turned to me. “I’m agreeing to help.”
Neither Azi nor I missed the not-so-subtle flicker of her gaze in Sam’s direction, and I had to wonder if they’d made a deal to double cross the demon. Azi wondered, too, but wasn’t concerned. It would keep the stone regardless of the witch’s plan. “You will return the stone to me?”
“I’ll take you to where the stone is being kept. It’s protected.”
“Protected how?” the demon asked, wary.
Van rolled her eyes, and I couldn’t miss now how much like Sadie she looked. Azi noticed, too. The demon flashed the image of her lying at my feet, eyes wide and blood pooling beneath her, followed by a spike of rage. “Duh. By magic.”
“And in exchange?” Nothing was free. The demon had learned that through the hard lessons I’d picked up on the streets. On my own at seventeen, surviving had taken compromise and sacrifice.
Van looked at Sam. “In exchange, I want protection. From these things you say are coming after me.”
“Of course,” Azi said. “If I let them kill you, I wouldn’t find the stone.”
Sam’s disgust was obvious. It floated off her, thick tendrils twisting into the air. Van, on the other hand, was smug. She grinned and winked. “There’s something else.”
“Such as?”
“I want my magic back.”
“I don’t understand.”
“When Sadie—” Sam cringed then went on. “When Malphi attacked Van to steal her magic, she didn’t finish the ritual, obviously, but she did get a good chunk of her magic.”
Van folded her arms and fixed me with a determined stare. “You want what belongs to you. Then I want what belongs to me.”
The demon’s irritation was like a brick tied around my neck.
Don’t say anything stupid…
“Well?” Van pressed.
A barrage of images stormed through my head. Most came too quickly to make sense of them, but one stood out. It showed Azi, still in control of my body, standing over Van as she clutched her bleeding throat and gasped for air.
If I didn’t do something, that vision would become reality, and we’d lose whatever chance we had at getting the stone. I couldn’t let that happen—even if it meant doing the unthinkable.
Agree with her for fuck’s sake. She doesn’t need to know everything. You have no intention of giving the stone back to her? Big fucking deal. You don’t need to advertise it.
The demon’s shock hit me hard. It couldn’t believe I’d suggested it lie.
We’ve got a common goal. Sam. This is going to help her. To keep her safe. From here on out, we have to work together. As much as I hate you, it’s time for a truce.
“Agreed,” it said, and I knew it was talking to not only Van, but me as well. I’d just made a deal with the devil.
…
I was in the white room again. Van insisted we get a full night’s sleep before venturing out, saying the stone wouldn’t be easy to get to. She even let us crash at her friend’s place.
I had no concept of time while locked inside, but it felt like an eternity when Azi finally showed himself to me. “You are restless,” it said. The shadows wafted from its vaguely human form.
“Ya think?” I snapped. I had a flash of my own—my hands wrapped around the demon’s smoky neck as they choked the life from it and took back my body.
“Your thoughts are pointless. You cannot kill me.”
“Stay out of my fucking head.”
It regarded me for a moment and settled in the corner, once again beside the pencil. “You are growing weaker.”
I wanted to argue, but the truth was, it was right. I sensed it. It was like I’d gone days without eating or sleeping. There was a heaviness in me, the kind that came from mental and physical exhaustion. “Sorry, shithead. If you think it’s going to be that easy to get rid of me, think again.”
The demon sighed. Its form solidified for a second—just long enough to give me a peek at my own shadowy face—before reverting back to smoke. “I take no pleasure in your pain, Jax.”
“I’m not in pain.” It was a lie and we both knew it. The demon felt what I felt, just like I felt what it felt. It’d started earlier this morning. A slight tremor in my gut. The intensity had been slowly increasing. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
“I wish that were true. Contrary to what you might think, I will miss you when you perish. I do not wish to be rid of you. If there was