Demon's Kiss by Eve Silver Read Free Book Online Page B

    “Hello,” he said. “I’m Dr. Paley.”
    She nodded. “Okay. Hello.” Holding one arm in front of her, she whispered, “I got worms in me.”
    Worms. “Well, let’s take a look”—he glanced at her chart, reminding himself of her name—“Louise.” Angling a stool a little closer, he took a seat and waited as she carefully rolled up her grimy sleeve.
    Slowly, she turned her hand palm up, and he saw a large laceration, an old festering wound, the edges of the skin dark and brittle. He adjusted the light and picked up a pair of tweezers. The shush of the door opening and closing behind him hailed the arrival of a nurse. He frowned.
    Something in Louise’s wound moved, an undulating shift, and the nurse let out a startled gasp. Asa sent her a reassuring smile over his shoulder. “Shawna, can you hunt down some containers please? I have a feeling we’ll need a few. Urine specimen bottles should do the trick.”
    Shawna sent a wary glance at the woman’s blackened arm and nodded, her momentary startlement pushed aside by her professionalism. “Certainly, Dr. Paley.”
    Asa turned back to his patient as Shawna slipped from the room. “Louise, I’m so glad you came back to see me.”
    She looked up at him, the lank curtain of her hair falling back, and she smiled trustingly as she nodded.
    Taking a deep breath, he savored the smell of her. Unwashed skin and clothes. Rich earth. Subcutaneous tissue rank with the festering wounds that marked her. And deep inside of her . . . yes . . . a lovely secret treat.
    Just a whisper, but it was there, glittering like a jewel.
    He was almost strong enough. Almost. Each day his energy, his power, grew.
    Last week, he had been most pleased with his progress as he trolled the downtown clubs. He had sensed one of the Compact, one of more-than-moderate strength, before the sorcerer had sensed him, and he was certain he had escaped undetected. Such would not have been possible only a few months past. But he had been careful. Choosing his meals with optimum enhancement in mind. And his sacrifices, his forfeits, were beginning to pay off.
    Tonight he was even more pleased. He had been strong enough to sense the failure of the minor demon tonight, strong enough to feel the ripple of magic as it had been destroyed. Somewhere close. Very close. Foolish being, to attempt to bring the Solitary before his time. The minor demon deserved its destruction, just reward for its audacity.
    Asa fully intended to greet the Solitary himself, to take his rightful place at the great being’s side. There was so much to be done, and for the tasks ahead, he needed strength.
    “Got worms in me,” Louise said again.
    He smiled. Worms. Oh, there was so much more than worms inside of her. She was an unusual creature, one who had some sorcerer ancestry that had provided the seed for a tiny spark of magic. Enough to turn Louise from a mundane morsel into a sumptuous feast. Enough to ratchet up Asa’s power several notches.
    She was a rare and wondrous find, his Louise. A delicacy to be savored. “Tell me about the worms, Louise.”
    “Worms inside of me. In my arms. In my legs. I put them there to protect me from the others, the ones in my dreams. The ones inside me are small still. But I know they’ll get bigger, and . . .” She leaned closer, her eyes rolling in fear, her body tense. “The worms in my dreams’ll eat me. From the inside out. I’m food for them. And they’re evil. Bad. They come into my dreams.”
    “Have you been taking the pills that Dr.”—he glanced at the chart—“Langford gave you the last time you saw him, Louise? The ones in the brown bottle?” Asa asked gently, taking his time as he closed the tweezers around the slithering worm at the opening of her wound. An earthworm. Keeping his expression neutral, he pulled it out and dropped it in the metal pan on the tray by his side.
    Louise shook her head. “No. No. No pills. They won’t help. I got worms in me. Worms in