Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex Demonized #1) - Annette Marie Page 0,34
jaw. “Fair point. Let’s see if we can tempt the beast, then.”
He gestured at Hulk and the man lumbered toward me and Travis. I tried to step back, but Travis stopped me—the circle was right behind us. Hulk bore down on me and his thick hands seized my upper arms. He spun me around to face the circle, his fingers bruising my skin.
“Whoa, hey!” Travis exclaimed. “What are you—”
“I told you to keep quiet,” Karlson interrupted. “Vince, take over.”
The third man strode forward and stopped beside me. I squirmed against Hulk’s hold, breathless with terror. I wanted to scream at them to let me go, but I couldn’t speak. Why was I so timid? So helpless?
“Demon,” Vince said to the circle. “You want this girl. Show yourself and you can bargain for her.”
“What?” Travis blurted. “You can’t—”
“Were you planning to let her walk out of here and tell your father how you went behind his back to steal his demon?” Karlson asked dismissively.
“I—I’ll pay her to keep quiet—”
Karlson snorted like Travis was hopelessly naïve. “Get out of the way or we’ll remove you—and our deal is over.”
Travis snapped his mouth shut. I stared at him pleadingly, but he moved aside, eyes downcast.
“Well, demon?” Vince prompted. “Do you want to bargain for the girl?”
Silence from the circle. The darkness didn’t shift.
“Maybe it doesn’t think you’re serious,” Karlson suggested.
Grunting, Vince stepped closer and took my wrist. While Hulk held me immobile, Vince stretched my arm out. Silver flashed in his hand, but I didn’t comprehend what I was seeing. A … knife? Where had he gotten a knife? What did he plan to do with—
The eight-inch blade flicked upward. I watched it pass across my inner forearm, just below my elbow. Felt the razor-edged steel part my flesh. Saw bright blood bloom across my skin.
Then the pain hit and I screamed.
Hulk’s hands tightened as I convulsed. Vince pressed the flat of his knife against my arm, coating it in dripping blood, then flicked it at the circle. Red droplets disappeared into the darkness and splattered across the surrounding hardwood.
“Have a taste, demon,” Vince said, holding my arm out so the bloody slice was fully visible. “You can have the rest. Just show yourself.”
Blood ran down my arm. I quivered violently, panting for air.
“Let me go,” I gasped. “Let me go!”
Like Zylas, they ignored me. Travis was looking in every direction but mine, his shoulders hunched and face crumpled with indecision. Or maybe resignation.
“Please,” I wept as my blood dripped steadily onto the floor. “Please let me go.”
“Demon,” Vince called. “Your time is running out. Or rather, hers is. If you want her fresh and kicking, answer me now.”
How could they talk about me like that? How could they throw me to the demon like a piece of meat? They were as evil as the creature in the circle. As heartless. As monstrous.
“Travis, help me,” I begged through my tears. “Don’t let them do this!”
Vince squeezed my wrist. He raised the blood-smeared knife again.
“No!” I screamed, thrashing against the hands holding me. “The demon will never talk to you! He’ll never do it! Let me go. Just let me go!”
Vince sliced the knife across my arm again.
My scream shattered my eardrums. Blood ran. I was going to die. They were going to kill me. I would bleed out while they all watched—the three men, Travis, and Zylas.
I should never have come to this place. Should never have talked to Zylas. My parents had warned me: stay away from magic.
Adrenaline surged through me and I wrenched my entire body in a violent spasm. Hulk’s hands slipped. Tearing free, I flung myself away. My socks slid on the hardwood and I grabbed the podium for balance. As it tipped over, a heavy tome tumbled off and a flat silver pendant skittered over the hardwood.
I surged past the falling objects toward the door—and hands grabbed my sweater. They hauled me backward. Spun me around. Vince’s cold face blurred in my vision, and the knife flicked upward a third time.
Hulk threw me down. I hit the floor, the breath knocked out of my lungs. The flat pendant from the podium caught under my hand, the cold chain tangling in my fingers. My vision wavered with tears and panic and light-headed shock. It didn’t hurt anymore. That was probably a bad sign.
“Last chance, demon. You have about ten minutes until she bleeds out. We’ll wait.”
I lay on the floor, shaking, weak. Weak in so many ways. Useless. Pathetic.