Page 36 of Demanding Discord
“Demanded it, really.” Lucifer clasped his hands behind his back and paced slowly. “Scorsha insisted that if it still existed, it would have been mentioned in the grimoire where she discovered the curse. I insisted on seeing said grimoire, of course, and that’s when I discovered a page had been torn out.”
My stomach decided to drop at that moment, and I squeezed my butt cheeks, just to be safe. “It wasn’t?—”
“Foolish of them to try and trick the King of Hell?” He whirled toward me, holding my gaze a beat too long before he continued pacing. “Your mother swore she didn’t know what happened to the missing page. Whatever the motive for her lies, it didn’t matter. She refused to produce the information, your father was of no help, so I took them both.”
My hands trembled, and my stomach soured even more, bubbling and churning, threatening to bring my last meal into the conversation. I swallowed the lump in my throat and inhaled a shaky breath. “Where did you take them?”
“To my torture chambers. Where else?” He picked up a silky black shirt and ran it through his hands, a tiny twitch in his eye betraying his otherwise cool demeanor. Without our truth magic in effect, he’d donned the mask of an evil tyrant.
But I saw through it. Deep down, he hurt like…well, like hell…and I had to convince him we could ease his pain. I squeezed Discord’s hand and waited to feel the rush of his power before I spoke again.
“My mother didn’t tear out the page,” I said. “I did, and I swear all it contained were the princes’ sigils. The amulet still exists, and my sisters are already searching for it. I know you want to find it so Hecate will forgive you for what Discord did. Let us help you.”
His expression faltered, his brows furrowing and rising repeatedly as our combined magic seeped into his psyche. Lucifer probably had a “special place in Hell” reserved for anyone who tried to eff with his mind, but I’d worry about that fun fact later.
He shook his head. “Discord’s lover destroyed it when she destroyed him.”
“She stole it,” Discord said. “The amulet increases the bearer’s power tenfold. She would not have destroyed it.”
“And you know deep down it still exists, don’t you?” I asked. “Because it doesn’t just contain a piece of Hecate. It’s also got a piece of you.”
“Your power to send beings across the veil,” Discord said. “Her power to resurrect souls.”
I tried to back toward the door, but Discord held me in place. Predators could smell fear, so I could imagine the bouquet of aromas I was putting off. I suppose showing weakness in front of a being who could literally obliterate me with a snap of his fingers wasn’t in my best interest.
“It was a token of your love,” I said instead of tucking tail and running. “Both of you sacrificing such an important part of yourselves… Very romantic.”
The devil’s eyes glistened again, and he turned away, clearing his throat. “I see you’ve spoken with Seraphine. I hope you dispatched of the traitorous witch with a slow and painful death.”
Painful: check. The death part…? Not so much. I opened my mouth to tell him, but Discord gave his head a quick shake. The imp whimpered beneath the bed.
“Allow us to continue our quest,” Discord said as he sent another wave of magic into me, and I reciprocated. The feeling of our powers mixing and melding, becoming one, was exhilarating. If our lives weren’t hanging in the balance by a microscopic thread, I would have basked in it.
“Set my parents free, and they can help too.” I pushed as much magic into my words as I could. “They didn’t know everything I do. Let them find the amulet and make it up to you.”
Lucifer whirled toward me. “I cannot set them free.”
“Why not?” I asked.
His eyes twitched, and he worked his jaw from side to side like he was trying not to spill the truth. Discord squeezed my hand, and we sent another rush of magic toward Lucifer.
“They escaped,” he finally said, clenching his teeth as he spoke. “There is a traitor in my midst.”
The knot in my stomach loosened. “We can help you with that too. My sisters will get the amulet. Once we find my parents, they’ll tell you who helped them escape. We can give you the traitor, the amulet, and your true love.”
He narrowed his eyes, cutting his gaze between Discord and me. “Your sisters will be dead soon. The veil is on the verge of collapse. Demons will descend upon your world and destroy it…if the fae don’t get there first.”
“We’re working on that too,” I said. “Ash and Ember released Chaos and Mayhem. The four of them are taking care of the veil and searching for the amulet as we speak.”
“My sons are free?” A wave rippled through his hair, turning every strand jet black, and his pupils narrowed, his irises glowing gold, his lip peeling into a sneer as he pinned me with a ferocious, absolutely feral gaze. “They’re free and residing with your sisters?”
“Yes,” I squeaked, dropping the magic and hoping to Hecate all my bodily fluids would stay inside my body. My heart took off in a sprint, my blood pulsing through my veins with every beat, throbbing, turning to ice. “If you call off the hunt, we can fix everything.”
“You will destroy everything!” Lucifer lifted his arm, and a wave of energy slammed into us, knocking us backward into the wall. We bounced off, landing on our hands and knees.
My vision swam, and I was certain I’d have a knot the size of a lemon on my head, but I managed to scramble to my feet…just in time for Lucifer to lift me from the floor and slam me into the ceiling. He held me there with one extended arm and clenched his other fist, grabbing Discord by the throat and flinging him into the opposite wall.
“I will crush you with the very gears you’ve set into motion.” Lucifer released me to grab a drawer from the dresser he’d already destroyed. The imp squealed, high-tailing it out of the room as I dropped to the floor, and let me tell you… Granite hurt like a bitch.
