Page 111 of Hell-Bound

A momentary startled look crossed Azur’s face before he smiled wolfishly.

“Darling, and you callmethe tease. I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of you.”

Azur approached Xarek and bent down.

“Are you going to tell us who you made that deal with, Xandy?” he said with fake sympathy. “It won’t save you, but perhaps I’ll make your death a little quicker.”

Xarek was trembling with fear, his eyes wide, blood beginning to drip from his nose.

“Just do it. I’m as good as dead, anyway. When he finds out you escaped—”

Azur kicked him in the side.

“Who!?” Azur roared.

The pale Devil was crying now, tears streaking down his face and mixing with the black blood.

“I can’t…I can’t say! The contract!” his voice bordered on hysteria. “But I think,” he swallowed, “you already know.”

Azur stiffened, barely breathing.

“Do it,” he said without looking up at her.

Ren didn’t hesitate. She knelt down, bringing the blade to his throat.

“Xarek?” She paused. “Fuck you.”

She sliced his neck open.

Xarek gurgled the sweet sounds of approaching death.

Azur bent and whispered into Xarek Wyvryn’s ear.

“If it is him you made a deal with, then I’d be giving you a precious gift by ending you now. Unfortunately for you, I am not a merciful god.”

He kicked Xarek once more and crossed the room with Ren, leaving the Devil to torturously choke on his own blood.

When the two entered the hallway, Azur stretched his limbs.

“That was fun. Why don’t we stop by the kitchen on our way out? I’m starving,” he said, heading towards a large staircase.

“You want toeatat a time like this?” she yelled. “They’re still after us—and—what about my family?”

Azur didn’t stop his pace.

“Ren. How long has it been since you’ve eaten? If we are to recover your family, you will need your strength. There isn’t much in the way of food along the way to where we are going. Dining accommodation in the forest of Nahmir has gotten pretty subpar as of late.”

There it was again, the urge to strike him.

I could push him down the stairs.

Relenting, Ren followed Azur to the kitchens and noted that the palace looked abandoned.

“Not the most loyal of guards, are they?” Ren observed.

Azur shrugged. “Loyalty rarely comes into play for Devils. Fear always conquers loyalty, and little is more terrifying than their King.”

Arriving at the kitchens, Azur began pulling out cheese, fruits, and vegetables, throwing some on the table, and shoving others in a rucksack.