She threw me again, this time toward the corner my TV was in. Its sharp angles bit into me when I hit, and I crumpled to the floor. I tried to pull myself up but never made it. Nanette was right there beside me. I had a full view of her black stiletto pumps just before she kicked me in the ribs. Pain blasted me, and my body instinctively tried to curl over and protect itself. But she was too fast and too powerful. Greg had had a lot of brute strength at his disposal, brute strength I’d been able to counteract a little. But against Nanette? Against a demon? Her strength was beyond that of a human, nearly beyond human comprehension.

“Do. Not. Fuck. With. Me,” she said, punctuating each hit with a kick to my stomach or ribs. “Do you understand? You are nothing. Nothing.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. My eyes burned, and every part of my body was screaming, begging for this to end.

The kicking stopped, and I rolled to my side, only to have a wave of power slam down on me and roll me to my stomach, pinning me down on the floor like an invisible ton of bricks. I tried to move but couldn’t even budge.

“I don’t care if you’re Jerome’s favorite or Cedric’s new darling,” she said. Her voice was all ice and malice. Again, she didn’t touch me with her hands, but the back of my shirt suddenly ripped open. “I could destroy you right now, blast you from the face of the earth, and no one would say anything. Instead—you’re lucky I’m in a good mood today.”

Her “good mood” felt like a thousand whips hitting my back. Tiny lashes of power, sharp as razors and burning like flames, slammed into me. I screamed as they slashed at my skin, ripping it open. Some part of me thought that if I screamed loud enough, maybe a neighbor would hear me. It was a useless sentiment, though. She would have soundproofed this room much as the demons had at the Cellar. Besides, what could any mortal do against this?

Again and again those invisible whips tore into me. Obviously, I couldn’t see what was happening, but in my mind’s eye, I imagined my flesh torn to ribbons, my entire back a horrible, bloody mess. I don’t know how many times those lashings repeated. They blurred together. I was fast approaching a point where the pain was so intense, so overwhelming that I almost couldn’t feel it. My vision was going black, my brain barely able to hold consciousness.

When the beating finally stopped, I wondered if I was dead. The room was still and silent. Then, the invisible force lifted off my back. I tried to roll over but couldn’t. Nanette knelt down, her lips right against my ear.