9. Fool Me Twice…

Fool Me Twice…

This time, the skittering that wakes me is louder and I flinch back when I open my eyes to see dozens of imps scurrying over the walls.

My demon looks irritated, but he doesn't kill them right away. He fusses with my hair, only acknowledging them when he's satisfied with what he's done.

Keeping me close, he listens as one of them chitters in a language that makes my skin crawl.

He waves it away and most of them leave.

One tries to get to me, but my demon stomps it to ash.

Standing, he says, "When the Devil calls, his creatures must do his bidding. Wait here."

Sitting me back on his throne-like chair, he covers me with the cloth that had once been wrapped around his hips and the imp's eyes glaze over… like it can't see me anymore.

"They won't bother you if they come back."

He twits my hair and I reach up.

My hand freezes when I touch the little puff of hair… two of them.

He put my hair back into the space buns Skye had done the night I came to him.

"You're mine. As long as you wear my collar, no one can touch you. As long as you wear my shroud, none of hells creatures will see you."

He kisses me and it feels like a goodbye.

And then, he leaves me. I sit there, blinking after him, for a little too long before I slide down off his throne and go to the ledge.

His tail is all I see before he disappears the way I came into the vault.

He left me alone. Unbound. Uncaged.

My attention snaps to the halo on its plinth. Waiting. Unguarded.

I can't risk losing this chance.

I hold the cloth over me like a cloak and work my way down the switchback path as quickly as I can. Watching for him with every step.

He gave me a way to go unseen, past the imps. None of the creatures. He gave me a way to get past the vulture demons guarding my escape.

This has to be a trick.

It's too easy.

He doesn't leap out at me as I step up the small hill of fine black sand.

He doesn't grab hold of me when I take hold of the halo.

I stand there, frozen, halo buzzing against my hand. But he doesn't come for me.

He doesn't appear when I run for the archway that leads to the fields of dead.

He doesn't catch me as I race across the raised soil between pits of writhing, skinless bodies.

He doesn't come for me as I slip past the two vulture demons he warned me about.

Clothed in his rags, still wearing his collar, I stop ten steps up the stairway to heaven and look back at the entrance to his vault.

He stands at the entrance, watching me, but not chasing after me.

Something tugs at my chest, telling me to go back, but… He's a demon, he's not going to die if I forsake him.

I have to keep going. For Skye.