If Valefor had played by the rules, then Murmur would too. At least for now.
He stepped forward to retrieve the book where it rested on the desk. As he reached for it, however, Valefor placed a paw over it. Murmur’s tail flicked in annoyance.
“You must report to Lucifer the location of Belial and the other rogues.”
Murmur stilled. “Why not do it yourself?”
“I made a vow I would not.”
Murmur’s brows lifted. “Indeed? To whom?”
“It was a condition to Mephistopheles shifting forms.” It seemed to pain Valefor to admit this, and Murmur could understand why. If Valefor could not control his creature’s shift, then it appeared he did not have much control over him at all.
“Someone needs to do it,” Valefor said.
The souls at Murmur’s feet writhed with his increased agitation, but beyond that tell—one he didn’t think anyone knew how to read—he betrayed nothing of his thoughts. Several moments passed in silence as he chose his next words.
“Very well. I will take care of it.”
Then, he stepped forward and extracted the book from beneath Valefor’s claws with a sharp look.
Valefor nodded and leaned back in his chair, satisfied. Relaxed. Far more than he should be. It was oh so tempting to violate the terms of their agreement just to cure him of that delusion.
Think of the goal, Murmur reminded himself, tamping down his chaotic whisperings.
He was always perfectly controlled, but there lived inside him wild, destructive urges that longed to see the worlds burn. That part of him didn’t care if his meticulous plans burned with them; it just wanted to revel in the chaos.
And that was why Murmur was very careful never to succumb to irrational behavior. His goal drove him, was the purpose behind his every action, and he had come too far to throw it away now. Too much was riding on its success.
The Book of Gamigincradled carefully in his claws, Murmur turned and approached the hellgate. Before he could step into it, a great, haunting shriek reverberated through the walls of the castle. The ghostly sound sent chills down even his spine.
Murmur tilted his head as he looked back to regard the other Duke with a lifted brow. “Are you sure you have control of your monster, Valefor?”
Valefor’s lip curled, and he flicked a paw dismissively. “Begone.”
But Murmur didn’t miss the way he’d flinched, ever so slightly.
There was a curve to the Necromancer’s lips as he stepped through the hellgate and disappeared.
19
PIPE DREAM
AFTERIRIS’S NAP, DURING THE SECOND SESSION OFwiggling the bar on the window, a chip of stone broke off.
Before that, the mortar pieces she’d been using would quickly crumble to dust, but with her new jagged stone flake, she had a tool that lasted. She chipped away at the mortar around the bar until her arms were shaking and her toes went numb from being perched on the wall.
She dropped down, had another nap, and then got back at it.
The third time, a big chunk of mortar came loose, and not long after that, the bar came free. She wiggled it fiercely around, loosening the remaining mortar on both the top and bottom of the frame until, finally, she had enough space to turn the bar and pull it out.
It took all her self-control not to whoop with exhilaration, and she almost fell off the wall in her excitement. She dropped down and studied the short metal beam, deciding she’d just met her new best friend.
She had just sunk to the floor to take another rest, hoping it would help her head recover faster, when she heard heavy footsteps down the hall.
Scritch, scritch, scritch.It sounded like... claws?
It wasn’t hard to guess who those footsteps belonged too, and her blood chilled with instant dread.
