Page 138 of Brimstone
“The scorpion demon,” I said dryly. “King of the Dark Dream.”
“Gods and sinners have mercy.” Foley lowered his arms, turning, his golden teeth glinting in the muted light. “And what are you doing, carrying it aroundin a box?”
“I made a deal with it.”
“You didwhat?”
“I didn’t have a choice. It stung me. Carrion, too. We needed its venom.”
“Who’s Carrion?”
I almost laughed. In another life, gods almighty, they would have relied upon each other, those two males. Ruefully, Iadmitted, “He’s a friend. You’ll meet him soon enough, I’m sure.”
Foley chewed the inside of his cheek, processing that. His eyes darted to the small puddle of cooling blood on the table but quickly flitted away again. “All right. So . . . what kind of deal?”
I recounted it for him, word for word. “One secret and its venom in exchange for our lives. But I had to agree to release it once we were okay. I swore that I wouldn’t place it into a demon trap.”
“Fuck. So it’s in there, then? All of it?”
“What’sleftof it.”
“And you’re okay now? Why haven’t you released it?”
Ahh, the beauty of the fine print. Even in a rush and dancing on death’s doorstep, there was always a way to swing a bargain in your favor if you paid close attention to the details. “Because I didn’t saywhenI’d release it,” I explained. “Nor did I saywhere. And the box isn’t a demon trap. It’s just a box.” I tapped my finger against the lid again, and the furious scorpion inside threw itself at the walls of its new prison. “Don’t worry, Joshin. I’ll uphold my end of the bargain soon enough. I’m a male of my word, after all.” The box rattled again. Slowly, Foley crept toward the table to get a better look.
“Why have you brought it here?” he asked.
“Because I won’t risk leaving it at Cahlish. I just can’t. And I can’t keep carrying it around with me. I can hear it whispering all the time, and well, it doesn’t exactly have anythingniceto say to me.” I gave him a lopsided smile. “Are you still a member of the Lupo Proelia, Foley? In there?” I pointed at his chest.
The vampire looked down at his solar plexus, his right hand closing around the hilt of a sword that he hadn’t been able to hold for nearly a thousand years. His eyes shone bright when he looked back up at me. “Yes. Sometimes. When I dare to dream of a reality in which I still might begood.”
“Dreams are just vapor and smoke,” I said. “They mean nothing unless you’re willing to live them. Youaregood. Youaremy brother.You are a wolf.Nothing will ever change that.” I slid the box toward him across the table, holding my breath. Would he do it? Would he sit?
Gingerly, Foley took the chair he had kicked away when he’d leaped up and placed it back at the table. He moved painfully slowly as he sat down, but still he sat. A long moment passed, in which he looked at the glossy, near-black pool of blood on the surface of the table and shivered. Eventually, he reached out a shaking hand and picked up the small wooden box. “I’ll keep it here for you for now. I’ll watch over it until you ask for it back. But in the meantime . . . tell me about the demon’s secret.”
32
THE THING ABOUT LEANING
SAERIS
IT HADN’T BEENangry tension I’d sensed behind Tal’s door.
It had beensexual.
For fuck’s sake.
I stared dutifully up at the ceiling as we followed the Keeper of Secrets into his chambers, determined not to witness any more of Tal’s naked form than I already had. My cheeks were on fire. “Where were you back there?” I hissed, clouting Carrion’s arm. “What happened to ‘I’ll make sure no one messes with her’?”
Ow!You’re so fucking violent! You had that entire situation under control. And far be it frommeto break up the beginnings of a cat fight. She’s gone now, anyway. She scurried off real quick the moment yourmanshowed up here.” There was a tone to his voice, something that sounded decidedly nefarious. When I glimpsed him out of the corner of my eye, I saw thathiseyes were not on the ceiling. They were fixed ahead and moving down, down . . .
I hit him even harder this time. “Whatare youdoing?”
“If he didn’t want anyone admiring his bare ass, then he would have thrown on a robe before he came to the door, Saeris.”
“Can you juststop—”
Tal turned around. My eyes shot back up to the ceiling.
