Iris didn’t know, but she knew he was cunning, and the longer they went without seeing him, the more nervous she got. She wished she could communicate to Meph that he should focus on eating Valefor first, but she doubted he would understand.
And so, she was left with no choice but to follow him through the passages, up staircases and down long tunnels. As the screams of his prey pierced her ears, as he trapped them in dead-end corners and uncovered their hiding places, she could only plug her ears, turn her face away, and give thanks that he was on her side and not the other way around.
Finally, Meph went after his primary target.
They climbed the spiral staircase to the highest room in the tower. Not wanting to face Valefor again, Iris hung back as Meph pushed open a set of heavy double doors slowly enough that the hinges creaked eerily.
She could tell by watching him that he’d done it on purpose. He was the master of silence when he wanted to be, but he was even more skilled at haunting.
Valefor’s voice drifted out into the hallway where she hid. “Ah, Mephistopheles. I see you’ve returned.”
Iris frowned, her back pressed against the wall outside the door. She didn’t know if Valefor was aware of her presence, but she wasn’t going to face him if she didn’t have to.
What was he playing at? Had he not heard Meph’s shrieks and the screams of his minions? Maybe he was used to Meph eating his servants?
“Did you have your fill of the witch? Is that why you’ve returned? You’re still hungry and you wish to consume even more? Well, don’t you worry, I have just the thing for you.”
Ah.So that was how he was playing it. He was going to pretend everything was fine and appeal to Meph’s insatiable appetite as a means to control him.
Unfortunately, it was a pretty good plan.
Meph didn’t reply, and since Iris was standing out in the hall, she couldn’t see how he responded. But the fact that Valefor wasn’t already screaming wasn’t a great sign.
Don’t get distracted, she mentally begged him.Don’t believe his empty promises. Do what we came here to do.
“You see, Murmur has been getting on my nerves,” Valefor continued. “First, he took Paimon’s lair, and now he’s manipulating me through this bargain. He’s trying to amass more power for himself, and he sees me as a threat. But I will not be controlled.”
Why aren’t you eating him, Meph?
“And now that he has this book, I know he’s planning something with it. Yet I, a fellow Duke whom he should view as an equal, was forbidden from gazing upon its pages. I went to Earth and retrieved it like a lowly servant, and he would not deign to share the information with me.”
Valefor sniffed haughtily. “I will not stand for this insult. The Necromancer thinks he can use me to achieve his aim, but he is mistaken, and he underestimates me. I want you, my dark creature, to go after him. Consume anyone that stands in your way. Last I heard, Paimon’s remaining gargoyle force had pledged allegiance to him, so you know there’ll be plenty of fresh meat. And Murmur himself... well, a demon in his position surely has much to be afraid of.”
Meph’s low hiss echoed out in the hallway. It didn’t sound like an about-to-strike hiss. It sounded like an excited-for-a-snack hiss.
Valefor had dangled the bait, and he was taking it.
Fucking fantastic.Meph was going AWOL. He’d warned Iris about this. He’d been against her plan for this very reason, and she had assured him over and over it wouldn’t happen.
Well, it was damn well happening now. So what was she going to do about it?
“You will go to Murmur’s lair, eat as much as you like, and then take his precious book and return it to me. I must know what information it contains.”
What book is he talking about?It didn’t matter.Think, damn it.
Both times Meph’s demon had turned against Valefor had involved her, Iris realized with a flash of insight.Shewas the catalyst that allowed him to think outside the obedience Valefor had drilled into him.
Of course he was getting distracted now. She was standing outside in the hall where neither of them could see her.
She thought of that terrible horse-donkey-goat head with those pitch-black eyes, and her stomach pitted. The last thing she wanted to do was face him again. But she had to. If they were going to get out of this, she had to.
She took a breath, swallowed hard, and then stepped around the corner.
The scene before her wasn’t what she’d been picturing, yet it somehow fit. Valefor sat behind a messy desk. There were pages of illegible notes spread around him. Bookshelves in complete disarray lined the walls. The window behind him overlooked his desolate territory.
There was a hellgate in one corner, and her heart raced. She was so close to escape she could taste it.
“You returned of your own accord, I see,” Valefor said coolly.
