Page 76 of Brimstone

A piece of the demon’s shoulder came away, strands of flesh that morphed and took shape, solidifying into a small scorpion. It tapped toward me, light on its eight feet . . . and I crushed it under the heel of my boot.

The demon hissed its displeasure at the rough treatment. “Now you, warrior,” it said.“Bleed.”

I wasn’t going to cut myself and seal our pact the polite way. No chance. I pierced my bottom lip with my canines, sucked the blood into my mouth, and spat it at him. “Your life for ours. A secret, and a promise that you will be released and not caught in another demon trap,” I said.

“Yes. Your lives for mine. The secret. The promise,” the demon chanted back. And it was done.

Carrion wrinkled his nose. He somehow managed to look sicker than he had a moment ago. “Like I said. You’re carrying it.”

“No, I’m not.” The floor felt like sand beneath my boots as I crossed the rune-etched stone, toward the trunks on the far side of the room. I had to step over the half-eaten body to reach my goal. Thankfully, I found what I was looking for quicker than I’d hoped. Inside the first trunk, nestled among a pile of coins and golden rings, I found a small wooden box. It contained gems. Rubies, sapphires, diamonds. I dumped them on the floor and returned to Joshin. I didn’t ask for the demon’s permission; I stooped and picked up a scorpion from the ground, pinching it by its stinger.

Into the box it went.

I snapped the lid closed on it, and the demon cocked its head. “What are you doing, shadow weaver?”

“The secret, Joshin.”

The demon inched back, pressing its back against the wall. “I will give you the secret once I am free.”

Grimly, I shook my head. “Now, Joshin. While you can still speak.”

“You can’t kill me!” it shrieked.

“And I won’t. As long as I have your little friend in this box here, you won’t be dead, will you?”

“Cheat! Liar!” Joshin spat. “Youswore!”

“I am Oath Bound, Demon. I cannot lie. I cannot break my oath. Now tell me your secret, before you breakyours.”

“If you destroy this body, it will take me lifetimes to regenerate,” he snarled.

“Sounds like ayouproblem to me.” I had no control over fire; it wasn’t my element to command. A part of me suspected that itmightbe Carrion’s, but he was in no fit state to try conjuring unknown magic. There would be time for that later. For now, I took out my tinderbox and struck the piece of flint against the wall, using the spark to light the dried moss inside. In seconds I had one of the old torches lit, and the hungry flames were throwing shadows up the walls.

“You wouldn’t dare,” the demon said.

I crouched down in front of it, closer than I would have liked, clenching my jaw as its half-formed head whipped around to face me. “You can smell me, yes?” I asked.

The demon snapped its jaws.

“Then tell me, Joshin. You filled me with enough venom to take down three horses . . . but do you scentanyfear on me? Do you think I am afraid to face my demons? I’ve faced them before. I know them all by name. I’ve conquered them and bent them to my will more times than the sun has risen over Yvelia in my lifetime. I’ll face your nightmares if I have to, and I willstillbe the most frightening thing prowling around in the dark.”

The slits in Joshin’s face flared, quivering as the demon tentatively sniffed—and then snarled, pulling away.

“The secret, Joshin,” I repeated. “It’s now or never.”

The demon let out a cry of frustration, but then it said, “Where there is light, there isalwaysdarkness, shadow weaver. To kill a queen, you will need to visit the darkest ofallplaces. You will need to strike a deal far more costly than this one if you hope to succeed. And the beast who lies in wait for you there willnot be so easy to trick as me. She will eat you whole, shadow weaver!” Joshin roared as I held the flickering torch to its body. “She will tear away your soul and feed on it for decades!”

The demon lit up like a beacon. With awoompf, the flames swallowed what was left of its mangled torso.

Joshin screamed, and all around us the scattered scorpions that had shivered free from the demon’s body also burst into flames. Down in the tunnels, those that had escaped would be burning, too. Save for the invertebrate I shielded inside the wooden box, they all went up in flames. Their screams echoed through the tower, agonized and furious.

“Ahh, I get it now,” Carrion groaned, observing the horror of it all. “I’m alreadyinthe nightmare, aren’t I?”

I surprised myself by letting out a harsh bark of laughter. “No. Unfortunately,thatpart is only just beginning.”

18

BROTHER