GAME ON - GoM 2

3

His words opened a cold hole in Alex's belly. And the way he was leading the conversation only fed her newly-found fear. She'd rather die before he turned her into a black channeler to serve his plans. No, she couldn't let that happen. If he even tried, she'd need to find a way to make him kill her.

Apparently, both her fear and her determination reflected on her face, because he scoffed yet again. "Oh, Miss Corban, you're lovely. You think you can fight me, and that it'd be the best for you! Here's something more you should know. Bet good old Greg didn't tell you that the skill to channel is hereditary."

Alex felt as if they'd just emptied a bucket of cold water on her. What the hell was he talking about?

Blake smirked. "Of course he didn't tell you. So there was a dormant channeler somewhere up your family tree, else you wouldn't have this amazing, extremely rare skill." He moved his glass, like inviting her to look around. "So here I am, getting luckier by the minute. Where I only expected to keep the Cross away from Greg's monks in steroids, I find myself in possession of a just-initiated channeler, full of potential to shape and apply. And the channeler is something I've never heard before: a woman! But not only that: this woman channeler happens to be young, attractive and fertile. Good Lord! Not even Christmas!"

Alex was too shocked and too busy fighting back a horrified scream to react when Blake came to stand only inches away from her. His eyes moved over her as if admiring a unique jewel he'd long coveted.

"Bet you'd need time to wrap your mind around what that means," he said, lowering his voice. "Unfortunately, we don't have time right now. So I'm gonna be blunt and clear about this, dear Miss Corban. You will channel for me. And you'll also conceive a whole new breed of half-demon channelers for me."

Horror was so intense it stunned Alex in sheer rejection. Blake's smile threatened to make her stomach turn. Maybe throwing up on his five-figure suit would make her point? To make things worse, his eyes slid down to her lips first, then down to her collar.

"You see, dear, when a demon impregnates a human, the pregnancy only lasts two months. And the woman's fertile again four to five weeks after delivering. Considering that I can keep you this young and functional for at least four-hundred years—do your math."

Alex could only stare at him blankly. Her heart hammered her burning chest and cold sweat ran under her clothes. She vaguely wondered how she hadn't seen it coming. How come she'd expected red-hot irons, jagged blades, twitching pliers, but not this?

Blake kept speaking in the same surreal, casual way. "But things don't need to be bleak and terrible for you, dear Miss Corban. If you agree to be my channeler, I'd keep your preferences in mind when the time comes to pick our Warrior, so you'd have a companion to your liking. And we'd only meet twice a year. Once to mate, one to bring me the newborn baby. The rest of the time, you'd roam free with our Warrior, not a care in the world but running an errand for me now and then."

Alex fought back a retch. "You love the sound of your own voice."

"And you should too. It might be the only voice you'll hear for a long, long time." Blake grabbed her chin, forcing her to look up at his patronizing smile. "Because if you refuse my kind offer, you'll spend the next five-hundred years in these chains. Breeding spawn after spawn with any demon I see fit to try on you."

Alex could tell he meant it. Oh, Lord, he did. His voice had an acid quality that seemed to corrode her inside. Had she not be nearly hanging from the shackles, her knees would've buckled.

Somehow she found her voice. "You can't make me, douche. I'll die before you lay a finger on me. You can't force me to do shit."

He stepped back, once again in his educational mode. "Do you know how demons subdue humans?" he asked, retrieving his glass of wine.

Alex appreciated the distance between them. It made it easier to breathe. "Your blood," she grunted. "You make humans drink it."

"Yes, that's the standard procedure for regular demons. We make humans drink our blood because we need a part of us inside them in order to control them." He paused, giving her the chance to comment, which she didn't. "But I'm way above regular demons. You see, back home I'm a prince." He chuckled when Alex rolled her eyes, amused at her attempts to play tough when she was actually scared to death. "That means not only privileges and whole lot of responsibilities. It means mostly power. I can do many things no other demon can—save our king, of course. So I don't need to have a human drink my blood if I want to control him or her."

"Meaning your will is enough? So you're wasting your time down here just for the kicks?"

"Hush, Miss Corban, and pay attention. Making you drink even a few drops of my blood would give you a power I wouldn't want to grant you. Well, maybe you're able to earn it in time."

"Yeah, can't wait to earn it."

Blake tilted his head at her bravado. "In the meantime, I only need less than a finger of any of my body fluids to have you do whatever I want for weeks."

Alex set her jaw. She didn't know how much longer she'd be able to handle her urge to scream and cry and run away.

Blake raised his eyebrows."And you still don't believe me. Let me show you." He turned his head but a little, keeping his eyes on her to say, "Leave us."