Ruby Shadows (Born to Darkness #3)(40)

“Thanks, Lady!”

He reached for the sandwich in my outstretched hand but as he did, something changed in his face. His big blue eyes turned pure black…an inky color that bled across the whites as well, turning his eyes to pools of midnight.

“Oh!” I was so busy watching his eyes I didn’t noticed he wasn’t reaching for the sandwich at all—he was reaching for me. And I didn’t even have a clue what was going on until his strong little hand latched onto my wrist

“So…hungry!” he hissed, baring his teeth. I saw with horror they were needle sharp—not teeth but fangs—long, sharp fangs like something out of a horror movie or the worst nightmare you’ve ever had.

“No, stop—let me go!” But his grip seemed unbreakable—he was much, much stronger than he looked. I squeezed the sandwich in a nervous spasm and strawberry jam glopped all over my arm and the carpet both. I still held the Sponge Bob sandwich holder in my other hand and I gripped it tightly while I tried to get away—to get back into the suite where I felt sure I’d be safe.

“Hungry!” hissed the little boy who was looking less and less like a cherub and more like a miniature demon every second. His dead black eyes looked up at me, filled with hunger for a lot more than just PB&J. Then he bared those horrible fangs and sank them into my arm.

I screamed as pain spiked through me, sharp as a knife and the Sponge Bob sandwich container fell from my nerveless fingers. As though my scream was a signal, the hallway was suddenly filled with ragged children—or devilkins as Laish had called them. They seemed to appear from nowhere and swarmed all over me, pulling me away from the suite door while the first little monster kept his teeth locked in the flesh of my forearm.


I cried and struggled but while I might have made headway against one, the whole band of them was too much for me. As small as they were, they were fiendishly strong. There were only about ten of them but it felt like hundreds of hard little hands pulling me away from the safety of the suite and I was afraid any minute they would start biting too—devouring me in bloody chunks like a pack of piranha right there in the middle of the hallway.

Where was Laish? Still down in the basement tending to Kurex? Could he hear me if I screamed?”

“Help—help!” I shouted. Surely someone in this huge hotel had to hear me! Surely someone would help!

Someone did but it wasn’t exactly who I’d been hoping for.

“What’s this? What’s all this?” Druaga came stomping down the hall on hoofed feet, his boar’s head swinging, the gold-capped tusks gleaming. “What’s going on here?” he snorted angrily when he saw me.

“Help me! They won’t get off me! I…I think they want to eat me!” I begged, nodding desperately at the shoving mass of black-eyed, shark-teethed devil children that were swarming all over me.

“Here, you—get off! Get off the lady, now!” The huge demon grabbed one devilkin by his ragged clothing and swung him against the wall. Then another went sailing.

At this point, the devil kids seemed to understand that they were in danger and I wasn’t the free lunch I seemed to be.

Squealing and shouting, they scattered like ants when you drop a rock in their midst, and fled around the angry, snorting boar-demon. The last to go was the little cherub boy who still had his long, needle-sharp teeth buried in my arm. He let go just as Druaga was about to punt him aside with one hoofed foot and fled down the long hallway, his mouth still red with my blood.

“And stay out of my hotel!” the demon shouted in his deeper-than-human voice. One large hoofed foot stomped down hard in emphasis…and I heard the brittle crackling sound of old plastic breaking.

Oh no…

Heart sinking, I looked down to see my old Sponge Bob sandwich container in blue and yellow shards under Druaga’s foot—or hoof, I guess. Now what was I going to eat the rest of my journey through Hell?

But the loss of my perpetual PB&J maker was soon the last thing on my mind.

“Did they hurt you? Are you well, my lady?” Druaga bent to examine me, using the excuse to run his hairy hands all over my body—or as much as he could, anyway.

“I’m fine—really.” I backed away from him, trying to elude those groping fingers. Actually, I was anything but. I felt like I might burst into tears at any moment—so much for being a mean tough witch, huh? But for now a cold calm was on me.

Shock, I thought. I’m in shock. My mind was still trying to process what had just happened. How could the adorable band of rag-tag children who looked like they belonged in a production of Oliver Twist have turned into a vicious pack of ravenous predators and attacked me like that? It didn’t seem right—I felt dizzy and off balance. Unable to believe that it hadn’t just been a really vivid nightmare.

“…off so I can be certain you’re all right, my lady.”

“What?” The snorting voice broke into my train of thought and I looked up at the demonic hotel manager. “What did you say?”

“I said the bite of a devilkin can be fatal if they inject their venom,” he said. “It’s best you take off your dress so I can make sure you weren’t bitten. Purely for your own safety, of course…”

The twitching of his massive, exposed genitals belied his helpful words. Ugh—he was hard again—disgusting!