Page 21 of Hell Sent

To his surprise, she said, “No.”It sounded like she was considering agreeing. It also sounded like she was thinking about something she wasn’t saying aloud.

“You must uphold your end of the agreement,” he reminded her. “Betray me, and I?—”

“You will destroy me. Yes. I know.” It had only been a day, and already she’d started mocking him when he tried to intimidate her. Maybe he’d been too gentle with her and she’d decided he was weak.

“You cannot outwit me,” he said. “Plot against me, attempt to deceive me, and I will know.”

To his dismay, she continued to ignore him, reaching into her bag to retrieve her book of runes and a writing stick. She began making notes, perfectly calm and composed. “I would have helped you regardless of our agreement. I don’t need anything extra in exchange. No one deserves to be enslaved.”

He stared at her. If it was a lie, it was a bold one, but he didn’t think it could be the truth, either. Maybe she was making a joke he didn’t understand.

“But if you want my help, there are a few other conditions you must agree to,” she said.

Azreth frowned. “You said you didn’t need anything.”

“These things are not for me.” She put the book away and looked up at him, reproachful. “You can’t barge into places where you’re not welcome. If you don’t want to end up on the end of a Paladin’s sword, you must listen to me.”

He scoffed. “I will not lie down for those who bear weapons against me.”

“Then don’t break into their houses and steal from them.” Her tone made it sound like she’d barely restrained herself from adding,“You imbecile,”at the end of the sentence. “I won’t help you if it means bullying people weaker than you. I’ve spent too much time around bullies of late.”

Azreth thought about that word,bully. The demon gift of language let him understand its meaning, but he could think of no analogous word in the demonic language.

Did mortals believe it was wrong to use your strength to your advantage? Did they not love power and abhor weakness the way his kind did, then?

That was why she’d protected the family in the house, he realized. There had been no other benefit for her. She simply believed it was wrong to hurt them.

“I have no desire to hurt the weak,” he said honestly.

Raiya paused, studying him. “Well… Good.”

She took a circle of silver out of her bag—a bracelet. “I was going to use this when I left Nirlan, but you should probably take it. It’s a simple glamour. It will help you blend in with mortals. It won’t make you invisible, but it should be able to alter your appearance enough to keep people from attacking you on sight.”

It was a bright, shiny metal. If there was any iron in it, it was not enough for him to sense it, but it was covered in tiny, dark runes.

“It needs to be charged with magic first,” Raiya added. “I’ve never actually used it before.”

“I can charge it.”

She looked down, uncomfortable. “Enchantments require quite a lot of magic.”

She clearly knew what came next. Azreth felt a pang of regret at her discomfort. “Then I will need to feed,” he said.

“Is there something that will give you more power than what I did before?” she asked. “Something that I’d actually be willing to do, I mean?”

“Stronger emotions are better. The easiest avenues to power are pain and sex. In the hells, demons often torture each other for it.”

She gave a nervous smile. “That wouldn’t be my first choice.”

“It is not anyone’s first choice.”

“Then sex is easiest?”

“Yes. The effect would be greater if I touched you this time.”

Something subtle scented the air between them. Raiya was feeling an anticipatory emotion he couldn’t quite identify, but her face remained closed off. “Touch me how?”

“It doesn’t matter. But being in close proximity to you will make the magic stronger. Even better if I am touching your skin.”

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