The Deal with the Demon Prince

*Chapter Twenty-Eight*

*Chapter Twenty-Eight*

It hurt.

Pain racked her frame like a giant inferno enveloping her in a tight hug. Sweat poured down her face and into her eyes, making it hard to see anything. She opened her mouth to breathe, to inhale, yet the air her lungs got was viscous and humid. Her throat ached for water, for anything that could mitigate the burning throbbing.

Her body felt strange.

She looked down and screamed. What had once been healthily fair human skin was now paler than a ghost’s. Veins bulged out of her skin, making her smooth skin appear unsightly and hideous. Her nails had grown into long claws, and she raised a shaky hand to her face.

She did not feel a third eye or anything else that seemed strange. Her hand grasped onto the wall to pull herself up. She turned around, catching something moving in her peripheral vision.

Her scream died in her throat, and she dropped onto the ground. Her face contorted with fear and disgust and disbelief.

What was happening to me? Where am I?

Even a grown man would cower in fear if one day, the man woke up to see wings growing out of his back, never mind a girl not even in her twenties. It was a nightmare coming true.

“You are in Hell.”

A man – no, a thing – appeared before her. Even if it weren’t for the two leathery wings that matched hers, the pointed fangs she could clearly see, the crimson eyes, the unnaturally pale skin color, the strange aura radiating out of him, and the tendrils of black mists curling and twisting around him, he could not pass off as a human. There was just something about him that screamed like a bright neon sign that he wasn’t human.

“You died, but I’m quite positive you do not recall such an event.”

She stared blankly at the creature in front of her. She couldn’t remember a single thing. She had no memories whatsoever. He approached her, slowly. Although this was the first time she had ever met him, she could tell he was powerful. Her body yelled at her to obey the man, and for now, she was going to rely on her instinct.

“You fought for your pride until you died, Phoebe. Because of the sin you committed before you died, your soul was sent here. You do show some promise of being a demon though.” His crimson eyes narrowed, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

He grinned.

Phoebe had no idea what the action suggested. Her vague memory told her it was a sign of positive emotions, but right now, all she wanted to do was to cower in fear. A chill ran down her spine. The creature in front of her was the very Reincarnation of Death.

“How about it, Phoebe? I will make you a deal. From now on, you will be Pride. It suits you too. You will rule with your six other siblings under my order.”

Her eyes snapped open. She was in the same room again with him in front of her. She tried futilely to calm her racing heart. She was no longer an idiotic newborn. She had endured him for centuries, and she did not plan to mess up right now. No demons would want to anger the person who created them. He and he alone had the power to destroy her in the blink of an eye. She bowed and forced herself to keep calm. She swallowed something that defined her – her pride.

“I’m sorry, Father.”

She could hear his laugh echoing around the room, and for a moment, she felt claustrophobic. The sweat that covered her forehead was not only form the heat. He turned around, still laughing uproariously.