Page 14 of Hell Sent

The demon beat against Azreth with hard fists and elbows, furious but mostly ineffectual. He was short and skinny, which was probably why he was alone. He’d been cast out, like Azreth, for being flawed. Now that they were face to face, Azreth could sense that he was young—maybe only a few weeks old—but he would never grow any larger. Kin were unlike mortals in that way.They were born as they were, and that was that. They could not change. The small demon wouldn’t survive long, but through no fault of his own. The universe was unfair and unforgiving in its chaos. He had just been born unlucky, like Azreth.

The scent of his panic and anger was driving Azreth mad with hunger, but he didn’t enjoy watching him struggle. Seeing the pain and fear in him made Azreth feel pain and fear, too, somehow.

He had never attacked someone in order to feed before. Usually, he was the one running away. He had chased instinctively, but now that he’d caught his prey, he feared what came next.

It was pathetic. His reluctance to feed was an insult to his race. Was he really so weak-willed that he would put someone else’s well-being above his own? The universe had given him a smaller demon to take down and feed from—if he threw that away, then he deserved starvation.

“I will not hurt you,” Azreth growled. “Be still.” He lifted his hand away from one of the demon’s wrists and brought it to the center of the demon’s body, near his groin. He watched the demon’s face, waiting for him to understand and, hopefully, stop panicking.

The turquoise demon hissed, then—of all things—gave an angry sob. “I don’t want this. Let go of me.”

It was such a strange,emotionalreaction that Azreth drew back, repelled.

As Azreth hesitated, the demon bent his knee and kicked him in the face. Azreth didn’t bother to strike back. The demon scrambled to his feet and ran, and for reasons beyond understanding, Azreth was glad that he did. He put a hand to his jaw as he watched the turquoise demon disappear into the dunes. The bone felt cracked.

He remembered being young and frightened, too. He remembered how much he’d hated it. But he hadn’t cried or begged. What would have been the point?

This was just the way things were. It was what their kind were made to do. What they weresupposedto do.

He tried to recall whether he’d ever demanded to be released by a demon who had subdued him. But of course he hadn’t. It wouldn’t have occurred to him. He’d fought, of course—that was the one thing he would always do. But he’d never sobbed in outrage or protested at what was done to him.

It was right that people who were strong enough to overpower him could do as they liked with him. It was what he’d deserved. It was the inevitable result of his own weakness. So of course he’d never done something as foolish as protest it.

I don’t want this?What did it matter what he wanted? Why did he think he deserved better than the rest of them?

The longer he thought about it, the angrier he became.

The turquoise demon was arrogant. And it was a shame Azreth hadn’t killed him for it.

Disquieted, angry, and still hungry, he carefully healed his jaw and kept walking.

Seven

It continued getting colder throughout the night, and Azreth found himself glad for the mild warmth of the woman’s body blanketing him.

When the sun began to rise, it cast the mortal realm in gray-blue light. The colors here were all wrong; the sky was cold and icy blue, and that color melted down onto everything else in this world.

It was surprisingly quiet. Calm. Some small creatures stirred—tiny insects and birds, and once, a strange rodent ran by. He watched them all warily, wondering if any were venomous, but they did not bother him—or the woman.

After many hours, she stirred again. Her eyes blinked open, and she looked momentarily alarmed to find herself in his arms, as if she’d forgotten what had happened the previous day.She clambered out of his lap and took a step away from him, eager to put space between them.

“I must feed now,” he said softly. There was no point in putting off the inevitable. If she wasn’t willing to hold up her end of their agreement, it would be better to find out sooner than later.

Her face hardened, but she nodded. She went to the river to wash, first. Azreth turned away, looking out at the vast blue-green-gold plains. It felt like she was delaying what came next, and that didn’t bode well.

When she returned, her makeup was gone, her face damp. He was startled to see a faint bruise beneath her eye.

“You’re injured,” he said, stupidly.

“It’s nothing. I can perform just fine, I promise.”

He frowned, remembering the rough way he’d handled her in his cell when Nirlan had thrown her to him. “Did I do that to you when they put you in my cage?”

“You don’t remember?”

He couldn’t answer. Things from that day were hazy.

“No,” she said eventually. “This was my husband.”

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