I’m so fucking offended that the word hasn’t been invented to describe how insulted I am.
“There are rumors, Lord.”
“I’M. AWARE.”
Silence screams its deafening thunder around the grand hall of my chambers, and Hell reverberates with my anger. Even the cries of torture fall quiet, realizing their fucking place and bowing to my will. This is my goddamn house and I will have order in the carnage I create.
Byron’s foot stamps a single beat of protest as it hits the marble floor. His blood-red eyes meet mine and he dissents. He’s subtle enough that none of the other cunts here would realize it, but it’s a fucking battle cry when you know what to look for.
And I’ve known Byron for a long time. Our blood’s mixed on too many occasions and we’ve slayed thousands upon thousands together. The depravity and destruction we’ve wrought have been glorious and we’ve bathed in the blood of our enemies, crushing their skulls beneath our feet and between our teeth.
My teeth flash a warning, and he ignores it, pressing his point.
Sometimes—rarely—it is better to let the weak speak. They invariably disappoint, but once in a cursed moon, they revealsomething that matters. They seldom know the importance of the information they impart and you usually have to extract it from them.
It’s painful for everyone involved.
I sigh, resigning myself to a tedious few hours.
Hours that could be better spent fucking Adriana and instead they’re spent pursuing information to keep her safe.
“SPEAK.”
The acid smell of piss catches in my nostrils, and the predictability of events is beyond belief. At least we’re ahead of schedule, and with any luck, this should be over with sooner rather than later.
My eyes lock onto the demon who spoke earlier, meeting the terror in it with little mercy. It’s not in my nature and my underlings know better than to expect it.
“He’ll reward you,” Byron says in an unpleasant tone, edging toward the loathsome creature lowering itself before me. “He can be quite generous when it suits him. If it suits him. Your silence does not and he is not known for his patience.”
Sniggers rise from the edge of the chamber and Byron roars, extinguishing the laughter that threatens to undermine the little confidence left in this sniveling demon.
It crawls towards us, edging closer to its fate. The aers demon has a nature as vicious as Goetia, but it should be more intelligent. It would be a fucking delight if it would show some evidence of either at this point.
I resist the urge to bare my teeth or rip the miserable thing limb from limb. Mostly because eight limbs are too much fucking hassle for something so insignificant and I need a fucking answer.
“There are rumors, Lord.” It stammers and shudders as more piss dribbles down one of its legs. “I’m sure they’re just rumors—we all are—but they exist.”
Byron cuts in front of me, breaking my eye contact. I’ll remind him of his insolence later, in a suitably punishing manner. The deliberate act of insubordination will cost him dearly despite the fact it appears to have reassured the aers demon that I’m not quite as livid as I am.
“Go on,” he says, turning back to me.
I know the look. It says shut the fuck up and let me do my thing. It’s the expression he wears before the shit hits the fan, and this time, the shit is really going to hit the fan.
“It makes things difficult. When rumors spread,” the aers demon says, carefully. “It’s hard to know what is true and what is not. The shadows merge as the threads become increasingly complex and it is truly difficult to know what to believe.”
Byron rolls his eyes and I flick mine to his, laying the blame for this shit squarely at his door.
“I merely pass on what I have heard, Lord,” it snivels. “I know they are falsehoods for you destroyed Mordecai and wiped the scum who followed him from the circles of Hell. You purged the planes of existence from their filth. You wrought devastation and destruction on any who dared to help them and those who knew of their existence.”
Lucifer spare me from the torment of hearing my achievements recanted as if the praise sated my appetite for destruction. There’s only one thing that has ever tempered my need to demolish whatever stood in my way—and she is the goddamn reason I’m stuck here listening to this drivel.
I have pussy to fuck, and my cock is desperate to sink into Adriana’s wet cunt. My agitation boils over as my desire to play with the special girl who wears the Collar of Ichor takes hold. My collar.
“You do not need to recite my accolades,” I sigh. “I’m more interested in the rumors.”
The aers demon dips its head. “Of course, Lord. It is just that I do not wish for there to be any misunderstanding. I am merely a vessel for that which I have heard. I do not believe it and I have not repeated the filthy lies.”
Byron’s eyebrow arches and his horns sharpen.
