Belpheg appraised him for a long moment, his face mottled with rage. Finally he turned, and the invisible grip on Asmodeus’s throat eased. Asmodeus dropped to his forearms and sucked in a breath.
“I’ll help you, but I will never forget how you failed me.” Belpheg reached into the billowing sleeve of his robe and emerged with a small silver orb that crackled with electricity. “When you meet with these Detainors, hold the sphere in your hand. It will boost your energy so that you can subdue them. But be forewarned, its power won’t last long. You must defeat them quickly. Modify the shield as I once showed you, so that when these brothers take it down, it will reactivate. Use that to exclude anyone but them from entering.”
Asmodeus reached out for the sphere and forced himself to say, “Thank you.”
Belpheg released the sphere into his hand, then stepped closer. With Asmodeus still on his knees, the movement put him in direct line with the dark fae’s groin. Memories long ago buried suddenly flashed through Asmodeus’s mind. He was no longer a powerful man, but a frightened boy of twelve, watching in hiding as his mother was arrested. Fleeing down the dark, barren streets of Infernum, afraid that they would imprison him, too. Hiding behind a shack, where an older demon found him and forced him to his knees.
No.
Once again Asmodeus tried to stand, to no avail.
“You’ve greatly disappointed me, Asmodeus.” Belpheg placed a finger under his chin and forced his head upward, so he looked him in the eyes. “You only have two more powers to gain before you are at full capacity. I’ve invested so much time in you. You were one of my favorites. So broken, yet so beautiful.”
When Belpheg’s fingers traveled down his neck toward his chest, Asmodeus almost choked on the bile in his throat. The way Belpheg watched him when they interacted had sometimes unnerved him, but the dark fae had always respected his personal space. He’d never given him overt reason to believe his interest in him was sexual. This...this was his worst nightmare, come to life. Again.
Belpheg grabbed a lock of his hair and jerked his head back. “Five days until the equinox. That is all the time you have left to absorb their powers and come to me. Should you fail, I’ll strip you entirely of your abilities. I won’t waste any more time or resources on you. Do you understand me?”
Heated rage flared in Asmodeus’s chest. He resisted the urge to curse at Belpheg. “Yes.”
Belpheg let go of him, and a split second later Asmodeus felt his spirit fly back toward his body.
He came to with a rough jerk. Lifting his head, Asmodeus saw his hands on the table in front of him. They were shaking. On the table in between them lay a silver orb. It appeared far duller than it had in the astral realm. He touched it and the sphere lit up, pulsing with energy. Mindful of Belpheg’s warning that its power wouldn’t last long, he snatched his hand away.
The fact that he now had the ability to take the Detainors on was tempered by the knowledge of what he was to Belpheg. He surveyed the room, wondering how everything could appear so normal when the world had spun on its axis. All this time he’d denigrated his succubi for being nothing more than foolish pawns, when he himself had been an even bigger one.
He’d tricked himself into believing that Belpheg would be content to make use of Asmodeus’s abilities on a one-time basis. How idiotic when he considered it. The dark fae had stolen his soul, and he’d let him.
He was going to capture these brothers and absorb their powers. Failure wasn’t an option.
But once you get them, then what?
Another unwilling memory forced itself into his head. The old demon, finding him repeatedly, no matter where on the streets he tried to hide. Because this was what happened to a defenseless orphan with no home to call his own. And sodomy was not even the worst of it.
The image of Belpheg superimposed itself onto the demon’s body, melding the present with the nightmares of the past.
No.
No.
Now he knew that would be his fate if he submitted to Belpheg. He refused to be the dark fae’s slave. He would rather die first.
But wait...
Once he got those other powers, once he got the twelve he needed, he would be at full capacity. He’d be invincible. Belpheg himself had told him so.
He would be able to defeat Belpheg.
Asmodeus refused to be a pawn in someone else’s game, to be nothing more than an object to be used and tossed aside. After he’d grown and moved to this dimension, he’d sworn that it would never happen again. That he would be the one in power. Time to put a plan in place.
Asmodeus pressed the button on the intercom and summoned one of his lackeys. “Dorn.”
“Yes, master?”
“I’ll need you to hire the services of several dozen mercenaries. Also, tomorrow I want you to put the word out to the Detainors that they have three days until Solara is killed. Be discreet. I don’t want them to know I’m drawing them here. Make it known that the longer they wait to claim her, the worse it will be for her.” And lest the bounty hunters think he was bluffing, “Send Solara up to me now.”
“Yes, master.”
He would make the Detainors come to them. Once they did, he would be ready. In three days’ time, they would be dead.
And he would be unstoppable.
§
In his darkened ritual chamber, Belpheg sensed the moment Asmodeus decided on treachery. The invisible cord that bound Asmodeus’s soul to his, the one that had been painstakingly forged with each gift of power he’d given the incubus, hummed with betrayal. The fool!
A tremor of uneasiness racked Belpheg’s body. He hadn’t been quite truthful with Asmodeus. He didn’t have the ability to remove the powers he’d given the incubus. And if Asmodeus succeeded in gaining the full extent of his powers, he would be close to indestructible. If the incubus set his mind to defeating Belpheg, which it seemed he had...Bel-pheg couldn’t say with one-hundred percent certainty who would win.
That was unacceptable.
Asmodeus had just become a major liability. Ordinarily, cutting him loose would have been unthinkable. He’d spent years cultivating the incubus, and without him he was one short of the twelve he needed to make the circle. Yet he could get a replacement.
True, it would take time to mold that substitute into what he needed. Time he wasn’t sure he had. His powers grew more unstable by the day. But Asmodeus now thought to challenge his authority, and that would simply not do. He would have to hold on. Start over. Even though it was better for him, the circle didn’t have to be formed by the March equinox. Any one of the equinoxes or solstices would do.
Belpheg considered removing the shield over Asmodeus’s residence, but that would require physically traveling to the site, and for a multitude of reasons, he didn’t want to do that. Besides, from what Asmodeus had told him, the bounty hunters had already discovered a way through it.
Some modification of the power in the orb he’d given Asmodeus would render it less useful than the incubus imagined it to be, and since the orb was tied to Belpheg, he didn’t have to be in its presence to do so. He couldn’t disable it entirely, though. What a shame.
An alternate plan was taking root, one that might necessitate the involvement of his old acquaintance, Mammon. It was a Plan B, but it appeared things had come to that.
Circumstances being what they were, Belpheg had never contemplated infiltrating the Council prison. Mammon was said to be well-guarded. But now...Mammon might be useful.
What he considered would take much planning, and some assistance on the inside. Lucky for him he’d put his feelers out on the brothers when he first learned of them last month. He now knew a few secrets, things they didn’t even know.
As for Asmodeus...the incubus was on his own now. For Belpheg’s sake, he prayed the brothers would defeat him.
If only he could be positive of it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The next two days were ones of joy mixed with worry. Being with Ronin was like the most amazing gift, but Amara couldn’t help but wonder what the cost was. Her mother was very likely being tortured, might even be dead, and here she was indulging in the pleasures of the flesh.
“There’s no guilt in reaffirming life,” Ronin had reassured her. And he insisted on doing so, repeatedly. Every so often he’d start to appear worn around the edges, and she’d know it was time for another vaccine.
After one particularly exhausting bout of lovemaking, she’d lain boneless in bed, watching while he gave himself an injection. “You might always have to take those. Doesn’t that bother you? What if they stop working someday?”
He’d flashed her a brilliant smile. “Taking a shot every now and again seems like such a small price to pay. Even if it did stop working, I wouldn’t regret a thing. Every moment with you is a treasure, Amara.”
He was right. No matter what the future held, she could never regret her time with him. Especially since she didn’t know what would happen once they ambushed Asmodeus.
By the time Taeg, Maya, and Dagan arrived with the sword on the afternoon of the second day, everyone was tense and anxious.
“How did it go?” Keegan asked them after everyone had convened in Keegan’s and Brynn’s living room.
Dagan shrugged. “Took some rooting around to find it again, but it was there.”
Ronin, who leaned against the wall right beside her, searched their faces. “Will you be ready to move out tonight?”
Good question. The three of them appeared exhausted.
“Does it have to be so soon?” Taeg asked. “Might be smarter if we were all well-rested, since we’re not sure what we’re up against.”
When Ronin hesitated to respond, Amara sensed he was holding something back.
“What? What is it?”
Ronin exchanged a glance with Keegan, and Amara’s heart twisted. Maybe they’d heard something. Maybe Solara was already dead. “You’d better just tell me.”
“She’s still alive,” Ronin said, appearing to choose his words carefully. “But I think we need to act sooner rather than later.”
Amara didn’t even want to consider what that meant. What had he really heard, that he was too kind to tell her?
Taeg glanced at Maya, then Dagan, before nodding. “We’re ready to get this over with, too. No more waiting.”
The breath that Amara had been holding in escaped her in a big rush. One way or another, this would end tonight.
“What’s our game plan?” Amara asked.
“Simple,” Keegan said. “We’ll use the sword to rend the shield, then attack Asmodeus. From what you’ve described, he doesn’t have a lot of guards on the inside. Thanks to the dark fae, we know he’s probably got some tricks up his sleeve, but we should be able to avoid them if we’re vigilant.”
Taeg crossed his arms and leaned back against the arm of the leather sectional. “We could use more manpower.”
“I’ll call Bram and Reiver,” Keegan said. “Maybe they can help us.”
“Good,” Ronin said. “If we act fast, we should be able to take him out quickly.”
Amara wrapped her arms around her waist, taking comfort in the soft fabric of the fuzzy red sweater Brynn had lent her. “What time are we leaving?”
Ronin lifted a brow. “We? No, you’re staying here.”
What? She pushed off the wall. “Like hell I am! It’s my mother in there.”
“I’m not letting you back into that place. Have you forgotten it was your prison?”
“Don’t patronize me,” she told him in a heated whisper. “I haven’t forgotten anything about that place. I’m going.”
He let out a long sigh and cupped her cheek, the fierce glare in his eyes softening. “I only want you safe.”
“I understand that. I want the same for you. But you also know why I need to go. I won’t be left behind. Besides, given what happened with Gofrey, I might be useful to you in there.”
Taeg cleared his throat, reminding her they were far from alone. “Clue us in—what happened to Gofrey?”
She recounted how she’d ended up burning Gofrey back at his apartment.
Frown lines marred Taeg’s forehead. “You have no idea how you came to have this ability?”
“Not a clue.”
“We figure it must have something to do with Asmodeus’s manipulating energy,” Keegan said. “She must have absorbed it somehow.”
“Do you think you can do it again?” Dagan asked.
“I don’t know.”
Keegan smoothed a hand through his hair. “We’ve tried having her do it to me a few times, but nothing happened.”
“I told you, I think it only worked when I knew I was in serious danger,” Amara said.
Taeg shot her a contemplative glance. “Serious danger, huh?”
Before she could blink he shot toward her and wrapped his fingers around her throat, squeezing hard. She choked and stumbled back, trying to pry his hands off.
“Taeg, you stupid fuck!” Ronin rammed into Taeg, jerking him away from her, and the two stumbled across the room, their fists flying.
“Here we go again,” Brynn muttered from her spot on the sofa. She rubbed her stomach, seemingly unconcerned that Ronin and Taeg were trying to pummel each other into the ground.
“Knock it off, you two.” Maya’s no-nonsense tone made the two men break apart, but they still yelled at each other in what Amara recognized as Infernum’s native tongue. If only she’d learned more of it than the few words Solara had taught her.
“I was only trying to help,” Taeg finally said in English.
Amara rubbed her bruised throat. “I appreciate the assistance, but I don’t think that will work either. It needs to be serious danger.”
Ronin glared at Taeg and gave him one final shove before stalking toward her and gently laying his hands on her neck. Where Taeg’s touch had been brutal and punishing, Ronin’s caress was light and soothing. Calm, healing energy pulsed from his fingertips. It spread over her throat like a cool breeze, and the soreness was gone.
“Thank you.” Amara drew his hands down and lifted on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. “I’m going. Nothing you say will stop me. Solara is my mother. I know you understand how important this is.”
He sighed and nodded, embracing her. “Promise you’ll stay by my side the entire time.”
“Promise.”
“Now that we’ve got that settled,” Keegan said, “let’s talk about how we’re going in. Maya, I assume you’re coming, too.”
“Fuck, yeah.” Maya glared at Taeg. “I dare you to try to stop me.”
“As if I could.” Taeg walked over to Maya and pulled her in, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She relaxed, then punched him in the gut. He crumpled over. “Ow!”
“That’s for what you did to Amara, you asshole.”
“Guess I deserved that. Sorry,” Taeg said to Amara, rubbing his stomach.
“That’s okay.” He was only trying to help, in his own messed-up way.
Keegan started to pace the room. “Okay, so we’re going to—”
The intercom set up inside the entrance to the living room sounded, cutting him off.
Brynn took her feet off the coffee table. “Are you expecting anyone?”
“No.” Keegan headed to the intercom and touched the button connecting him to the concierge at the lobby. “Yes?”
“Mr. Meyers, there’s a woman here to see you, along with four gentlemen,” said Tony, the doorman. “She says she’s been speaking with you recently about a job, and that, I quote, ‘There’s no way in hell you’re doing it wit
hout her.’”
Keegan let out a sigh. “How did she find out where I live?”
“What the hell is that about, bro?” Taeg said.
After taking his finger off the intercom, Keegan turned to them. “I got a call from a woman yesterday. Apparently, word’s been going around that we’ve been asking about Asmodeus, and others have surmised we’re planning on turning him in to the Council. She’s a mercenary, and she’s been promised a big, fat paycheck if she takes him out before that happens.”
Ronin tensed. “Who else is trying to kill Asmodeus?”
Keegan shrugged. “She doesn’t know who. The person wants to remain anonymous. I told her off the record that the likelihood of Asmodeus being turned in to the Council is small, but she’s insistent on offing him herself. She says there’s no way she’s going to turn down a job that big. Even offered to split some of it with me.”
Taeg frowned and rubbed his chin. “Someone else wants to take on Asmodeus? Does anyone think this must be a setup? What about you, Amara?”
All eyes turned to her. She wished she could say with one-hundred percent certainty, but the simple truth was, “I don’t know. Asmodeus has worked with mercenaries before, though never a woman that I’ve known of. I wouldn’t put it past him, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if someone else wanted him dead. He’s not exactly known for making friends.”
“What do you all think?” The stiff way in which Keegan asked that question made Amara think he wasn’t used to asking others for their opinions.
“I think we should hear what they have to say,” Ronin said.
“I agree,” Taeg chimed in.
When everyone else murmured their agreement, Keegan turned back to the intercom and pressed the button. “Send her up alone. Her companions can wait downstairs.”
“Very good, Mr. Meyers,” Tony answered.
They waited in tense silence for the woman to arrive. After several long minutes, a knock sounded. Keegan nodded to his brothers before leaving to open the door, and the three of them moved toward the entrance into the living room, blocking anyone from getting to Brynn, Maya, or Amara.
Touch of the Angel (Demons of Infernum, #3) Page 24