Lord Valentino. Demonic Lord of South America.
He lounged on a plush leather couch with a glass of red wine draped lazily between his fingers. His long dark hair flowed over his broad shoulders, and his white linen pants and light-colored button-down contrasted deeply with his dark tan. He’d thrown open all three sets of verandah doors and had clearly made himself at home watching the low sunlight glistening over the ocean waves beyond.
“No Portal Dweller?” Lord Valentino asked by way of greeting. “That’s intriguing.”
The demon was similar to me in height and muscular stature, as well as in power levels. We were equal in almost every way, except for the fact that he was clearly impressed by my undocumented ability to teleport at will.
That, and the fact he was an absolute moron for entering my domain without an invitation.
“What are you doing in my territory, Val?” I demanded. This jackass knew the rules as well as I did. And he’d made his presence known for a reason. I wanted that reason right fucking now.
“I have a gift for you,” the long-haired imbecile informed me, his dark eyes glittering with excitement. “It’s in the master bedroom.”
Valentino clearly had a death wish. I had no desire to indulge the Demonic Lord in whatever game he intended to play, and I let him see that in my expression.
“It’s something you’ve been looking for,” he added, dangling the bait in front of me like one might taunt a cat with a mouse. “Trust me.”
“Never going to fucking happen.”
He sighed, his usual devil-may-care flare disappearing behind a mask of uncharacteristic seriousness. “Look, I came to you on your turf. That gives you the upper hand. The gift is merely a show of good faith. Because we need to talk.” He stood, waving his wine glass in my general direction. “Walk with me.”
I could have denied him. Hell, I could have killed him for so brazenly stepping foot in my territory. But a tiny flare of intrigue had me acquiescing with a partial nod. With everything happening in my domain, Valentino’s appearance felt connected in some way.
So I’d hear him out.
“After you,” I said, motioning for him to lead the way. I fell into step beside him and cast an annoyed look at his glass. “Are you drinking my wine?”
“Nobody else is here to drink it,” Valentino pointed out smoothly. He led me down the side hallway and through the foyer, where we climbed the stairs to the second floor. “This place is marvelous, by the way. Such a shame it’s just sitting empty since that little incident with your daughter.”
“Kalida is no longer my daughter,” I replied without missing a beat.
“Is that why you return to Ashmedai’s Realm annually to observe seven Hell years of punishment?”
“I enjoy watching her pain,” I lied easily.
Valentino snorted and stepped off the landing, angling for the master bedroom at the end of the hall. “If it were my daughter, I’d want her silvered.”
“Well, she’s not your daughter.”
“And thank fuck for that,” he drawled.
The master bedroom had double doors, and both hung wide open, revealing the wide expanse of room beyond. A California king bed took up a large portion of the room, flanked by two end tables. But my focus was immediately drawn to the lump on the mattress.
I shared a look with Valentino. “My gift?”
“In the flesh,” he replied, taking another sip of his wine.
“Hmm.” I wandered over to the lower-level demon on the bed—a Dargarian with red hair, auburn eyes, pale skin, and flickers of flames in his pupils that told me he was quite agitated about his frozen state. As I studied him, it became clear his agitation had good reason.
He wasn’t bound. No cuffs, no ropes, nothing I could see. However, his entire body was rigid, his arms and legs stiff and straight out. He tried to move as I stepped forward, but only managed a tiny, inconsequential jerk of his entire body.
“You’re holding him down with your mind alone,” I observed. I’d long known that Valentino had the power of telekinesis, but not to this extent. His abilities had obviously grown more precise, stronger than they were eons ago. He’d had this demon bound with his powers from all the way downstairs.
“You’re not the only onegrowing,” Val returned with a sardonic smile, “which subsequently brings me to the point of my visit. You see, this Dargarian and a band of demon minions have been wreaking havoc on my territory these past few weeks. Such things as setting humans aflame, throwing dance raves they then use to torment and massacre, and other displays of supernatural powers. The humans in my highly religious areas now seem to believe they’ve been cursed by the devil. It’s a disaster.”
I found it slightly amusing that Valentino had clearly been running all over his region having to put out real fires. But it was equally concerning that his demons would behave in such poor decorum.
Keeping such thoughts to myself for now, I asked, “Are they engaging in these demonstrations to thwart your authority?”
