Page 6 of Discord and Cinder (Fire Witches of Salem #7)
“Hmm.” I admired her tenacity. Her fearlessness now that she had recovered from her initial shock. “What is it you desire?”
She inclined her chin. “I want you to give me safe passage to Hell, help me find my parents, and send us back home.”
I allowed my gaze to flow over her face, taking in her delicate features and plump, pink lips. “That’s three wishes. I am no djinn.”
“Then just take me there. I’ll do the rest.”
I laughed dryly and released her. “No.”
“Why not? It’s a fair trade.”
“No, it is not.” I turned and strode toward the trees.
“Hey!” She followed. “Don’t walk away when I’m talking to you.
” Magic infused each word she spoke. I could feel it caressing my skin, attempting to seep into my mind.
She possessed the power of persuasion, the ability to speak with enough finesse and a subtle charm to convince a lesser demon the tarpits were a prime vacation spot.
But I was a Prince of Hell. Her silver tongue had no influence over me. Blood magic, on the other hand…
I stopped and closed my eyes, the magical bond between us making me unable to leave her alone. “I will not take you to Hell.”
“Why not?” She circled around to stand in front of me.
“Because I would have to go with you, and it is a place to which I cannot yet return.” Not without Hecate’s amulet and my brothers’ skulls.
“Why can’t you?”
“Because I would face the wrath of both Lucifer and Hecate, and that would be a fate worse than the darkest prison imaginable.” If I returned empty-handed, Lucifer would fillet me alive, torture me for eons before shredding my soul into oblivion. Hecate would not be so kind.
She pursed her lips, her eyes calculating. “These marks…” She ran her finger over the sigil on her arm, and the sensation of warm velvet sliding over my skin made my entire body shudder with her touch.
“What about them?” I said through clenched teeth, trying not to reveal the effect it had on me.
“What exactly do they mean?”
I let out a slow breath. “They mean we’re connected. As long as we bear them, we are one.”
“One how?” She slid her hands down her hips, cocking her head.
“The tether. Do you not feel it?”
“I feel something, but I don’t know what it is. Tell me.” She inched closer.
I growled low in my throat, loath to say it aloud. “Our souls are bound. Over time, if you refuse to remove the bond, it will be difficult to tell where yours ends and mine begins.”
She grimaced. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“Neither do I, which is why we must remove it now.”
She drummed her fingers on her thighs and narrowed her eyes. “Take me to Hell, and I’ll do it.”
“I will not.”
She huffed and then shrugged. “Okay then. If you’re not going to help me, I’ll have to vanquish you.”
“Our souls are bound. If you vanquish me, you will die.” I stepped around her, continuing my trek toward the trees. I grew weary of her already, and I needed time alone to think.
If I could find Hecate’s amulet, if it still existed, perhaps it would be enough to save me from the goddess’s wrath. Once I obtained it, I would search for my brothers’ skulls. With the amulet’s power, I could summon them into this realm, and we could collect our price from Isabel’s descendants.
Only then could I return to Hell and reclaim my position in Lucifer’s court.
“A Holland witch can’t be responsible for unleashing a demon on Salem,” she called from behind me, stopping me mid-stride.
“You are a Holland witch?” Unmerciful Lucifer, how could it be? “The curse…”
“Hasn’t come to fruition.” She clutched her hands behind her back and strolled around to face me once again.
“You’ve been in prison for four hundred years, and the whole reason Isabel summoned you hasn’t even happened.
I and every High Priestess before me have made certain your abhorrent act would never become reality. ”
My jaw slackened, but I managed to keep my mouth closed. My eyes, however, couldn’t hide the fury building inside me. They heated, the green in my irises undulating like molten hellfire. The void of apathy, the nothingness that had once hollowed my being, now filled with disgust and rage.
I had to get away from this woman before I did something I could not undo. I stepped to the right and marched forward, slamming my shoulder against hers as I passed.
A normal person would be terrified in a Prince of Hell’s presence. I’d broken her containment circle and come inches from strangling her, but instead of cowering as she should, the witch had the audacity to grab my arm.
“Pisses you off, doesn’t it?” she asked.
I spun to face her and ground my teeth, glaring first at her hand on my biceps and then into her eyes. “You have no idea the restraint it is taking for me not to tear your head from your neck. I suggest you let me go.”
She loosened her grip but kept her palm pressed firmly against my skin. “What’s stopping you?”
I did not appreciate the way her touch, this bond, made me feel. Instead of tearing her limb from limb, I wanted to caress every inch of her infuriating form. “If I kill you, I will be vanquished too. I have things to do in this realm before I can return.”
“Mm-hmm.” She stepped closer, her mesmerizing gaze locked on me. She lacked the physical strength to hold me in place, but something about her eyes… “And if I die, this binding spell I cast means I go where you go, right?”
I curled my hands into fists. “Unfortunately, that is correct. As long as the bond is intact, if you die, you will go to Hell with me.”
“Good. Because that’s exactly where I want to go.” She moved with a speed only masterful magic could provide. I barely had time to blink before she raised her arm and plunged a silver dagger deep into my heart.