Page 115 of Soulbound

The demon cast the bloody rag aside, its eyes unblinking as it took in the debris from the ruined gargoyle. "That took me over an hour to create."

Cleo scooted backward on the floor, her back meeting the wall. "What do we do?"

"Keep it talking." He didn't take his eyes off the demon.

"How did you find me?" Its lips quirked. "I've made arrangements to befuddle young Verity Bishop's talents, and no scrying device can track me on this plane." Its head turned sinuously toward Cleo. "And I've accounted for you."

Pure bad luck. Sebastian slowly placed his foot on the stair below him. "We wanted to question Lady Beaumont."

"If you move suddenly, I will gut her," the demon said, turning back to him.

He froze, putting his hands in the air.

"Tsk, tsk, Sebastian." His father's voice, but it sounded wrong coming from that throat. "You've found yourself another weakness."

"She's not a weakness."

"A pressure point then." It smiled, a thumb running along the edge of the razor. "All you have to do is know the right place to press."

"You look better than you did in Noah Guthrie's body." He eased down another step. Another.

"This body is stronger than Guthrie." The demon seemed pleased. "No matter how much your father screams at me inside."

Merde. He'd housed this creature within his own body once. A desperate, unthinking ploy when he'd lost all hope, and the only escape he could see was to work with it. Barely a single day with it inside him, feeding upon him, knowing his every thought.... Hearing its thoughts, or the ones it allowed him to hear. Sebastian swallowed hard. He'd blocked that day from his memory, but seeing it now brought everything back to the surface.

Including a hint of what it wanted.

The demon hauled Cleo to her feet, his hand manacling her upper arm tight enough to make her cry out.

"If you hurt her," he warned, finally reaching the foyer floor. "You won't get out of here alive. I promise you that."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I think you're the one who wouldn't dare," he said softly, advancing one step at a time.

Interest flickered in the demon's eyes. "You and I worked together once, to trap your father into his bargain. I have no wish to kill you, unless you get in my way."

I was desperate to escape my mother. I never meant to cause any of this.... "I don't think you can kill me."

Definitely interest. Cleo cried out as its grip on her arm tightened. "How so?"

"You made a bargain with my father when he traded his life for mine," Sebastian said. "You can't harm any of us, or he'll be able to take control of his body again. Demons can't lie."

Its nostrils flared. "True. Unless you attack first and I am forced to defend myself."

"Then I won't."

Dragging Cleo back against its chest, it put the razor to her throat. "Are you certain of that, Sebastian?"

His heart stopped, and the whirlpool of emotion threatened to suck him under. Cleo. There was no magic in the world that could stop the demon from hurting her if it willed it. He'd never felt so powerless. "Let her go."

"You shouldn't make threats you can't keep."

"She's included in the bargain," he replied. "Drake said you couldn't harm any of us or our wives."

"Ah, Drake. That constant thorn in my foot...." The demon smiled. "I didn't lie. He can try to take his body back if I hurt you. I never said I wouldn't fight him for it."

The razor slid lower, slicing through the thin lace at Cleo's décolletage. She sucked in a shallow breath, and he felt her trying not to look down.