Page 52 of To Crave Deeply
“Oh, wouldn’t I?”
I glanced at the Shadow Fiend, and I could feel Lori’s hackles rising.
“Oh, Torsten,” I crooned.
I’ll stop! Please don’t, she pleaded.Please.
I could feel her back down and quiet at my threat. It was so easy to manipulate someone when you knew their weakness. The Shadow Fiend stared at me maliciously. He definitely wasn’t enjoying my company, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t here to be liked. I was here to get the original witch and, by my calculations, we still had a day’s walk to the Gates of the Pit. I was running out of time, and the more time I spent fighting Lori, the harder this was going to be. I didn’t know why I could sense her; I thought I’d buried her deeper in my mind than that. She’d managed to wrap me in a cage of shadows somehow, and it was only when she was distracted with all that fucking joy that I’d been able to step out of the confines of my cage. But I couldn’t seem to be able to bury her deep enough. I wonder why that was?
I knew that I needed to have her on my side to even begin to successfully make it through Hell. I couldn’t have her fighting me every step of the way.
Inspiration struck.
She’d also made a deal with the Witch Queen. Maybe I could use that to my advantage?
“How about a truce?”
She blinked at me, her eyes staring at me warily and her arms folded defensively across her chest.
I sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy, but I hadn’t exactly been nice. The whole lying to her about who I really was and then stealing her body when she died didn’t exactly make me best friend material. And besides, it was only going to be short-term.
A truce?she asked slowly.
“Yes, a brief interruption in our disagreement as we work towards a common goal.”
Pfft. No need for fancy language. I know what a truce is.
Wow, she was snarky when she was pissed. I could feel Torsten side-eyeing me cautiously, those impossibly wondrous eyes tracking my every move as I held a silent conversation with Lori. I was a Sin Reaper and even I found his attention unnerving.
“Look, we both want the original witch for our own reasons. Why don’t we just work together until then? I’m not going anywhere, and it’s clear that you aren’t, either, so we are, in fact, stuck with each other. And honestly, battling you in my mind every second of every day is exhausting.”
She chuckled.I know that feeling.
She paused, and I could feel myself waiting with bated breath. For some reason, I wanted this to work. Out of all the bodies I’d inhabited, Lori was the one who’d given me the most grief. Usually, I could just take over and the body’s soul would die, and I could claim it as my own. But Lori was different. She was way more complicated, and I’d spent more time talking to her than I had with any of my previous hosts.
Shit, did that mean I liked her?
Fine,she said decisively.But I want half the control. I’m not sitting up here like a passenger.
“Okay, I can work with that. But no sex. I am not being party to that! Especially with Lucifer. It’s just wrong.”
Iveri, we’re in the most disgusting place imaginable. I promise sex is the furthest thing from my mind.
I laughed at her remark, and I caught Torsten’s eyebrow rising above his silver eye. I was grateful he was staying quiet; this conversation was weird enough without physically having to speak to him as well.
“Any other requests?”
No killing people unless it’s absolutely necessary.
“Oh, come on! That’s just not fair!”
Hey. If I can’t have sex, you can’t kill people.
“Fine,”I grumbled. Urgh. She was no fun.“But I will need to feed at some point. I am starting to get hungry.”
Let’s make a deal then,she said smiling.Let me take the lead. You can be fully alert and awake, aware of everything and able to use your powers. I won’t stop you in anything unless I think it’s a threat to us or someone else.
It seemed a fair deal.“So, you would do all the talking and the walking?”
