The Demon's Song - By Kendra Leigh Castle Page 0,25
he ever intended to. Which I doubt.
Gadreel’s eyes widened in sheer wicked delight.
“No? It’s quite a story. You see, Lucifer had decided to crack down on those the Infernal Council had deemed...insufficiently devoted, let’s say, to the cause of destroying what we call the Balance. The human realm functions as it should when it’s fairly equal parts darkness and light, though things fluctuate at times. And, of course, Heaven and Hell are always trying to push things one way or the other to gain an advantage.” He waved his hand dismissively, as though he were talking about the weather instead of creatures battling over the onset of the Apocalypse.
“Why were you condemned to death?” Sofia asked, unable to help herself. If nothing else, Gadreel was an engaging storyteller, leaving her hanging on every word. She wanted to know it all, what they’d done to make the devil himself want to kill them, how they’d gotten here. But her question was quickly brushed off, accompanied by the slightest stiffening of Gadreel’s shoulders before he relaxed again. His reaction only sharpened her curiosity.
“I didn’t do anything but be better at everything than Mr. I-Am-Hell.”
Phenex’s snort told Sofia that there was a lot more to that story, and Gadreel shot him a nasty look before continuing.
“Anyway, there were six of us. Six glorious lords of Hell, unjustly singled out for a variety of reasons, condemned in secret. They’d plotted to make a spectacle of us, a warning to the others.” Gadreel grinned, eyes glittering with pleasure. “We would never have known until it was too late. Except who should come knocking at our doors in the wee hours but Leviathan, the mighty and terrible, bearing both the news of our impending demise and the strangest offer he’d put together to save our skins. Phenex barely made it out. He’d sent Belial into a fury for stealing his—”
Phenex got to his feet so quickly that his movement was a blur. Sofia had seen him move that way last night, but it still startled her. It left her speechless long enough for him to put an end to the conversation.
“Enough,” he growled. “If there’s nothing else, take off. Find somebody else who wants a story.”
Gadreel’s mouth curved into a small smile, though there was no humor in it. He got to his feet with deliberate grace. Sofia found herself holding her breath again as she rose, too, stepping back from the table and closer to Phenex. She still couldn’t quite get a read on what the relationship was here, but it seemed unstable, whatever it was.
“Embarrassed, Phenex? Don’t want your new conquest to know why you were marked to burn in the Phlegethon?” He curled his lip. “I didn’t think it was possible for us to fall further, but you’re working on it. She’s just a human, and here you are playing house and worrying about her opinion. You should worry more about this fixation on helping the weak. The last one was nearly the end of you.”
Cold fury burned through her, and the words came before Sofia could think better of them.
“Maybe I’m not as strong as your kind, but at least I have a soul.”
The barb hit its mark. There was a burst of black rage, just for an instant, in the depths of Gadreel’s eyes. Before she could react, Phenex had placed himself in front of her, shoving her behind him as he tensed for a fight. But the first blow never came. Gadreel had gotten it under control almost as quickly as it had begun to slip, though his bitterness lingered in his voice.
“Touché,” he said, and gave her a mocking little bow when she peered around Phenex’s arm at him, chafing at the way Phenex tried to shove her back. “Just remember, my little sharp-tongued primate, that a soul isn’t everything. And now, before your protector threatens to shove any more kitchen implements in places they don’t belong…”
She blinked, and Gadreel was gone without another word, without a sound.
Chapter Nine
Phenex didn’t move a muscle.
Sofia stepped carefully around so that she faced him. He looked lost, she thought. Lost, and very distant. She wanted desperately to know the missing pieces of Gadreel’s story, but asking would gain her nothing right now. Instead, she filed away what she’d learned and tried to pull him back to the here and now. For reasons Sofia didn’t care to examine too closely, she seemed to want his company this morning. And though his serious expression