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  The demon looked up from almost meeting Valerie’s lips. “Oh, there’ll be a world all right. It’ll be overrun by demons. We’ll be in every time and every universe. Every planet. Chaos will rule supreme, and we’ll be together.” He brought his mouth to Valerie’s and kissed her.

  James screamed. “No!” He rushed forward and tackled him.

  At that second, Emera spied Keenan’s silver sword on the floor. She reached for it. The demon pushed Valerie out of the way and sidestepped James easily. The demon spun around. His crimson eyes bored into Emera’s, trying to break her will, but she gazed right back. She snagged the sword and threw it at the demon. The blade hit him in the shoulder. He screamed and fell to the floor. He clawed at the weapon. Black blood erupted from the wound. She dragged Keenan away from the demon. Bruno and Nathan circled the demon, slashing at it with their claws. The demon pulled the sword from his shoulder and drove it into the werewolf’s belly. A howl erupted from the werewolf. Bruno collapsed to the floor, holding his abdomen.

  “Enough playing around. I need you alive, at least for now. You can’t kill me with this puny sword. The only way to get rid of me is if all of you say my name, and none of you nitwits know it,” he raged.

  Emera felt a hand on her leg. She glanced down at Valerie. It seemed that she had snapped out of her trance. She knelt down next to the other woman. “What is it?”

  “I know his name,” Valerie whispered.

  “Great. Tell me what it is,” Emera said. That is wonderful. If she knows his name, then we have an advantage over him. All we have to do is say it and we’ll have power over him. Then we can send the bastard back to hell. Maybe she was not really in a trance and playing it up so he would trust her once more.

  “I don’t remember.”

  Magnificent. What are we going to do now? Emera’s hopes crashed when Valerie said that. She glanced over at Keenan. He was still immobile next to the wall. Bruno groaned on the floor, still clutching his wound. Serena hovered over him, touching him. She felt the power emanating from the werewolf. She’s trying to heal him. Sadness infused her because the sword was silver. The wound was not going to heal easily. Before she could react, the floor trembled again. Josephine uttered a small scream. The fissure opened wider. The demon leaped over it and raised his arms. His grin spread over half of his face, turning into his cheeks. His features shifted. Pointed teeth replaced the straight ones he had before. Emera watched his face melt off. His true self was coming through. She wondered if he resembled Sebastian in any way. He spread his arms wider. The look of glee he had sickened her. Try as she might, she was locked into place holding Keenan to her. Nothing at this moment was going to stop the beast. The rising was going to happen.

  Van, if you can hear me, forgive me. I’m trying. Help me with Keenan. Bring him back to me. I don’t know how to do this on my own. I’ve never faced a creature such as this one.

  “It’s showtime!”

  Chapter Eight

  Valerie & James

  As the steam rose from the rent in the ground the flesh began to drip off the demon’s face, revealing the horned beast he truly was. His skin was purple. He only had three fingers on each hand, with long slim black nails. Two tails twitched here and there. Large bat wings rested against his back. He gazed at her with an enticing smile on his lips. He’s even uglier than the djinn. How in the world did I let myself get seduced by him? If I had known what he truly looked like, then there was no way I would have let that thing touch me. The lust he had stoked inside of her turned sour. Valerie tried not to let her revulsion show. When she had been under the spell of the darkness that surrounded her, all she wanted to do was fuck anything that was in her path. She remembered clearly what she had been doing, but she wasn’t in control. It was the subconscious side of her that was being pulled forward, the side that worshipped the demon for its master and yearned to please him. It was the side that struggled to break through and give in to anything he said. She had almost let it succumb when she was in his arms and he was going to kiss her. She could have killed Emera when they broke the moment between them. Now she was glad of it. The demon beckoned her to him.

  “Don’t go.” James held on to her.

  Valerie gazed into his deep eyes. Hearing the fact that she desired the demon over him had hurt him. She could see it in his eyes, but he still loved her. She saw that too. All she wanted to do was stay in his arms. All she wanted was to finish planning the wedding and have babies with him. She touched the side of his face and kissed him once more. The silent summons from the demon pulled on every fiber of her being. She was tied to him, whether she wanted to be or not. “I don’t have a choice. I have to go to him. I’m sorry for all of this.”

  She let go of his arm and walked closer to the demon. The others were doing the same thing. They were all fighting against the hold it had on them, but weren’t able to break the enchantment. Each of them was being drawn closer to the fissure where that thing would rise from the bowels of hell. Bruno appeared half-dead from his severe wound, but he was shuffling toward them. Nathan’s fangs hung over the top of his bottom lip. The muscles in his neck bulged from his fighting. Emera was struggling not to leave Keenan. All four of them were the specific keys to open the gateway to the realm of hell. If the ritual was completed, then they were all screwed.

  I have to remember his name. I know he told me. If not, he wouldn’t have been able to break free to help me save Niki. What is it? She searched her mind. The moments of her dreams suddenly surrounded her. His soft touches. The velvet caress of his voice. She would have died to hear him say her name again. To have him whip her once more so she could cry out. Anything to please him. I can’t do this. I have to snap out of it. He is not the one I desire. I want James. Please God, help me remember his name. I don’t want this. Forgive me for giving in to him. I didn’t know at the time. I wanted to save my sister.

  The demon stepped back and took his place at the head of the circle the others had formed. Once he did, something inside of her locked. The air was pulled from her lungs. Valerie tried to move but couldn’t. James ran over to her and reached out, but quickly pulled his hand back. Something had zapped him. The female vampire ran at Nathan but was stopped by an invisible force. She hissed and beat her fists upon the energy field. Serena grabbed her and pulled her back. She screamed and reached out to Nathan, but Valerie couldn’t hear her cries.

  “Nothing can breach this circle now that you’re all in place. Now we can all get started.”

  “Go to hell,” Nathan snapped.

  “He already has. I sent him there with help from a friend of mine he possessed and then killed,” Bruno said, snarling. He held his stomach. The pain he was in was etched on his face.

  “That’s so true. I hated to admit it, but you and your ancient friend did a lot of damage to me. You disintegrated my physical form. I was sent back to the pit, and it took me a month to gather the strength to reach out along the bond I had already formed with Valerie. Her sister had just started with the djinn. Over time, I regained my strength with the energy that lovely Valerie gave me to break free. We had so much fun. You mustn’t blame her, though. It was either me or the djinn, and once their kind start breeding they’re worse to get rid of than cockroaches. Unleashing Chaos is by far the better alternative to having those genies running around and screwing up the world. Here comes the fun part.”

  When he stretched out his hand, the others did too. She cried out, but her body wasn’t listening to her. He had control over all of their movements. Bruno growled and Nathan strained against the force holding them, trying to find a way to break free. The demon slashed his wrist with his long nails, causing black blood to drip into the fissure below. Moments later gashes appeared on her flesh, along with the other participants. Her blood welled to the surface and began to dribble onto the floor. Seeing all the others in the ritual, a moment of clarity hit her. Great time for this. But I can’t believe I’m standing around with a werewolf, a vampire
, and a fallen angel. I guess it takes a world-ending ritual to get them all to walk into a bar together.

  “You’ll die for this,” Emera forced herself to say. Her wings flared out from her back. The mixture of black and white feathers reflected the orange glow coming from the pit.

  The demon laughed. “I don’t think so. You’ll be bowing and kissing my feet in a few minutes. The combination of your blood will unlock the door. It’s been so long. He’ll be so pleased I have finally come to wake him. I will be exalted above all creatures.” His expression grew dreamy. “Ahh, I can feel him rousing. It’ll be so much fun. All of you will be my slaves. And Valerie, you’ll be at my side. I won’t give you up.”

  Valerie winced when he met her gaze. I will not let that thing touch me. I will not let the world burn because I made the wrong decision. Think, Valerie. I know his name. She met Emera’s gaze. The fallen angel was begging her with her eyes to remember. She closed her eyes and searched her thoughts. The name was there. She had to do something. Focusing on the last time she had seen the demon, she sifted through the events of the night. Everything was clear up until the past few hours. He told her to summon him if she wanted to free Niki from the djinn, and he had told her his name in a dream. But he altered her memory from the time he appeared to the time she ended up back at James’s apartment. God help me. Please. Is there another way I can break his hold on me? I only know of one way. She glanced over at James and saw his forlorn expression. Everything in her yearned to reach out to him. He had saved her once from the djinn by shooting it. Now it was her turn to save him. She switched her gaze to the demon and shivered inside. “Wait.”

  The demon turned toward her. “Yes, lovely one.”

  “You’re going to raise him without me? I thought you wanted me by your side. That’s what you had always said to me in my dreams. Please, Master. All I want to do is be with you. I realize now that you’re all that I’ve wanted. I don’t want to end up a slave like the rest of them. I’ll give you whatever you wish.”

  “Valerie, what are you doing?” Nathan hissed.

  The demon glided over the fissure to her. The wails of the damned and other creatures erupted around them. He looked at the vampire and grinned. He took her face between his cold fingers. The tips of his nails scraped along her flesh. The aversion of being so close to him washed over her. She tried to suppress it as best she could. “We must raise Chaos first and then we can be together, love.”

  He began to draw away from her. She fought against the enchantment over her and was able to lift her arm and place her hand over his. The coldness of his flesh made her wince. He gazed into her eyes. The longer he did, the more his name was on the tip of her tongue. Whatever it was about having physical contact with him seemed to help. Her subconscious self yearned to take control of their meeting, but she fought against it. This was all about them and no one else. She leaned up and pressed her lips to his. He tasted of mold and spoiled meat. He seemed surprised. After a moment, he returned the kiss and laid his fingers on her ass. He squeezed it lightly. A bolt of desire raced through her. She moaned, letting the memories of him from her dreams wash over her and the intense pleasure. Valerie envisioned him as the deadly, sexy man she had met in her dreams. She plunged her tongue into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck. The longer she kissed him, the clearer her memories of that night became. She searched her mind for the time he whispered his name into her ear, searching for that specific dream.

  He withdrew from her. “You’re a little minx. I knew you had it in you. You chose me over your human pet. Everything you’ve ever wanted, I’ll make happen. I’ll even let you keep your soul but make you one of my kind.”

  “Can’t you do that now, Master? Play with me. Let me play with the others. I never wanted to come back from that little enchantment you put on everyone. It was so ingenious. I was so free. I wanted to fuck James and have everyone watch. Including you. You make me hotter than he does. Maybe this time you can take me without being in my dreams. Show me what you got. Fuck me right now so I can ride you. I want the others to watch while the world burns.” She ran her free hand over his crotch, feeling the erection he had. What she felt under the cloth of his suit was two penises. The thought of his cold shaft inside of her nearly made her gag. He pulled her into him. His cocks pushed against her thigh. She began to rub both of them. Now that he held her close, all her memories were clear. She knew exactly what happened to her that night and what he whispered to her.

  He closed his eyes and shivered. “That would be wonderful. First we must raise Chaos. Then I can fuck your brains out. I’ll ride you while reshaping you into my own consort. Once you’ve had me, you’ll never want another creature. I can last for days. Sound like a plan?” He claimed her lips one more time and bit her bottom lip. Valerie moaned.

  His name burned into her thoughts, waiting to be uttered. “Yes, Master. Anything for you, Astaroth.”

  The howls stopped around them. The floorboards below them trembled. The silence in the circle was suddenly palpable. All the other creatures with her in the circle gazed at her. Emera gave her a little smile. The demon backed away with a confused expression. Valerie met his gaze. He tried to smile, but it didn’t completely work on his face. “What did you say?”

  “I said Astaroth. It’s your name, isn’t it?”

  The demon backed away from her, stunned. He tripped over the crack in the floor. “How did you know that? You can’t remember that. I took it from you. Just the way I took part of the night from you after the djinn was killed.”

  Valerie stepped forward. “You never took it from me. You wiped everyone’s memories except mine. You covered mine up. You didn’t want me to remember our one last session together. But it’s all here. How you took me to hear me scream for you in the real world. I bled for you. You healed my wounds and then dropped me off at the police station, making everyone think I had to remain at the hospital for a few hours because of my head injury. You were too smug to think I would forget it. All it took was one jolt of what we had together to bring it all back. Besides, you told me during our time together that you didn’t want me to forget about it completely. Once we were together again you would remove the spell. And didn’t you tell me that to know your name is to have power over you?”

  The demon lunged at her. “You bitch. I’ll make you eat your words. I’ll be sure you’re my master’s first sacrifice. You’ll never know the true ecstasy that I could’ve given you. Now you will know true agony for the rest of your days.”

  Valerie couldn’t help but laugh. Knowing his name, she could call him forth or send him back to the underworld. That was exactly what she planned to do. She pulled back out of his reach. The power of the circle was slipping. Movement from the tear in the floor caught her attention. She looked down at the fissure and saw dark tentacles snaking out of the crack. They floundered around, trying to latch on to something. So far there were seven of them, all black and a foot around. She didn’t want to see how big the beast was that was attached to them. What would happen to the world if that thing is unleashed? We can’t let that happen. We won’t let that happen.

  “Astaroth,” Bruno bellowed. “By God’s Divine word, I send you back to the pit!” The werewolf clutched his stomach from where the silver blade had pierced him. His color was ashen. Valerie remembered that silver was toxic to werewolves; at least it was in the movies.

  Emera stepped forward, broken free of the demon’s power. She lifted her chin and stared triumphantly at the creature before her. “Astaroth, I order you back to hell. By my Divine right.”

  The demon laughed. “Divine right! You’re a fallen angel. You have no power over me!”

  At that instant light radiated around Emera. Valerie winced at the brightness. Emera’s wings unfolded. She noticed with the light that some of her feathers were turning white again. I wonder what that means. I’ll have to ask her about it. Valerie jumped back when one of the tentacles reached out toward her. Emera s
tepped before Valerie to shield her. Valerie peeked out from behind the angel to watch what was going on. Once the tentacles touched the light around her, they shirked back. Astaroth howled when the light reached him. Valerie felt a slice of that pain, but she also felt his power fading from her. His influence was wearing off all of them in all forms. Once he’s completely destroyed, he won’t have any power over me. Nathan stepped forward too. The tentacles thrashed along the floor, more than ever sprouting from the fissure like some insane plant. Valerie felt the strength of the circle wavering. Astaroth was losing his hold on everything. More tentacles were pushing through. Emera shoved Valerie out of the way and returned to her spot.

  “I’m more than a fallen angel. I’m here to make sure you go back to hell for good this time. You’ll be so deep you won’t be able to dig your way out of the pit. I have God on my side again. I have hope, and that gives me power. Astaroth, I banish you back to hell!”

  The demon wailed. He reached out to her. “Valerie, please save me from them. You have the power in you to stop all of this. I’ll forgive you for the slip. You were right. I was smug. I thought I was better than everyone. I don’t want to lose you. Come to me. Help me raise our master. He can bring clarity to this world. You can still be at my side. Remember all the wonderful times we had together.”

  Valerie didn’t see the demon any longer. He was the handsome, crimson-eyed man who had rescued her from the djinn. The one who had brought her all of that intense pleasure. All she had to do was give in to him. She reached out her hand to him. He nodded and gestured for her to come to him. She took a step forward.

  Nathan bared his fangs at the demon and yelled, “I send you back to hell, demon spawn Astaroth. By the power of the night, I banish you.”

  At that moment, Valerie shook her head, breaking the daze the demon had put her under. When she looked back, he was still the ugly creature that had threatened to kill her only a few minutes ago. The ground below them began to shake. The aperture started to close.