12. Cherise

Chapter twelve

Cherise

Early Morning Christmas Day

I lift my new blade with the candy cane handle to eye level and inspect it, turning it from side to side. I see my reflection, my eyes—once a deep abyss of secrets and lies—now brimming with life and a vow to seek revenge on those who took everything from me. I would never have uncovered the truths within my very essence if it weren’t for the demon by my side. The Saint, an Archdemon sent from Hell who used to torment my nightmares, a living shadow cast over my brain with its claws buried deep in my psyche—now replaced by a demon who has become my savior. I’ve discovered that everything I thought I knew about my past was a lie, including my name. Did I construct this version of my history myself, or was it deliberately implanted to weave a web of deceit and lead me astray?

Nik’s deep voice shatters my inevitable downward spiral of thoughts. “Once this is all over, I can think of a few ways to put the handle of that blade to good use.”

I flick my eyes over to his hooded crimson eyes, burning hot with lust. “Yeah, me too. I think it’s your turn to get your ass stretched with a candy cane,” I reply sweetly, my lips warping into a devious smirk.

Nik huffs a laugh. “I’m not opposed to the idea, little reaper. A demon will try anything once.”

I place the tip of the blade against his toned, pale chest and glide it down his rock-hard abs. “My demon is such a good boy.” Nik cracks a wide grin. I shake my head and bite my lip. “We need to go; I’m eager to wield my new gift."

Nik’s eyes burn as hot as the sun as he rakes them down my naked form. “You definitely won’t be leaving the house like that.”

I place my free hand on my hip and tap the blade’s edge on his chest. “You ruined my pretty dress with your claws. I have other clothes, but they’re not right for the occasion.”

“Allow me to make it up to you.” Nik waves his hand through the air. With a simple flick of his wrist, a gust of wind rushes past me. He steps back to take in my form, a soft gasp escaping his lips as his eyes fill with wonder. “You’re a Goddess of death, my little reaper. You look stunning,” he murmurs.

I hurry to the mirror above the bathroom sink, my jaw dropping at the sight before me. My candy cane highlights, perfectly curled and flowing around my shoulders, catch my eye. I run my hands over the wine-colored dress that hugs my upper body, the corset accentuating my curves. The skirt flares out into a high-low design that swirls around me as I move. As I examine the fabric closely, I notice how the bottom of the skirt sparkles in the soft bathroom light, glinting like diamonds embedded in the tulle that drapes around my legs.

I twirl in my black lace heels, my eyes wide as I lock onto my demon, whose gaze is fixed on me with an insatiable hunger. “Thank you,” I breathe. I swallow hard as I try to push away the tears in my eyes. I will not cry yet. But everything about Nik makes my heart quiver inside my chest. His magic and mystery drag me into his sinful allure, every single time.

Nik’s already dressed in the clothes he wore when he entered my supposed death trap of a house. His long coat matches my dress; we look like a pair ready to take over the world and bring it to its knees. “Anything you desire shall be yours. All you need to do is ask, and it will be done.” He sucks in a sharp breath and holds his hand out towards me. “Let’s go get your revenge, little reaper. I want to watch you bathe in Will Ashcroft’s blood.”

My cheeks heat, and I walk over to place his hand in mine. He guides me outside in the winter chill, the night sky filled with swirls of smoke plumes from the chaos overtaking the town of Lockwood. I stumble back as a wailing shriek, reminiscent of a horse whinnying, echoes in the distance. Charging down the snow-covered road, a skeletal steed pursues a man, screaming at the top of his lungs. With a triumphant neigh, the horse leaps onto the man’s back, crashing him into the ground with a loud crunch in the snow. The horse snorts, smoke radiates from his bony nostrils, and he snaps his teeth around the man’s throat, silencing the cries entirely.

I feel Nik shudder beside me; his hand vibrates in mine as he lets out a low groan. The steed of death lifts his maw, gore dripping from his mouth. He locks onto us and lifts his front legs in the air, kicking them wildly in front of him in excitement. His beautiful, tattered onyx wings flare out beside him, and he races over to Nik and me.

I squeeze Nik’s hand, every muscle in my body tenses, and my eyes widen in panic as this dangerously beautiful creature nears us. “Don’t be afraid, little reaper. This is Sorrow.” I relax, and huff out a sigh of relief.

“He won’t try to eat me?” Sorrow slows as he approaches us, my dress billowing in the wind around my legs.

Smoke streams from his nostrils, and his lifeless, bone-white eyes lock on me. He observes me for a brief moment and bows his head in silence. My lips part as I gasp in shock. “No, he knows you’re mine. He’s offering you respect. You can pet him now.”

With my free hand, I reach out, place my hand on Sorrow’s snout, and rub up and down slowly. I giggle as he leans into my touch and nods in approval. “So this is The Saint’s alleged death steed. He’s beautiful, just like you.”

Nik gestures with his free hand to Sorrow with a glint in his eyes, a smirk accentuating his devilishly handsome features. “Your chariot awaits, little reaper.” He shifts on his feet and tsks, quickly running his hands down my arms. The biting winter air retreats as warmth floods my veins, like a furnace igniting inside me. “I nearly forgot that my human’s body can’t handle the cold in that outfit, and you look too delicious in that dress to make you change.”

I lean in and brush my lips against his, my heart hammering in my chest like the Energizer Bunny. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, let alone a demon. A demon who warms my shattered heart, reigniting it to a vibrant rhythm—a melody intertwined with sweet sin that ignites my very being. “You’re sweet… for a demon.” I half-shrug with a sultry smile.

Nik chuckles, grips my hips, and hoists me in the air, plopping me down with my legs dangling over the side of Sorrow like a true damsel. He hops on behind me, and I swing one leg over Sorrow’s back and firmly grasp the saddle handle. “Are you ready?” he asks, grabbing hold of the reins.

My eyes darken, vengeance settling in my bones, I can already taste revenge on my tongue. This ends today. My new blade rests against my thigh, in the red and white garter that Nik conjured for me, ready to shed blood with it for the first time. “I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life.”

Nik jerks the reins with a shout, and Sorrow breaks into a sprint, his torn wings spread wide, flapping to gain momentum. My stomach drops as we take our first dip into the air. Sorrow’s wings flap rapidly at his sides as we soar high over the town of Lockwood. I gasp softly as I behold the town shrinking away below us, my hair swirling in the air. “I’m riding The Saint’s demonic horse high into the sky!” I extend my arms, tilt my head back, and laugh hard. “I never imagined this is how my night would play out.”

Nik wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his solid chest. “I didn’t expect it to unfold like this either, but hearing your laughter and riding into the night sky on Sorrow’s back with you has been the perfect scenario. You deserve everything this world has to offer, Cherise.”

I cling to his arm around me and lean into him. My laughter quiets as I gaze at the town rushing by below. “I’ll figure out my name, Nik. I want to be with you forever. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before, and I’d die if I couldn’t see you again.”

Nik grabs the front of my dress, his hand trembling slightly as he wraps both arms around me. He lets out a shaky breath, holding me close for the remainder of the ride to the Ashcroft estate.

“You should really let me open that scar on your belly, Cherise. If that memory gives me your name, I can bind your soul to me, and I wouldn’t be actually scared that something might happen to you.” We stand enveloped in the shadows, hidden by the trees a few feet from the front door of the estate.

A child-like whisper turns my attention to the left. My friend looks up at me, desperation in her beautiful eyes, her caramel pigtails swaying in the wind. “It’s not time yet. Don’t let him.”

“Why not?” I whisper back, raising a brow.

She shrugs, cracking a smile that shows her missing two front teeth. “You’ll know when the time is right. Listen. Feel. Remember. He always provides.”

“Who always provides?” I step closer to her, sensing that I’m missing the larger meaning hidden within her cryptic words.

“Look within, Cherise. The answers have been there all along.” She giggles low, an almost contorted sound I’ve never heard from her before, and runs off in the opposite direction.

“Wait!” I whisper shout after her. Nik grabs my hand and pulls me into his firm chest.

“Let me guess, your friend told you I can’t, right?” I nod and start to turn my head when his clawed fingers wrap around my chin and lock my eyes onto the raging fires within his glare. “What if I told you that I don’t care what your friend says? Why is that stopping us from learning the truth, Cherise?”

I narrow my eyes at him and wrinkle my nose. “She knows something that we don’t, and we have to trust her.”

A low rumble forms in his chest, a frown marring his perfect face. “Maybe you do, but I certainly don’t. Lift your dress.”

I sneer and push against his chest. “The answer is no, Nik! I’m trusting my gut on this.”

“Do not make me ask you again, little reaper,” he growls, laced with a dangerous lilt.

He reaches for the hem of my dress, and I stumble away from him with a shout. “Nik!”

“Who’s out there?” Nik’s hands pause on my dress, and our heads snap toward the hooded figure bounding towards us.

“Look what you’ve done!” I whisper, scowling at him. “Go hide; your towering demon form is going to expose us!”

Nik scoffs with an offended look on his face. Without another word, he glides a hand down my body, and my body vanishes in thin air. “What the fuck?”

“Shush, get ready to ambush him.” Nik dons his human glamor and leans against a tree with his hands in his pockets.

“You there! This is private property, so you better get the hell out of here before I alert Mr. Ashcroft of your disturbance.” The dark hood half obscures the man’s face. He holds a small dagger outstretched toward Nik.

Nik cracks a friendly smile and pushes off the tree with a cocky swagger. “Where is dear old Will? I have a meeting with him, actually.”

“Do you know what day it is, idiot? We don’t allow visitors to the estate on Christmas; this is a holy time for our family. So scram before I gut you like a pig,” the hooded man snarls.

Nik looks at the man’s knife and lazily waves him off. “Aren’t you afraid The Saint might catch you out here tonight? You are out here, all alone with a stranger.”

The man spits on the ground at Nik’s feet. “We don’t fear that demon, and we have protection. I’m gonna give you one more chance to—” He stumbles over his words, and a thin, horizontal line beaded with blood appears on his Adam’s apple.

Nik waves his hand toward me with a pleased smirk, and my body materializes. I stand before the cloaked man, my new favorite blade pressed into his flesh. “Tell us where Will is. I won’t ask twice, asshole.” He hisses sharply when I push harder over the bob in his throat.

“He’s in the house, but you’ll both regret—” I slash my blade across his pathetic neck, and blood floods down his chest like a waterfall. He clutches his neck and drops to his knees, gagging on his blood.

“Thanks for the tip,” I tease, cocking my head and pinching the tip of my crimson-stained blade with a giggle. His eyes bulge out of his head, and malice and fear radiate off him. I lift my foot and kick him hard in the chest. He topples onto the snowy earth, and with one last struggling gasp, he dies.

I feel Nik’s hand snake around my waist as he turns me to steal my lips into a drugging kiss. “I want to bury my cock inside your sinful pussy right now. I’m going to watch the light leave Will’s eyes by your hand and fuck you over his dying corpse, little reaper.”

I slide my palm over the swell in his pants, and I moan against his lips. “Then let’s hurry up and end this so you can make good on that promise,” I tease in a sultry tone.

He emits a low, ravenous growl. He grips both of my ass cheeks and squeezes tight. “Since you won’t let me bleed that damn scar, promise me you will be careful. I can’t fucking help you if things go wrong. Promise me,” he commands, his grip tightening to a bruising possession.

“I promise I’ll be careful, Nik. I trust my friend, and she’s never led me astray. So, trust my judgment on this.” I trace my fingers over his lips, which are turned into a frown.

With a heaving sigh, he releases me. “I’m going to glamor us to conceal our entry. They won’t be able to see us. We find Will, you get to reap justice, and then we fuck like we’re rocking around the Christmas tree—in that order. Got it?” He holds his hand up, counting with three fingers as he spouts off our to-do list.

I hum softly with my hands crossed behind my back, twisting side to side with a giddy smile. “Yes, my demon. Let’s go.”

My hand is intertwined with Nik’s so we don’t lose track of where the other is in our invisible forms, as we ascend the stairs of the Ashcroft estate—the former place I called home. We already searched the lower level, with no sight of Will, or anyone else for that matter. The house is eerily silent, save for the chanting heard from outside around the bonfire. If these assholes are performing another sick ritual like the one they tried to sacrifice me to, then they will all be dealt with once Will’s heart beats in my hand. If I go for the cult members first, I risk Will catching wind of my arrival, and I can’t lose the element of surprise.

The stairs creak under the weight of my foot, and we pause. Straining our ears, we don’t hear any movement, so we continue onward. When we reach the top of the stairs, I turn and stare down the hallway at my old bedroom door. I wonder if it looks the same? Will Mommy’s blood be left stained on the hardwood? Images of my mother’s lifeless body flash through my mind. My heart races, and my chin quivers as that familiar wave of terror washes over me. This house of horrors has scarred not just my skin, but my mind as well. My breathing quickens, but I start to relax when I feel Nik squeeze my trembling hand.

My friend rushes past us with a high-pitched giggle and waves for us to go through my bedroom door. I tug on Nik’s hand; I’m laser-focused on my small friend, who’s still urging me toward the room. I drag him behind me, moving faster, until my hand lands on the knob.

“This door leads to salvation. The answer is inside you and will come to the surface soon enough,” my friend whispers in a haunting, childish voice. Then flames engulf her, and in an instant, the fire disappears, along with her.

I swallow a cry that almost spills out of me at the horrific sight; she’s never left me like that before. But I can’t let her down now. I slowly push the door open and drag Nik inside with me. I tug on Nik’s hand, but he grunts and stops moving. I glance behind me, and our glamor disappears at the same moment. “Cherise, run!”

I whip my head into the dark room and remove my blade from my thigh. “What’s wrong, Nik?” I whisper.

“He knew we were coming—you need to leave. I’m trapped in a sigil they drew on the floor. Run!” he growls, but I notice the fear laced behind his ferocity.

The low click of a lamp cord in the room’s far corner gains my attention. The room illuminates, and there, Will Ashcroft is sitting on my bed with a feral smile.

He rises, spinning his knife between his fingers. He tsks three times, shaking his head mockingly. “The demon’s right; you shouldn’t have come here, crazy bitch. I’ve been expecting you.”