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“Good,” Luca says. With a final, heavy look at me, the sorcerer begins incanting in Latin again.

“From the infernal fires of hell, I call forth Asmodeth, devourer of the damned, reveler of the anguished. Curse weaver and soul eater. Rise within the circle I have cast.”

The air smokes, then sizzles. Noxious plumes rise from the ground. Rather than dissipating into the air, it begins to shape itself into the form of a man.

Fuck, fuck,fuck.

The curling black smoke coalesces.

On the other end of my bond, I feel the spark of awareness.

Selene!Memnon bellows down our bond. It’s his first thought.

Memnon, forget about me. They’re summoning demons,I rush out.We’re about to fight for our lives.

It’s quiet for a long, pensive moment.How do you know this?he finally asks.

I’m trapped in a demon-summoning circle.After a moment, I add,Aren’t you?

Rather than answering, the floor begins to tremble, and I can feel the burn of Memnon’s rapidly growing rage.

Memnon, do not give whoever is there with you another reason to knock you out,I beg him.I will be all right. Stay safe. I need to go.

I pull away before he can say more, and I ready my magic. For this fight, I’ll need all my attention to remain on my opponent.

The demon is now less dark smoke and more flesh and bone, the magic solidifying into body parts. I study the creature’s features as they take shape.

I’ve heard that some demons are truly hideous looking, with forked serpent tongues, razor-sharp teeth, and slitted noses, but this one looks like a man, and a handsome one at that—if you can get past his sharpened claws, the horizontal pupils at the centers of his eyes, and the wicked horns that curve away from his face. He’s also as naked as the day he was born—or formed or damned or however the hell demons are created.

“Asmodeth,” Luca says, “I offer this witch to you as a sign of my good will.”

The demon takes a step toward me, his nostril’s flaring.

“But be warned. It comes at a price. With the first swallow of her blood, you bind your body and will to Jacques Allard. You will roam the earth, deathless and unchanging for the span of this mortal’s lifetime. Upon Jacques’s death, the bond shall be severed, and you shall return to the Underworld.

“You have until the rise of the sun to make your decision, or else you shall be banished back to the fiery realm from whence you came.”

Asmodeth turns from me and levels a look at the men standing there. “I want asoul. Only that will do.”

“You shall only get a body,” Luca says smoothly.

Asmodeth’s laughter fills the space, raising the hairs at the nape of my neck. “Insolent human. Do you have any concept of who I am?”

As he speaks, his head keeps drifting in my direction, and his nostrils continue to flare, like he’s distracted by the smell of me.

Because he wants to eat me.

Fuck, do I attack him? Do I let this play out? Do I and the demon enter into an unholy pact where we become reluctant allies?

That last one sounds good, except again,he wants to eat me.

“Of course I know who you are,” Luca says. “It’s all laid out in this book. The legions you command, the damned you oversee. You can go back to it all at first light, or you can bind yourself to this mage next to me and see your first true sunrise in one hundred and seven years.”

Asmodeth stares at Luca and Jacques for a long moment. Then, slowly, the demon turns to me.

Fuck. I think he’s made his decision.

I shift my weight, drawing my magic close. The demon’s eyes dip to the cut along my chest, and his pupils blow wide.