Shouts broke my attention and I looked over my shoulder. Perhaps it was witnessing Anton’s death, or knowing he was next in line, but somehow Revenald managed to break free from the vampires holding him to the ground. His face was a bloody mess, but his eyes had started to heal, allowing him to see. He ran when he was free, his speed far greater than the vampires trying to chase him down.
I put Sucker back into the sleeve on my side and jumped from Anton’s body. I followed the vampires rushing into the room with the nude and bound slaves. I could hear Revenald saying something in a language I didn’t understand, though something told me he was speaking in demon tongue. Then I saw the mirrors on the far wall begin to change and smelled the strong stench of sulfur.
Son of a bitch!
I’d seen Hell through a mirror before—when I made a deal with a demon that started this whole mess. My stomach bottomed out when I realized what Revenald was doing. Only half-demons had the power to venture back and forth between earth and Hell as the spawn of both man and demon.
The pathetic bastard was running for his life.
He made it to the mirror before we could catch him. The glass captured him, holding him in place, and then pulled him through. I wanted to scream at his escape, to force him to come back with the bravado he displayed during our initial meeting. Instead I was forced to stop in front of the mirror, to face him as he sought the safe haven that was Hell. Tornados swirled around him, dust coating his torso.
“This isn’t over,” he warned, chest heaving. “Compared to the pain I have planned for you, tonight will seem like a memory of Heaven.”
“Pussy,” I snarled, more animal than a woman. “Nothing but a pansy ass motherfucker who ran away from a human. A servant. Word will spread through Hell. Everyone will know what a coward you are. I hope you’re ready to take it up the pooper like a big boy.”
“I’m going to dine on your heart soon, bitch.” His face changed in his fury, his forehead expanding outward as his fangs made his upper lip extend awkwardly. He flicked his wrists, as though he could shoo us away.
Then I heard a loud crack.
The glass along the entire wall shattered, breaking outward. I managed to lift my arms and hands in time to protect my face. Shards broke through my shirt and sank into my skin in numerous places along my body. The vampires and slaves in close range cried out as portions of glass struck them as well, hitting them like miniature daggers.
I lowered my arms, furious when I saw the mirror was gone, the frame the only indication it had existed in the first place. He’d escaped, but he’d be back. Of that I was certain. The question was: could I find and revive Marigold in time to protect myself? Or would he find me before I had the chance?
It doesn’t matter either way, I told myself, shoving those thoughts aside. There were other things I had to do, things that wouldn’t keep.
Turning from the destroyed mirror, I glanced at the injured slaves. Some were pretty bad, bleeding all over the place.
“Help them,” I instructed the vampires nearby. “Tend their wounds.”
They moved to do as I asked, and I turned to make my way to the ballroom. Time to face the half-demon bitch I’d killed once and was about to kill again, to bring the fanged harpy who’d turned my sister to justice. One final stop, and I could retrieve the ones I loved and leave this shithole behind.
Victoria.
Chapter Eighteen
When I arrived in the second ballroom, Victoria was still in her chair. The vampires holding her had their hands full. She squirmed and kicked, attempting to get free. Her hair was all over the place, and she was cursing under her breath.
Until she saw me.