I grin as I close my eyes, too tired and dazed to speak.
“Good girl. That was my tail, sweet girl—and I'm going to enjoy pinning you down and fucking you with it.”
31
A WICKED PROBLEM
ENZO
Islam my fist against the wall, irritated that not one fucker around me has the courtesy to look me in the eye as they try to lie to me. I’m beyond pissed and lesser demons quake in fear. They fucking ought to. I’ve reached the end of my tolerance and my wrath knows no limit.
Byron leans against a pillar, arms crossed and resting one foot on the marble column. He’s cocky and his confidence is misplaced if he thinks I’ll spare him.
“DOES. NO ONE. KNOW?”
My roar reverberates and the world shakes. There’ll probably be an earthquake somewhere. Maybe an avalanche. At the very least, some buildings will collapse and mortals will die.
It’s a slight comfort.
“AND. WHERE. THE. FUCK. IS. EVA?”
I know where the devious little bitch is. I sent her away to deal with a problem in the east end, but the rest of the apparently pathetic demons who serve me don’t know that. What they think they know is I’m enraged and about to lose my shit, and if one of them knows something, then now’s the time to speak up—or heads will roll.
After I’ve torn a few limbs off, dismembered some of the less fortunate ones, and flayed anyone left alive.
“Mordecai…”
The name rings out in the air, and it’s like a bell tolling. The only question is whose fucking funeral it’s announcing, and I refuse to let it be mine.
I killed that fucker centuries ago and I made damn sure I performed every fucking rite I knew and some I didn’t to ensure he would stay that way. I dismembered his body and scattered through all the realms in all the planes I could access. Personally. There wasn’t a trace of the fucker left to resurrect him with and even if there were, the enchantments and rituals in place were impenetrable.
Some didn’t believe it could be done.
His followers were a particularly thorny problem, and their tenacity was a pain in my fucking ass. Every decade or so, one of the more assertive cunts would try to start something and insist his spirit or some other such shit had visited them.
It took us two centuries to wipe them out.
Two fucking centuries of chasing those cunts to the ends of the universe and through portals that were as reliable as those who serve me. Admittedly, I claimed the territory I conquered and it increased my power and wealth, but it was a bother I could have done without.
But it bound Byron to me, and I found Eva along the way. She was struggling and barely surviving in a realm that didn’t tolerate shadow demons. She’s been devoted to me ever since, and in her time, she’s become indispensable. Eva’s more organized than Byron. She pays attention to all the fucking details and she’s cunning. Devious. It’s a delight to watch her work.
It's going to be a shame to part with her.
If I’m right and she’s betrayed me, her head will become detached from her body. I’ll have no choice but to make an example of her—anything else would be taken as a sign of weakness. The reason for her betrayal is irrelevant and there are no excuses.
Hell is ruthless, and there are no second chances.
I’ll make it hurt. I’ll drag it out.
It’ll be a public display, and others will relish it. They’ll revel in Eva’s agony and I’ll put on a fucking magnificent display. Partly as a warning to anyone who is even considering thinking about acting against me. Partly as a demonstration that I won’t take prisoners and I haven’t lost my touch. And mostly because I’m fucking livid that she had a hand in threatening Adriana.
My intervention saw to it that my girl wasn’t hurt. Elgios helped a bit, but I saved Adriana. Twice. More than that, if you count the other little interventions I’ve undertaken over the years that she might have had some involvement in.
This is a fucking mess and it’s about time someone sorted it out.
My eyes snap toward the quivering demon who dared to speak that accursed name. The damned thing shakes so fucking much its edges blur and it’s pissing me off.
“Lord, I mean no offense…”
