Unused to the weak emotion, Asherik chased after the ecstasy of death, this time relishing the terror in her eyes as he felt the heart quiver and stop, but it didn’t last. He reveled in the vigor of his new body, silently thanking her for showing him the delights of punishing strength, but it wasn’t enough. Dissatisfaction welled, chasing away the pleasant glow of power, before the blood had even grown cold.
He needed more.
He had to see her again.
But not in person, not yet. There was more he wanted to learn before he tasted her fear in this plane. A slave to the convention, Ash waited for her to surrender to dreams, each passing hour finding it more difficult to hold onto the unfamiliar patience.
He hated waiting.
A creature of impulse, he considered how best to drive his quarry into the open. Perhaps a box of chocolates laced with Seconal would send her into a deep sleep? There, he might have her, powerless to resist him under the sway of drugs.
Something about that thought did not appeal, though he didn’t understand why. It was important for him to possess her through his own achievement. He wanted to punish the girl for thwarting him, for turning his own construct against him. He wanted to see her pretty eyes half lidded with desire, begging him for release before they widened in fear. He wanted to corrupt her soul before he devoured it. He wanted her to say his name, his true name, and know him before he destroyed her.
The thought had him hard and lusting for the feel of another woman in his arms. Ash stepped away from the soiled mess at his feet, padding naked to the shower to wash off the remnants of decay. His new body gleamed under the glistening stream, the play of muscles under skin almost hypnotic, but he didn’t let himself become distracted.