Page 12 of A Fury Of Shadows

Barquiel watched wordlessly while the sorcerer paced the room like a man possessed, smashing several of his belongings. He recognized a jealous outburst when he saw one. It would have amused him had Vedran’s order not impacted upon his own private plans.

The last thing he wanted was to reveal their hand to the Witch Queen and the High Council too early. The demon frowned.

Besides, the project isn’t complete yet. Dietrich is going to have a meltdown when I tell him Vedran wants Oscar to take his new pets to New York.Dietrich’s handsome yet annoyingly sycophantic face rose before his mind’s eye. Barquiel grimaced.Yeah, he’s going to bitch about this for days.

He’d picked up Dietrich on a winter’s night some two hundred years ago, in a back alley in Moscow. The Immortal scientist had fallen prey to a trap set by the Immortal societies to capture and eliminate him for the heinous crimes he had committed against humans and Immortals alike. On the verge of his twelfth death, as a blizzard swept across the Russian capital and blanketed his bleeding body in a layer of snow that soon turned crimson, he’d begged Barquiel to save him, promising him his soul for all eternity in exchange.

Although the demon had been surprised the Immortal had seen through the disguise he’d adopted at the time, he’d recognized Dietrich’s inherent talents for evil. He’d seen the darkness that dwelled inside his heart.

Barquiel still wasn’t sure what whim had possessed him to accept the Immortal’s desperate request. Seeing the man torn limb from limb and his remains scattered to the four corners of the world would have been vastly entertaining. Still, he’d agreed to help Dietrich that night.

It was a decision he had never come to regret.

Disposing of the Hunters who’d ambushed the scientist had been child’s play for an Archduke of Hell. That night, Dietrich Farago disappeared from the world of man and became one of his most faithful acolytes.

The demon was distracted by the sight of Oscar throwing a vase across the room. Drabek yowled and shot underneath a chair as it struck the wall and shattered into pieces.

A stray shard sliced a thin cut across Barquiel’s cheek. This would normally have incurred his wrath and the gruesome death of whomever had dared injure him, but he really didn’t have time for that right now. He wiped away the trace of blood that bloomed on Rose’s skin. The wound healed with a faint hiss of his corruption.

“Are you quite done? You’re acting like a child.” This earned him a death glare. “Vedran intends for you to be his heir, so how about you start acting like one?”

Oscar ignored his sardonic tone, too preoccupied with the green monster eating at his insides. “I would be a fool to think the throne of the Sorcerer King is mine just because my father once promised it to me.” Doubt and bitterness etched stark lines in his face. “You know how fickle he can be.”

Barquiel could not deny this. The heart of the man was capricious indeed.

And they say snakes are treacherous.

“Still, Nikolai is too soft-hearted to be the next Sorcerer King. Vedran knows this.” The demon shrugged. “Also, we have no idea how long Anya Mendes’s Illusion Sorcery will stay in effect. Your brother is a ticking time bomb. We need him to open theBook of Shadowsand lure the Witch Queen to Budapest before he goes off.”

Oscar’s eyes rounded. “Wait. Vedran still wants her at his side? Even though we now have Nikolai? I thought he didn’t need her anymore!”

Barquiel masked his distaste as he observed the Sorcerer King’s oldest surviving scion.

What a fool.To think Vedran even considers him as his heir is an insult to the first Sorcerer King. Davor is probably rolling in his grave.

Only he and the current Sorcerer King knew the name of the first man with whom Azazel had made a pact, when the fallen angel decided to bestow his knowledge of magic upon humankind. It was not paranoia that had kept his, Vedran, and every other Sorcerer King’s lips sealed over the centuries.

The power behind the first Sorcerer King’s true name was something only three people in the world were aware of. Azazel, Vedran, and himself.

And Ran Soyun, when she was alive.

Barquiel’s chest tightened at the thought of the woman who had gained Azazel’s favor and eventually become his wife. Oscar’s voice stirred him from his dark contemplations.

“What does Mae Jin have that my father covets so?”

“She is Azazel’s daughter and the most powerful witch on the planet,” the demon said irritably. “Having her under his direct command will be helpful for what he has planned for mankind.” He paused. “He still intends to bind her to his heir with theMarriage of Magic.”

Oscar’s expression darkened. Barquiel could tell exactly what he was thinking. A union with Mae Jin was only a means to an end. TheMarriage of Magicwas a special ritual that would allow him to use her immense powers at will.

He has no intention of treating her like his wife,the demon mused dispassionately.

Considering the humiliating defeats Oscar had suffered at her hands since their first encounter in New York, he would no doubt exact his revenge on her in ways that would make her wish she were dead.

But this fool is overlooking the fact that I did not specify which of his heirs Vedran may choose for theMarriage of Magicwith Mae. It would be far easier to get her to accept Nikolai as her partner since she already cares for him deeply. Which means Vedran might still favor Nikolai as his heir. Yet another reason for him to keep his second son chained to his side.

“And if we still can’t control her?” Oscar jutted his jaw. “Even the binding ritual you taught my father and me couldn’t subjugate her. How does Vedran plan to bring her to heel if nothing works? We know Illusion Sorcery is useless against her.”

“Oh, come now,” Barquiel scoffed, impatience adding an edge of steel to his voice that would have had his attendants in Hell make themselves scarce for fear of being vaporized by him.

---