And hewasa monster. He and his fellow horsemen wreaked havoc wherever they went. They sought to sow mayhem and death everywhere. They were everything I despised, and no matter how much I yearned for this demon, I would not allow anything more to happen between us.
Humans were a stupid, foolish bunch who opened a gateway and released Hell on Earth, but they deserved peace. We all did. And the horsemen would do everything in their power to make sure that didn’t happen.
It took a lot more willpower than I was willing to admit to tear my gaze away from Wrath. I focused on the wall across from me as I took a couple of deep breaths.
It’s a good thing he’s here.
One group would have to leave first, and when it happened, we could finish this outside of the calamuts. After the battle earlier, I’d hoped for some time to relax, but if it meant the end of all the fighting, I would slaughter everything in my way.
Once I killed my Chosen, I would eventually die myself, but I was determined to see this through until the end, no matter what it took. We would kill Death and Wrath, and then we would hunt down and destroy War and Pride.
The nymph returned with our drinks; her hand trembled as she set them on the table. “Just so you know,” she whispered, “I was informed Pride and War are in a couple of the back rooms with some other nymphs.”
“You welcome them here?” Aisling asked.
The nymph blinked at her as if she didn’t understand the question. “We welcome everyone here.”
Aisling looked a little offended by this, but Hawk rested his hand over hers and squeezed it. “Think of it as Switzerland; they’re neutral.”
The nymph smiled at him. “I’m not sure what Switzerland is, but we are neutral.”
“Are the back rooms on the other side of the building?” I asked.
The nymph gulped and glanced warily around the room before leaning closer. “The calamuts are all through this place.”
“We are not going to cause any problems here,” I assured her. “I have no intention of being destroyed by a calamut.”
“There is much fun to be found in those rooms; you are free to visit them if you would like.” The nymph glanced between Hawk and Aisling. “I can have someone take you there.”
Hawk looked tempted, and as a canagh demon, he probably was, but he replied, “Some other time.”
“Suit yourself, but there are rooms designed for great pleasure back there,” the nymph said before she turned and practically bounced away.
Only nymphs could be so happy in this hostile environment, and as the room returned to life, the petite demons danced from table to table. Their laughter filled the air as they replenished drinks, crawled onto demons’ and humans’ laps, and led some of the patrons from the room into the shadows of the hall.
Across the room, Lix wasn’t as jovial as he sipped his mjéod and rested his hand on a nymph’s waist. Caim and Raphael remained unmoving in their booth; neither of them acknowledged the nymphs sitting with them.
The angels’ relationship remained somewhat adversarial, but they looked more alike than different, and for the first time since meeting them, I would consider them brothers. They held their hands clasped on the table in the same way and kept their eyes focused on the horsemen.
When a couple of the nymphs sashayed up to Wrath, I snatched my mug of mjéod off the table. I stared at the wall while I sipped my drink, but from the corner of my eye, I saw the two women running their hands down his arms and chest. When one of them squeezed his ass, I almost smashed my mug down. I’d use the broken pieces to stab the nymph.
Such an action would only get me drawn and quartered by a tree. So, instead, I glared at the wall while he smiled at the pretty, lush demons made for sex.
Let them have him. And when they tire him out, it will make him easier to kill.
Except, that thought was not as pleasing as it should have been.
Chapter Nine
Bale
After about an hour,Lix rose and, holding the hand of a nymph, left the room. I didn’t think he was leaving to have fun with the nymph but was going to find out where Pride and War were. However, he didn’t say anything to us as he left.
Caim and Raphael hadn’t moved, and the nymphs had abandoned them to find more exciting prospects elsewhere. None of the humans or other demons who arrived with us had left the room, and though no one made a move, the tension ratcheted up.
“We should leave before Pride and War reemerge,” Magnus said. He and Amalia had joined us at the table half an hour ago. “We can set up an ambush for them somewhere.”
“And what if they don’t leave the forest that way?” I asked.
