Page 62 of Soul of a Witch

To contain a demon against their will was repugnant. To imprison a demon who had done nothing wrong — and I maintained that I had not — was one of the most heinous acts a demon could commit against their own kind. Without a trial before the council, Lucifer could not keep me imprisoned here for long.

It had already beentoolong.

Everly was waiting for me. Locked in those vile cuffs, alone, doubtlessly confused as to why I hadn’t been there when I said I would.

My emotions became more erratic with every passing hour. Time passed differently in Hell than it did on Earth, but I’d been kept from her for days.

I couldn’t feel her, couldn’t smell her.

What if they’d hurt her? What if she’d attempted to steal the grimoire without me and find her way back to the house alone?

I hurled an elaborate jeweled sphere across the room, and it shattered into powder against the stone wall. I seized a wooden table next, smashing it against the ground until it split into pieces. “Lucifer! Goddamn you, show yourself!”

He would have no peace until he did, I’d make sure of it. Everything I could get my hands on in that room, I destroyed. My yelling was loud enough to vibrate the stones, but just to ensure he heard me, I picked up a large metal statue from near the sealed door and beat it repeatedly against the walls. The metal bent under the force of it, but I didn’t stop.

“You’re a fucking coward, Lucifer! I’ll make sure the entire citadel knows you have me in here! Lucifer!” I struck the stones so hard they cracked, leaving a crater where my fists landed.

Finally, I felt his presence. My head grew tight, like an overfilled balloon; a sure-sign he was close.

Then, from the darkness, his voice rumbled, “You’re a horrible bastard. You know that, don’t you?”

“Certainly,” I snarled, facing the door with my fists still clenched. “Yet you still made the foolish mistake of bringing me inside. Face me, Luci. You owe me that much.”

There was a derisive snort. “You’ve spent too much time around humans.”

“And you’ve spent too much time around simpering fools whose only interest is kissing your ass. You can’t keep me here. This is against my will.”

His growl made the stones shake beneath my feet. There was a flash like lightning, and suddenly, he stood before me, looking thoroughly displeased but as beautiful as ever. He kept his dark hair short now, although in his younger years, he’d let the tight curls grow into a massive mane into which he would braid metal and gems. Tattoos covered nearly every inch of his flesh, save for his face, and he wore more elegantly crafted piercings than I could count. His umber skin had a slight shine of oil, the scent surrounding me like a baker’s kitchen at Christmas time.

“You can’t keep me,” I repeated, as his claws flexed and his black eyes narrowed. “Unless I’ve committed a crime.”

“You’ve done exactly that,” he said tightly. “Or have you already forgotten you slaughtered a human without cause?”

“Idid not kill him,” I said quickly. “The Eldbeasts did.”

“Did you really think you’d get away with it on that technicality? You gouged out his eyes.”

“Which didnotkill him.”

“You cut off his hand.”

“Again, that did not result —”

“You disemboweled him, Callum!” When Lucifer raised his voice, I swear the entire High City could hear him. Just lovely. Now they all knew I was running around Earth gutting people.

But I, ever the vision of saintly patience, said, “When I left him, he was still alive. Screaming, yes, and a bit mad with agony but, nevertheless, he was alive. Can’t help what happened to him after I left.”

He practically swelled with rage.

“The Heavenly Host contacted me,” he said, and for the first time, a sliver of alarm pierced through me. “They’re concerned, you see, about certain strange activity in the human realm currently causing significant threat to the balance.”

“At least someone is paying attention,” I said. “Do you have any idea what those wretched humans are doing —”

“Yes, Callum, believe it or not, I do take my position seriously.” He sighed, standing several yards away from me. He didn’t dare to get any closer. “Those humans, the Libiri, have known about that God for over a century. You know how the beasts operate; don’t pretend you don’t. You think all it will take is their three sacrifices, and the God will be free? It will be nothing more than quivering flesh. A fallen God can’t even create Its own body without the sacrificial energy of hundreds, if not thousands.”

“It won’t create a body,” I said. “One has already been prepared for it: a young witch.”

His mouth curled in derision. “Ah, yes, of course. Your precious witch.”

---