Silence reigned for a torturous moment as that sank in.
“You won’t kill her anyway,” Meph replied, fighting to keep his voice level when his mind was a whirlwind of panic. “You spent years hunting her, and you want her power. If you kill her, you can’t take it.”
He had no idea how one went about stealing a witch’s power. For all he knew, it did involve killing them, but he was desperate. He’d say anything to get out of this.
“Maybe I won’t kill her.” Val smiled. “But maybe I will. Are you willing to risk calling my bluff?”
Meph glanced at Iris, and she stared back at him, green eyes ablaze. He could almost hear her voice in his head:Don’t even think about giving him what he wants.
He swallowed and looked back at Val. “You won’t kill her.”
Valefor walked over to Iris. He bent and wrapped a hand around her throat, hauling her up until her bound feet barely touched the ground. The sight of her struggling in his grip sent Meph into a helpless rage.
“Put her down!” He climbed to his feet, ignoring the fiery scream of his wound and his pounding head. He was this close to throwing himself at the edge of the sigil despite knowing it would electrocute him.
Staring steadily at Meph, Val flexed the hand around Iris’s neck, and claws lengthened from his fingertips. The sharp tips dug in until they broke her skin. Blood welled around the wounds. Iris’s eyes watered from the pain, but she didn’t make a sound.
“All right, I’ll do it!” Meph could barely see straight. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just let her go.”
Val dropped her. As soon as she hit the floor, she started to crawl away, but her tied feet impeded her efforts. Before she could escape, Valefor kicked her. His foot collided with her soft abdomen, and she hit the wall and fell to her side, wheezing for breath through her nose since her mouth was blocked by the gag.
“Shift into your demon form now, and I won’t kill her.”
Meph had never felt so powerless. He was close to losing control and shifting just from panic alone. His demon form was exponentially more powerful than his human one, and without the binding tattoo, it was pure instinct to shift when there was danger.
Unfortunately, his demon was an evil bastard that had been broken long ago, and the fucking thing listened to Valefor. He’d been trained like a dog to be loyal to his master. He didn’t think critically; he just heard and obeyed.
Meph knew what would happen once he shifted, which was why he needed a binding vow.
“Swear to me you’ll let her go back to Earth first.”
“I’ll do no such thing.” Valefor remained calm, and that made him all the more frightening. “Hear me well, Mephistopheles. I want our old arrangement back. I want it more than I want the blood-borns. You must understand the lengths I will go to.” He looked Meph in the eye and repeated, “Iwillkill her.”
He could be bluffing. The bastard lied just as well as any other demon. But Meph couldn’t take risks when he was gambling with Iris’s life.
Once he shifted, he would lose what little advantage he had. He had to be smart about this.
Hovering on the edge of his control, a bit of his demon’s power was available to him. Since he had nothing left to lose, he surrendered to it a little more.
The shadows in the room seemed to darken, the torchlight fading into a dim flicker.
Illusion. It was all illusion, his demon’s specialty, but it was effective, and he’d never met another who could penetrate it. Ignore it, yes, but penetrate it completely? Never.
“Give me your vow,” Meph growled.
And Valefor hesitated.
For all he’d broken the demon, Val was still wary of it, and anyone could see how close it was to the surface now. If the creature ever turned on him, it would be ugly. Meph wished he could tell the damn thing to do just that, but unfortunately, he’d done too good of a job splitting himself into separate entities. Neither side could communicate with the other.
But Valefor hadn’t become a Duke of Hell for nothing. He gritted his teeth and held his ground, refusing to be cowed. “If you shift now, the witch lives,andI won’t reveal the location of the other rogues. That is the only concession I will grant you. If you don’t cooperate, I’ll kill the witch and go straight to Lucifer to tell him where Belial is hiding. All I’ll ask from the High King in return for that valuable information is to be given the other blood-born twin when she is captured.”
Iris made a muffled scream at the mention of Lily. Val stalked back to her, reaching for her as she started scrambling away again. “Continue to be stubborn, and you can watch her die.” He smiled as he stretched one hand out, the bullwhip still clutched in the other. “I promise to make it slow.”
The sight of his palm closing around Iris’s throat again was the final straw, and Meph finally gave in.
“Fine! I agree to your terms. Just stop. Don’t touch her.”
Iris made a furious sound of denial. Even now, she was still telling him to fight it. But he couldn’t. He was out of options.
