He kept coming.
“Stop,” Azazil commanded quietly and Asmodeus immediately turned to give him a quizzical look of frustration. “The Seal does not work against you. Did you know this?”
Asmodeus shook his head, a bewildered, feral look in his eyes. “No, Your Majesty, I did not.”
Smiling now, Azazil stood up, his smug expression terrorizing Ari. “Wel, this changes things slightly. Not for you.” He flicked Ari a careless look. “But for Asmodeus. I was going to destroy the Seal and place Lilif’s essence back in hiding. But…” he smiled as if amused, “The Seal is almost mythical in its existence. It excites my people. It chalenged my son to draw up a quite briliant plan, even though it backfired on us al. And here is Asmodeus, immune to the Seal. The perfect protector. Why not alow it to remain here, with you, Asmodeus? It’s only fitting since it is your sister’s being. The Seal was safe with you my friend for centuries, and clearly for a reason. So… what wil it be? Ari as a pet? Or the ring back around your neck?”
Considering his options with a penetrating run of his eyes over Ari’s body, the Lieutenant finaly shook his head and Ari wasn’t sure if that was regret she read in his eyes, or only her own wishful thinking. “I think I’d prefer the ring around my neck. This one is too dangerous to have around.”
Azazil nodded, seeming to understand Asmodeus’ enigmatic comment. “Oh don’t worry, Ari.” Azazil’s expression was bland again. “Recovering the Seal may or
may not kil you. We have no way of knowing. Your destiny is very—for lack of a better word —blurry, at the moment.”
Ari took a step back, her thoughts whirring around inside her head. Okay. She couldn’t live with Lilif inside her. She knew that. She did.
A momentary shot of terror gripped her heart as she realized she might die either way. But as she fought to control her breathing and relax the way Jai had taught her, Ari let herself think about it. Sacrificing herself meant Lilif would be kept imprisoned. Surely that was worth the sacrifice?
But if she offered to sacrifice herself and there was a chance that she actualy made it out on the other side, she was getting something of worth out of it.
“Come any closer and I’l command Azazil to kil you before you even make a move,” Ari told Asmodeus softly.
The room darkened as Azazil’s energy thickened with what Ari assumed was his anger. “What do you want?” he asked shrewdly.
Ari drew in a shuddering breath. “If I die, you save Jai and let him return unharmed to his tribe.”
“Done.” He nodded, his expression one of utter boredom.
Ari narrowed her eyes. “And-”
“And?” Azazil sat forward now, his eyebrow raised in haughty enquiry.
“If I do this wilingly, and I live, then I get to cal in a favor.”
“I thought that was your favor.”
“No, that was just a gesture of good wil.”
He smirked at that. “If your favor then is for the sorcerer, I cannot save him if he kils the Labartu. I am sorry. That is out of my hands.”
Dammit. Ari forced down her helpless tears. They were of no use to her here. “Fine. But I stil want a favor if I survive. And I want your oath that you’l give me whatever it is I ask of you.”
She flicked a gaze at Asmodeus to see his eyes gleaming at her again, as if he almost respected her in that moment. As she turned to find Azazil’s answer, she saw he was smiling, as if enjoying himself immensely. “You have my oath that if you survive, I wil grant you a favor—if it is within my power to do so.”
“Done.”
Asmodeus was a blur, his glowing fist crashing down into her chest before Ari had even blinked. Shocked agony tore through Ari as his dark eyes bored into her pleading ones. I am sorry, his voice whispered inside her head. Or had she just imagined it?
It was with relief that his fist withdrew from her, light pulsing between the cracks in his fingers. They uncurled slowly, and the throbbing bal of ember in his palm was the last thing Ari saw before the sweet relief of dying pain swept her away on its tides.
23 - At Least Take My Shield When You Go Into Battle
For two years the Labartu, Akasha, who had kiled Mikey and left the Creagh family to drown in their own devastation, had not left the United States. Ari’s strong aura of power when she’d turned sixteen and broken the protection magic Sala had placed around her, had drawn Akasha to Sandford Ridge when she’d been nearby with another victim. But after kiling Mikey, and hungry for new victims and new places, she’d quickly moved on.
According to The Glass King, Akasha had been hopping from State to State for a number of years, although there had been a period of three months when she’d
disappeared (his guess to Mount Qaf), leaving The Guild who had been tracking her to scramble to find her when she returned.
Her hunger, her vile and wicked evil had led Charlie to this moment—to this motel room in Alief, Southwest Houston. The motel was situated just off of the