Page 10 of Demanding Discord
His condescension irked me, so I laid my magic on thick. “I do, because I know you want to.”
“You know nothing,” he growled.
“Lucifer is volatile, ready to explode at any minute, and do you know why?” I didn’t wait for him to answer. “Because he wants Hecate back. Imagine his surprise and appreciation when you return to the palace, not with my head, but with his one true love.”
He blinked, his brows drawing together as if the idea intrigued him. Good. My persuasion magic was working.
“Think about it,” I said. “The whole reason he wants Discord and me dead is because Hecate left him. Bringing him our skulls won’t appease him for long. He needs his woman by his side.”
He laughed again, deeply and heartily, throwing his head back as if I were the funniest person he’d ever met. “Foolish witch.”
My mouth tightened. Maybe my magic wasn’t working. “You’re starting to sound like a movie villain. Either come out here a fight me or skedaddle. I’ve got a goddess to find.”
“Revenge is more satisfying than any woman’s touch. Lucifer shall have your heads.”
I rolled my eyes. “Tell me you suck in the intimacy department without telling me you suck.”
Confusion contorted his features for a second before he worked out the meaning of my words. “You dare mock Tumult, Crown Prince of Hell?”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “Crown prince, eh? Someone thinks highly of himself. How does that even work when the king is an immortal god? It sounds to me like you’re fighting to be by his side, to be his servant, to win second place…and we all know what second place is.”
He arched a brow, clearly not getting the reference.
“It’s the first loser, dipshit.” I turned on my heel and strode toward the next mirror.
Tumult whistled, and the black dog appeared before me. I barely had time to call him a good boy before he sprang. I threw up my arms, preparing for impact, shielding my face from his vicious maw with one hand, and jabbing the dagger at his chest with the other.
Wind whipped my air backward as the dog passed through me and disappeared.
My heart took up residence in my throat with the attack, so I sucked in a deep breath and swallowed hard. The dog wasn’t real. Or…maybe it was real, but it wasn’t really there. Tumult was creating it like a hologram, sending it into the room with some kind of projection magic.
And if the dog wasn’t really there, the demon wasn’t either.
I turned to the next mirror. Tumult’s image smiled wickedly back at me, but…why didn’t I have a reflection?
I spun to the opposite one. No reflection there either. I stepped to the next one in the line. Nothing. Either I’d turned into a vampire or Tumult was messing with my mind.
The dog snarled and charged. I stood my ground, resting one hand on my hip as it approached. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little scared the beast would be solid this time, but I wasn’t about to give the infuriating demon the satisfaction of watching me flinch.
The beastie passed through me once again, and I let out a relieved breath. The dog didn’t have to die this time.
“Is that all you’ve got?” I straightened and strolled to the next mirror. No reflection once again. My stomach soured as I leaned toward it, and I pressed my fingertips against the glass. The twin panes reflected each other into infinity, but it looked as if the dog wasn’t the only being who wasn’t really here. It seemed I wasn’t either.
Tumult strode into the reflection, a million demons stretching on forever in the glass, their smiles menacing, their gazes wicked.
Wait. Last time, I only saw him in the one mirror. If he was reflecting back on forth now, that meant he…
I whirled around, and his fist hit my jaw.
Pain exploded on the side of my face, and I careened backward, into the mirror. It shattered like the other one, and the walls groaned with its demise. A sharp, stabbing sensation throbbed in my left triceps, and I yanked out the offending piece of glass before lunging at the demon.
He disappeared…because of course he did…and my momentum hurled me into the opposite mirror, shattering it too. Dirt rained from the ceiling above, and I had to wonder if maybe these mirrors really were pieces of the temple’s soul.
Or of Hecate’s. Goddess, I hoped not.
I clutched my dagger in one hand, held a shard of glass in the other, and turned in a circle. “Only a coward does drive-bys. Are you afraid of a little, mortal witch?”
He landed a punch to my gut as he came fully into view. I doubled over, sucking in a breath before straightening and jabbing my dagger upward. The blade hit his chin, penetrating the skin and slicing into his tongue.
