A Legacy of the Damned: Daughter of Astaroth

Chapter 19 - A Serpent's Prey

I'm a morning person but when I open my eyes, the clock on the nightstand shows that it's already after eight. That's pretty late for me but that's what happens when you couldn't sleep and you tossed and turned almost all night.

I heard him come home just after midnight while I was already in bed last night. I extended my hearing to listen carefully for the second set of footsteps in case he brought someone home with him but I could only hear his- sure and steady strolling down the hallway and into his bedroom.

A big part of me felt relieved that he didn't bring anyone home or spend the night with Naomi. I don't know what I'd do if he did. I'd probably hurt them both.

I stayed awake to hear him getting ready for bed. I don't know what time I fell asleep but it must have been very late because I'm still feeling tired this morning.

The apartment is very quiet now. Too quiet. I extend my hearing outside my room but I hear nothing except the usual hum of the apartment. No rustling sound of movement or human breathing except my own.

I flip the cover off me and get out of bed. My bare feet slapping the cool tile floor of the hallway is the only sound as there is absolutely no movement anywhere else in the apartment.

I pause at his door which is slightly ajar before I slowly push it wide open. His bed is empty and so are his bathroom and his massive but mostly bare walk-in closet.

I check out the rest of the apartment and find a note on the kitchen counter telling me to help myself to the breakfast and everything else in the kitchen. The cleaning staff will be here to clean up the apartment and unpack my things at nine. It's brief and concise...and impersonal.

Sure enough, there is a warm Keurig on the counter, yogurt, sliced fresh fruit in bowls, and various pastries on a silver dome-covered tray.

I bring up the note and re-read it in disbelief.

This is ridiculous! He can't leave me here like a prisoner all day! And where is he? He couldn't possibly be working, could he? It's Sunday for heaven's sake!

When I try the door a minute later, I'm surprised to find that it's not locked from the outside as I thought it would be. But there are two huge Nephilim men standing there.

They're muscular, unsmiling, and alert. They look barbaric enough to tackle me to the ground if I made an attempt to run. I scowl at them before slamming the door shut.

I feel my blood boiling as I stalk around the apartment with a barely contained aggression.

I pull open the door to the balcony and a gust of cold wind blasts my barely covered body. It doesn't cool me any but as I stare down at the concrete ground below from the twenty-fifth story height, common sense sneaks in.

I hold on to the cold steel balustrade and take a few deep breaths, trying to think clearly.

There's no escaping the demons or the Naphilims for me. This is the world that I grew up in and I know the rules and the games so intimately because I play them too.

The three princes of hell, the Nephilims, and their allies share the balance of power almost equally and their reach knows no bound. No matter how slick I am, there's no escaping either of them. They're more dangerous than the Mafia.

Ironically, the demons can't reach me when I'm in the Nephilim's clutches. But Astaroth wants me to be in his enemy's territory for now so that I could feed him their secrets. If I leave now without giving him anything of value, he'd kill me or at least hurt me terribly.

I believe that my soul is destined to be damned for eternity, so if I displeased Astaroth, he will find me. Even in death.

I'm reckless and daring but I've lived this long not by being stupid. I know how to play the game. I just need to be clever. Or cleverer.