Page 89 of Hell Burns Between Us

“We should listen to the male demons in our family who guide us,” she said carefully. “Let them lead us… such as in what we wear and how we are to raise our families.”

Moloch nodded solemnly. His voice rang through the chamber as he recited from the Silver Book.

“Demonesses, be subject to your male counterparts, mate or father. For the male demon is the head of the family just as the Devil is the head of all Circles.”

Only then did he finally release her from his gaze.

He turned back to the demonesses. “Your body belongs to your mate or future mate and no other. If you let yourself fall into sexual temptation all you’ll have to offer your mate is something dirty… which they, of course, do not deserve. Nobody wants something used.”

Peri remained kneeling, her knees aching, back stiff, toes numb. She tried to focus, tried to absorb every word in case he called on her again.

Then Moloch reached into his robes and pulled out a small bar of chocolate, wrapped in cloth. Her stomach churned—she had a vague idea of what was coming. Her grandfather did a variation of this purity demonstration every year. They’d crumpled flowers in their hands, held a paper enchanted to be sticky only for it to end up rough and covered in dirt from too many fingers—every demonstration was pointed, sure, but never grotesque. Now, it felt like Moloch had a personal vendetta against the demonesses here today, as if his hatred of them was seeping out in every way possible.

He held it out to her. “Unwrap it.”

She hesitated, then obeyed, the fabric rough between her shaking fingers.

“This is a delicious bar of chocolate, currently still pure and alluring,” Moloch announced. “Miss Wilder here, will lick it, and then pass it on to all of you, allowing you to also have a taste. When everyone of you has had a turn, we will see how appealing it remains.”

A hush fell over the room.

Peri stared at the chocolate, bile rising in her throat.

But she could not refuse.

She forced herself to extend her tongue, barely touching the edge before turning to pass it on. A demoness in the front row sprang forward, snatching it from her.

Moloch continued his sermon, as if he had not just ordered them into this bizarre ritual.

One by one, each demoness took her turn, pressing their tongues against the melting surface before passing it down the line.

Peri’s vision blurred.

A sour taste filled her mouth.

She turned back toward Moloch, her hands trembling.

She scrubbed them against her trousers, but the ghost of the chocolate clung to her fingertips.

Sticky.

Unclean.

She rubbed harder.

The soft fabric of her trousers felt rough now… abrasive.

No matter how much she scrubbed, she couldn’t make it go away.

A throat cleared behind her, yanking Peri out of her frantic scrubbing.

Moloch bristled at the interruption but waved an impatient hand. Get on with it.

The entire room turned in unison toward the demoness who had dared to speak.

No.

Not just any demoness.