“We know you’re working for the succubus,” Jaci said.
Renault’s eyes widened.
“Where is she hiding out?” she continued. “Why does she need you and a bunch of dark mages to do her dirty work?”
“Succubus? I… I’m sure I don’t know any succubi.”
“She once called you herfavoritevampire, Ren,” Jaci said. “Now you’re pretending she doesn’t exist? What do you think a woman like that does to a pathetic, pencil-dicked man who denies her very existence?”
Sweat beaded across Renault’s forehead, his skin growing pale from the blood loss. They didn’t have much time before he passed out again.
Jaci lifted a hand and called up a ball of hellfire, letting it dance across her palm. The silver-blue flame reflected in Renault’s wide, terrified eyes, and he hacked again, the fire flickering before him.
Jaci leaned in close, whispered into his ear. “We’re well past the days where you get to fuck with me, asshole. So you can either talk, or you can sizzle.”
He tried to lower his head, but Jaci shoved her hand in front of his face again, letting the hellfire singe his skin.
“Fuck!” He jerked his head back and met her eyes. “The succubus… It’s not her. I mean, she’s not… She’s just following orders.”
“Viansa,” Jaci said, needing the confirmation.
Renault nodded.
“Whose orders?” Jaci asked, her throat tightening. There was only one immortal being powerful enough to break Viansa. Only one whose orders the succubus had ever truly followed.
Their mother.
“Another demon,” Renault said. “More powerful than… than anything. Even Viansa.”
“This demon have a name?” Gabriel asked.
“Don’t… don’t remember.”
Gabriel shoved his fingers into the hole in Renault’s thigh, and Jaci braced for the inevitable confirmation. The inevitable family reunion that would end her life as well as her father’s. Probably Gabriel and his brothers’ lives too.
But the name that finally broke free above the tortured screams of their prisoner wasn’t her mother’s at all.
“Azerius!” he finally choked out. “He Whom Before All Mortals Weep. He… He Who Slaughters the Blood of—”
“Azerius?” Gabriel released Renault’s femur and stepped back, his brow tight with concern. “King of Blood and Ravens?”
Renault nodded.
“Azerius,” Jaci repeated, trying to remember the scraps of the stories she’d heard about the demon that’d been summoned at Bloodbath. The demon responsible for Malcolm Redthorne’s death. Gabriel never talked about it, but she could’ve sworn… “Didn’t Dorian kill him?”
“Not… completely,” Gabriel said. “Dorian defeated him in battle—saved Charlotte from some kind of claim Azerius had on her soul. But according to Rogozin, Azerius can’t be killed—he’s just bound to hell for the next thousand years.”
“He wants out,” Renault said. His eyes were glassy now, his breathing sharp and erratic. “His only chance is… the hell gates. Viansa must destroy them and… harness enough power.”
“Power?” Jaci asked.
Renault nodded. “So Azerius can take form. Not… not a human vessel. Histrueform.”
“Here?” Jaci gasped. “But… no. Viansa can barely keep herself in this realm. How can she bring Azerius through without a vessel? Especially if he’s supposed to be bound to hell for the next thousand years?”
“Fuck.” Gabriel paced the alcove, leaving a trail of bloody footprints in his path. “You said you were preparing for something, Duchanes. Is this what you meant? You’re helping with this… this apocalyptic resurrection? We’re talking about a demon who slaughtered his entire family just because he wasn’t getting enough attention from his father. A demon with the power to eradicate humanity. To eradicateallof us. And you, you vile piece of shit, you’re preparing tohelphim?”
“Not… not preparing to help.” Renault sucked in a wheezing breath, his lungs crackling. He coughed again, and his head lolled forward, blood spilling down his chest. In a final, broken whisper, he said, “Preparing for war.”
