That Old Black Magic - By Michelle Rowen Page 0,77
I’m well aware of what the Void is. I’m just wondering what a beautiful succubus like yourself and her talking hellhound would want with a place like that.”
Her stomach churned. “Forget it. Obviously you don’t know.”
“I don’t know precisely. But as soon as one leaves the safety of the market you’d be able to feel its pull. It’s not far from here.”
She felt the first pinprick of hope since she’d arrived. “How do I leave the market?”
“Wait a minute . . .” He was silent for a moment, studying her. “You’re not a succubus at all, are you? I was wrong.”
She didn’t like the look on his face. It was suspicious, searching, and the flirtatious friendliness from a minute ago was fading quickly.
“I need to get out of this market,” she said firmly. “Tell me how to do that.”
“There’s a mild spell on the entire area to keep the customers shopping for as long as possible. You have to really want to leave before you can break away from it.”
“Trust me, I really want to leave.”
“So you can go to the Void.”
She kept her mouth closed. Andy began to growl again.
Stefano drew closer, inhaling. “I smell something sweet.” His eyes narrowed. “Something that shouldn’t be here. What are you really, Eden?”
“A visitor.”
“Whose visitor?”
“Lucifer’s.”
Stefano flinched at the name, but he didn’t look as if he believed her. “I smell angel. An angel in the Netherworld. Not a very good idea. Much too dangerous a place for a sweet little thing like you.”
Before her very eyes, he shifted his form until he grew taller, broader. His skin became leathery and the red of bricks, his horns long and curved and shiny black. His lips peeled back from sharp yellow teeth. “Maybe I should have a taste of that sweetness. I hear angels are delicious.”
He grabbed hold of her arm. Andy clamped his teeth into the demon’s shin.
And Eden summoned magic into her hands and blasted the incubus back from her. He landed on his back ten feet away, looking up at her, dazed.
She looked down at the demon. “I’m not that sweet anymore.”
“What the—?” He tried to get up.
Eden held out her hand to stop him. “Follow me and you’re going headfirst into the Void. Hear me?”
He stayed on the ground. “Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s more like it.”
She touched the cold surface of her amulet, but didn’t risk looking at it. A little black magic was worth it sometimes when she could avoid being a demon’s snack.
“We’re out of here, Andy. Come on.”
“You got it.”
Stefano said she had to really want to leave the market. This time she walked out with purpose, with no hesitation, and with every ounce of determination she could summon. There was a slight pulling sensation as she reached the outer breaches of the crowd and noise, but then with a small pop, she broke through.
Out here there was darkness, silence, and a look over her shoulder now showed the market far in the distance even though she’d only taken a few steps away from it.
“I hate this place,” she whispered.
“Me too. But I have good news.”
“Yeah? I could use some of that right about now.”
“He said that once we were out of the market we could feel the pull of the Void.”
She shook her head. “I can’t feel anything.”
“Well, I can. I bet Lucifer made me into a hellhound for that reason. I can guide you there.”
Eden let out the breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding and nodded. “Then lead the way.”
“Well?” Theo asked. “Not to hurry you along, but I do have stuff to do.”
Darrak glared at him, feeling the pull of the Void behind him. “And you’re trying to convince me that you’re not Lucifer.”
“I’m not Lucifer.”
“How do I know that for sure?”
Theo inspected his fingernails for a moment. “Because if I was Lucifer I would have already gone Sparta on your ass and kicked you into the Void just to see the look of shock on your face.”
He had an excellent point.
“Does everyone get a deal like this before they’re gone forever?”
“No,” Theo said. “Most are introduced to the Void like a balled-up piece of garbage tossed into a garbage can before they have any idea what’s going on, rather than moseying up to the edge like this all subtle-like.”
“Then why me?”
“Because I think you could still be useful to me.”
Darrak wracked his mind, trying to find the answers he needed. “Are you one of the other demon lords? You want me to work