I chucked the book.
It hit the man square in the chest. Before I knew it, I was chucking another. This one landed a few feet to the left of him. I cursed when I reached for the stack of books to find there'd only been two.
The man let out a chuckle that rattled in my chest. He straightened from the doorway and took a step forward leaving the right door ajar and the left wide open.
"There's no need for that." He soothed in an amused tone.
I snatched the lamp from the stand and held it up like a ball bat.
"Who are you?" He asked unfazed.
"None of your god damn business." I snapped. He let out an exasperated growl and the doors slammed shut so quick that I couldn't identity how.
"You're in my home. You've made it my business." His voice was deep, giving him an air of solid confidence while also being easy on the ears.
"I didn't ask to be here." My voice came out raw, due to emotional stress and dehydration.
"No? What do you call sneaking onto castle grounds under a wagon?" He said it with ease but there was tension in his shoulders as if he assumed I'd come here with some ill intent.
"I call that self preservation." I spoke the words with a high level of sass and confidence that I didn't quite feel.
"Some sense of self preservation you have." He remarked sarcastically.
"Thanks." I bit back blowing at a piece of hair that had fallen in front of my face.
"That wasn't a compliment." He informed me eyes trailing over my body. The realization of what I was wearing jolted me. A short and silky red night gown with a slit up the right thigh and flowery lace on the top and bottom. Two thin black straps were the only thing keeping it up.
That—- and the curves of my chest.
"I'm aware." I scoffed bringing his eyes back to my face and wondering who'd dressed me.
"What's your name?" He demanded like a prick.
"Wouldn't you like to know." As soon as the words left me I damned whatever part of my brain had a death wish.
The man moved fast enough to squash any attempt I had of lifting the lamp to beat him with. His hands pinned my upper arms to the walls. The lamp stayed in my right hand even though the lampshade had fallen off. My hand clenched around it for dear life even though I couldn't move to swing it.
"I don't think you're in the position to be playing games." He declared.
"Mallory." I said letting my eyes harden more than they'd been previously. "I'm Mallory."
"Mallory." The way he said my name was like he was tasting it on his lips. "What are you doing here?"
"I had no where else to go." I told him fighting the wave of emotions that raged through me with that simple sentence. It seemed to pack more meaning than just the answer to the question he asked. The silent memories I didn't want to acknowledge filled the room, drenching the air with grief.
His grip on my arms slackened the slightest bit. The harshness in his face vanished, drowned in a sea of his own past pain. He snapped out of it the moment I tried to shift away.
"What are you?" He leaned his head down to my neck causes unmanageable shivers to run down my spine. "You don't smell fully human."
"I— I don't know what you mean. I'm not human. I'm not anything. I'm dead." I hated that he'd made me stumble over my words because his own made panic weigh down my shoulders.
"Correction." He began drawing his head back so he could look me in the eyes. "Your body is dead, your soul still lives." He explained. "But your soul doesn't shine quite like a humans." I couldn't fully process that information when I had become entranced by the eyes fixed on mine.
The mans translucent eyes were like snow on a sunny day, reflective of everything around them, including my fear. He had a faded scar that ran down the right side of his face, but it didn't take away from his devastating beauty.
"What are you?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing.
"Whatever you want me to be." He purred with enough intensity to make my body shudder. The meaning was clear and the fact that he was suggesting it made my remaining fear vanish and the rest of me recoil in disgust.
"I want you to be a bug so I can squish you like one." I replied after a second when I was able to find my words again. I shoved as much bravely and conviction as I could into them.
"That's unfortunate." He said, smirking and releasing my arms.
"Oh?" I asked putting the lamp back into both my hands.
"Yeah." He said turning his back to me and walking towards the doors. "A bug couldn't do all the things I could do to you." If the sexual intent behind the words was meant to anger me then it worked. I hurled the lamp with all my might.
It flew across the room, the glass bulb at the top shattering against the door. The rest of the lamp simply fell to the floor, unharmed.
He fled so fast it almost felt like he was never there at all.
I didn't even get his name.
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Author's Note: I'd love to know what my readers think of the story so far so here are a few questions I have for you—-
What are your predictions?
Which chapter is your favorite so far?
How do you picture Zayne's personality?
What do you think Mallory is, if not human?
How do you think Mallory died?
Any questions of your own?
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YOU ARE READING
The Demonic Society
Fantasy• Face Your Demons & Embrace Your Fate • Mallory woke up in a cage full of strangers and was forced into a world filled with monsters. She knows this wasn't where she was meant to wind up and has to find a way home before she loses all that she is...
