“I have ways of making you talk.”
Raum pulled off a bored expression well.
“If I wanted, I could summon my souls to pull out your intestines like rope and tie you up with them. I wouldn’t even have to lift a finger. I’d just sit back and enjoy the show.”
Raum looked unimpressed. Murmur smiled. He liked a challenge.
“Or maybe I don’t have to void the contract. Instead, I could use one of Belial’s favors to…” He paused for effect, tapping a claw on his chin as he searched for inspiration. “Well, the possibilities are endless. I could order him to pay a visit to Lucifer and bring back one of the High Lord’s horns as a souvenir. It’d be interesting to see how far he got.”
Raum’s jaw shifted.
“Or I could order him to burn your human city down in a five-kilometer radius around your lair, so the angels would have an easier time finding your hiding spot.”
“I know Bel put a clause in the contract that you couldn’t use the favor to endanger or expose us, so cut the shit.”
Murmur smiled. “Alas, you are correct. He was very careful. But I am just as careful as he. And remember: thanks to you, I can void the entire thing if I want. I wonder how much Lucifer would pay to find out where his nemesis is hiding?”
“You won’t. Bel’s favors are too valuable to you.”
“Maybe true. I haven’t decided yet. But either way, I have the power to make your lives very difficult, and I will do it if you don’t tell me what I want to know.”
Silence. Again.
“I’ll give you one more chance. What were you doing outside my territory?”
“I was spying. I came to make sure you kept your end of the deal. I don’t trust you.”
“And I don’t trust you, and I know you’re lying. Try again.”
“It’s the truth.”
“And I’m a soft little human with an eighty-year lifespan. Try again.”
Silence reigned as the two demons stared at each other. His prisoner’s stoicism was admirable, but at this point, he was just wasting both their time.
“You don’t want to cooperate? Fine. I have other ways of getting what I need.” Murmur lifted a palm. “For the record, I tried to play nice first.”
Raum continued giving him that bored stare, and Murmur smiled in anticipation. He waved a hand and immediately, a small swarm of his ghostly servants rose from their incessant spiraling at his feet. They crawled over Raum’s body, causing the demon to recoil, jerking in the chains. Murmur knew well how unpleasant the icy touch of the dead was.
He exercised his control over the spirits briefly, giving them the strength to restrain Raum’s legs. It took great power to allow that which was spirit to affect physical matter, but Murmur had that in spades. And right now, he only needed the demon to hold still for a second.
He approached and flexed his tail. It reared back behind him and then shot forward, the sharp barb on the tip stabbing into Raum’s neck. Murmur released his hold over the souls, who returned to his feet.
“What the fuck!” Raum growled as blood welled where he’d been struck. He jerked on the chains again and then tried to lift his shoulder to the wounded area, but he wasn’t able to stem the trickle of blood.
He gave up soon after. Already, his eyes had begun to cloud, and Murmur could see the confusion and alarm quickly fading into a drunk compliance.
“What the…fuck…”
“That’s better,” Murmur said as Raum sagged in the chains once more. It was all he could do not to cackle like a storybook villain. But this was just too good. A powerful prisoner bound on his wall, succumbing to the effects of his venom… Was there anything more satisfying?
Murmur lifted Raum’s chin with his foreclaw and thumb, peering into unfocused golden eyes. “Hello,” he said with a grin.
Raum just blinked, so slowly it took several seconds for his eyes to reopen. His features were slack, but a relaxed acceptance was settling into his muscles. In small doses, Murmur’s venom was euphoric. In high doses, it was a paralytic. Raum had received something in between.
“Let’s try this again, shall we? You were snooping around my territory, and I want to know why.”
“Can’t…” Raum slurred, trying to pull his chin out of Murmur’s grip.
