Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1) (14 page)

Another slam
through the door meant the beast trailed only seconds away from
her.

She managed to
reach the end of the countertop. Peeking carefully around the
corner, she eyed the demon standing in the doorway, its nose up in
the air, sniffing.

Flames still
flickered off its skin. Stepping forward, the Saevious headed
toward the back of the kitchen.

Away from
Ayden.

What now?

She could bolt
through the door again back into the restaurant, but he’d
undoubtedly come after her. Her mind raced, trying to consider what
of her surroundings she could use.
The freezer?
She’d
already doused him with water.

Stupid.

But maybe the
freezer would buy her a few seconds—at least enough to find out
where Gavin had gone.

How the hell
would she get him in there, though?

Her eyes
followed the demon as it moved slowly toward the pantry in the
back. The freezers stood about ten yards from where she
crouched.

This has got
to be the craziest shit I’ve ever done.

When the
Saevious finally disappeared out of sight, she dashed to the
freezer doors. The plan in her head weakened by the second.

Never going to
work, never going to work ...

Four stainless
steel refrigerators doors stood side by side. She slammed the door
to one of them, the echo like a sonic boom throughout the kitchen,
and left one door set slightly open. Her stomach tightened as she
hurried to slip into the adjacent freezer, quietly closing it, and
ducked below the window. Chills crept along the length of her
spine—not from the cold but the very idea of possibly being trapped
in such a small space with the creature if it found her.

Flames moved
past the window, distorted by the frosted glass, and she stood up
and peered through. To the left, it paused in front of the opened
freezer and gave a furtive glance around.

Please go
inside.

It was
possible the demon could bust right out of its frozen cage—and then
she’d be in deep shit. No doubt for a demon, nothing could be more
infuriating than being outsmarted by a human. Especially a
female.

Ayden curled
her fingers around the handle of the freezer door. Poised. Ready.
Every breath burned with anticipation.

The Saevious
stepped inside.

She slowly
pushed the lever and opened the door of her hiding spot. A thump
had her hopping backward but the fireball didn’t reappear.

Sucking in a
breath, she lunged toward the other door.

Gripped the
handle.

Click.

The Saveious
stared back at her through the window, fury in its eyes as if it
suddenly caught on to her game.

Her body
jolted into motion, pushing as hard as she could to lock the
freezer door. It wouldn’t budge.

Oh, fuck.

The demon
moved forward, almost leisurely, flames dancing across its body in
a slow, hypnotic rhythm, as though well aware it suddenly had the
upper hand.

Dammit!

She tugged and
jiggled the handle to engage the lock. No go. Of all the damn
freezers, she had to pick a broken one?

The Saevious
lurched forward, the lock halfway engaged. A shove from the other
side of the door knocked her hands from it. The demon grinned back
at her through the window, a taunting expression as though it
enjoyed the turn in odds.

She grappled
for the handle again. Her muscles burned, drawn taut with
tension.

Come on!

Another glance
through the window revealed the demon’s face up against the
glass.

Shit. Shit.
Shit.

The next knock
against the door sent her a step backward. She scrambled forward
and leaned against the door handle.

“Come on, damn
you!” She almost didn’t recognize her panic-laden voice. Only a
layer of steel separated her from a severe ass-whooping.

The Saevious
pushed with force this time. Her feet slid against the slick
kitchen floor as she drove all her weight into the door to keep it
closed. They were face to face through the window, two opposing
forces, one of which didn’t stand a chance. It didn’t make sense,
though, how she’d held it off as long as she had.

Before the
demon could urge her back any farther, warm hands covered hers, and
the lever slid with fluid ease and locked right into place.

Ayden turned
to find Gavin, still only half dressed, beside her. Her head
snapped back with the slamming of the demon against the door—a slam
that could’ve sent her across the kitchen had the lock not
engaged.

The Saevious
thrashed inside, knocking over the steel shelves and food.
Something else was happening, though. His flames flickered,
disappearing into frosty plumes of steam. Peach tones of human
flesh peeked through the sleek black of his skin. His eyes that had
been nothing more than empty hollows of orange light filled with
dark, round orbs.

“Good
thinking,” Gavin said beside her. “They grow weak with cold.”

“Then what the
fuck is he doing in Michigan?” She ran her hand through her hair
and blew a shaky breath. “And where the hell did you go?”

“To call the
authorities?”

“The police?”
Ayden crossed one arm over her stomach; the other grabbed the back
of her neck. “What are they going to do with this?”

Gavin glanced
over at her. “Not
your
authorities. Ours.”

She set her
hands on her hips. “This thing could have killed me, Gavin!”

“I know, and
I’m sorry.” His gaze fell to the floor. “But it’s not like I could
just call them up on my cell. I had to summon them from the other
side.”

The door of
the kitchen flew off its hinges.

In the frame
stood the most frightening demon Ayden had ever laid eyes on,
towering at about eight feet tall, every inch of its body covered
in some kind of black carapace. Its bulging chest and enormous
biceps would have been intimidating enough to make a tougher man
piss his pants—like a scary-ass grim reaper on steroids.

That wasn’t
the worst of it, though.

In his clutch
he held a double-edged sickle sword as if to complete its
ensemble.

“Release me!
Release me!” Muted screams from the Saevious inside the freezer
accompanied the banging of his hands on the door, its desperation
damn near palpable.

Chills snaked
beneath Ayden’s skin. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d
felt cold. “What is that?” she whispered.

“Enforcer
Demons. This Saevious escaped Obsidius. He’ll be returned and
punished.”

The thought of
such a thing sent tendrils of horror up her spine. Gavin once told
her Obsidius, a demon prison of sorts, was worse than anything she
could imagine hell to be—a place where nightmares gave some
reprieve from the actual terrors taking place.

The Enforcer
moved slow and silent toward the freezer door. It tipped his head,
peering in through the window as if curious.

Gavin
stretched forward, as the Enforcer raised its fist in the air as
though primed to knock down another door in its path, and clicked
the lock open, allowing the door to swing freely.

The wild
Saevious inside had climbed the walls, clinging to the steel, and
it screamed, begging for its life, as it scuttled toward the back
of the freezer

Gavin returned
to Ayden’s side as the Enforcer stepped inside and the screams grew
louder, more terrified—enough to raise hackles.

Ayden leaned
toward Gavin. “What sent him to Obsidius to begin with?”

“Had you not
confined him, you would’ve found out.” Gavin’s eyes turned dark.
“They take their victims back to their nest.”

“Nest?” Her
stomach lurched.

“Yes. He would
have tried to impregnate you.” His lip curled. “For days, if
necessary.”

Ayden
swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Days?” Her arms snaked
around her waist. “Are there many of these things roaming
about?”

“No.” Gavin’s
eyes trailed back toward the freezer.

The Saevious’s
screams echoed from inside. A clang of metal followed a
swoosh
sound as the Enforcer swiped at the smaller demon
with its sickle.

“Their violent
nature gets them in trouble.” Gavin looked down at her again. “They
take a human form, which is how he got past Britus. They’re very
slick. But as you can see,” – he nodded toward the freezer –
“trouble always follows. So all of them become prisoners of
Obsidius, which is why they’re often desperate to breed.”

The Saevious
wailed, its bare foot caught in the grasp of the Enforcer, who
dragged the demon out of the freezer, the scary-as-hell beast from
only a few minutes prior reduced to pathetic and small alongside
its captor. Its upper body thrashed behind the undeterred Enforcer,
clawing at everything it passed.

It grabbed
hold of Ayden’s ankle, yanking her to the ground.

Gavin stomped
on its hand and the Saevious released her.

Ayden
clambered to her feet and followed with Gavin behind the
slow-moving procession of horror through the restaurant.
Thankfully, there were still no patrons. Dara had her arms wrapped
around Pat behind the bar as they passed.

The Enforcer
dragged the demon up the staircase so that its body bounced against
each of the steps as it went, blood-curdling screams interrupted by
each thump.

Ayden reached
for her dagger and grabbed the hilt, wanting nothing more than to
slit its throat to shut it up. The steel of her blade would never
break its skin, though. Demons couldn’t be killed by conventional
human weapons.

They finally
reached the top floor, just outside Gavin’s office, where an
enormous black circle had been drawn into the carpet.

The Enforcer
stepped inside and disappeared into the floor.

The Saevious
clutched the edge of the circle, its upper half hanging on for dear
life. Splayed hands reached out for Gavin before the demon shot
backward into nothingness.

“That was the
freakiest shit I’ve ever seen,” Ayden muttered.

Gavin smirked.
“You should see Obsidius. They don’t call it the realm of eternal
suffering for nothing.”

Ayden turned
to face him. “You’ve actually been there?”

“Once.” He
pulled a white kerchief from his back pocket and knelt to the
floor, lightly scrubbing at the black chalk circle. “On Logan’s
behalf. To barter his freedom.”

Her mouth
parted in surprise. “Logan was sent to Obsidius?”

“Yes.” Gavin
sat back to a squat and crumpled the blackened kerchief in his
hands.

“For
what?”

He rose up
from the floor. “Murdering a high order demon that killed his
mother.”

Ayden shook
her head. “I thought Logan hated his mother.”

“Lots of
children hate their mothers, Ayden.” He turned to face her. “That
doesn’t mean they want to see them murdered.” Gavin stepped past
her into his office and tossed the soiled kerchief into a small
trash bin. His drink still sat atop the desk, and he polished it
off in one long swig.

Ayden sat in
the chair opposite Gavin’s. “How did you save him from that?”

He stared into
the empty glass for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face.
“I agreed to take half of his punishment. And I became his mentor.
Logan and I share the closest bond of brotherhood.”

“You took half
his punishment? Like … they tortured you?” The visual was hard to
imagine—Gavin, so strong and clever, at the mercy of another
demon.

He flinched
and set the glass down on the desk. “Not near as long and harsh as
Logan. They tend to go easy on the Brozszius. You can imagine, not
many lining up, volunteering for the job.”

Ayden tipped
her head. “Brozszius?”

“It’s sort of
a demon’s advocate.” He finally sat down in his chair and kicked
his feet up on the desk.

“You feel
closest to him.”

“Not just
feel. I am.” He stared back at her, intertwined his fingers. “The
blood spilled in our punishment was collected by the Enforcers. I
was given Logan’s and he was given mine.”

“I had no idea
you endured such a thing.” She glanced away, her voice level, her
expression stoic to keep from revealing how much the thought
bothered her.

“Why would I
tell you?” He smiled. “Have you had all the fun you can stand
yet?”

Muscles in her
face softened to a smile. “Pretty much. Is it like this every day?”
She rose from the chair.

Gavin came
from around the desk and stood beside her. “Nah. It’s usually a bit
more exciting.” He winked at her then wrapped his arms around her
shoulder. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

***

Ayden’s heart
rate had finally slowed back to normal again by the time she
returned to the manor. Somehow the lycan had become less of a
concern in her mind.

“I think I’m
going to lie down for a bit,” she said to Gavin as Bennett removed
her coat.

Gavin nodded.
“Rest, slayer. I’ll see you later tonight.”

As Bennett
took Gavin’s coat, he frowned at Gavin’s exposed chest.

“Long story,
Ben,” Gavin said.

Ayden chuckled
and made her way back to her room. She peeked inside to find the
lycan sleeping, his arms still shackled to the bedposts. The sight
of him once again stirred anger.

Closing the
door, she slipped down the hallway to the Aphrodite room.

After removing
her boots, she crawled into the bed and lay back on the pillows.
The plush of the mattress gave the illusion of sleeping on a pile
of clouds in the sky. Her eyes focused on the mural above her; the
soft colors carried a pale glow. Gavin’s words from earlier drifted
aimlessly through her mind—how Logan had been punished in Obsidius
for a seemingly justified crime. Though, from what she’d gathered,
Logan’s mom was nothing of a saint. Could Ayden have done what
Gavin did for his brother? Agree to receive torture and torment on
behalf of someone else?