With one final effort to find freedom, Kat moved her head around toward his cheek. She opened her mouth wide, feeling the distention of her fangs behind her eyeteeth, and bit down into his face. Blood filled her mouth as she tore off a chunk of flesh.
Howling in pain, Baruch jerked away, affording her enough time and space to roll out from under him. In her hurry, she fell in a heap onto the floor. But she was up and sprinting across the room before Baruch had even stopped screaming.
When she reached the door, she fumbled for the handle. Locked. She should’ve expected as much. She pulled on it, thinking she could yank it open with pure brute strength. Before she could get any leverage, Baruch was on her, pushing her brutally into the door. He growled like a wild animal. She could feel his cock, still hard as steel, poking into her ass.
Kat thought maybe he was done playing with her.
Gripping her head in his hands, he rammed it into the metal door. Pain ripped through her from the gash in her forehead. Blood dripped into her eyes, blurring her vision.
Yup, he was definitely done playing. She had a feeling she was due for a world of pain. She’d welcome it with the promise that he would never touch her intimately again.
“I’m going to hurt you so bad you’ll wish Sar had hung you up in that tree and not Hades,” he snarled into her ear.
“Do your best, motherfucker,” she spat.
The strike to her side made her legs wobble, and she nearly slid down the door to the ground.
Gripping the handle tightly, she kept herself on her feet. But the next blow sank her to her knees.
Before she could think to move, Baruch took a step back and jammed his foot into the back of her head. The distinctive snap of her nose from the impact of the door echoed inside her mind as a trickle of blood tickled her top lip.
Kat slumped to the floor and onto her side. She could feel Baruch’s rage as it wafted off him like a hot, sticky fog. She’d finally pushed him to his limits. There was no way she would survive.
She could hardly defend herself even when he was in a good mood.
But she refused to surrender. Even in the face of death, she laughed. It was too bad the fucker didn’t have a sense of humor.
Gathering all the power she had, Kat kicked out with her leg as Baruch took a step toward her.
Her foot connected solidly with his kneecap, and he buckled. But he didn’t go down as she hoped. It did afford her some time to push to her hands and knees. Not the best position, considering Baruch had a mean kick.
The force of his punt lifted her off the floor and smashed her into the door. Jolts of pain radiated all over her body, especially from her back and her stomach. The agony was so intense she didn’t think she could heal from it. If she lived, that was. Glancing up at the look of rage on Baruch’s face, she didn’t think there was the slimmest chance of that.
“You’re going to die today, Kat.” Baruch leaned down and met her gaze. “But before you do, we’re going to finish what we started.”
He reached down and grabbed her by the ankle. Before Kat could protest, he pulled her across the floor and back toward the bed. He dropped her leg when he reached the bed and bent down to grab her around the neck. Lifting her up, he spun her around and forced her against the edge of the bed, pushing her face down into the mattress.
Although every muscle and every inch of flesh ached, Kat struggled against his hold. Even as he nuzzled against her ass, she tried to push him away. But his grip on her held firm. All she managed to do with her squirming and kicking was arouse him more. By the time she felt his cock nestled between the cheeks of her ass, it was as rigid and unyielding as stone.
She held her breath, waiting for him to invade her. She knew he wouldn’t go slowly. He wouldn’t care if she felt pleasure or not. She had missed her chance of that earlier before she ripped off a piece of his cheek.
“Oh, by God, how I’ve dreamed of this. To take you like this. Like an animal. Like you deserve.”
He rubbed his member up and down her slit. “If you please me, maybe I’ll still let you live.”
“Fuck you,” she grunted. “I’d rather be sodomized by Sar before I ever pleased you.”
Leaning down over her back, he licked her ear. “Hmmm, we can arrange that if you like.”
Squeezing her eyes shut, she took in a deep breath as his cock rubbed at her opening. But before he could ram it in, the door opened, and two large beefy guards marched in.
“What the fuck do you want?” he barked but didn’t release his death grip on her neck.
“The mistress wishes to speak with you,” one of the guards grunted, his eyes wide at the scene before him.
“Tell her I’m busy.”
“She wishes it now,” the guard countered. “And we’re supposed to escort you there.”
Kat let out her breath. Could she really be getting a reprieve? She couldn’t be that lucky.
With an angry sigh, Baruch released her and took a distancing step away. “Let me get dressed,”
he said to the guard, and then he glared down at Kat. “We’ll finish this when I get back.”
He picked up the silk black robe from the floor and wrapped it around his body.
Relief surged over her. As she allowed her muscles to relax, tears welled in her eyes, and she sagged onto the mattress. She was still alive. For only another day, perhaps, but still whole.
Gripping the satin sheets in her hands, she pulled them to her body, trying to stifle the shakes that had erupted over her. Adrenaline rushed through her body as she thought about what had almost happened. She had stared down death many times and survived, but this had been the first time she had actually felt fear. Not of dying. No, she wasn’t afraid to go to the otherworld and atone for her sins. And she had many. It was that she had, for the first time in her life, welcomed it. She had surrendered to it without fighting.
And that thought scared the shit out of her.
When she heard the men march out of the room and the door close and lock, she let her tears fall.
Get them out
, she raged. Because, next time, she wouldn’t be afraid. She’d fight with every ounce of will she had. If Baruch wanted to kill her, she’d be damned if she was going alone.
B
aruch was seething with barely controlled rage by the time he reached Satarah’s meeting room. How dare the woman summon him at will! He was no servant. He served no one but himself in all things. She would come to realize that very soon. But, for now, because he still wished to make her complacent with false security, he would hold his temper in check. He would release it when he returned to Kat. By the time he was through with her, she would be begging him for mercy. It was too bad he had none to speak of.
A guard opened the door, and Baruch marched through, the other two guards that summoned him following behind. He stormed over to where Satarah sat like a queen receiving guests in a large-leather backed chair.
“What is the meaning of interrupting me?”
Grinning, she eyed him from head to toe and then raised her eyes back to his face. “Lovers’
quarrel?”
He touched his face. His fingers came away tacky with congealed blood. He’d forgotten about the large chunk ripped from his cheek. It would heal within a day.
“It’s not your concern.” He wiped his hand on his robe. “Why have you called me?”
“I have heard some interesting news from my scouts around the city,” she started and then paused, obviously trying to drag out her announcement for the most dramatic effect.
“Yes, and?” He waved his hand at her impatiently. He was in no mood for her theatrics.
“It seems we have some unexpected visitors.” She picked up the metal goblet on a small table by her side and took a drink from it. When she set it down, she smiled again. “A young girl with pale skin and a rather large man with a scarred bald head.”
Baruch swallowed, but he would make no show that her announcement bothered him. Hades couldn’t be alive. It was impossible. No man was that impervious to death.
Nodding, he turned to the guard at the door. “Could someone please fetch Sar for me?”
The guard at the door tipped his head and then exited, shutting the door behind him.
Satarah took another sip from her cup. “Would you like to sit and join me while we wait for your servant to come and explain why a man he was supposed to have murdered is running around my city?” She gestured to the chair on the other side of the small round table.
Baruch accepted her offer. If he refused and continued to stand or pace restlessly like an angry animal, she would know her news had hit its mark. He wouldn’t let anyone get the better of him.
He sat and picked up the second cup on the table. He took a sip of the contents. Sweet wine swished in his mouth. The delectable flavor soon turned sour as he thought about the implications of Satarah’s news.
If Hades was alive and in Inferno City, that would mean Sar had lied to him, and that, however slight the chance, Hades could find Kat and steal her away again. He couldn’t let that happen.
Even if he had to tear apart every piece of metal in the city to find Hades, he would. And he would rip out the man’s throat himself.
“Perhaps I will get my prize after all,” Satarah considered as she swirled around the wine in her goblet.
“Don’t count on it,” Baruch growled. He was growing tired of playing at civility with the woman. The time for games was ending rapidly. “If we find that Hades is alive and in this city, I will kill him myself.”
“You promised he would be mine.” She glared at him, her eyes flaring white fire. “This will be the second time you have broken that vow to me.”
He leaned forward in his chair and met her gaze. “I’d advise you to keep your powers in check, Satarah. You do not want me as an enemy. I could slice you in half before you even had a chance to cast one of your petty spells.”
A nonexisting wind started to blow around Baruch, lifting his hair from his shoulders. He could see a soft glow under Satarah’s hands as she gripped the arms of her chair.
“I would not underestimate me, Baruch.”
Before he could respond, the door opened, tentatively breaking the tension in the air. Baruch could feel the hum of confrontation over his skin like a musical vibration. Any longer, and he was sure a fight would’ve ensued. The fire in her eyes didn’t dim, and he suspected that she was rethinking their alliance. He’d have to watch her now. Careful that she didn’t stab him in the back, literally.
Turning, Baruch watched as Sar shuffled in, his beady black eyes darting everywhere. Baruch could smell the fear floating off him like a cloying perfume.
“What can I do for you, master?”
“Was Hades dead when you left the northern village?”
Sar nodded eagerly.
“Are you sure? Did you watch him die?” Baruch could see Sar’s eyes shift back and forth. The little rat was lying.
He shuffled from foot to foot and licked his lips. “He was swinging by a rope when we left the village, master. Another five minutes and he was dead.”
Rising, Baruch glided toward Sar. “But you didn’t actually see him die?”
He licked his lips again and bowed his head. “He couldn’t have survived.”
Baruch breached the distance between them in a blink and grabbed Sar by the throat. He squeezed hard and lifted him off the floor. The little man kicked and flailed against Baruch’s hold, even clawing at the fist crushing his throat, but Baruch was much too strong for him. Sar’s struggles were useless and only increased the pressure at this neck.
“You have failed me, servant.” Baruch walked to the wall and slammed Sar against it. The metal vibrated from the impact. “You know the punishment for such a crime.”
“If you’re going to kill him, do it elsewhere. I just had this room cleaned.”
Baruch glanced over his shoulder at Satarah. She still sat regally in her chair, eyes still alit, but he could see that she was disturbed at the display of violence by the way she looked to the side, away from the scene. Maybe the woman wasn’t as bloodthirsty as he once thought. Maybe she just talked a tough game.
Baruch smiled. He could use that to his advantage. Maybe it wouldn’t be as hard as he initially thought to take over Inferno City.
“I apologize if this offends you.”
She chuckled. “Oh, I’m not offended, Baruch. I just don’t want to have this beast’s blood all over my fine things.” She waved her hand toward some of the opulent furnishings in the room. “It took my people several weeks to acquire this stuff. I’d hate to have to toss it all away because of some insignificant servant’s mistake. I have a room for this type of behavior modification.”
Baruch looked back at Sar. Eyes bulged in a dark purple face. He no longer clawed at Baruch’s hand. Instead, his limbs hung limply from his body. He was all but dead. Two more minutes pressing down on his trachea, he’d stop breathing altogether.
Sar had been his best minion. Always loyal and eager to please. He’d done everything Baruch had ever asked him to do. It seemed like such a waste to end his life this way. When there were so many more inventive ways to do it.
The man had failed him one too many times. First had been letting Kat get away in the Vanquished City. Yes, the man had lost some fingers and had almost bled to death, but to Baruch that was just an excuse. Now there was the possibility that Hades may still be alive and was looking for his prized treasure, Kat. Somehow it always boiled down to
her
.
With that in mind, Baruch lowered Sar to the ground and relinquished his hold on him. Sar slumped lifelessly. He looked dead, but Baruch knew his heart still beat. He could feel it.
Turning on his heel, he glided back to where Satarah still sat. “You know, I think I will make use of one of those rooms after all.”
Picking up his cup, he drained the wine in one swallow. He had the most ingenious idea for doling out Sar’s punishment and finally ending Kat’s defiance. He could literally kill two birds with one stone.
Then when he was done with them, he could take his rightful place as master of Inferno City. No one dared get in his way.