Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SAMARA
Amari’s face froze in an expression I’d never seen on him before. The usually unflappable gargoyle looked like his soul might depart his body at any second.
“You’re telling me that Lilith wanted demons to come here?” Amari gestured around the shop, and his nose scrunched in a way that shouldn’t have been as cute as it was. “Earth smells like shit.”
“Stay away from the metal rectangle boxes and apparently the bright ball of light in the sky.” I looked down at Val, who was still smoldering.
Val gingerly touched his face. “Vampires can’t be directly in the sun’s path.
We’ll burst into flames if we’re exposed to it for too long.
” He looked at Amari with a sad smile. “Apparently, gargoyles can’t be in the sun either.
They have gargoyles on buildings here, but I don’t think they come to life at night. ”
He turned to me as if I might know the answer. I had some knowledge of Earth, but it was pieced together over the years. My family had books, but my memory of them couldn’t be trusted, especially since I was pretty sure some of them were tall tales.
I surveyed the open room we were in. A giant sign hanging on the wall read “Sunshine Finds.” There were shelves lining every wall and circular stands that held so many pieces of clothing it made my head spin.
There was nothing even close to this in Inferna. We made our clothes or bought them from seamstresses. But here? If the smell coming off the clothes was any indication, these were well-worn and there was an overabundance.
I ran my hands across some clothes next to me. The fabrics felt… weird. My gaze scanned the rest of the store: shoes, books, dishes. There was enough in the shop to supply at least three villages.
I itched to explore, but Val was still sitting on the floor, his face in his hands and his shoulders slumped. “Are you going to be okay? What do you need?”
He stiffened and shook his head.
“There’s some seating near the back. Let’s move him there.” I pointed to an odd-looking sofa.
Amari grunted as he got to his feet and took Val by the elbow to help him stand. He was a little unsteady on his feet but could walk. Once he sat down, he moved his hands from his face. I bit my lip to stop my gasp. It looked like blisters had developed.
“Why didn’t the sun do anything to me?” I perched on the edge of my seat across from Amari and Val.
“I don’t know. Different demons have different reactions to Earth. All I know is what my family members have written.” He winced. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that.”
I shrugged and sat on the very comfortable yet musty-smelling cushions. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you about the secret passage.”
Amari snorted what could almost pass for a sound of amusement. “If you only knew all the secrets I hold. People think because I’m stone that I don’t see and hear things. They’re wrong.”
We sat there for a few moments in silence, staring at each other. Val’s hands already seemed a lot less red than they had been a few minutes ago. Now they were just a faint pink, and his blistered face was already healing.
“Can you get us home?” Val’s voice was strained.
“We need to go farther than where we are. I don’t know how it works exactly, but I think Earth and Inferna are parallel to each other.
The first time I came, I was in the middle of the road and moved off it.
It was the same distance I had moved when I went back to the dungeon.
If we keep walking out of the back of this place for maybe fifteen minutes, we’ll be far enough from the castle and in the forest.”
“Do we want to be in the forest? What if the vacants are closer now?” Amari had a point, but we didn’t have much of a choice.
“The alternative is to go to the castle and hope we return somewhere outside the dungeons. It would be risky, though.” I was sure they had discovered we were missing and were searching.
Val ran his hand through his hair and leaned his head back on the sofa, shutting his eyes. “We can’t do anything until the sun goes away. From my readings, their darkness is only half of a day, but it’s very confusing. It starts and ends differently depending on the time of year and your location.”
I stared at him with my mouth agape. He spoke so casually about having so much knowledge of this unknown place.
“I wish I knew how to contact my brother.” I had a lot more questions for him now that I was in the place he gave up the crown for.
“Probably with a cell phone,” Val muttered. “Except you probably don’t know his phone number.”
His words made no sense to me. It was overwhelming, and I was growing restless and more tense sitting and staring at the two men. I stood and decided to explore since we weren’t leaving anytime soon.
I sifted through a few racks of clothes, and a grin spread across my face as a shirt caught my eye. I knew Amari was going to hate it.
I threw it at him, and he held it up.
“They’ve made a mockery of gargoyles.” Amari showed Val the shirt that had the word scrawled across it with several creatures of various colors.
Val glanced at the shirt and shrugged. “They know about a lot of things that are Inferna but don’t know about Inferna itself. They are obsessed with vampires and wolf shifters here.”
I went back to exploring and found a small area that had so many bags that they were spilling off the shelves and hooks. I searched through them, marveling at all the different styles and sizes until a bag that sparkled made me stop.
It glittered like jewels and was a faint pink color. Two round circles that reminded me of rodent ears sat on top, with a bow in the middle. It was about the size of my head and was perfect for holding the feathers.
I was really enjoying myself, despite the dire circumstances we were in. What if I couldn’t get us back to Inferna? Would we be able to survive here until I tracked down my brother?
I was looking through books when I overheard Val speaking in a hushed voice.
“I wanted to rip into her neck and drink all of her blood. Then I stared into her eyes, and she did what I said. I never believed half the things I read from my family, but they’ve mentioned that vampires go crazy for human blood.
We need to get out of here as soon as possible before I come across any more of them. ”
Val had excellent control over his urges, so to hear that one human made him uneasy was both fascinating and concerning.
I slid a book off the shelf and examined it. I had never seen a book with such a bright and smooth cover. It was shiny, and I could practically see myself in the reflection it gave off.
I returned to the sofa and sat down. “I overheard you talking. Do you need to feed?”
Val cocked his head. “Don’t ask me that unless you’re offering.”
A hot flush crept up my neck as images flooded my mind of Val’s fangs piercing my skin. I quickly started flipping through the book I had grabbed, desperate for any distraction from the dangerous path my thoughts were taking.
The book was unlike anything I had seen before. I caught sight of the word “pussy” on a page and stopped to read it. The woman was having sex with four men at once, and I shifted in my seat.
It wasn’t unheard of in Inferna, but to see it written out to devour was something else entirely. Maybe I needed to go find another bag and stuff it full of books.
As I became engrossed in the scene, Amari stood and walked to the front of the shop. He had the gargoyle shirt on, and it clung to his chest like it was a second skin. He stopped in front of the window and went eerily still as he stood looking out.
“What are you reading?” Val asked.
“It’s about a woman who has multiple lovers.” I didn’t look up from the book. How the woman managed that many men without pulling her hair out was awe-inspiring.
“Is that so?” Val’s voice was deeper than usual, and I glanced up. His eyes were locked on me. “If a man knows how to take care of his woman, she shouldn’t need more than one.”
“And what about two?” I raised my eyebrows and shut the book. I set it on the cushion next to me. “Are you saying you don’t know how to?”
His face was expressionless, and I was just about to pick the book up when he stood and walked across the short distance to me.
“Do you really think a dainty little princess like you can handle two men?” His eyes smoldered as he straddled me, his erection pressing against me.
How long had he been sitting there with an erection?
“I thought I had already handled two men.” I bit my lip and then glanced at his mouth that was begging to be kissed.
“You wouldn’t survive the two of us inside you at once, bruja.” He brought a finger to my collarbone and ran it gently back and forth. He made a strangled noise and ran his thumb up and down my neck.
My heart beat rapidly as he continued to stroke my neck. Did I want him to bite me? The thought made me want to clench my thighs.
To me, a vampire’s bite was more intimate than sex. They took a life force, and there was a lot of trust involved. Did I trust Val enough not to drain me dry? He was healing, his face still a little flushed from almost exploding.
“Maybe Amari could feed you.” I brought my hand to his jaw and ran my fingers along his stubble. The coarse hairs tickled my skin. I ran my thumb over his bottom lip, and he groaned.
I pushed on his lower lip with my thumb and saw one of his fangs poking out.
“I don’t want Amari right now.” His teeth clenched as he rolled his hips against me again. “I want to be buried between your legs, savoring every drop of you. I want to sink my fangs into the vein in your thigh. I want to taste all of you.”
“Then do it,” I whispered.
His lips hit mine before I could second-guess myself. I wanted this. I wanted him. If I hadn’t run, we would’ve had centuries of this.