Mercy for the Wicked (15 page)

I nodded appropriately, almost expecting him to pause with his hand out for a tip when he finished.  “What about a um… do you people have indoor plumbing?”

“Plumbing?” he stared at me blankly.

Charming.  “Nevermind, I’ll figure it out,” I muttered.  Hopefully I wouldn’t be there long enough for it to become an issue. 

“The bathing chamber is through there, I can have a bath prepared for you very quickly should you wish to bathe.  Shall I call for hot water?”

“Get naked in the middle of demon central?  No thanks,” I gave him a tight smile.

“Are you hungry, Mistress?” he asked politely.

“Nope.  And I don’t want my hair braided or a pedicure or a bedtime story, thanks for asking,” I added before he could ply me with the next question.  He blinked those big amber eyes at me and I regretted the sharp tone.  “Sorry, it’s been a rough day.”

“I can well imagine.  Then I shall take my leave of you, Mistress.  With your permission of course,” he gave a little bow. 

Could he imagine?  Somehow I doubted it.  “Actually there is something you can do for me.  Tell me a little about this place.  Midian?  Is that what it’s called?”

“If I can,” he nodded readily and I got the impression he wasn’t all that eager to leave and return to his normal duties, whatever they may be.  I guess if I was in his shoes I’d rather sit around and chat instead of fetch and carry for a boss like Raum too.  “Yes, this place is called Midian, it is our home.” 

“What are those other humans doing here?  They sure looked like they were being tormented for their sins.  How did they get here?”

“They are poor souls who allowed themselves to be captured by our kind.  Each is enslaved to the demon that stole them away from the world.” 

Like me, I supposed.  “What will happen to them?  Is this a hell dimension?  Are they paying for their sins?”

“Nothing so productive, Mistress.  Midian exists apart from Heaven and Hell.  Those humans trapped here will never ascend to Heaven nor reach judgment day in the fires of hell.  My kind feeds on the souls of man.  The humans you saw will either be trapped here forever without hope of salvation, or be killed should they outlive their usefulness, but there is no everlasting life for them.”  I imagined I heard pity in his voice, an odd position for a demon to take by my reckoning. 

“So, you’re eating their souls?  And they’re trapped for ever and ever?”  I sank down on the edge of the bed, grateful for the support or I would have ended up in a puddle in the middle of the floor.  “Is that what Raum has planned for me?”  The little demon didn’t meet my gaze and I guess I got my answer from that response.    “I think I’d like to lie down for a bit if you don’t mind.”

“As you wish, Mistress,” Nelo bowed low, backing towards the door. 

Once I was left alone, I checked out the place from top to bottom, looking for any other exits I might have missed, basically anything that could be used in my favor when Raum came to pay me a visit.  Unfortunately, the place was pretty sparse.  Other than the sumptuous décor, there were few personal items to be found. 

The view from the balcony made me dizzy when I got too close to the railing, there was no chance in hell I could try and climb down the thirty levels to the ground below.  There might come a time when I was desperate enough to tie the knotted bed sheets together to try and reach the level below, but I wasn’t there yet.  For the time being, I was a guest of the demon lord, and there wasn’t a whole hell of a lot I could do about it. 

Lying down on the bed, I closed my eyes, convinced I’d never be able to fall asleep with everything going on or I’d immediately get pounced on by Azazael in the Ether the moment I slipped past consciousness.  Instead, I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep almost the instant my head hit the pillow. 

* * *

It’s hard to say what time of day it was when I awoke.  The sky was a lighter purple but there was no sun visible in the sky.  The air had warmed up considerably, but as I sat up higher, I saw that was probably because of the firepit thing at the foot of my bed.  (I have a friend in the SCA who could probably give the object its correct name, but firepit thing was good enough for me)

My gilded cage looked much the same as it had the night before, the lit fire the only sign that anyone had been in there since I’d fallen asleep.  Except for… the ornately wrapped box on the dressing table.  Large enough to hold a new coat (which I hoped for), it sat wrapped in shiny, gold wrapping paper with red and green ribbons, and a huge bow in the center. 

I approached the box cautiously, after all, what might pass for a gift in a demon realm?  Curiosity got the better of me though, and I carefully peeled open the wrapping paper and lifted the lid of the box.  Nestled inside was a pretty dress in a deep red that reminded me of a Grecian style.  Golden sandals designed to lace up the calves were in the bottom of the box, as well as several smaller velvet lined cases filled with jewelry dripping with rubies.  My first reaction was to swap out my work clothes for the lovely dress, but my hands froze a few inches above the box.  What would I accept if I said yes to Raum’s gifts?  Would it mark me as his in some way?  Because I
so
wasn’t his, regardless of what I’d said in the throne room the night before. 

I was wondering how to ring for room service when the door opened, and Nelo arrived, bearing a covered tray, right on cue.  “Forgive my impertinence, Mistress, I thought you might be hungry now.”

“No, you’re right on target with that one, Nelo.  Thanks,” I smiled at the little guy, my mouth watering as he uncovered the tray to reveal an attractively arranged assortment of sliced meat, cheese and fruits.  Too hungry to care if he’d slipped anything into the food, I made myself a sandwich, wishing he’d brought mustard, but that was too much to hope for, I supposed.  It wasn’t until after I swallowed the first bite that I thought to worry what kind of meat I was eating.  That only slowed me down for a tick though, I was too ravenous to question a meal.  

Nelo fussed around the room as I ate, making the bed, straightening things.  “You did not like your gift?” he asked, picking up the wrapping paper.

“I like it alright,” I answered noncommittally. 

“Do you need assistance in dressing?  I could send for a maid…”

“No thanks, I’ll stick to my own clothes for now.”

“You refuse my lord’s offerings?”

He seemed surprised, and I nodded, popping a grape into my mouth.  “You guessed it, buddy.”

“Nelo.”

“Huh?”

“My name is Nelo, but you may address me as buddy if you wish, Mistress.”  He bowed low again and I waved him up. 

“You don’t have to keep bowing when it’s just us in here, Nelo.”

“As you wish, Mistress,” he bowed again and I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. 

“You don’t have to call me Mistress either.”

“As you wish, Mistress,” he bowed again, but I thought that time he might be smiling.  Feeling fuller, I slid my plate towards him. 

“Are you hungry?  You can have the rest of my sandwich if you want.”

“No, Mistress, that would not be proper.”

“Not proper?  I’m not gonna eat it, it’ll be garbage if you don’t take it.”  I waved a thin slice of meat in the air and his eyes followed it before he shook his head again.

“No, thank you, Mistress.”

“Suit yourself,” I shrugged.  “Hey, does this happen a lot?  Girls get kidnapped, you wait on them hand and foot, and Raum plies them with fancy gifts?”

“Oh no.” Another shake of the head was given. “Usually they die right away unless my lord takes a fancy to them.”

“That’s comforting,” I muttered.

“It is?”

“No, Nelo.  It’s called sarcasm.”  It was almost as bad as talking to Sam…  “What about Oriana?  It looks like she’s been here a long, long time.”

“She…” Nelo fell silent, his eyes dropping to study the stone floor and I was at a loss for why until the door swung open again, and in sauntered Raum, wearing a burgundy smoking jacket over black, silk pajama pants. 

“Did you miss me?”

Chapter Ten

“You’re not wearing my gifts,” Raum frowned.  With a snap of his fingers, I was dressed from head to toe in his finery, like an instant makeover, including elaborately styled hair, jewelry and makeup.  It would have been a pretty cool effect, unless I dwelled on the fact that he could snap his fingers at any time and leave me without a stitch on…  “There, that’s more pleasing.  Don’t you think, my lady?”

“You’re a man of many talents,” I murmured, a little dizzy from the rapid transformation. 

“That will be all, Nelo.” He gave a distracted wave and Nelo popped out of view.  I missed the little guy instantly, the last thing I wanted was to be alone with Raum.  “Now then, it’s time for us to get to know each other properly.”

“Would you like some wine?”  I backed up towards the table, refilling the goblet from my leftover meal.

“You’re not a tease, are you?” he shook his head, a tsk, tsk, tsk sound coming from his lips.  “Actually, strike that, I enjoy a good tease every now and again,” he grinned, stalking me slowly, in no apparent hurry. 

Super, a psycho with plenty of time to burn.  How would he try to fill the hours?  “What do you want from me exactly?”  I asked, fighting the urge to back away again.  It wasn’t like I could escape him if he decided to pounce.  “I know your kind feeds on the Grace.  Are you going to eat me?”

“You Americans are so blunt, I love it!” Raum gave a short bark of laughter.  “Yes, Mercy, I do intend to taste your Grace.  It’s a rare and lovely treat for one of my kind, and have no fear, I don’t intend to squander it.”

“Meaning…?”

“Meaning we’re going to become very good friends because you’re going to be here a very, very long time.”

My chin came up a little, refusing to be cowed by the threat.  “I wasn’t kidding before, there are people who will come looking for me.  Adamiel, Samael.” I wasn’t above dropping a few names but he seemed unconcerned.

“No one can find you here, my lady.  You are quite removed from the world.” 

“No one?”  I wasn’t sure if I could take him at his word or not, but some of the starch went out of my sails.

“Let me put it into terms you can understand, pet.  We’re off the grid.  Where angels fear to tread and devils never follow.”

As far as I knew, angels weren’t afraid of much and I didn’t think it’d keep Azazael from forgetting his dreams of freedom either.  “I’m not so sure about that, there are a lot of people looking out for me on both sides of the fence.”

“Never find you here,” he shook his head.

“What if I call them?”

“Won’t do you any good, m’lovely.  Even if they could get past the gate, no angel will set foot on Midian, so you’d best give that thought up.”

“Why not?”

“Shall I show you what we do with angels, my lady?”  He closed the distance between us, pressing me up against the wall.  “Now then… give us a little taste.”

No demon had ever looked at me as though he appreciated my feminine charms, it was all about the Grace, so I was surprised to find him so invasively into my personal space.  As he pressed into me, I could feel that there were parts of him that were
very
interested in another kind of hunger though, and that filled me with a different kind of fear.  The Grace bubbled up to protect me, unwittingly making it worse as I started to glow and he pressed harder.  “Yes… that’s it…lovely,” he whispered, nuzzling in close to my neck. 

I squirmed away from his touch but he held me there easily enough, his hand forcing mine to lie over his heart.  “Do it,” he growled against my skin, squeezing my wrist painfully, but I didn’t have enough control to push the power on command.

“I can’t, I don’t know how,” I whimpered, trying with every fiber of my being to shoot him with the damned stuff so he’d be happy and let me go.  A snarl tore free from his throat and I felt him clamp down on my shoulder, his suddenly sharp teeth piercing my flesh.  I screamed in pain, and a surge of Grace burst out of my hand, suffusing his chest with white light.  Raum’s bite on my shoulder intensified as his body stiffened against mine, his mouth pulsing rhythmically against my torn flesh as he absorbed the power with a groan of pleasure.   

Just when I thought I couldn’t take it any longer, his mouth eased up and the white hot agony subsided to a dull throbbing pain, which lessened under the raspy touch of his tongue on the wound.  I kept my gaze resolutely turned away as I got a hold of myself, refusing to look at him or what he’d done to me.  Raum continued to lazily lap at my shoulder, and I have to admit, it didn’t hurt anymore.  I was too chicken to see if that was because it was magically better, or if there was a numbing agent in his saliva that masked the pain. 

“This is going to be a long and fruitful partnership,” he said finally, pushing away from the wall with a twinkle in his eye.

“How is this a partnership?”  It was impossible to disguise the loathing in my voice as I slipped out from his grasp.  “You feeding off of me isn’t a partnership, it’s all take and no give.”  My hand went to the wound to cautiously probe it, finding the skin completely smooth and unbroken.  Thank God for small favors.  Idly I wondered, if I started to pray, would God hear me in Midian?  Or was I removed from His eyes as well?

“Give it time, m’lovely.  It won’t always have to hurt like that as you gain control over your gifts.  Soon you’ll come to appreciate the benefits to accepting me as your lord and master.  Might could sweeten the deal a bit, make it more pleasurable for the both of us.”  Raum leaned close again, reaching up to stroke my cheek and I turned away, swallowing back a wave of revulsion.

“I’ll pass, thanks,” I managed to get out, and his hold shifted to close around my throat, forcing me to look at him. 

“It doesn’t always have to hurt, but it can.  I can take your Grace in all manner of ways, pet.  Best you remember that, before you reject my more than generous offer.”  He released his hold on me, fingers brushing against the trail of tears that spilled from the corner of my eyes and bringing them to his lips.  “So sweet,” he smiled, licking the tears from his fingers like they were nectar.  “Think about what I said, Mercy.  I think we could have a lot of fun together, you and I.  But if not… well, that’s enjoyable too, isn’t it?”  Raum smiled, his teeth stretched to wicked points and my shoulder ached just from looking at them.  Without waiting for a response, he turned and left, whistling a jaunty tune.