“Having fun, are we?” A forked tongue snaked its way out between Natalya’s teeth. “And you didn’t think to invite me? Now, that’s just rude.”
“What the fuck, Stefano!” Austin had gotten completely off her now. Stefano hadn’t moved from where he was standing.
“You stole our property,” Stefano said with contempt. “We’re only taking back what’s ours. Do you have any idea how rare she is?”
“Rare?” Natalya chuckled, and the noise sounded like a precursor to pain. “You know what’s rarer than her? I am. A demon free of her summoner, a greater fiend unbound. And you managed to piss me off.”
In her current visage, the words were easy to believe. If this was Natalya’s true form, Evie understood better why Varro had been wary of her presence.
“My last Master was a lot like you, Stefano. Cruel. Weak.Pathetic. You know what happened to him?” Natalya smiledwidely, showing needle-sharp teeth. “I tore off his cock and made him choke on it.”
Stefano took a step back. He gestured at Evie.
“Get her, Austin!” Stefano started towards the window, but he didn’t make it more than a single step before Natalya surged forward, slamming into him and forcing him to the floor. Her claws plunged into his chest to the knuckle and he writhed in pain, sinking his fangs into her wrist with a snarl. Natalya didn’t even flinch at the attack. She laughed as Stefano coughed and retched, black blood flowing from his mouth.
“You can only feed on humans,” Natalya said. “I am not human.”
“Get off him!” Austin yanked Evie to her feet. He put his hands around her throat and squeezed hard enough that it cut off her airflow. “Let him go, now! Or she dies.”
Natalya rose slowly. Her scarlet eyes, filled with hateful glee, locked onto Austin.
“You wretched little worm.” Natalya smiled maniacally. “You make threats. That is not smart.Kneel.”
Natalya’s eyes flared, and Austin’s grip loosened. Evie fell away from him, landing hard. She tried to cough but couldn’t with the gag in her mouth. The attempt made bile rise in her throat.
Austin fell to his knees. In a blink, Natalya had pushed him over to lie on his back and then straddled his hips, pinning him to the floor. She poked a bloody claw on the tip of his nose.
“Stupid boy.” Natalya pressed herself against his hips, and Austin made a pathetic whimper. “How many women have you killed, I wonder? As many as you’ve raped? You like being stronger than them, don’t you? You like hearing them cry. You like making them feel pain.”
Natalya grinned, flashing pointy teeth, and slammed her fist into the nearby coffee table, breaking it into pieces. She pickedup a long sliver of wood, resting it against Austin’s chest. He whimpered again.
“Let me show you whatpainfeels like.”
Natalya slowly pressed the sliver of wood into Austin’s chest. He struggled and cried as she pushed into him, black lines of death cascading over his skin as the wood entered his heart. He started shaking, and with a final scream, his body convulsed. Blood oozed from his pores and orifices, leaving a pale, exsanguinated corpse covered in dark veins.
Stefano was still coughing black gunk on the floor. A flash of pain went over his face when he saw Austin get staked, but it didn’t linger. He pulled himself to his feet, staggered through the apartment, and then sprinted until he threw himself out of the window to vanish in the dark. Natalya rushed after him but stopped on the balcony, looking like a ravenous cat cheated out of a meal.
She made a horrifying sight. Claws instead of fingers, eyes glowing pure red, and her legs covered in Austin’s blood.
Evie coughed against the gag. It was hard to breathe, and she was lightheaded. She tried to get to her knees, but she was too dizzy to get into the position.
Suddenly, Natalya was by her side. She pulled the tape off Evie’s face and removed the cloth from her mouth before undoing her restraints. Evie coughed, gasping air into her lungs.
“You’re alright, darling.”
She sounded like the Natalya that Evie remembered. Her voice assertive, in control, and safe. It wassafe. The proximity to that feeling made the adrenaline wane. Evie started shaking.
“He was going to… When you came, he was about to…” She couldn’t get the sentences out. They were too horrifying. “They found me. Oh, God. They’ll come back.”
“Evie.” Natalya grabbed her face, making Evie look up at her. The demonic version of her was gone. No sharp teeth, no scales,and no forked tongue. Her eyes violet rather than scarlet. Just Natalya. Beautiful Natalya.
There wasn’t the same surge of fear or calm as in the guest room at Varro’s estate. There was no forced emotion. Just Natalya’s intent gaze filled with assuredness.
“They’re gone. They won’t come back. If they do, I will tear them apart.”
Evie stared at her in disbelief. “You came for me.”
Natalya stroked Evie’s cheek. Her fingers were sticky with blood. “You needed me.”
