Page 38 of Demon with Benefits (Hell Bent #3)

“Iris,” he croaked, tilting his head to meet her gaze as a multitude of emotions coursed through him. Fury, helplessness, regret, sheer fucking terror. He couldn’t even identify half of them.

She made a sound into her gag, her brow furrowed with rage. She was pissed, not scared, and he admired that, but he still didn’t have a clue how to help her.

Val turned his head and regarded Iris with detached curiosity.

A moment later, he crossed the room and sank into a crouch beside her.

A long-fingered hand reached out to stroke her hair while looking at Meph, eyes flaring with challenge.

Like he was daring Meph to stop him, knowing full well he couldn’t.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Valefor said.

Iris hissed like a cat, twisting out of reach when he tried to pet her again.

Val turned his gaze to her. “You look so much like your mother.”

She screamed into her gag, eyes flashing with fury.

Valefor rose, coming to stand before Meph outside the sigil. He clasped his hands neatly. Meph wanted to rip his arms off and beat his skull in with them. He tried to focus through the haze of violence, but it was hard.

“You wanted to know how I found you,” Val said, “so I will explain.

It was thanks to the Necromancer, actually.

Months ago, Murmur created a siphoning spell to trace the route the Hunter used to escape Hell with the blood-born twins.

He made a vow to Mishetsumephtai that he himself would not try to follow them to Earth, but the bargain never stated he could not enlist another to do so for him.

“When Murmur approached me with the offer, I readily accepted. I acquired the vial and used the magic to narrow the location down to Montreal. From there, I employed my own methods to... sniff out your whereabouts.”

He smiled thinly, but Meph didn’t get the joke.

“The Necromancer’s spell wasn’t powerful enough to determine your precise position.

So, I found a hellhound den in my territory and took one of the pups from its mother.

Too young to be on its own, its only instincts were to follow and imprint upon the nearest source of protection.

A tracking spell with a sample of the hound’s blood enabled me to follow its progress.

When I set it loose in the human city, I expected it to gravitate toward the only familiar scent of Hell—yours.

“But,” Valefor continued, a smile spreading across his face, “imagine my surprise when the pup led me not to the residence of demons, but to the home of one of the very witches I’d been hunting for decades.

I’d suspected they were likely nearby, but I never expected it to be that easy.

And my fortune increased when you, Mephistopheles, the one I came to Earth to retrieve, turned up at that very same home. ”

Iris made another furious shriek into her gag, but Meph’s head was reeling too much from the fact that an innocent puppy had betrayed them. Bad dog, Fausty. Bel would be so pissed when he found out his suspicions were correct. Best not to ever tell him.

Meph couldn’t be mad at the little hound though. He’d been taken from his mother and dropped in a human city in the middle of winter. How was a puppy supposed to know Val would track him? It was a diabolical plan, and it had worked.

“The injection I gave you is something I’ve had in my possession for a long time,” Valefor went on. “The blood came from a poor angel who got herself captured by demons several centuries ago, and I was lucky enough to acquire a sample.”

Blah, blah, blah. So he was rich enough to buy fancy angel blood. Big deal.

“If Belial so much as catches a whiff of your putrid ass, you’ll fry,” Meph slurred through his blood hangover. It wasn’t much of a threat, but what else could he say, currently missing a bunch of skin and trapped inside a sigil?

Valefor never lost that smug look. “I’m not concerned about Belial. The minute he went rogue, he lost his power. Lucifer will know the second he returns to Hell, and without his legions, well, there’s no question who would win that battle. Belial won’t take the risk.”

Fucking motherfuck, but he was right. As much as Meph was in need of rescuing at the moment, he hoped his brothers wouldn’t come after him. The consequences would be too steep.

Meph could accept that for himself. Sometimes, hard calls had to be made, and he was glad Bel knew when to make them.

But he couldn’t accept that fate for Iris. He refused to even consider it. No way was Iris getting stuck down here.

Meph met her gaze again, trying to communicate nonverbally. He didn’t have a clue how he was going to get her out yet, but he tried to tell her with his eyes that he was going to find a way.

Should start by sitting up. Yeah, that was a good plan.

Painstakingly, he turned onto the side that wasn’t missing skin and pushed into his hands. The room did a steady spin around him as he levered up. His head hung, hair falling in his eyes, but he didn’t pass out again. He had to be strong for Iris.

She made a muffled sound, and he glanced at her. Her eyes were full of fear, and she was staring at his bloody abdomen. He wanted to tell her he was fine, but he didn’t get a chance before Valefor started yammering again.

“So, now that we’re caught up, let us discuss our next steps and make a bargain.”

“I’m not agreeing to shit except to rip your head off and burn the pieces,” Meph said.

“You seem to forget that I hold all the power here. I know where your brothers are, I have your witch, and you’re the one trapped in the sigil.”

A valid point.

“Here are my terms: Shift, and the witch lives. Resist, and she dies.”

Silence reigned for a torturous moment as that sank in.

“You won’t kill her anyway,” Meph replied, fighting to keep his voice level when his mind was a whirlwind of panic. “You spent years hunting her, and you want her power. If you kill her, you can’t take it.”

He had no idea how one went about stealing a witch’s power. For all he knew, it did involve killing them, but he was desperate. He’d say anything to get out of this.

“Maybe I won’t kill her.” Val smiled. “But maybe I will. Are you willing to risk calling my bluff?”

Meph glanced at Iris, and she stared back at him, green eyes ablaze. He could almost hear her voice in his head: Don’t even think about giving him what he wants.

He swallowed and looked back at Val. “You won’t kill her.”

Valefor walked over to Iris. He bent and wrapped a hand around her throat, hauling her up until her bound feet barely touched the ground. The sight of her struggling in his grip sent Meph into a helpless rage.

“Put her down!” He climbed to his feet, ignoring the fiery scream of his wound and his pounding head. He was this close to throwing himself at the edge of the sigil despite knowing it would electrocute him.

Staring steadily at Meph, Val flexed the hand around Iris’s neck, and claws lengthened from his fingertips. The sharp tips dug in until they broke her skin. Blood welled around the wounds. Iris’s eyes watered from the pain, but she didn’t make a sound.

“All right, I’ll do it!” Meph could barely see straight. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just let her go.”

Val dropped her. As soon as she hit the floor, she started to crawl away, but her tied feet impeded her efforts.

Before she could escape, Valefor kicked her.

His foot collided with her soft abdomen, and she hit the wall and fell to her side, wheezing for breath through her nose since her mouth was blocked by the gag.

“Shift into your demon form now, and I won’t kill her.”

Meph had never felt so powerless. He was close to losing control and shifting just from panic alone. His demon form was exponentially more powerful than his human one, and without the binding tattoo, it was pure instinct to shift when there was danger.

Unfortunately, his demon was an evil bastard that had been broken long ago, and the fucking thing listened to Valefor. He’d been trained like a dog to be loyal to his master. He didn’t think critically; he just heard and obeyed.

Meph knew what would happen once he shifted, which was why he needed a binding vow.

“Swear to me you’ll let her go back to Earth first.”

“I’ll do no such thing.” Valefor remained calm, and that made him all the more frightening.

“Hear me well, Mephistopheles. I want our old arrangement back. I want it more than I want the blood-borns. You must understand the lengths I will go to.” He looked Meph in the eye and repeated, “I will kill her.”

He could be bluffing. The bastard lied just as well as any other demon. But Meph couldn’t take risks when he was gambling with Iris’s life.

Once he shifted, he would lose what little advantage he had. He had to be smart about this.

Hovering on the edge of his control, a bit of his demon’s power was available to him. Since he had nothing left to lose, he surrendered to it a little more.

The shadows in the room seemed to darken, the torchlight fading into a dim flicker.

Illusion. It was all illusion, his demon’s specialty, but it was effective, and he’d never met another who could penetrate it. Ignore it, yes, but penetrate it completely? Never.

“Give me your vow,” Meph growled.

And Valefor hesitated.

For all he’d broken the demon, Val was still wary of it, and anyone could see how close it was to the surface now.

If the creature ever turned on him, it would be ugly.

Meph wished he could tell the damn thing to do just that, but unfortunately, he’d done too good of a job splitting himself into separate entities.

Neither side could communicate with the other.

But Valefor hadn’t become a Duke of Hell for nothing.

He gritted his teeth and held his ground, refusing to be cowed.

“If you shift now, the witch lives, and I won’t reveal the location of the other rogues.

That is the only concession I will grant you.

If you don’t cooperate, I’ll kill the witch and go straight to Lucifer to tell him where Belial is hiding.

All I’ll ask from the High King in return for that valuable information is to be given the other blood-born twin when she is captured. ”

Iris made a muffled scream at the mention of Lily. Val stalked back to her, reaching for her as she started scrambling away again. “Continue to be stubborn, and you can watch her die.” He smiled as he stretched one hand out, the bullwhip still clutched in the other. “I promise to make it slow.”

The sight of his palm closing around Iris’s throat again was the final straw, and Meph finally gave in.

“Fine! I agree to your terms. Just stop. Don’t touch her.”

Iris made a furious sound of denial. Even now, she was still telling him to fight it. But he couldn’t. He was out of options.

Valefor dropped his hand and straightened, turning back to Meph. A cruel smile stretching across his face, he lifted a palm and sliced it open with the claws of the hand holding the whip.

“On my own blood, I vow it.” He held the palm aloft as his blood dripped onto the floor. “And now it’s your turn. Shift , Mephistopheles.”

Meph looked at Iris. She was shaking her head, begging him not to do it.

He said, “I’m sorry, Iris.”

She screamed again.

And then he shifted.