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“And she’ll be ready to kick some ass soon,” Lee promised. “My sister and I will be happy to escort you. I mean we will if I’m not dead and trapped here in Hell.”
“That’s the funny thing. He can’t trap you. You can only trap yourself,” Lilith replied. “If you believe you don’t belong here, the most he can do is send your soul on to its next voyage.”
“Well, then my brother is safe because no one ever accused him of not loving himself. In all ways,” Evan piped up.
She and Fenrir seemed to have calmed down. They stood close to the doors as though ready to flee when the time came. Smart kids.
“I’ll sign the contract if you’ll allow Lee to leave,” Gray said.
Trent hissed under his breath. “No, you won’t. Let him do what he needs to do. We were never going to allow you to descend that way again.”
What had Trent been planning? I didn’t blame him. This was how he’d been forced to work for over a decade. He wouldn’t change overnight, but we needed to talk about including me in plots and schemes. I liked scheming. It’s one of my favorite things to do.
“As it happens, I decided not to steal from Lord Lucifer.” Lee was far too calm and collected for a man who was going up against the first fallen angel. “I will admit my grandfather taught me well, and one of the things he taught me was to know when the job was far beyond my skillset.”
Myrddin, on the other hand, suddenly looked hella nervous. “You can’t know that, Lord. The boy is full of lies.”
“I am all man, and no lies here,” Lee countered with the surety of a man who knew he held the winning cards. “I took one look at all those hallways and figured out there was no way I would find his wings. And I don’t have to because I learned from my mother that there’s always a door number three.”
“Intent is enough to convict on the Hell plane,” Myrddin pointed out like he was a prosecutor.
“The magician is correct. You planned to steal from me. That in and of itself is a crime against me. Give me one reason I shouldn’t kill you where you stand, vampire.” Lucifer seemed to have grown a foot, and his horns rose over his head, his skin taking on a red sheen.
I could feel the tension going through the room, and suddenly Liv and Casey had joined us.
“I think I can put a protection spell around us,” Liv whispered. “I need to get the rest of them close.”
I wanted to hug my bestie and start planning her post-cult wardrobe, but now wasn’t the time. “We need to get Lee over here.”
“Or you could trust him,” Trent said firmly. “He knows what he’s doing. We planned for this.”
“You could have mentioned that to me,” Gray groused.
“I’m sorry. I’m not used to talking to you about stuff like this,” Trent replied. “I hoped we wouldn’t have to do it, but it’s all going to be fine.”
I took a deep breath. Trusting my friends and family had taken me a long way.
“Because I have something you want, and I’m willing to trade it for Dean’s life.” Lee reached under his arm and pulled the bag of holding free from the mantle he’d worn. It had been tucked in, safe from prying eyes, and I had to wonder what the hell he had.
It wouldn’t be Gladys or his father’s sword. Lee wouldn’t do that.
This, I realized, this was what we needed, and I felt myself relax. There were times to kick ass and times to use what we had to negotiate, and it was obvious Lee understood.
A growl came from Lucifer’s throat. “Something you stole.”
“No, sir.” Lee went entirely serious. “By all the rites of the Hell plane, this item belongs to me because this weapon was used to kill me. Since I survived my human demise, I claim the right to wield the Dark Dagger.”
A gasp came from Lilith, and I noted that Myrddin had moved further away as Lee reached into the bag and pulled out the short sword they called the Dark Dagger.
If myth was correct, it was made of one of Lucifer’s bones, and he didn’t like having those missing.
“Mine,” Lucifer growled.
“Yes, it is if you heal Dean Malone,” Lee offered, his voice perfectly calm. “I will give you this piece of yourself back. You haven’t had this piece for millennia, and I can’t imagine how good it will feel to put it back in place. It’s been a weapon used against vampires for centuries. It’s a weapon that my father could use in his war against Myrddin, but I am willing to give up that advantage in exchange for Dean’s life and health. You can cure the Uro spell with a thought, can’t you?”
“Yes, he can,” Lilith offered. “But it’s not in his nature. He’s a transactional creature. He does nothing out of the kindness of his heart.”
“Who had it?” The question ground from Lucifer’s mouth, and I could see his fangs had gone long and sharp. “Who killed you?”
