Carla flushed, and her gaze cut to Harper. "Nothing to say?" She huffed. "Well, that's a first."
"Larkin's right," said Harper, tone flat. "You need to leave." Harper might not have particularly wanted to make a public announcement, but she sure didn't want anyone spoiling the evening.
Fingers flexing, Carla crossed to Harper. "You took my baby from me." Her lips trembled and then pressed into a flat line. "How is it fair that you now get to have your own?"
///
Fair? The woman wanted to talk about "fair"?
"And I was your baby once," began Harper, "but you gave me away – you sold me … but that was only after aborting me and trapping my soul in a jar didn't work. So, with all that in mind, how is it fair that you would think to judge me for anything?"
Carla scowled. There was no flicker of guilt, no ounce of regret, just sheer fury. "Roan -"
"This isn't about him," Harper scoffed, voice hoarse as she fought her demon from surfacing. "Oh, I'm not denying that you're upset by his death – he was your son, you cared about him in your way. But this isn't why you're standing here, shaking with rage. No. You're pissed because you wanted the lair to turn against me for killing Roan, but they didn't."
Carla's eyes flickered.
"You want, as the grieving mother, to be the center of attention, but you're not. For you, that's hell in its purest form." Because Carla needed attention like she needed to breathe – it gave her a feeling of worth that nothing else ever would. "Especially since the person getting the attention you desperately want is me – someone who sees right through your bullshit. Isn't that right, Mother?"
Just as the concierge had said, Malden and one of his sentinels were waiting near the boardroom where Knox had held a meeting with the Primes only weeks ago. He gave Knox and Levi a courteous nod, lines of strain marking his face. "Knox, I'm sorry if I've disturbed anything. I heard you were here and hoped I might have the chance to speak with you. It's important."
"All right." Knox swiped his key in the door lock and opened it, allowing all four of them to slip inside the boardroom. Closing the door, he turned to Malden. "What can I help you with?"
Malden hesitated. "I've been arguing with myself for weeks about whether or not to tell you this."
Knox's brows lifted. "Tell me what?"
Again, Malden hesitated. "I know what Jonas wants from Lucifer."
Knox hid his surprise. "Go on."
Malden sighed, looking sad. "I've known Jonas a long time. I've always respected him as a person and a fellow Prime. We often have dinner together at each other's homes. A few months ago, we had dinner and drank a little too much hard liquor. We got to talking about the Horsemen. Like Thatcher, Jonas is not convinced that they're real. He said no one would be stupid enough to go up against you without having the kind of back-up that you could never hope to fight. I'll admit, I thought he made a valid point."
"What else did he say?"
"He said a lot of things – not all of them made sense. Like I told you, we were drunk. He talked about how tired he was of conspiracies and bullies and people always hungry for power. He said he could understand why some might be prepared to make a deal with Lucifer; said that he himself was tempted. I was shocked."
Impatient, Knox asked bluntly, "What does he want from Lucifer?"
"An archdemon."
Everything inside Knox stilled, but he didn't betray his shock. He and his demon studied Malden closely. Had the Prime guessed what he was? Had he come here with a bullshit story to test Knox's response to the mention of his kind? Knox didn't believe so, but he wasn't ready to dismiss the idea. "An archdemon?" he echoed flatly.
"You can understand why, can't you? Archdemons are cruel, brutal, pitiless. They can't be harmed by the flames of hell because they are the flames of hell. But I remember how the rogue archdemon nearly destroyed the world. I believe in the old adage that what's born in hell should stay in hell. I told him that. He said that I was right. Said that it would take a deal with Lucifer to have possession of an archdemon anyway, and that he had nothing that the devil could possibly want. But what if he has thought of something that Lucifer could want? After all, why else would he request a meeting with him?"