Read Online Seduced by Power by Alex Lux - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Alex Lux
Tags: Romance, Coming of Age, Fantasy, Paranormal, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Psychics, New Adult & College, Paranormal & Urban, Demons & Devils, Angels, Werewolves & Shifters, Witches & Wizards
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Still, if I'd known, would I really have done anything different? Derek was here being tortured. I couldn't have stayed in my cozy little life knowing that, and I couldn't sit here moping and waiting to be rescued. Who was here to rescue me? A demon father who didn't even know I existed and was likely as cruel as Bankun? Demon police? The thought almost made me laugh. I wondered what kind of law and order they had here. Surely it wasn't complete anarchy? But maybe it was. What did I know?
The torch flickered and died to almost nothing, darkness seeping in around me. Heart racing, jaw clenched, I stood and used the last bit of light to stare down into the pit of my likely death.
I kissed my ring. "I love you, Derek. So fucking much. I hope you know that."
Then, I jumped.
T HIRTEEN
The Wine of Life
R OSE
The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
Is left this vault to brag of.
— William Shakespeare, Macbeth
I COULDN'T BREATHE.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't feel anything but utter dread.
Darkness.
A place where light couldn't live, wouldn't be allowed to live.
Nothingness.
Then, like a babe in the womb—a dark, dank, evil womb of madness—it pushed me out and dumped me onto the cold ground.
From silence to the sound of wailing. Human misery as an orchestra, played out in every note, every range, every key. The tormented screaming of the damned, of the poor souls condemned to an eternity of torture, occupied my head, pushed tears out of my eyes, slithered inside of me and filled me with their pain.
Cages lined the walls, stacked on top of each other like kennels at a veterinary clinic. Only these weren't dogs and cats waiting to go home. These were humans and demons, squatting in their own filth, trapped in cages far too small for them, wasting away.
Row upon row, hundreds, maybe thousands of them filling the large cavern and spilling into other rooms.
If only I could save them all, but today I had to focus on the three I'd come for.
I had no idea how I'd find them, especially Donna. Would I even know her? I hadn't set eyes on her since I was a child, and I'm sure the years hadn't been kind to her here.
I focused on Derek first, knowing if I could find him, he could help me find Dean, and Dean knew where Donna was. I scurried across the floor, peeking into each cage, straining through the red tinted darkness to glance into the eyes of the trapped souls.
"Derek?" I whispered, fearing the dragon though I couldn't see it. "Are you here?"
My voice, even had I been screaming, couldn't have carried through this noise.
I focused inward, feeling more than seeing, seeking his essence, the part of him I knew by heart. The damned reached for me through their cages, their eyes pleading, desperate.
I hardened myself and forced my feet forward. I'd live forever in this nightmare. This was to be my fate, but I couldn't think of that now.
Eyes, familiar eyes caught my attention. At the bottom in the corner, was it him? I knelt, crawled, peering into the cage. "Derek?"
His head rose, eyes swollen, face ashen. He hardly resembled himself, but it was him. My Derek.
I reached for him, and he shuffled back, fear and panic etched onto his face.
"Derek, it's me. Rose. I'm so sorry." My voice cracked, tears burning my throat.
He moved with caution, jerking toward me. "Oh my God, Rose. You shouldn't be here. They'll destroy you."
"I'm here to save you, Derek. We have to go. Do you know where the key to this lock is?"
He pointed to a door. "In there, on a hook right inside. I've seen the guards put it there."
"Are there any guards in there now?"
"No."
I squeezed his hand through the bars, sobs shaking my shoulders. "I'll be right back."
He let me go, though it was hard for us both.
The keys hung where he said, and I hurried back to unlock the cage and let him out.
I threw myself at him as he emerged, not caring that he stank or that he'd lost far too much weight during his time here. "I'm so
The torch flickered and died to almost nothing, darkness seeping in around me. Heart racing, jaw clenched, I stood and used the last bit of light to stare down into the pit of my likely death.
I kissed my ring. "I love you, Derek. So fucking much. I hope you know that."
Then, I jumped.
T HIRTEEN
The Wine of Life
R OSE
The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
Is left this vault to brag of.
— William Shakespeare, Macbeth
I COULDN'T BREATHE.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't feel anything but utter dread.
Darkness.
A place where light couldn't live, wouldn't be allowed to live.
Nothingness.
Then, like a babe in the womb—a dark, dank, evil womb of madness—it pushed me out and dumped me onto the cold ground.
From silence to the sound of wailing. Human misery as an orchestra, played out in every note, every range, every key. The tormented screaming of the damned, of the poor souls condemned to an eternity of torture, occupied my head, pushed tears out of my eyes, slithered inside of me and filled me with their pain.
Cages lined the walls, stacked on top of each other like kennels at a veterinary clinic. Only these weren't dogs and cats waiting to go home. These were humans and demons, squatting in their own filth, trapped in cages far too small for them, wasting away.
Row upon row, hundreds, maybe thousands of them filling the large cavern and spilling into other rooms.
If only I could save them all, but today I had to focus on the three I'd come for.
I had no idea how I'd find them, especially Donna. Would I even know her? I hadn't set eyes on her since I was a child, and I'm sure the years hadn't been kind to her here.
I focused on Derek first, knowing if I could find him, he could help me find Dean, and Dean knew where Donna was. I scurried across the floor, peeking into each cage, straining through the red tinted darkness to glance into the eyes of the trapped souls.
"Derek?" I whispered, fearing the dragon though I couldn't see it. "Are you here?"
My voice, even had I been screaming, couldn't have carried through this noise.
I focused inward, feeling more than seeing, seeking his essence, the part of him I knew by heart. The damned reached for me through their cages, their eyes pleading, desperate.
I hardened myself and forced my feet forward. I'd live forever in this nightmare. This was to be my fate, but I couldn't think of that now.
Eyes, familiar eyes caught my attention. At the bottom in the corner, was it him? I knelt, crawled, peering into the cage. "Derek?"
His head rose, eyes swollen, face ashen. He hardly resembled himself, but it was him. My Derek.
I reached for him, and he shuffled back, fear and panic etched onto his face.
"Derek, it's me. Rose. I'm so sorry." My voice cracked, tears burning my throat.
He moved with caution, jerking toward me. "Oh my God, Rose. You shouldn't be here. They'll destroy you."
"I'm here to save you, Derek. We have to go. Do you know where the key to this lock is?"
He pointed to a door. "In there, on a hook right inside. I've seen the guards put it there."
"Are there any guards in there now?"
"No."
I squeezed his hand through the bars, sobs shaking my shoulders. "I'll be right back."
He let me go, though it was hard for us both.
The keys hung where he said, and I hurried back to unlock the cage and let him out.
I threw myself at him as he emerged, not caring that he stank or that he'd lost far too much weight during his time here. "I'm so
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