“Now, Breeder,” he grunted.
She winced at the unspoken threat in his voice and nodded. “I’m coming. Bye, Lar. Take care of Mom, okay? And tell her not to worry about me. You both deserve to be happy, and I’ll be okay, I promise.”
“Georgia, no.” Larry clamped down on her hand, strength he hadn't possessed in a long time keeping her by his side. “Is he… is he one of… of them? Are they… are they real? Is that why I’m better? What did you do? What did you give him?”
Georgia grimaced, stroking her brother’s arm with her free hand, trying to calm him, but Kesh was out of patience.
He reached down and wrenched the mortal’s hand off her, yanking her back from the bed. When the kid protested and tried to scramble off the bed to come to her aid, Kesh sent him backward with a push of energy.
“Your sister made a bargain to save your miserable life, kid. Don’t waste her sacrifice by trying to play the hero now,” he warned, giving the human a glare so dark it made Larry gasp with terror despite the human disguise he saw. “If you think to come looking for her, know that not only will I undo what I’ve done for you this morning, I will seek out every blood relation you have and break their bodies apart while you gasp for your last breath. The last thing you’ll see before you meet your own death is their intestines pulled from their guts and their bones snapped and sucked for marrow, one by one. While they still scream. Understand?”
Neither of the two siblings said a word, but the sharp stench of fear hit his nostrils with all the confirmation he needed to know that his warning had been heard.
Without another look back to the bed, he pulled Georgia from her brother’s grasp and out the door. Leaving her family behind for good.
9
Georgia
The demon didn’t take them back to the refurbished casino where she'd first met him. Instead, he drove the roaring motorcycle through the early morning traffic toward a part of town she’d never been to before—a choice she’d made entirely on purpose.
Broken down old buildings shielded them from the pale sun’s first rays, the stench of decay clinging to her skin when the prince kicked the bike to a stop.
Georgia released his waist the second it was safe to do so. As thankful as she’d been that he’d healed Larry, his growled threat as he pulled her from the room still echoed in her mind as a sharp reminder of what, exactly, her brother’s savior was.
She cast a nervous look around at the bleak location. A figure sat huddled by a scratched doorway on their left, but otherwise there was no sign of life. “Where are we?”
The demon grunted but didn’t answer, swinging off the bike and pulling her with him in the process. With a firm grasp on her arm, he started walking toward the door.
“W-what are you going to do with me?” she asked, fear prickling at her spine. The last time a demon had dragged her to a deserted-looking building, it’d been with the purpose of forcing her into prostitution. While Irral’s comments had made it seem like this demon prince wouldn’t want the same fate for her, she wasn’t stupid. They called her a Breeder—there were only so many ways this could end up for her.
Once more, the giant monster by her side didn’t answer her question, and she tried her best to not panic as he dragged her down a dingy hallway to a dimly lit staircase. She’d agreed to this, and he’d held up his end of the bargain. Larry was well. He’d have a good life.
Whatever the prince had planned for her, hopefully it would be marginally better than what her fate would have been if Jimmy the Pimp had been the one to fulfill her contract.
The staircase was littered with old fast-food wrappers, syringes, and all manner of dirt and grime of questionable origin. Blood and excrement smeared the walls, making Georgia gag as they climbed the stairs.
At the top, the demon turned left and opened a door to a restroom in an even worse state than the stairwell. He pulled her inside, and she had to clasp a hand to her mouth and nose to avoid dry-heaving at the stench.
On the filthy floor lay two sleeping people. Or perhaps they were passed out. A syringe stuck out between the guy’s toes, and what looked like a crack pipe dangled from the woman’s fingers. She was smiling, though the only sign that she was still alive was the faint up and down movements of her chest.
Georgia’s stomach clenched tight at the sight of them. Whatever had happened to these two that the only place they could find happiness was in this hellhole, she wished with all she was that she could take it away. Help them somehow.
The demon closed the door shut behind them and finally released his grip on her arm, turning to the man on the floor. With a snarl of disgust on his terrifying features, he plucked the syringe from the man's foot and lifted him up by the scruff of his neck, dangling him in front of his face. Eying him as if he were a piece of meat.
Sick dread rose as bile in Georgia’s throat. They weren’t here to help these two, that much was obvious.
“What are you going to do to him?” she croaked. “Please, don’t… don’t hurt him.”
The monster didn’t so much as turn to look at her. With his free hand, he grabbed the man’s head and squeezed.
The crack as his skull broke sent Georgia forward with a lurch, bile spilling from her lips as she coughed and gagged. It was a mercy, really, because she didn’t see what he did with the freed brain matter after that. The comments about Lewin’s dietary habits were too fresh in her mind for even an ounce of morbid curiosity to make it through the horror.
She dry-heaved until the body of the now dead man, with scars so deep they’d driven him to this place, landed on the floor in front of her with a thunk. Through streams of tears, she saw the demon step over his limp corpse, moving toward the still comatose woman.
It was only the sickening knowledge of what he intended to do next that gave her the strength to stagger forward and throw herself over the woman’s prone body.
“No! Don’t!” Her voice was hoarse and harrowed, still raw from throwing up bile and the sheer terror shaking her body. It took all her strength to turn and look up at the frightening monster looming over them. His already horrifying features were pulled into a silent snarl at her interference. Dark liquid glistened on his lips.
