Free A Demon's Desire by Lizzy Ford Page B

the stone
wall marking the perimeter of the graveyard, her heart racing. Her
eyes were pinned to the shadow demon she’d sent across the street
to the caretaker’s shed, where a light still shone. One of the
witches in her coven had scouted the area and claimed the caretaker
was always gone by sunset. It was past midnight; no one should’ve
been there.
    The shadow demon disappeared through the wall
of the shed. She heard a surprised shout and then the sound of
thrashing. It stopped. Silence. She waited a minute before hurrying
across the road to push open the door.
    The caretaker was alive and held under the
weight of the shadow demon sprawled on top of it.
    “Mistress, your command,” the shadow demon
said. The caretaker twisted to look at her, surprise crossing his
face. She knew it was her newfound beauty; it would stun any man
into silence.
    She hesitated and smoothed the sweater over
her hips. The middle-aged, stocky caretaker’s life was in her
hands. She should be benevolent, as people with power generally
were, and let him live with a warning.
    Kill him. Jeffrey’s voice entered her
mind again, ill-timed as usual. He’ll report you, and they’ll
find you long before you have Adam.
    “I don’t want to kill him. He’s just a
…” she argued out loud.
    A nobody? A threat? I see his thoughts. He
thinks you’re weak.
    “I am not weak,” she grated.
    Do it, Olivia.
    “Fine, but this is not what I want!” She
shook her head, marveling briefly at the long, blue-black tresses
that crossed her vision. “Kill him, slave.”
    “How shall I kill him, mistress?” the shadow
demon asked.
    “Quickly. We have things to do.”
    Slowly. And you will watch, Jeffrey
corrected her.
    “No, I-- ”Pain radiated through her. It drove
her to her knees. Startled, she sat back, uncertain what had
happened. Blood trickled from her nose to her designer jeans.
    Do as I say, Jeffrey ordered.
    “Slowly, slave,” she said, eyes on the wide
eyes of the caretaker.
    “How shall I kill him?” it said again.
    Anger and fear filtered through her. She was
here for Adam; she didn’t have time for this. Olivia launched to
her feet and grabbed a shovel from the wall.
    “Move, slave,” she snapped. “Hold him still.”
The shadow demon obeyed. She gripped the shovel’s rough wooden
staff, hesitated again, and then slammed it onto the man’s head. He
grimaced. She hit him again.
    The new fire in her body-- Jeffrey’s fire--
flared and consumed her. She slammed the man’s head over and over
with strength that wasn’t hers, growing more frenzied as blood
splattered everything around her. Only when his head resembled a
smashed pumpkin did she drop the shovel and step back, horrified
and satisfied at the same time.
    “I will find Adam,” the shadow demon
said.
    Olivia wiped blood from her face and turned
away, unable to face what she’d done any longer. She left the shed
and breathed in the ocean air deeply. Her hands shook.
    He was in the way. He would’ve taken Adam
from you, Jeffrey said, his voice gentle once more.
    “Yes,” she agreed. “Nothing can stand between
me and Adam.” She steeled herself. She’d done what was needed to
clear a path for her future with Adam. Even so, the image of the
man’s bloodied body made her feel ill.
    “Mistress, he is here,” the shadow demon
called.
    Her head swiveled toward him at his words.
She ran, the caretaker forgotten. The shadow demon stood in the
middle of a grassy area surrounded by tombstones. She’d walked
through the cemetery many times, willing Adam’s spirit to recognize
her and tell her where his body was. She’d accepted Jeffrey’s offer
of finding Adam for her, and was surprised at how easy he made it
seem.
    Olivia approached the grave marked “John Doe”
with apprehension. He’d had no family come forward after he threw
himself off the bridge. She hadn’t known he was dead until a few
weeks after their final fight. A couple out on their boat in