Released (The Eternal Balance #3)(8)
If you hurt her…
Azi chuckled, and Sam slowed the car just a bit. “What? What’s so funny?”
“He’s concerned for you. Fearful that I’ll harm you for speaking to me in a tone unbefitting of my station.”
She snorted. “Unbefitting of your station? You’ve got to be shitting me.”
“You find that amusing?”
“More like annoying. Newsflash, demon-boy. You don’t have a station anymore. You’ve pissed off your clan and something tells me there’s nothing you can do to repair that. Not in this lifetime, at least.” She snickered and palmed the wheel. “You’re just a neutered hell-spawn in the body of a hot guy.”
This time the demon did react. My arm shot out, fingers wrapping firmly around Sam’s neck. I fought with all I had, but my limbs wouldn’t respond. She gasped, surprised, and stomped down hard on the brake pedal. Squealing tires and car horns filled the air, and Sam jerked the wheel to the right. The truck came to a screeching halt on the shoulder of the road.
The pressure wasn’t enough to cause Sam discomfort, but the gray of fear bled into the air.
“While I view your outspokenness and bravado as interesting, understand, Samantha Merrick, that I will only tolerate it for so long. Do not overstep your bounds. I don’t want to kill you, but rest assured, I will make your existence difficult.”
Slowly she nodded, and Azi let go. Some of the fear abated, replaced by dark red—fury. The demon ignored it.
“You have me driving aimlessly down this highway,” she said after a moment. She took a deep breath and glanced over her shoulder, and once the coast was clear, pulled the truck back onto the road. “Going to tell me what our destination is?”
“We’re going to obtain the skill set.”
“Skill set,” she repeated. “Is this just any particular set of skills, or do we have a specific person in mind?”
“We seek a very particular set.”
“I suppose the obvious question would be to ask whose skills we’re after…”
No answer. Frustration exploded into the air around Sam.
You should know by now that Sam is persistent. Give her something or she’s going to drive us into a ditch…
“Oh, wait. I have an idea! Why don’t we find ourselves a witch? Maybe she could do a spell, find the rock, and poof! We can all go home.” Sam tapped the side of her head. “Oh. Hang on a sec. Dealing with a witch worked out so well for us before…”
“Speak ill of my mate with caution, Samantha Merrick. Malphi is impulsive and headstrong, but she is mine. She will return to me long after you are nothing more than dust and bone.”
I could tell by the quirk of Sam’s lips that she wanted to say more on the subject, but I was happy when she didn’t. Malphi was a sore subject for the demon. Every time the demoness was brought up, rage swelled. I felt it twitch in every limb, felt a bubble build in my gut.
“So what I don’t understand about all of this is how that bi—Malphi—got hold of the stone to begin with.”
“We knew exile awaited us,” Azi said. A swarm of images filled my mind—hundreds of demons facing off on a battlefield soaked in blood and gore. “We’d gotten word from a spy in Lucifer’s innermost circle, and we prepared.”
“I don’t get it. How the hell do you prepare for exile?”
“Each royal has a Brim Stone. It is not only the symbol of our status, but also an amplifier for our clan’s magic. Presented to us by Lucifer himself at the moment of our creation, the stone holds a piece of the very essence of hell.”
“So then how did it get out of hell?”
“As I said, we had warning. I took my stone.”
“So how did Malphi end up with half of it?”
“I have no way of knowing. I believed the stone to have been destroyed upon my entry to this world. I was obviously mistaken.”
“Well, why wouldn’t she—” A loud wail filled the air. Sam glanced into the rearview mirror and cursed. Flashing lights filled the rearview window, and her foot lifted from the gas pedal. “I was barely speeding!”
The demon was annoyed by the interruption, but said nothing as Sam slowed and pulled the truck to the side of the road. Azi turned, and I was able to see the officer as he emerged from his patrol car and sauntered over. Both of them.
This doesn’t look good…
No sooner did they get to the front of Kelly’s truck than another patrol car pull up alongside, boxing us in.
Yep. We’re f*cked.
“I’m begging you,” Sam whispered. Thick gray smoke filled the cab, and her shoulders gave the smallest hint of a tremble. “Don’t do anything suspicious. If you can’t be him, then just be quiet.”
Amusement settled over me. “I can be him,” the demon replied.
Sam’s doubt was like a sledgehammer to the nuts, but she didn’t say a thing. Instead, she rolled down her window and flashed the officers a smile. “Something wrong?”
“Please step out of the vehicle,” the one in front said. He took a step back, and it was impossible not to notice the way his gaze flickered from her to me, or how the fingers on his right hand stayed paused at his holster.
Sam complied without question as another officer came around to the passenger’s side door. “You, too,” he demanded.