Chapter 2

Descaris

T he pull of my heart felt like a lasso of elastic tied around my chest. My heart had been removed from me, and locked in a box here in the prison when I was arrested. As a demon, I could stay alive as long as I kept close to it. It was the only way they could keep me here and now I was straying too far from it. But my vision had shown me this corridor filled with light. I had nothing else to do in this godsforsaken place, so curiosity got the better of me.

I never came up here usually. The staff areas were boring. All the fun and fighting happened in the cell blocks. I pulled against the force trying to hold me back and rounded the corner. There was no light. Just a small woman. I faded back into the wall to watch.

She was leaning against the wall, eyes closed. Like she had just overcome some great hardship. Dark brown hair flopped over her tan face. A little button nose wrinkled as she took a deep breath. There was a glow of light around her. Something tugged deep inside me. A sense of familiarity, even though I'd never seen her before in my life.

I drifted closer. Now there was another pull. One towards her. For a moment, I felt like I was falling. Towards her. Into her. I tensed and tried to hold myself still. She must have sensed my presence, as her eyes flew open and she glanced at me. Deep brown eyes widened. I couldn't look away from them. Heat flooded me. Nothing existed except her at that moment.

"Hi! I'm Ella."

I'd pushed my feelings down and buried them years ago. Useless things that simply got in the way. But now it was like I was being attacked by them. Desire, affection, need. My throat tightened. Then I did something I've never done before. Not in hundreds of years of existence. I turned and fled.

My mind was screaming. Unacceptable. Pathetic. I'd fought to rule over my section of hell. I was brutal. The coldest demon in hell. So why was I falling apart at the sight of one small woman? I stood still for a moment, letting the pointless emotions drift away. Whoever this woman was, I wanted nothing to do with her. I vowed never to even think of her again. What could a small human possibly mean to me? A tingle ran through me, and images flashed through my mind.

The beautiful light, running, terrified. Brown eyes wide with fear and pain. Every monster in this prison, free and wild. A snake man with blood on his face and hands reaches into the light and rips it to pieces. The woman calls my name before her body becomes dark and empty. The light is gone from the world, and something inside me is tearing apart in response.

I blinked, and the vision faded. My chest ached, but it wasn't with physical pain. It was some sort of feeling. Anguish. Anguish for the light I was going to lose.

"I'm not doing this!" I roared into the empty corridor. I would not chase around visions that lead to emotional entanglements.

A guard popped his head around the corner. The nasty little bald one.

"What you shouting about?"

"None of your business."

I smiled a wicked grin at him. He grimaced. He wanted to snap back. I stared at him until he dropped his eyes. Even he wouldn't dare upset me. None of them would. They knew what I was capable of. As he turned, a dark thread of shadow flowed behind him, finding its way to me. His dark intentions affected me somehow. Now that I was interested in. I reached out and touched it. Always too curious for my own good.

This vision nearly sent me to the floor. It was so powerful.

The bald guard talking. "The minotaur. We'll make him maze mad. Then they'll see how dangerous these beasts are. They should all be dead. We can make people see what they are like. It will be on the news. There'll be an outcry."

The minotaur, raging, eyes red. Crashing through walls. Demented. I reach out and touch him. His mind is consumed with a woman. His mate. She is on the floor, bloodied and broken. Dead. The minotaur has lost everything and will destroy everyone.

The brown-eyed woman again. Dying. Light fading. Calling for me. I'm screaming.

I dropped the dark thread like it was an angry wasp. Whatever was happening was centered on him. This angry little man and his hate for all of us. I've never minded hate. Hateful people do the most interesting things and are very easy to manipulate, if you have a mind to. Which in the past I often have. You don't get power through being kind.

The image of the brown-eyed woman flashed back into my mind. I didn't understand it, but the thought of her dying was painful. The thought that whatever he was going to do ended with her death, made me furious. I walked after him, devoid of thought. Pure instinct and rage. I could just kill him and the problem would be solved. I'd enjoy it, and whoever this woman was would be safe and I could forget about her. Yes, killing him was the best way. It was always the best way.

The light fades, and the brown-eyed woman is dying. Another man, scrawny and bitter, now stands in the wreckage of the prison, filled with contempt.

I will kill him, too.

The light fades, and the brown-eyed woman is dying.

I shook myself out of the vision. It felt like a horse had kicked me in the gut. I faded through the walls and began looking for her, feeling the pull of her light. Eventually, I wandered into a lounge. Several of the therapists were there chatting and eating lunch. A group of do-gooders.

I knew without looking around exactly where in the room she was. I could feel her presence as I melted into the shadows in the corner. None of them would be able to see me. Somehow, despite this, her head whipped around and she looked right at me. I was nothing but shadow, but she saw me. Brown eyes narrowed as she watched me try to fade further back into the wall.

I felt like I couldn't breathe. I didn't even need to breathe, but I was still suffocating. If I could just touch her, maybe it would ease. If I could envelop her, slide inside her. Perhaps I'd be able to fill the hollowness inside me that I'd never noticed. Until now.

She stood and walked towards me.

"Hi, do you need something?"

Her voice was shaking. She was terrified of me. The fear was dripping off her. I'd always enjoyed frightening people, but this was unbearable. I never wanted her to fear me. Not me, not anything. The weight of unfamiliar emotions dragged me down until I thought I might collapse.

"Is there a minotaur here?"

Her mouth gathered in a little pout as she thought. I wanted those lips.

"No, I don't think we've had a minotaur here for years. Why?"

As she tilted her head, her brown hair bobbed around her face. Her breath trembled as she tried to stay calm. A shirt dress ran over her curves, unbuttoned just enough to show a flash of cleavage that swelled as she tried to take a deep, calming breath. She was small compared to me. I could overpower her instantly. But still she stood here, in front of me. Scared but drawn to whatever was going on just as much as I was. My hands itched to touch her, and I had to clench them into fists to stop myself. Magic danced between us.

"Just wondered."

It was a stupid answer, but I'd lost all composure. I had to get away from this. With one last look into her eyes, I blipped back to my cell, where I slid down the wall and tried to get the image of her from my mind. I wouldn't go anywhere near her ever again. If I did, I was certain she would destroy me.