything from Emmett’s cocky smile, to Gabriel’s decapitated head, to the bodies of the two women and one man I just killed, are seared into my brain.
“Now…” Emmett begins as he slowly unzips his pants and pulls out his erect cock. He begins to stroke it lazily, almost lackadaisically, his eyes never leaving mine. “I can still do the ceremony without all of these…” His lips twitch in disgust as he decides on a word for his fellow Bloods. “Failures,” he says at last. “More for me, I suppose. But…” He moves until he’s directly in front of me and slowly runs his finger down the doll’s side.
Unlike with Lucas, I feel nothing but revulsion at his intrusive, slimy touch.
I try to scream at him, yell all of the profanities I can come up with, but his other hand remains over my mouth.
He brings a blade, the same blood-soaked knife that stabbed Gabriel, to the front of the doll and slowly lowers it to the middle of its thighs. My shirt splits right down the middle, baring my breasts to him.
Anger like I never felt before thrums through me like a fiery inferno, consuming everything in its path. I squeeze my eyelids shut as he leans forward and kneads first one breast and then the other.
“I imagined this for so long,” he breathes as his hand drifts lower until it once more reaches the blood on my thigh. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
“Hey! Get the fuck away from her!” a furious voice bellows, and a second later, Emmett is blasted away from me. The doll drops from his fingers, landing in a puddle of Gabriel’s blood, as I spin towards the newcomers.
Elias, Lucas, Cassian, and Karsyn stand in the entryway of the warehouse, radiating a raw and primal fury. Behind them are Christian, Polo, and Nana.
It was Karsyn who spoke, I believe, and that spell was definitely one of Nana’s. I would recognize her magical signature anywhere.
Before I can run towards them, Emmett clamors unsteadily to his feet, blood dripping from a wound on his head, and picks up the fallen voodoo doll.
“Not so fucking fast. Unless you want your little witch to kill herself.” Unbidden, my hand reaches for an unused knife resting on the table and holds it to my throat. I shake desperately as my tear-stained eyes flicker from face to face.
The four Devils hold baseball bats, kitchen knives, and any other makeshift weapon they could probably find around the house. I imagine Nana tried to get them to stay behind, but I know for a fact that their stubbornness knows no bounds. If she didn’t bring them, then they would’ve found their own way to come.
Nana fans out with Christian and Polo on either side of her, hands raised and bright light emitting from their palms. Their faces are set in fierce determination, eyes as hard as granite. I don’t think they’ve seen Gabriel’s dead body yet, and for that, I’m glad. I want to spare them the pain, at least for now.
“You’re outnumbered, boy,” Christian informs, his usually chipper voice solemn.
“Maybe.” Emmett smiles darkly, one that shows the blood splatter on his white teeth. “But do you really think you can get to me faster than I can cut Peony’s pretty, little throat?” He brings the doll’s hand closer to its throat. I yelp as blood wells once more, joining the already steady stream