Free The Darkest Joy by Dahlia Rose Page A

insistent ringing in his head told him he was being summoned. Dread filled his heart as it became more and more persistent. He could feel it in his heart that they knew, but he could not ignore the call and not go. They would pull him back the hard way, and Bliss might get hurt in the mêlée.
     
    “I have to go, my love. I am being summoned,” he said against her hair. He felt her instantly stiffen in his arms.
     
    “No, baby! You know Belial must have told them about me. They must know what you are trying to do!” Bliss sat up in the bed. Her eyes were wide with fear. “They’ll hurt you. He said so, for an eternity!”
     
    “I have to go. They will come for me if I do not, and I do not want you harmed. I’ll find a way to be free, and I will be back!” Caim pulled her in his arms roughly and inhaled her scent. “I promise, nothing can keep me from you now, not even all the demons in hell.”
     
    “Take me with you,” she begged close to his chest. Tears choked her voice. “I’ll protect you.”
     
    Caim chuckled softly. “I have no doubt you would fight by my side, my love. Nothing alive can dwell in hell or descend into it. It would kill you instantly.”
     
    Bliss sat up again. Tears began to trail down her cheeks. “When will you come back?”
     
    “Meet me under the Merry clock tower, where the mayor spoke from for the summer fair. That is the highest point in Merry, and I will fall from there. Until then, go to the chapel in the hospital and stay there. They cannot cross onto that hallowed ground.”
     
    He kissed her then. He took in her taste and made sure that everything she was, was imprinted on to his soul. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes that were filled with love and fear. He stood, and with only a thought, his clothes were back in place. “Don’t forget, midnight tonight, the clock tower. I love you, Bliss. You saved me with your love.”
     
    “I love you too,” she promised.
     
    Caim caressed her cheek once more before he phased out from her bedroom and back to the realm where demons ruled. The last thing he heard was her voice echoing through the fold in time. She yelled at his disappearing figure, “I’ll catch you, Caim ! I promise I’ll catch you!” Even if he didn’t make it out, his last thought would be that he found a love that wanted to give him redemption.

Chapter Seven
     
    Belial’s face held all the evil merriment that one demon could muster into its features. Caim knew that this was all because of what he told Samael . The demon that stood next to his protégé had fire in his eyes and the flames of hell breathing from his nose.
     
    “I see you ran home and snitched like the bitch you are,” Caim said with nonchalance that belied the turmoil inside him.
     
    “There is no loyalty in hell, Caim , only stepping on each other’s skulls to get higher on the ladder.” Belial smiled as he spoke.
     
    “Does this get you out of the secretarial pool, Belial?” Caim asked.
     
    “It gets me higher on the food chain than you, even when you turn demon.”
     
    “Know this, Belial. If that happens, I will spend my time making your life a living hell. My vengeance will not be quenched,” Caim countered. He felt pleased when he saw the flicker of doubt that filtered though Belial’s face.
     
    “Stop this fucking chitchat!” Samael snarled. He set his eyes on Caim’s face. “Did you think it would be so easy to escape this realm?”
     
    “I thought I was going to just walk out, Samael . My time is up,” Caim responded placidly.
     
    “Impudent whelp! A thousand years is a mere flash in the span of my immortality. You think I would just let you walk away? I don’t give up demons to become humans,” Samael roared.
     
    “That was the nature of my sentence, a chance of redemption. The clause was there.”
     
    “Do you think we follow the contracts of that world? Your maker knew that there would be no chance of you ever leaving here. That