Page 174 of House of Pain
“I have no fucking idea what this shit means,” he said. “It must be something very old.”
“Wouldn’t there be a spell to make the door open without the riddle?” Val growled. “I bet you the Book has it!”
Jolene rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and the Book is on the other side of the door!”
Alecto walked up to the door, her wounded arm pressed to her chest.“A truck.”
The door chuckled, and the latch opened, revealing the stone-carved corridor of the tower leading up to the round stairs.
“What?” Andro asked, his eyes wide. “What the fuck is atruck?”
Alecto glanced at them through her shoulder. “It’s a mortal world thing.”
They exchanged glances. How the Hel did the door come up with a mortal world riddle? But there was no time for details like that.
They made their way up the stairs, Val and Blaze at the front, the others close behind them. When they finally reached the overlook, Rogue was sprawled on the chaise, their Book resting in his lap.
Still closed.
“You’re still alive,” he observed, eyeing them with a closed-off expression. “Took you long enough though.”
“You were the one who lured the Hellbates to the House?” Blaze asked.
Rogue’s lips curled into a crooked smile, but he didn’t say anything.
“No, he wasn’t,” Val answered for him. Her eyes were sharp as daggers as she glared at Rogue. “Who summoned you here?”
No answer.
Val took a step closer.“Who the fuck summoned you here?”
Rogue laughed, dropping an ankle over his knee.
“Oh, Valeria,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t tell you that. It would ruin the surprise. If you were smarter, you’d figure that out for yourself.”
Blaze’s blood boiled.
“You are truly the worst House of all,” Rogue mused. “And not because you’re terrible and with no sense of shame or remorse, but also because you’re completely blinded by your own arrogance.”
“Fuck off,” Andro said.
Rogue tossed the Book aside, leaning forwards as he braced his elbows on his knees, amber gaze flickering.
“I showed up on your doorstep, and all it took to convince you that I was on your side was my word,” he said. “You haven’t even considered that someone could have messed with your spell because who would dare mess with the House of Snakes, right?”
“Demons can’t lie,” Val gritted out.
“No, we can’t,” Rogue agreed. “But we can evade the truth and bend it to our will.”
“Give us the damn Book.”
“Why don’t you come and get it?”
As if it was that easy.
Rogue was a demon, and he was right about one thing—none of them bothered to find out how to deal with a demon whowasn’ton their side.
One wrong move and this would end bad.
