Ecstasy Unveiled(106)

“Then Satan will,” he purred. “He will want that necklace, and he’ll give me anything I want. You know the saying, it’s better to rule in hell than serve in Heaven.”

Lore snorted. “I have never met bigger assholes than fallen angels. Why work with Roag, though?” Lore’s hand slipped beneath his jacket, and Idess figured he was going for another weapon. “What concern is it of yours if my brothers are punished?”

“Surely you understand binding contracts.” Behind him, one of the impaled demons screeched, and Rami closed his eyes as if savoring the sound, and his voice was almost trancelike when he answered. “I had one with Roag. He used his black market and underground contacts to discover who Idess’s Primori were, and in return, I was to give him anything he wanted. When he disappeared, I thought I was off the hook.”

“Because you believed he was dead.” In a movement so fast Idess didn’t see it until it was over, Lore sent a throwing knife at Rami’s head.

“Yes.” Rami slid to the left, and the blade whooshed harmlessly past his ear. His eyes were still closed. “But as it turns out, my contract is still valid. The terms are harsh. If I don’t succeed in destroying your brothers’ lives and breaking them apart, I will… disintegrate.”

“That would be too bad,” Lore drawled.

Idess’s mind churned into high gear. “Roag was how you knew Kynan was charmed,” she mused. “He’d been eavesdropping on his brothers.” Kynan had received his charm well after Rami fell, so he couldn’t have known about the human’s Marked Sentinel status. She gripped the crossbow securely and raised her voice, because ultimately, none of this mattered, and they didn’t have much time before the wine powder wore off and Rami could flash out of there. “Where is the child? I need to return him to his family.”

“You don’t need to do anything but suffer.” Rami’s eyes popped open, and from them came an unholy, blinding glow. In a blast of heat and blood, he exploded out of his beautiful skin and into a black, wraithlike creature dripping with shredded flesh. The very air screamed with fury, and the crucified demons shriveled like crushed paper. Their souls escaped their bodies and scrambled around the room, more terrified now than they had been when they were hanging from the walls.

An inky wind howled from inside a dark cavern at the rear of the chamber. The ground beneath Idess’s feet bucked and rumbled. The wind snaked out of the opening in a billowing cloud of rank smoke and swirled around them, its roar blending with the sounds of the demon souls’ agonized shrieks. Idess covered her ears, but within seconds, the gruesome noises stopped. The souls had vanished.

Dear God, Rami had destroyed them. He had the power to destroy souls. Just like their father.

“Now,” he snarled, “I’m going to make you watch your lover die slowly.” He lunged, slammed his fist into Lore’s throat. The impact knocked the sword out of Lore’s grip and drove him into the wall. His skull cracked against the stone, and he did a slow slide into a heap on the floor.

“Lore!” Idess sprinted toward him, but Rami beat her there. He plunged the sword down, stopping when the tip bit into Lore’s neck. Blood ran in a slow rivulet down his throat.

“Did you feed from him when you fucked him?” Rami asked. “Can you feel his terror? Will you feel his pain?” He licked his lips as though anticipating the taste of Lore’s death. Lore glowered in defiance as Idess raised the cross-bow.

“Don’t do it!” She stepped closer, wishing her knees weren’t trembling and her voice didn’t do the same. “I will kill you.”

Rami laughed. “I’ve already won. You fucked away your purity and can’t Ascend. I. Win.”

With a wink, he drew back the sword and plunged it forward in one easy motion. Crying out, Idess pulled the trigger.

Rami yelped as the bolt ripped through his rib cage just below his armpit and exited on the other side. The forward momentum of Rami’s jab propelled the sword forward. In horrifyingly slow motion, Idess watched as Lore tried to block the blade. The sound of metal meeting flesh rang out as the sword bit into his forearm. Blood sprayed, but Lore didn’t falter as he leaped to his feet and plowed his fist into Rami’s face.

Rami wheeled away from Lore’s attack, still clutching the sword. Twin rivers of red ran down his sides. His glazed, shocked eyes shifted to Idess. “You… shot me.” His disbelieving voice was raw, gurgling, like the wounds in his ribs.

She jammed another bolt into the chamber. “I’ll do it again, Rami. Tell me where Rade is.”