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Autumn groaned softly. “The emperor sounds like a total nightmare.”
“He is, which is why it is vital that we keep you and Kingston out of his hands,” Harrison asserted. “If Lucifer and Keo attend the council meeting with you, perhaps they could—”
Lucifer cut him off as he shook his head. “I can’t. The last time those assholes tried to call me in for a meeting, I swore that if they ever did that again, I would fucking torch the place with devil fire. We don’t really want to make that a self-fulfilling prophecy now, do we?”
Keo snorted out a laugh. “While that would surely be amusing, no, I think we should probably refrain from testing that. Actual evidence would be better than witness testimony anyway. And that leads me to the most interesting part of this tale. That magical dead zone spell is being sold on the magical black market for a whole lot of cash. And can you guess where the spell is from?”
He paused to take a small sip of wine from his goblet, drawing out the anticipation.
“Keo!” Devon complained. “Just tell us!”
“It’s from the grimoire that was stolen in the bank heist that Kingston was blamed for.”
“Holy shit,” Autumn breathed out. “Everything is connected.”
“Seems like it,” Keo agreed. “That’s what I’ve been doing for the last few hours. Trying to track down where that bloody spell came from. Unfortunately, it seems like several powerful spells are being sold on the magical black market, which is something we are going to have to take a serious look at later. That’s probably why Councilman Niemen Irlis has gone into hiding. Who knows how many of those spells came from his family’s grimoire. He has to fucking know they are being sold and doesn’t want to be blamed if anyone discovers it.”
“Oh, that fucker Irlis and I are going to have words very soon,” Lucifer promised darkly.
“How about now?” Devlin Excess asked right before he dropped a body on the floor.
Lucifer’s grin was downright maniacal. “Excellent timing, my friend. I do love a little torture before dessert.”
Chapter Sixteen
Councilman Niemen Irlisgave all demons a bad name.
The sniveling coward had begun sobbing as soon as he’d woken up from the stupor Devlin had put him in. Once he had lifted his head and saw Lucifer and the rest of them staring at him, he’d become a blubbering mess. Pleas spilled from his lips before anyone had even asked him any questions, then he started leaking information like a sieve.
Currently strung up between two stone pillars, he struggled in vain against the bonds holding him immobile. It was difficult to understand how such a weak male had been chosen as one of the three demons that represented the Hell Realm on the Supernatural Council. And it was even harder to believe the blathering idiot was one of the supposed keepers of many of the six realms’ secrets.
After Devlin had arrived with the councilman, they had moved the party out of the dining room and into Lucifer’s throne room, which was essentially the main hall. It was a massive space made of carved black stone that looked more like a cavern than an actual constructed room. Tiered balcony seating was inset in each of the walls, and magical starlight hovered in the empty space above their heads.
Several silver cauldrons filled with black flames lined the path toward the impressive throne on the raised dais at the far end of the room. Those flames were known as devil’s fire, which was one of the most destructive substances in the six realms. Overall, the throne room looked like the proverbial pit of hell. However, the layers upon layers of magical wards and spells within the room made it an impenetrable fortress that could destroy invaders without the realm’s ruler having to lift a single finger.
Instead of sitting on his throne, Lucifer was seated with the others in a comfortable lounge area that had been set up at the base of the dais. They were sitting in a semi-circle around the strung-up demon, with him acting as a macabre centerpiece of sorts.
Lucifer, Devlin, Keo, and Braxton had all selected a pie to bring with them into the throne room. Autumn had thought it was wild that they were eating the dessert during the interrogation like it was nothing. Then again, maybe it was simply a regular Tuesday to them.
So far, the gabby councilman had only given them a few useful tidbits of information, while the rest of what he’d been saying were lies and deceptions. The demon had claimed he’d realized his mistake in thinking that Kingston had been guilty once the dangerous spells from the grimoire had started showing up on the black market. But he said there had still been the chance that Kingston might have been working with an accomplice, so Nieman had chosen to remain quiet about it in fear he would be implicated.
As he continued speaking, she received a revenge vision so strong she’d had to close her eyes to steady herself. Nieman Irlis’ family had once been one of the most respected demon clans in the realm, but greed, indolence, and an overall apathy for anything outside of their own self-interests had practically destroyed their family name and their former prestige. The grimoire was one of the last remaining relics of value that the Irlis clan had, which was why he had kept it hidden away in a vault.
Or at least, that was what he’d told everyone.
Autumn knew that it was all a lie.
While he had claimed he hadn’t been strong enough to cast any of the spells from the grimoire, that didn’t mean he hadn’t made use of it. Before the robberies at the bank had even occurred, Nieman had started selling a few of the spells from the grimoire on the magical black market in order to make money. The stupid asshole had even sold the very spell that Jeremiah had ended up using to bypass the wards that protected the vaults in the bank.
The councilman’s greed had led to the theft of his own spellbook.
Talk about irony.
The lies the councilman spouted made Autumn’s blood boil, and she lashed out without thinking. Her god powers bitch-slapped the demon across the face hard enough to knock the poor bastard unconscious again.
When everyone turned to stare at Lucifer, he held his hands up and laughed. “What? I didn’t do it.”
Devlin shook his head as he shoved a forkful of apple pie into his mouth, and Keo didn’t even bother to glance up as he swirled his fork in the pan of blueberry cobbler he was holding.
