Ruby Shadows (Born to Darkness #3)(8)

“Serbix,” I called, turning away from the window and summoning an underling.

At once a tiny imp appeared at my elbow. He had reddish skin and two sharp little horns poking out from his forehead. The lesser demons look surprisingly like what mankind has speculated devils should look like all these years. Some say those with weak wills are molded by the mortal expectations, which may be true. Serbix even had a pointed tail and a forked tongue. Any human seeing him couldn’t help but recognize his demonic nature.

“Yes, my Lord Laish?” he squeaked, bowing obsequiously.

“It is time I returned to Hell.” I straightened my cuffs and prepared myself to dematerialize.

“Yes, my Lord.” The imp bobbed another bow. “And this house?”

“I should have no more need of it.” I told myself I didn’t intend to return. Not for another couple of centuries, at least. Maybe by then the humans would have done something interesting with themselves. Or maybe not. They were, after all, humans.

“I will dispose of this Earthly dwelling,” the imp promised, bowing again.

“All but the clothing.” I brushed an invisible speck of lint from my immaculate black jacket. “I rather like it.” There, at least, the humans had improved. Though it wouldn’t take much to be an improvement over the dull, poorly sewn garments the Puritans had worn at those dreary trials…

“I’ll have the clothing sent to your residence in Hell,” the imp said. “Is there anything else, my Lord?”

“No…well, yes.” I cursed myself for a fool but I couldn’t help continuing. “There’s a human girl I’ve been keeping an eye on. Her name is Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn LaRoux.”

“Yes, Master Laish?” the imp asked expectantly.

“There may be something stalking her. A Hellspawn.”

“A Hellspawn? From the pit?” Serbix turned pale, his red skin going a dirty grayish-pink. “But, Master—”

“I want her looked after,” I snapped. “Kept safe. Protected.”

“Protected? A human?” The imp looked at me uncertainly. “Don’t you mean tormented, Master? But I thought you didn’t care for that sort of thing. The other Great Demons—”

“You heard me. I said protected.” I kept my voice low…my tone soft and deadly. “You’re to look after her, Serbix, and if I hear that anything has happened to her—anything at all—you’ll taste the terrors of the Abyss for all eternity. Do you hear?”

“Yes, Master!” Serbix shivered. Not even those that called Hell home wanted to explore those dark reaches, to plumb those bottomless depths and risk the evil of the Ancient Ones that live there.

“Good.” I nodded shortly and took a deep breath, filling my lungs one last time with the sea air. It was a pity, really, that I didn’t intend to return. This was by far the most pleasant location I’d been to in the Mortal Realm. But there was no reason to stay now.

I concentrated, picturing the far reaches of Hell, picturing my home. It was time to go. Time to forget all this foolishness and—

And then I heard her screaming…screaming my name.



Chapter Four

Gwendolyn





I was falling—plummeting down into the darkness. I was certain that any minute I would feel the hot breath of the thing that hunted me, feel those long, yellow teeth closing over my bare legs.

And I would have, too, if a pair of strong, muscular arms hadn’t caught me in midair.

I gasped and clung to my rescuer. At first I was too terrified to know who or what held me. Then the familiar scent of cinnamon surrounded me and I knew it was him—knew it was Laish. I don’t know why people always say that demons smell of fire and brimstone—Laish smells like a warm coffee cake that just came out of the oven. And under that, some other, wilder spice I don’t have a name for.

We seemed to be hovering in midair and I wondered how he was doing it. Demons are able to dematerialize at will but I never heard of any that could fly. I heard a faint rustling sound in the darkness and something soft brushed against my cheek.

“Hold on, Gwendolyn,” he murmured in my ear. “It’s all right now, mon ange, I’ve got you.”

He surged upward somehow and the grip of the slimy tongue around my ankle tightened, pulling me down at the same time. I screamed in agony—it really hurt. I felt like I was being torn in two.


“What is it, Gwendolyn? What’s wrong?” Laish stopped pulling upward and hovered there. In the darkness, his ruby eyes glowed faintly, filled with anxiety.

“It…it’s got me,” I gasped, somehow managing to get the words out of a throat tight with fear and pain. “My leg—it’s wrapped around my leg.” Around my ankle, the slimy tongue-tentacle tightened, as though the creature it belonged to had heard my voice and was prepared to fight for me.

Laish swore under his breath. “No wonder I cannot make any headway.” He looked down into the darkness. “What kind is it? Have you seen it?”

“Only…only in my dreams,” I confessed. “It doesn’t have a head but it has teeth…long, yellow teeth. And it’s hungry.”

He swore again, angrily. “You’ve been having dreams about this thing but you never thought to tell me? This goes beyond reckless, Gwendolyn.”