“Now, you’ve lied,” he continued. “You know what to do. You’re scared to do it.”
“Yes,” I agreed. “I can’t lose him. I can’t lose either of them. We need to get home and the demon?—”
“Ah, yes. The demon. Asmodeus.” Michael rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Annoying little thing, isn’t he?”
“How do I get rid of it? How do I save Wes?”
He didn’t answer, and when I dared to focus on him, I flinched at his furrowed brows and pursed lips. Disappointment. Was I so arrogant as to question an archangel?
“You were given guidance, witch,” he said. “What you do with it is up to you.”
Exasperated, I forced back a sob, unwilling to show my weakness in front of one who loomed so large in comparison.
“Turn my anger into faith, and my faith into action,” I said, repeating the words from the woman in my safe space.
“Nothing comes free, I’m afraid.” He pointed his sword at me, touching the blade under my chin so I lifted my face to him again. “Sacrifice is always painful. I know this better than most. But you must make your choice, and make it quickly. Be prepared to live with it, no matter the cost.”
I took a deep breath and opened my mouth to ask another question, but he faded away, leaving me alone with my rumination. When I opened my eyes again, the candles had burned low and their flames danced along the wick, perhaps reflecting my own indecision back at me.
Anger into faith. Faith into action.
Sacrifice is always painful.
My heart clenched at the reality of his words, at what I knew I had to do, but I didn’t see another way. I wiped the tears from my cheeks, forced myself to my feet, and turned to head back into the sanctuary.
CHAPTER 25
Atlas
Don’t let him go.
Don’t let him go.
Had this been what he’d meant? Was Dad trying to warn me about the demon in my brother? And if so, how did he expect me to protect Wes from this? God, I’d fucked up. I had to get it out of him.
My brother stared at me with those demon eyes, and my heart broke in two. How had I let this happen? I was supposed to take care of him. I was supposed to protect him. And here he was, perverted by a fucking monster.
“Aww, don’t be too hard on yourself, Atlas Colt,” the demon said. “He wanted this. He begged me for it.”
“Shut up,” I hissed and clenched my eyes shut.
“He did this to protect you,” it said. “And trust me, he’s paying for it now.”
I tried to block it out, to ignore the demon’s words, but the thought of Wes in there, being tortured by whatever hellscape the demon made for him, made me want to punch holes in the stone walls. My ribs ached and my ankles burned, but none of it compared to the chasm in my chest at the mere idea of losing my brother forever.
“I can tell you how to get out of here,” the demon goaded. “I can get you back to the human realm.”
“Oh, yeah? And what will that cost me? Want to possess both of us at the same time?” Was such a thing even possible? I didn’t know, and I certainly didn’t want to find out.
“Wesson has already paid for the information,” it said. “All you have to do is follow my instructions to the door and step through it.”
“Just like Constance’s rituals?” I blew out a disbelieving breath. “That worked out so well for us.”
“It got you here, didn’t it?” The demon raised an eyebrow on my brother’s face, and I wanted to smack it off. “You even liked it, didn’t you? The feel of sliding into your brother’s body.”
“Stop it.” I wouldn’t have this monster spewing lies about what was or wasn’t between Wes and me.
“You wanted it even after the ritual was over. You’ve wanted it for a long time.” The demon laughed. “He liked it, too. In case you were wondering. He wants you to fuck him again.”
