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Cherrie Lynn
 Where the fuck have you been? Can t bring yourself to come down here and see what you ve done?
Dammit, it was frustrating not being able to see who he was talking to. He d never felt so fucking
powerless. Never.
 Ash, I have orders to follow, same as you. I don t follow them, I end up right here beside you.
 What a shame that would be.
 I didn t do this to you. You brought this all on yourself.
 Fuck you. You don t know what I ve been through.
Metos gave a short bark of laughter.  What you ve been through? By my watch, all you ve been
through for the past two weeks is that woman s bed. I realize the angel s stay was granted, but had you
moved earlier, that wouldn t have been an issue. Oh no, you had your head in the clouds, you let her get to
you. I worried about you, but I thought surely you would come through in the end. You didn t. You let that
winged rat make a fool of you, of us, and we cannot abide that.
 I don t give a shit how big a fool you look. Nor myself any longer.
 It truly saddens me that it s come to this. That you ve come to this. You were once great.
Great? He d never been great. He d been terrible, feared, even worshipped. But he d never been great
until he d been in Madeleine s arms. The only true greatness he d ever achieved was ripping that contract
in two now if only he could figure out a way to undo the consequences of that action for her.
 Metos, please. I once considered you friend. If ever you felt the same for me, you have to let me go.
Let me help her. She s not ours any longer, so what does it matter to you if she lives?
His superior s voice had never been warm during this exchange, but now it turned so cold and brittle
it could ve cracked and melted on the scorched fumes.  It matters to me because you ll be far more
tormented by knowing she suffered, died and is beyond your reach forever. Once she s gone, I might even
recommend releasing you. See if you can t try to rebuild what she tore away from you.
Yeah, release me. You do that. He kept his mouth firmly closed on that thought. Unfortunately, Metos
couldn t seem to do the same.  Your punishment here isn t only for releasing a contracted soul. Your
punishment is for being so fucking stupid as to fall in love with one of them. We ve been through this once.
We aren t going through it again.
 All right. Now that there was a glimmer of hope, he would switch strategies. He would keep his
mouth shut, he would hold the threats in. They would finally let him go and he would rampage his way to
Heaven to find Madeleine, if he had to. Even if it killed him.  All right, I hear you. I was stupid. Do you
think I don t see that now? I knew all along I should ve acted sooner. I ll take my punishment quietly if
you ll just let me go when& when the time comes.
Metos grunted, not sounding convinced.  We ll see about that. It s an idea, not a certainty. There
was the sound of footsteps heading away from him.  I take my leave now. Continue.
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Far from Heaven
Continue Oh, that bastard. Ash heard the sadistic chuckle of his tormentor as the slimy piece of shit
stepped up to him again.  Miss me?
 Like I miss your mother. It made no sense, but Ash made a point of laughing uproariously. Fuckers
weren t going to break him as easily as they thought.
 I m going to carve my name across your chest.
 Make sure you spell it right. If you can. He set his teeth against the anguish he knew was soon to
follow.
Time could be deceptive here. Hours could feel like days, or conversely, days could pass in only a few
minutes. He hoped not much time had gone by, because every minute counted for Madeleine. But his hope
was running out.
 How long have I been here? he finally asked his constant companion, drooping against the cursed
chains that kept him from falling to the ground. His voice sounded too weak to his own ears.
 What makes you think I d tell you that? The sound of metal scraping against metal grated in Ash s
head. What was he bringing out now? Fuck, if only he could see&
Or maybe his lack of sight was a blessing. The other demon could very well be bringing out the
rack or worse now that Ash was weak enough that he wouldn t be able to fight them when they placed
him in it.
The magic holding him in human form had long since fallen away. If Madeleine had been standing
here now, she d see a beast she would run screaming from. Maybe even more so now that his wings were
in tatters and he could tell he was encrusted with grime and blood that ran black. His clawed hands
clenched into fists. Madeleine. He was going to lose her, might have already lost her.
That knowledge, not the fear of any impending torture, gave him a surge of furious energy. He jerked
against the chains, roaring and cursing.
 Well, well, he s showing spirit again. I like it. Gives me something to break all over again. Along
with his bones.
Someone else was here; he heard their feet shuffling. Felt hands first on one arm and then the other,
working at the chains. This could be his chance if only the damned mask weren t still in place. It had
become so heavy he could hardly lift his head. He had no way to remove it. Still, he prepared to give them
a hell of a fight.
It didn t last long. As soon as his limbs were free, he hit the floor after only a few pathetic struggles.
The others laughter echoed throughout the room. Then their hands were on him again, lifting him, placing
him on the dreaded contraption.
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Cherrie Lynn
He wouldn t beg, wouldn t give them that satisfaction. But he did discover, when he felt his hands
being tied down, that demons could pray. They could do it fervently.
And even have those prayers answered, somehow.
 Stop!
Ash must finally be hallucinating, because that voice wasn t whose he thought it was. It couldn t be. It
had made him cringe far too many times to be welcome now& but it was. Holy fuck, was it ever welcome.
 Riam? he said and, if indeed he was imagining things, then the others were too, because they
emitted vicious hisses at the intrusion of an angel in their quarters. Ash could almost laugh at the way Riam
must look right now, all bedecked in pristine white and gold amidst the darkness and squalor of the
dungeon. But he was too stunned for anything other than a silent thank you to whoever had been listening.
 I have an order from the High Tribunal that he is to be released at once.
 Let him go. That was Metos, his grim voice coming from somewhere near the entrance.  But I ll
have you know this isn t over, angel.
 It is for now. Riam seemed to be walking closer as he spoke.  Get him out of this cursed thing this
instant.
A moment later, Ash s hands were free, and he was lifted upright. Fingers fumbled at the back of his
neck, unfastening the lock on the mask, and it fell away. By all that was unholy, it felt good. He groaned,
rolling his head on his shoulders, before finally cracking open his eyes. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]