[h2]Esme Stirling[/h2]

Esme remained unconscious the entire way to wherever the demons were taking them and when they drug her from the car. When she came to, her vision was blurry and her head was pounding. She was aware they had bound her wrists to the arms of the chair she sat in, as well as her ankles to the legs of it, and they had stripped her of her jacket. As she tried to clear her vision, she felt the rage rise in Cason as she lifted her head from her shoulder and shook the hair from her face. Blinking the blurriness from her vision, her eyes landed on Cason and the state he was in and the rage he felt. Her eyes then shifted to the demon wearing thick leather gloves, then to the iron knife and steel thermos he held as he circled Cason. She listened as Cason told them to let her go, but she knew it wouldn’t happen even before the demon spoke. He was going to use her to get to Cason. 

When Cason cried out from having the holy water thrown in his face, Esme gripped the arms of the chair as she felt his pain go through her. She listened as the demon continued to speak to Cason about how she was easier to hurt than him with their tools, clearly showing they were going to enjoy torturing her in front of him. She had to smirk a bit at his statement of seeing how long she could last under intense interrogation. The words were being used to get under Cason’s skin, and it seemed to be working. At the mention of Anna, Esme looked back at Cason as she struggled against her bindings, but they were too tight to break from. It was then she noticed they had taken liberties with the v-neck t-shirt she was wearing. They had ripped it, so more skin was accessible when torturing her. 

When the other demon stepped up close, she gripped the chair once again, reading herself for what he might do first. Esme still listened as the first demon spoke as if scolding Cason for not being like he was before punching him in the jaw, causing her to wince from the loud crack. It was then she heard the demon next to her chuckle before he grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked her head back to look up at him standing behind her. A slight gasp left her at the action as she narrowed her eyes and glared at the demon, only to have him grin back at the hatred she showed him. “Glare all you want, Blondie. It doesn’t hurt me any, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead.” he chuckled. Lifting his left hand, he showed her the large knife he held within it, a larger grin now coming to his face before he pressed it flat against the unbruised side of her face. 

Moving the blade slowly, he let the smooth metal glide across Esme’s cheek and to her lips, where he let it linger a moment before purposely cutting her bottom lip with the tip of the blade. She neither flinched nor made a sound as he cut her lip, but continued to stare and glare at the demon. He seemed disappointed by her lack of reaction but pleased that he had drawn blood from her. He then pressed the blade flat against her skin again, starting at the corner of her mouth and gliding it down her chin and then down her neck to her collarbone, just barely letting the tip of the blade graze her skin. “Just what do you think you’ll get out of me by torturing me?” she asked in a hateful tone, as he ran the blade along her collarbone. A menacing grin made its way to the demon’s face at her words, as he slid the blade down to just above her breasts, lingering a moment to watch her face. 

When he received no reaction, he pressed the tip of the blade into her skin, then a little harder to puncture it, then drug it across her skin in a small cut. She held her breath as the blade cut her, then watched him as he leaned down and placed his lips close to her ear. “A scream, Blondie. So I can watch that traitor scum squirm because he can’t save you.” he hissed in her ear. Esme clenched her teeth as he hissed in her ear and glared at him. “Getting a scream from me won’t be that easy.” she said in almost a growl. “We shall see.” he retorted with a chuckle as he pulled his lips away from her ear. As he stood over her, he brought the blade back up and stopped under her collarbone, tilting it so she could feel the sharpness of the blade against her skin. Then he pressed hard down on the blade and dragged it slowly across her chest, watching her as she held her breath and gripped the arms of the chair, and gritting her teeth to keep from crying out. 

Esme was determined not to give the demon the satisfaction of a scream leaving her lips as he cut her. Yes, it hurt like hell with how deep and slow he was cutting, but she was going to hold back her screams. It was clear the demon could see that he wasn’t getting a scream out of her. Lifting the blade, he chose a new spot on her chest and cut deeper and slower this time, watching her as she did the same actions from the last cut he made and never took her eyes off him. “You really think this is going to get you your scream?” she breathed. “Maybe not, but I have other methods for getting you to scream.” he said with a laugh in his tone. Lifting the blade once more from her flesh, he moved it up and placed the tip of the blade against her shoulder, and adjusted his grip on the handle. She knew what was coming even before it happened. 

Esme took a deep breath just before the demon pushed the blade into her shoulder, then brought it back and plunged it into her left shoulder up to the handle. There was no stopping the gasp that escaped her lips from the pain that shot through her shoulder. The demon finally let go of her hair and then let the knife go as her head dropped forward as she swallowed her cry of pain and gritted her teeth as she closed her eyes, her breathing now labored. Lifting her head back up, she took in a breath that was followed by a small groan. “Mmm, looks like I’m going to have to switch to something new.” he said almost happily. He then took hold of the handle of the knife and gave it a good twist, a new grin coming to his face as she gasped from the pain but still didn’t scream for him.