That makes no sense, love. She's here to help us.
You poor, deluded man. You just don't understand - she's not one of us, she's a bad guy. Very bad!
"That's what Corazon said she wanted," Sally said, and began the summoning again. "Bael, lord of Abaddon, ruler of seven hundred legions - "
"Yes, but she won't do it!" I told Diamond. "We can't trust her to actually do away with him. She'll just bring him here and wipe us all out! Don't you see? They're buddies!"
Diamond shot me an astonished look. Beyond her, Ulfur looked confused, and distressed. His horse bore a similar expression. "Sally is what?" Diamond asked.
"Bael's friend, and I use that word with air quotes around it."
"His friend?"
"Air-quotes friend," I corrected. "More like she was rubbing herself all over him in the hotel room, and sold us out to him."
"I did no such thing," Sally interrupted a third repetition of her summons to protest. "I never sell out. I may opt to do things that perhaps are open to differing interpretations than that of which I'd prefer, but sell out? Pfft. There's no material object I desire enough to do that."
"I notice you didn't dispute the rubbing-yourself-allover-him statement," I snapped.
She smiled demurely. "Well, some of his mortal forms are really quite handsome, and you know, I've always had a passion for bad boys. You don't get badder than Bael. There were times when it was just too delicious an opportunity to let pass by."
"See?" I told Diamond. "She's turned on by Satan. Only someone extremely evil would get the hots around Bael."
"Cora, my dear, you're wrong. You don't understand about Sally - "
Sally giggled and cut her off with another summons. "Bael, lord of Abaddon, ruler of seven hundred legions, by that which makes thee, I summon thee to my hand."
I heard Pia cry out Alec's name, and glanced toward them to see Alec attempting - but failing - to pull himself up into a sitting position. You try to move before I get there to see how badly you're hurt, and you'll be one hurtin' cowpoke. Er . . . more hurtin' than you are.
"Bael, lord of Abaddon, ruler of seven hundred legions, by that which makes thee, I summon thee to my hand."
I love you too, Corazon.
Happiness filled me at the gentle brush of his mind against mine. Even if Sally didn't sell us down the river, I knew the future wasn't going to be easy, but somehow, none of that mattered anymore. Stay still, Alec. I'll be right there, and then we'll find you a doctor.
A doctor wouldn't know what to make of me. Kristoff will find a healer, I'm sure, but it's you I really need.
"Cora!" Pia called, gesturing to me. "Alec's alive! He's alive!"
"I'll be there in a second," I yelled back, then turned to pin back Sally with a look that should have scared her witless.
She was watching me, which startled me right out of my antagonism. "Well?" she said.
"Well? "
"Shall we do this, or not?"
"Do which - take out Bael, or grind Eleanor into lich dust?"
"I beg your pardon!" Eleanor said in an outraged tone.
We ignored her.
Sally's eyebrows rose. "Which would you prefer?"
I glanced at Eleanor. She was my past self, a previous version of me. It wasn't her fault that she'd been killed, or brought back after our soul was in use by me.
But she almost killed Alec. Willfully, deliberately, and with more malice than I could understand. "Will you do what I want?" I asked Sally, hesitating to commit myself.