Devil's Sabbath

Chapter Four: Sweet Nightmares are Made of This

Chapter Four: Sweet Nightmares Are Made of This

When I regained consciousness, I awoke in a bed. Not a hammock or some shitty bed of hay, an actual bed, with a mattress, pillows, and blankets. I sank into the softness. It was so comfortable, I didn't want to get up. Part of me wanted to do nothing but sleep forever. But I had to get up. I had to see where I was and what was happening. The stench of the Lust Ring was long gone. Wherever Zain whisked me off to, it must have been an entirely different ring.

I lifted the blankets, noticing that my body and the sheets felt damp. I was wet and smelled sour, like saliva.

When I sat up, my entire body screamed. Every nerve triggered pain, and I winced. My joints cracked and popped as I dragged myself out of bed. I had been beaten much harder than I thought. My white dress was in tatters, decorated with splotches of red. I was in a small room, and I turned my back to a full-length mirror leaning against the wall. As I glanced over my shoulder, I peeled off my gown, exposing my pale white, bare back. My skin was marred by vile scratches. While the wounds had healed, they left behind nasty scars that would take much longer to fade. The flesh was sore and tender to the touch.

Since my gown was done for, I searched through a nearby dresser and pulled on a short black dress that just covered my thighs. It had a heart-shaped hole cut in the chest area. Dresses were the only clothes I could really feel comfortable in. They kept my arms and legs unrestricted for quick movement, and they were light enough to not weigh me down. I remained barefoot because my toenails were just as sharp and deadly as my claws. A single kick could spill the guts of a minor demon.

All kinds of thoughts started to settle in. Where was I? What was this place? And where was Zain? I peeked out of a nearby window to see what was outside, but the glass was obscured by some white haze I couldn't wipe off. I couldn't see a thing. I was about to unlock the latch and open the window until-

A pair of narrow, ice-blue eyes appeared on the other side of the glass, glaring at me. They stared at me for barely a couple seconds, but that was all it took to send me stumbling back. My heart pounded in my chest. Something about this place was...not right. I had to find Zain. "Zain? Where are you?" I called.

I rushed out of the room and bolted down the stairs, only to run face-first into Zain's stomach. I was about half his height, and hitting him felt like running into a wall. I nearly fell back on my ass. "Diamora, you're awake!"

Zain cheered. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," I growled. "Where did you take us?"

Zain shrugged and scratched the back of his neck, letting out an embarrassed chuckle. "Honestly...I don't really know. I knew I had to get us out of the Lust Ring, but I couldn't put you on my back and fly, so I shifted into my bat form and carried you in my mouth."

I grimaced. "So that's why I smell like spit."

"I started flying into the sky like we did before, and I just kept going until...well, I don't really remember what happened after that," Zain continued. "It's like a big black hole in my memory. We woke up in that bed upstairs, and I wanted to let you sleep, so I decided to leave you be."

I shook my head. "Something here isn't right. I can feel it. There's a different aura here, it's not like the Lust Ring at all. Let's take a look around."

Zain and I explored the house, searching every room for anything amiss. It seemed normal, like a regular house. That was the problem. It felt too normal. It was as though something was tempting us to stay, to just lay down and sleep and not think about anything ever again. The house was seemingly devoid of even a single crumb of food, which was another anomaly I found odd. "I don't think we're gonna find out anything in here," I said. "Let's head outside."