Beauty And The Monster He Made

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lilu's POV

The knife balanced on Esmond's fingers. Blood glistened like ruby pearls off the steel edge. Workers surrounded Cosmo, Ash and Eden in red cloaks. The dull screams of death erupted from the speakers of the security room.

When I summoned forth all hatred towards San to justify my actions, I couldn't. His lips were ambrosia, tasted of the sunlight Icarus kissed before he fell. San's celestial light scorched my soul and when I stabbed his back, I rejected his love with all I had.

Silly angel, should have known there was a demon in my chest, my heart belonged to darkness, married to the darkest parts of the infernal, to Hell. He should have known I'd bite into his heart and chew with vampiric satisfaction.

Power vibrated my soul. I felt the power of a god. My body glowed extraterrestrial light.

"You did well, my love."

Esmond kissed me fiercely, lips tasted of blood and whiskey and I felt subdued, drunken off his touch. Our foreheads touched. Maybe this was what I deserved: to be tangled with a psychopath who wanted to burn the world down with me in it.

"We are meant forever," he whispered against my lips, "It's always going to be us; Lilu and Esmond for the whole fucking world to see."

His arms around me felt like home. His hand on the back of my head guided me to his shoulder. I saw across from it Ash's jaw locked up. Cosmo's eyes were grey storm clouds. Eden stared from the corner of the room, teeth sharp and waiting to bite off Esmond's flesh from just a single command.

A smirk against my cheek, Esmond plunged the knife into one of the fleshy strings strung up in his surveillance room. White light sank into flesh then travelled into one of the screens.

"What about Krishna? You promised me vengeance," Ash interrupted, and I raised my brow. "So, we know where Krishna is. Are you sure this plan will work?"

Cosmo snorted.

"You are the literal antiChrist, so I assume so."

My skin prickled with goosebumps at the rage in Ash's eyes, a man who severely desired retribution. He was a man sick of staring at his wounds all day, trapped in a prison, he was serious about this. Was he really going to commit deicide?

Esmond took out the knife, wiped the blood off on my shirt before presenting it to Ash.

"Trap him here. We're going to have a lot of fun." Esmond smiled at Eden, "You could help him. Lilu told me about your bloodlust, that you destroyed everyone who wronged you."

"Stop it," I told him, but the smile on his face showed his mind was made up.

"Yeomna was it? The name of your wife?"

"What about her?" Eden whispered.

"Don't you want to see her?"

"She's right beside me."

"No, the real her."

My eyes widened as he waved his hand and the screen changed. There came an ink painting of snowfall on a cobble road, trees in the background along with a shrine. The painting is done in a Korean style as I have purchased many paintings in my day.

What struck me is the woman in the image, her facial expression, her dark hair, the way she clutched a peacock to her chest, her elegance as she moved through the painting. Her dark eyes were haunted by the ghosts of her past winters.

My heart leapt.

"Yeomna!" I shouted, covered my mouth and hot tears rolled down my face. Esmond clutched my arms. I sobbed and pressed my head against his chest. "Why didn't you tell me you had her?"