Page 32 of Fiends and Familiars
Typhon
I’d fucked up big time. I’d had Faust in my hands and I’d let him go. It was my duty. I was in charge of his torture when he’d escaped, and it was my duty to bring him back to hell. What sort of demon was I to let a soul slip through my fingers a second time?
But the hurt and betrayal in Addy’s eyes had been more than I could bear. If I’d pushed her aside and grabbed Faust, if I’d hauled him off to hell, she would have never forgiven me. I wasn’t sure she’d forgive me now. How could I explain to her that the squirrel in her house wasn’t a squirrel, that he was a magic-using soul who’d escaped hell and was hiding behind her for protection?
There was a reason Faust had gone to hell. He’d bargained his soul away, and after centuries of squirming through loopholes, it had been time for him to pay the piper. But even after death, he’d wiggled free of his obligations. And tonight I’d let him go because I didn’t want a witch to think I was harming a helpless animal.
How could she believe I’d ever set my hounds on her? That I or anything obedient to me would ever harm her? When I’d felt her magic take their will, I’d let them go. I didn’t want to fight her for the obedience of my hounds. As mortifying as it was to return to hell without them, I’d far rather do that then rip them free of her. That would only harm them, harm her, and harm me.
“Give her solace,” I whispered through the link I shared with my hounds. “Comfort her in my stead.” I made them stay, freed them to obey her even without her magic. Yeth was already half in love with her, the dog, but the others hadn’t been exposed to her enough to be seduced by the more subtle notes of her magic.
Butwasit magic? I thought about the evening we’d spent playing putt-putt, how we’d laughed and flirted. I enjoyed her company. Being with her was more fun than tossing murderers into pits of hellfire. It wasn’t just sex. Ilikedher.
And yeah, the sex. That had been pretty damned amazing as well.
“Did you retrieve your lost soul, Hound Master?” Abraxas slid up beside me, eyeing the soul of a murderer that I’d been ignoring while I thought about Addy.
“Not yet.”
“Now that he’s been located, Satan himself as well as the prince have asked me to assist.”
The asshole sounded completely smug about this. “I’ll handle it. Go back to the fourth circle and…do whatever you need to do there. I’ve got Faust.”
“Like you had him centuries ago?” Abraxas shot his long, forked tongue out between his lips and smacked the murderer in the face. The man screamed, the demon’s tongue leaving a smoldering red mark on his cheek.
“Fuck off, Abraxas.” I scowled. “My hounds and I have done all the work these centuries to find Faust. We’ve found him, and I’m the one that will bring him in.”
The other demon shrugged. “The boss himself told me to assist. If you don’t need my help though…”
I glared at Abraxas. “I don’t need your help.”
The saccharine smile he gave me was anything but reassuring. “Fine then, Typhon. Happy hunting.”
He walked away, and something sour curdled in my stomach. Abraxas wasn’t going to let this one be. He wanted the glory, the acclaim for bringing in Faust. He wanted to be promoted above me, to perhaps become Master of the Hounds in my place. That wasn’t going to happen.
And his involvement put me in a very awkward position. I needed to bring Faust in myself. But I also needed to make things right with Addy because there was no way I’d hurt her again. I needed her. I wanted her. And although she might never want to see me again, I wouldn’t risk her hating me just to bring in a soul I’d let slip through my hands centuries ago.
