“Her name is Sunshine? That doesn’t sound very angelic.”
“Her real name is Shamsiel, but she goes by Sunshine now. Long story. There’s bound to be something there, but it’ll take time since I’ll be asking her to go behind her superiors’ backs. She’s not technically allowed to associate with the likes of me.”
“But she’ll do it?”
“Like I said, we’ve known each other a long time. But it could take a week or more.”
“You could reach out to your sources too, Bel,” Asmodeus suggested. “You’ve always gotten what we need through all the idiots who owe you favors. Remember how quickly you got that Nephilim blood?”
Bel scowled. “It’s not happening.”
Because the source Asmodeus was referring to was Naiamah, whom he hated with a burning passion. She was his best, most well-connected contact, and thanks to his negotiation skills and Naiamah’s desperation at the time, he’d bound her with a contract owing him one thousand unspecified favors.
He’d used up most of them over the years and was down to his last hundred, but as a succubus, Naiamah would often make an exception to do the job in exchange for sex. Belial was an ancient, powerful demon, and the sexual energy she got from him was potent, to say the least.
Except he was sick of whoring himself out for favors, and he was sick of how easily Naiamah could convince him to give her what she wanted. Every time he saw her, he caved, and he hated himself for it.
One month and eighteen days ago—but who was counting, really—he’d made a pact with Eva’s friend to remain celibate for six months. It would be the longest he’d ever gone with fornication since he’d fallen from Heaven at the dawn of creation. So, basically, since forever.
He’d already made it this far, damn it. He wasn’t going to break now.
“We need to get Mishetsu back before we do anything else,” he decided. “Who knows what Paimon will do to him for disappearing.”
“But he’s in Hell,” Eva said. “How do we get him back?”
“We’ll summon him.”
“You can do that?”
“Demons can’t summon other demons. But a human can.”
“Who? Me?”
“No. You don’t know the first thing about Temporal magic, and you’re not technically human either.”
“Then who?”
“A witch.”
Eva’s eyes widened. “But—”
“Well.” Dan jumped up. “On that note, I’m out of here.”
“What? Why?”
“Hon, it’s already so against the rules for me to even be in the presence of rogue demons without trying to kill them. I can’t knowingly sit around and listen to you plotting to summon one, and I certainly can’t participate in it. Call me later, and we’ll have dinner, okay? In the meantime, I’ll talk to Sunshine and see if she can help us out.”
As Eva bid her father farewell, Asmodeus turned to Belial. “Meph said the witches were terrified of Mist and wanted to kill him. How are you going to convince them to help us summon him?”
“Easy. I won’t give them a choice.”
9
Le Repaire Des Sorcières
The door screeched loudly as Lily pulled it open, and she froze, checking over her shoulder that she was alone. She shook her head. The alley was empty, and she already knew no one was inside—the shop had closed hours ago, and Iris had already texted to confirm she was home after her shift.
Lily even had a key. It wasn’t like she was pulling a B&E.
