So damn creepy.
I shudder as Gage looks down to me, his teeth grinding because he knows he can’t answer that question. He’s really tall.
Why the hell am I focusing on him?
Turning my eyes away from him, I devote my attention where it belongs, and I stare into the glossy eyes of the freaky doll.
“Sheila, alpha female of the Arasian lioness werecat pack, gave it to me.”
The doll is freaking me out with the unblinking, glassy eyes that roll up and down my body squeakily. Dice cringes and scoots back farther, as Gage steps in front of me protectively.
Really?
Just as I’m about to shove him away, the doll drops to the ground as the life leaves its squeaky eyes. We all look around, trying to figure out which doll she is possessing now.
“I told you that you’re not working this case,” Gage growls, his eyes still trained on the herd of innocuous looking dolls that could be harnessing this rare creature.
“And I told you I was. Get the hell over it,” I say, refusing to look at him since my body contradicts my mind when my eyes are on him.
Just then, another doll comes to life, leaping from the couch, and I duck just as she throws out her hand. Gage is hit by the demonic power that is diluted by her possession and by her true self, but it’s still enough to make him curse and stumble backwards while clutching his shoulder.
“Sheila wouldn’t have given you that. Not even on her deathbed.”
Quick
ly, I pull out that damn worthless stone that’s attached to a necklace, and I toss it into the air. The doll leaps, flips, and catches it midair, before flipping backwards and landing on the black leather sofa.
“She said you’d be wary. But she gave me that to prove I’m here for the right reasons.”
The doll looks up at me, her eyes looking sweeter than they should, and finally, a sigh passes through its lips before it drops like the other one, lifeless once more.
“That shit makes my skin crawl,” Dice says as he comes toward us, putting his back against the wall as he watches all the dolls.
“Why did she send you?” another doll asks from behind us, eliciting a shriek from the incubus.
This doll is closer, wearing a princess dress and a misleading expression of invitation.
“Because I’m here to offer revenge,” I say, unlacing one cuff and letting it fall to the floor to expose my own slave marks.
The doll grabs my hand, jerking it closer so that she can inspect my wrist, and Gage bristles, a blue and red orb forming in his hand as he prepares to destroy the possessed princess.
The doll flips him off, which is actually a pretty comical sight. Then she turns to stiffly wobble into the never-ending hallway. The illusion becomes fractured, looking as though it is short-circuiting when it flickers between a never-ending hallway and short one.
Finally, the illusion shatters completely, turning into just the short distance to the back of the house just as the doll disappears into a room.
“She’s a demon,” Gage says, scowling at me.
“I’m aware of that,” I mumble, feigning the same boredom he showed me earlier.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he growls.
“Are you just going to keep repeating everything you’ve already said?”
His lips tug into an angry snarl, and to piss him off even more, I patronizingly reach up and pat the side of his smooth cheek.
Ah, hell. I really shouldn’t have touched him.
Though I remain unaffected on the outside, my palm burns and tingles from where it touched him, and I pull it back down, trying not to tremble when he moves closer.