Free Demon's Vow: Part 2 of the Final Asylum Tales (The Asylum Tales series) by Jocelynn Drake Page A

inspect the door frame when something large and angry slammed into the back side of the door, causing the heavy barrier to rattle in the frame. I jumped back, my heart launching into my throat as I stared at the door. Claws scratched against the wood, as if the creature was trying to climb through it to get to me. What the fuck had Simon set loose in there?
    I crabwalked backward until I was seated in the middle of the dimly lit foyer, waiting for the scratching to cease. There were no other sounds coming from the room besides the claws on the wood and stone floors. No growling or snarling. There were any number of creatures you could summon up that loved nothing more than to snack on weaker creatures, but I should have heard some other noises. None of them were mute. They were also a bitch to control and I didn’t think even the strongest witch or warlock would be insane enough to use one.
    When the clawing had ceased, I pushed to my feet, trying to ignore the shaking that had crept into my hands. The attack didn’t resume when I approached the door again, but I didn’t take that as a sign that the creature had curled up in its little bed and gone to sleep. It was waiting for me to enter.
    Inspecting the door and the frame again, I was disappointed to find that there weren’t any other spells guarding the entrance. There was no more stalling. Shoving the chalk back into my pocket, I pulled out my wand and carefully erected as many shields and protective wards as I could on myself before uttering the unlocking spell.
    Soundlessly, the door swung open. I tried a lighting spell, knowing that there had to be lamps or candles in there to push back the darkness, but nothing happened. Wonderful . I either stepped into the black pit of death or gave up on saving my relationship with Trixie. Man, I was an awesome boyfriend!
    Calling up a ball of white light, I stepped over the threshold with it hovering just over my shoulder. It did little to cast light over the room. The shape of a chair a few feet in front of me and what might have been a table cluttered with books were barely discernible within the gloom.
    And then something moved. It crossed from right to left, as if circling me. I didn’t see it so much as felt the movement within the darkness, as if it were nothing more than a ripple of energy. Twisting around to try to keep whatever it was in view, I tightened my grip on my wand. My heart was pounding and my palms were growing sweaty, making me feel as if my wand was going to slip right out of my hand.
    The door slammed shut, cloaking the room in darkness. My body tensed, waiting, but the creature didn’t attack. It moved around me again, drawing a little closer as if testing what I’d tolerate. The only sound in the room was my breathing as it broke past my lips in short gasps. There were no sounds of claws on the stone floor, no shuffling sounds of cloth or the rub of fur. I couldn’t even hear it breathing.
    That’s when it dawned on me that this was no living creature I was facing. As I had feared, this thing was similar to what I had guarding the basement of Asylum. But even as my heart ramped up with this sickening idea, I was confused as to why it hadn’t attacked yet. The spell at Asylum launched itself at anything that just partially descended the stairs, ripping the poor fucker to shreds. If this were the same thing, I should have been dead before clearing the threshold.
    It was watching me. Waiting.
    Praying that my shields would hold, I pulled together the same spell I used to disarm the protection spell at Asylum. As I did, the creature in the darkness drew closer on my left. I couldn’t see a shape or any defining features. It was just the sense of a massive force that was a little darker than the unyielding blackness of the room.
    Why are you trying to lock me up?
    The words drifted through my brain, but it felt as if they had been hissed in my ear. I lurched back a step, trying to put some distance