Dark Embrace (Principatus) (21 page)

She’d lure the demon to the gardens, allow him to confront her there and deal with the situation once and for all.

Keeping her pace steady but purposeful, she weaved through Kings Cross, sticking to the busiest streets. Keeping to the populated areas meant the demon would be less likely to attack.

If that indeed was what he’d intended to do.

What else would it be, Inari? You think he wants to discuss global warming?

She ignored the question.

The lights and thrum of Kings Cross gave way to the opulence of Woolloomooloo. It was just as busy, but with an entirely different class of pedestrian moving over the footpaths. The cafes here all exuded a pretentious air, those sitting in the designer chairs sipping their soy lattes and espressos wrapped in a conceited attitude of superiority. The were no strip clubs to be seen in Woolloomooloo, rather subdued restaurants, boutique galleries and heritage-listed pubs lined the streets, all so trendy as to defy good taste in Inari’s opinion. Rows of BMWs, Audis and Jags sat in silent luxury by the kerbs, waiting on their owners to sink themselves into their leather interiors and zoom off into the night. More than one Australian celebrity called Woolloomooloo home, but the only malevolent beings Inari had ever encountered in the suburb were bored trophy wives sharpening their perfectly manicured nails on gossip.

She didn’t slow her stride as she made her way through the designer-dressed crowd. The briny tang of Sydney Harbor had begun to filter into every breath she took, tickling her sinuses and making her mouth a tad salty, which could only mean the Botanic Gardens were close. Very close.

Inari lengthened her stride, trying to not look like she was in a hurry.

As soon as the shadows engulfed them she had no doubt the fun would begin, and to be honest, she was sick of the burning itch on the back of her neck.

Just out of interest, have you noticed your neck doesn’t prickle when Ezryn is near? Or looks at you? What does
that
mean, hmm?

Inari rolled her eyes and walked faster. By the Powers, could she not go a whole fifteen minutes without thinking of the damn bloodsucker?

Obviously not. Still, why
doesn’t
your neck burn when he is—

She shut the thought down, grinding her teeth as she rounded a corner. The last corner before her destination spread out before her—the Royal Botanic Gardens, an area perfect for an ambush. Dark, bushy. Full of hidden nooks and crannies, massive overhanging branches.

And unpopulated.

Without slowing down, she entered the parkland, leaving the revealing lights and bustling activity of the city streets behind her. The sun had sunk far enough below the horizon to shroud everything in ash-gray shadows and gloomy light, making it difficult to see beyond a few feet.

Adrenaline coursed through Inari’s veins, its force heightened by her Principatus soul and power. Every muscle in her body drew tight, ready to fight. Every fiber in her body welcomed it. She needed this diversion. She really did. She needed to bring pain to something bad, something evil. So much more than she wanted to acknowledge.

The night air turned moist, sweet with the scents of an entire world of different flora all growing in one area. English roses, native lilies, exotic cherry blossoms, hardy desert blooms and pungent herbs all mingled together, turning each breath she took into a smorgasbord of sensory stimulation that would have made her smile if not for her rather insidious purpose for being here. Beneath her feet, the smooth concrete path gave way to gravel. The sound of her boots crunched against the rough stones shattering the peaceful silence. A bird burst from a nearby callistemon, screeching its protest at being disturbed as it flew away.

Inari continued deeper into the gardens, keeping her shoulders loose and her stride casual. The hulking building of the New South Wales Art Gallery sat to her far left, aglow with warm orange light. She veered right, putting more distance between herself and the building. At this time of night the gallery was closed, but that didn’t mean she wanted to risk some foolish tourist admiring the building or a late-night worker stumbling upon her as she fought with the—

Something slammed into her back, hard, smashing her to the ground at the exact second the back of her neck erupted in a raging inferno.

“Finally got you alone, cunt.”

The guttural snarl sank into her ear, familiar and repulsive at once, the putrescent stench of cloying decay flaying the side of her face with each word. Her stomach lurched.

The empathic leech demon. The one she’d rejected over a century ago.

The one who’d killed Tianya.

Inari’s heart stopped. For a split second.
Oh, fuck.

Thick fingers wrapped around her throat, driving into her flesh. Choking her. Heart leaping into furious flight, she flattened her palms to the ground and shoved her body upward, a violent jolt that threw the leech off balance. He tumbled to the ground and she lashed out with her foot, driving the toe of her boot into his flabby belly. A squishy sound punctuated the blow, and she gritted her teeth in a feral grin.

“Bitch!” the leech spat, scrambling at her on all fours.

She leapt to her feet and smashed her pointed heel into his face, driving him back in a screaming arc. “You have no idea how painful I’m going to make this for you,” she growled, stalking toward him, hate flooding her veins. “I’m going to make you suffer so much for what you did to my sister.”

The leech leered up at her, blood oozing from his mashed nose and punctured cheek. “You know, of course, when I couldn’t have you I took the next best thing, just like you told me to. Your sister. Sweet little thing she was too. So tasty and innocent.”

Inari hissed, throwing herself at him. Her fingers hooked in his lank, greasy hair before he could dodge her, and she yanked his head downward, slamming his face into the upward trajectory of her knee. The sound of splintering bone filled her with cold rapture and, deep within, her Principatus force roared.

She smashed her knee to his face once more, the blow flinging him backward. She leapt at him again, her blood on fire, hate and rage engulfing her.

She staggered back as he snapped his leg out in a wild sidekick and punched his foot into her belly, followed by another to her ribs. “I’m not that easy to kill, bitch.” He sprung upright and smashed his fist into the side of her face.

Hot pain erupted in her jaw, shooting up into her temple. Black stars exploded in her vision, and for a sickening second, the whole world swam.

Fucker.

He circled her, his gray flesh glistening with snot-green blood, watery blue eyes bulging from his chinless face. “I will tear the limbs from your body and fuck your legless corpse, bitch. I will ram my thick, hard cock down your throat and pump your gut full of my come.” He bared his teeth. “Just like I wanted to all those centuries ago.”

“By the Powers, I’m sick of your voice,” Inari snapped, swiping at her jaw. He’d landed a punch. How the hell had he landed a punch?

Does it matter? For God’s sake, once you’ve kicked his butt and he is nothing but a trail of dust in the gardens,
then
you can lament the fact he landed a punch, okay? For now just cut the crap, swallow your pride, control your emotions and destroy this piece of murdering filth.

An angry snarl rumbled at the back of her throat, deep and primeval. She drove her nails into her palms, suppressing the urge to assume her Principatus form. She didn’t need to transform to gut the leech staring her square in the face. She didn’t
want
to transform. She wanted to destroy the sick fucking thing in the form her sister knew and loved. In the body Tianya knew.

Then do it. Now!

She ground her teeth, glaring at the demon standing before her. He wouldn’t be for much longer. Next to Ven Watkins, she was the best assassin the Powers had created. She would turn the grass of the Royal Botanic Gardens green with the leech’s blood. For Tianya. For what he did to her.

So why is the leech still breathing, Inari?

She narrowed her eyes, keeping her stare locked on his face. “What kind of dumb Euro-trash demon stalks a Principatus?”

He flashed pointed yellow teeth at her, orbiting her in slow steps. “One with unfinished business.”

Inari snarled, her flesh beginning to singe. Her Principatus soul smoldered, burning for release. For control. “You really can’t take no for an answer, can you?”

“No doesn’t mean no coming from a succubus. Every demon in the Realm knows that.” The leech inched closer, leering grin stretching wider as he ran an insolent gaze over her body. “Like your outfit, by the way. You’ve nailed the slutty look to perfection.”

Icy hate and contempt rippled through the fire in her soul. “Got some news for you, leechy-boy. I haven’t been in the Realm for over twenty years. And I’m not a succubus any more. In case you missed the memo.”

The leech demon snorted, the throaty sound wholly offensive. “I can still taste the slut you once were in your sweat, traitor.” He inched a step closer, still circling her, still crouched ready to pounce. Blood trickled down his face, thin congealing lines of green blood that made him look like he was covered in slime. His shirt, a filthy orange plaid number, hung from his narrow shoulders, two missing buttons allowing his gut to protrude like a grotesque growth. On the whole, he was the vilest thing she’d ever seen.

He smirked. “Tell me, who’d you fuck to be reborn a Principatus? God Himself?”

“Didn’t I tell you I’m sick of your voice?” Inari cut him off, driving her nails into her palms.

“Too bad, bitch.” He took another step closer. Saliva dribbled off his bottom lip. “It’s going to be the last thing you hear as I fuck you to death.”

She curled her nose, letting the force of her power flow through her being. “Sorry, you’re not my type. Remember?” She lunged, the ribs the leech had cracked earlier screeching with blinding pain. She ignored it, sinking her nails into the demon’s spongy neck, the feel of his hot blood gushing over her hotter flesh wonderful. “I prefer my lovers to bathe once in a while.”

She jerked him off the ground and threw him against the thick trunk of a nearby ancient fig tree. Leaves and twigs and dried bat shit showered down upon them, the flurried flapping of disturbed fruit bats echoing through the silent park.

The leech snapped upright, his wide-eyed stare fixed on her with baleful intent. “You want me to bathe? I’ll bathe in your blood. After I split you in two with my dick and—”

Inari didn’t let him finish. Rage engulfed her, flaying her control. She threw herself at him, transforming into her Principatus form mid lunge. Her wings tore through her flesh as they burst from between her shoulder blades, skimming the edge of her corset until they spread to their full span. Her skin turned to a smooth, leathery hide almost impossible to puncture.

The demon squealed, thrashing beneath her against the splintery bark of the tree trunk, blood and piss pouring from his body, his arms flailing wildly as he struggled against her might.

But she was a Principatus, reborn from a demonic existence to become the ultimate demon assassin. And now she had transformed, a mere empathic leech could not survive her punishment, no matter how strong or nourished he was. Especially one responsible for her sister’s death. This one never stood a chance.

“Time for you to die, fucker.” She drove her knees into his flabby gut, dug her left fingers deeper into his neck and stared him straight in the eyes, feeling his demented power scramble in vain for her psyche. It wouldn’t work, of course. An empathic leech demon needed saliva-to-saliva contact, and there was no way in hell she was letting him kiss her. “By the power of the Principatus, I hereby declare you punished.”
 

Cocking her right arm, she hooked her hand into a claw, ready to rip out his heart.

At the exact second he spat at her.

A thick wad of bloody saliva struck the side of her mouth, burning her flesh like boiling acid. She slapped at her face, her heart slamming into her throat. God, no! Her knees buckled and she stumbled sideways, wiping at the spittle in frantic swipes of pain and horror. No, she had to get it off her face. If it dribbled past her lips...

“Sis?”

Inari blinked and gazed at Tianya. Her sister hung in her grip, her throat soft and bruised under Inari’s fingers.

“What are you doing, In?” Tianya’s soft voice tumbled from her cracked, bleeding lips. Her blue eyes grew wide, filling with horror and confusion. Tears streamed down cheeks smooth and soft and streaked with blood. “You promised to protect me.”

Inari recoiled, her heart slamming into her throat. She stared at her sister, her gut knotting. “Ti?”

Fresh tears squeezed from Tianya’s eyes and her bottom lip wobbled. Her long, delicate fingers fluttered against Inari’s tense arm. “Please don’t hurt me, sis. Please.”

“Ti?” Her sister’s sobs tore at her heart. “How…what?”

Tianya stared at her with terror in her eyes. “Why are you trying to kill me, Inari? What did I do wrong?”

Inari frowned, her grip on her sister’s throat slipping.

No! Tianya is dead, Inari. It’s the leech demon, not your sister. It’s the fucking leech demon. You know that. The leech demon who raped and butchered her before you could save her. He’s fucking with your head. Don’t let him do it. Don’t let him—