02 Awaken-The Soulkeepers Read Online Free PDF Page B

scurried away, jabbering and arguing.
    Dante leaned into his chains and tried to kick the squishy liver. “You’re not leaving that thing in here.”
    One of the twins scooped it up and screeched incoherently as he shoved it awkwardly under his ribs. His brother tried to help, but they ended up slapping and hissing at each other.
    “Not hungry, then?” Skaw asked with a greasy smile. As he stepped into Dante’s cell, his whip began to unfurl on its own. Dante’s chin went up. He stood proud but his muscles twitched involuntarily.
    “Why don’t you put aside the whip and let us go at this like real men?” Dantetaunted. “Oh, but wait. You can’t. You were never a
real man
.” He smiled cruelly, knowing his insult stung worse than any whip.
    There was a general hierarchy in Hell; entities that were once human but turned evil thought themselves above entities that were created from darkness by the Master. Since everything in nature had an opposite—Heaven to Hell, angel to demon—soul seekers, like Skaw, were created as a dark opposite to compete with spirit walkers who were Awakened to the light. Problem was that most dark opposites become rather jealous of their light counterparts. As a soul seeker, Skaw had spent decades fighting spirit walkers for lost souls and grew envious of their ability to walk the earth as humans. So Skaw, like most who were created in Hell, hated anyone who had been born human.
    Skaw’s expression hardened, and his whip pulsated with the need to strike. Dante knew better than to provoke a henchman like Skaw, but what the hell, he might as well get a bit of pleasure before the inevitable pain.
    Skaw snapped his fingers, and the jittering twins rushed into Dante’s cell. They approached cautiously and grabbed the chains. Tugging and shuffling, they released the slack and turned Dante around, raising his arms so Skaw could enjoy his handiwork across Dante’s back.
    The Demon of Torture growled his displeasure. The long gaping wounds from the last beating were already regenerating. It appeared that Dante had richer demon blood than most Demon Knights. Perhaps two beatings a day would speed along his demise.
    Skaw wrapped a pale hand around the whip but the sadistic weapon sensed its target and uncoiled on its own. Wave upon wave like a ribbon of fire, it moved through the air, eagerly searching for Dante’s bare skin. Skaw licked his lips, savoring the impending pain he would unleash.
    With a sudden jerk, he snapped the blazing whip across Dante’s back. A streak of flames sliced him open from shoulder to hip. Dante’s head flew back and his body shuddered in pain. He bit off the scream in his throat and squeezed his eyes shut. Skaw’s hollow laughter echoed in his ears while the twins gurgled and clapped with delight.
    Again and again, the fire whip cut into Dante’s back. Black blood poured from the wounds as his skin was slowly flayed like a steak. Dante trembled but remained quiet.
    Determined to provoke some sound from the arrogant Demon Knight, Skaw hauled back, gathering all his strength behind the next blow. But before he could strike, the chamber door was thrown open with a resounding boom. Skaw whirled around to Lord Brutus standing in the doorway.
    Shrouded in a gray cloak, the leader of The Order peered from beneath his hood and scrutinized the two Demon Knights. Vaughn was slumped forward and unresponsivein his chains, while Dante’s back sizzled like orange lava. Lord Brutus’s ashen face and black eyes showed no sign of emotion. He moved over the stone floor with his arms crossed and his hands tucked inside the opposite sleeves. Behind him came six members of The Order like a trail of monks. Skaw withdrew from Dante’s cell and bowed submissively to the Demon Lords. The twins hid behind him, nervously peeking around his cloak.
    “Leave us,” Lord Brutus ordered, to which Skaw hurried from the chamber with the twins in his wake.
    Dante heard the commotion behind him