Demon King Series Books II & III

Prologue

A putrid stench was assaulting her nose.

Like rotting flesh...

That's what it smelled like.

She tried to open her eyes to see what the source of the smell was, but she couldn't. All she saw was darkness. She began to panic.

What the hell was going on?

She could feel a coarse piece of cloth against her eyes and her mouth tasted bitter from the dirty rag that was stuffed into it. She tried to spit it out but couldn't because someone had secured it in place with duct tape.

Since she couldn't see, she tried to hear what was around her. A symphony of the mundane filled her ears: water dripping, wind howling from outside, windows rattling, and trees scraping against the window screens. There was nothing special to tell her where she was at.

Was this a nightmare?

She tried to move her hands and legs but they too were bound.

As fear enveloped her, she began to make guttural screaming noises in the back of her throat.

"Tsk tsk...I would be quiet if I were you," a male's husky voice told her.

She stilled at the unfamiliar sound of it. Was he trying to mask his voice? She wasn't sure.

"I bet you're wondering why you're here," he smiled.

She could feel something sharp graze her left hand and slowly travel up her arm towards her neck. The prick of a knife to her clavicle caused her to swallow her cries.

"That's better," he said.

The knife continued upward to her cheek. A gloved hand gripped the right side of her face. She felt the knife pressing into the fleshy part of her cheek. It stung a little. She cringed when she felt a rough tongue slowly lick where the knife had made her bleed. She felt him kiss the cut and against her face in a low whisper he said, "Mmmm...tastes like fear."

She couldn't help it. She began to whimper in fright. The hand that had been holding her face moved to the back of her head and yanked on some of her hair. She groaned at the pain of it.

"I said to be quiet." His voice had become hard and upset.

She tried to control her crying as best she could. He let her hair go and she could hear his footsteps walking away.

"You piss me off. He would've wanted this...otherwise I would've just killed you hours ago," the man said.

After hearing his words, her mind was racing and she thought of what she remembered last before she found herself being held captive. She was supposed to meet Roxy, one of her prostitute friends, to try and get information on a local politician that was cheating on his wife. Her friend always gave her any information that was newsworthy. 

Despite her profession, Roxy was deeply religious and always wore a thin cross necklace. When asked why she wore the spiritual necklace, Roxy explained that it always kept her safe from violent customers or Johns that liked it a little too rough. A week ago, Roxy had called her and told her she wanted to meet behind a local bar. When she showed up, Roxy was nowhere to be found. She remembered waiting for thirty minutes and then deciding to leave. She must've been attacked from behind, because she didn't remember anything after leaving her meeting spot with Roxy.

His breathing had become ragged and then he began laughing. "Do you know who I am?"

She shook her head left and right. No.

"Are you scared?" he asked.

It took her longer to answer because she hated to admit it but she slowly nodded her head up and down. Yes.

He laughed. "Do you think I'm going to kill you?"

She nodded again. Yes.

"Would you rather I give you a quick death?" He had walked back towards her and let the knife caress her face.

She didn't respond.

"Would you rather I let you live?"

She nodded quickly.

Yes.

He stepped behind her, cut the blindfold, and ripped the tape from her face. With her eyes shut, she quickly spit out the dirty rag and began coughing. "Don't worry, I don't plan to kill you anytime soon," he said as he made his way around to the front of her chair. "But you're gonna wish I did."

She looked up and finally got to see her abductor's face. Her eyes widened in surprise and fear. She could hear someone was screaming. Was that scream coming from her?

She heard him yelling at her to be quiet. He hit her and kicked the chair she was sitting on, knocking it over. As her head hit the hard cement floor beneath her, she could see a dead body on the opposite side of the room. A thin cross necklace hung around what should have been the neck of the mangled corpse. She said a quick mental prayer that this would all end quickly. Then she let her mind fade into oblivion.

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****WARNING: THIS STORY IS UNEDITED. ALSO, before you read on, this book is a SEQUEL to Bones of the Demon King. Although, you won't really need to, I STRONGLY suggest you read that book before delving into this one. Why? Because if you decide you like this book and want to go back and read the first one...the surprise of who the killer is will be ruined for you. Also, it's always nice to really read the first book first. If you don't read the first book, you'll still be okay...maybe.