But she wasn’t.
“He is bound by a contract,” she said to Belial. “That is true. He can’t tell anyone about it, as per the terms of the agreement, but I can.”
“What are you doing, Sunshine?” Raum hissed.
Belial fixed piercing eyes on her. “And what did you hold over his head to get him to agree to that?”
She glanced away. She had to admit Belial unnerved her. She’d learned much about him through history books, and his sacrifice had never been forgotten. Except by him, of course.
All immortals lost memories over the course of their lives to keep their heads from overflowing and driving them to eventual insanity. But angels had access to the Empyrean Library which held chronicles of all notable historical events.
Hell had nothing of the sort. Once Belial’s memories faded, he would not have had the resources to refresh them, and that struck her as a shame.
Right now, however, she wasn’t feeling particularly sympathetic, especially once she noticed the wounds on Raum’s body. Now in half demon form, his lip was split in two places, his nose bled slightly, and there was blood soaked in his clothing around what looked like a stab wound in his side. Belial had a particularly gory wound in his neck, and his fists were covered in blood.
“Don’t tell him shit,” Raum said when she glanced at him.
“I have to. This has gone on long enough, and there’s no point keeping it secret from your brothers now.” She looked back at Belial. “I told Raum I would report the whereabouts of his family to Heaven if he didn’t cooperate.”
She swallowed at the sight of the hellfire in Belial’s eyes. Despite his origins, there was no forgetting that he was very much a demon now.
“You realize I have to kill you for this?” he said. “You could swear a hundred blood vows, but so long as there’s an angel walking around with this information in her head, there’s a threat to me. And that’s not something I can abide.”
“You won’t fucking touch her.” Raum’s voice was low.
Sunshine had no intention of dying today, but that didn’t mean she wanted Raum and Belial fighting.
“It was a lie,” she said quickly. “I have no intention of hurting any of you. I only told him that because I needed his help.”
“Yeah, I don’t believe a word of that,” Belial growled. “I know how silver-tongued angels can be. You’ll justify anything for your ‘greater good.’”
She opened her mouth to reply, but Mishetsumephtai interjected with a question. “What did you need his help with?” Until now, he’d remained so silent she’d almost forgotten he was there.
She turned to address him, hoping his inquiry meant she had a potential ally. “I was charged with finding a grimoire for the Empyrean Library. It used to belong to a human witch, but it was stolen by a demon and taken to Hell. I wanted Raum’s help to get it.”
“Who stole it?”
“Murmur. The Necromancer.”
“You’re fucking kidding me.” Belial pinned Raum with a furious glare. “Don’t tell me you went and stole from Murmur five minutes after I bargained away another favor with him.”
Raum’s eyes flashed. He looked on the verge of taunting Belial back into fighting, which wasn’t a great way to argue her case.
“I mean your family no harm,” she said quickly, “and I can prove it right now.” She looked at Raum. “I want to break the contract. It was your idea to put that clause in, remember? If we both agree to terminate the arrangement, we can.”
He said nothing. His eyes bored into her.
“I will swear a vow to protect your family, but I want to release you from all obligations to me.”
His eyes narrowed. “What’s the point in doing that if you already have the book?”
She hesitated, her stomach twisting in knots. “Agree to dissolve the contract first, and I’ll tell you.”
He frowned, but it was Belial who spoke. “Swear the vow first.”
She nodded. “I’ll need a blade.”
Belial stalked to the kitchen and returned with a big chef’s knife, holding it out to her. She took it.
