Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(57)

“Cut the crap, Stewart,” I said flatly, not willing to engage him. “Do you really want to deal with the Council? It didn’t go so well for Halfer.”

“It wasn’t the Council that tripped up old Brix, love. That was you.” Stewart was still running his hands over Dev’s body, caressing him like a lover. Stewart did love a hot boy. “I should have sent you a thank you note. Sometimes I forget my manners. You really did set Brix back, and that helped me immensely. He’s making a bit of a comeback, though. I really would like to know how he’s doing it. But I digress.”

Suddenly one the witches decided this game had gone far enough. The witch came at the demon, a ceremonial knife held above her head. She probably thought that little piece of engraved silver was defense against a Lord of Hell. I had no doubt that whoever had sold it to her had promised a demonic killing machine. Unfortunately, you can’t get something like that off the Internet or at a little shop that sells incense and herbs.

This is the problem with calling demons that almost no one is willing to accept. Demons are evil. They might help you out to start with, but sooner or later they will turn on you. Being able to call a force of nature to your hand might seem like a powerful thing to do, but after a while, you forget who has the real power. Stewart showed her. With a flick of his hand, her throat came open and sprayed across the field.

“Son of a bitch,” I screamed as I got a nice coating of witch blood.

The rest of the witches were running, but it didn’t do any good. Their throats split, heads falling back like broken dolls. Blood ran and the demon licked his chops. He breathed in the death, loving the feel of all those souls rushing to Hell.

“I really was getting tired of coming here anyway,” Stewart said, brushing off the deaths of people who had worshipped him. “Now that’s over and we won’t be interrupted. I’ve thought about what you said, and the truth is you make a point. Ripping your heart out and gobbling it down while you watch really will cause me more trouble than pleasure. I suppose your vampire would be very upset. I doubt he would let the matter drop. So you’re off the hook, so to say.”

I sighed, thankful that demons really were easier to deal with than backwoods witches. “Let me up, Stewart, and I think you’ll find that my husband will be grateful.”

Stewart ran a finger across Dev’s now blood-soaked chest and brought it to his lips. “Yes, he will be grateful, won’t he? Your boy has ambitions. Anyone can see that. The Council is arrogant if they think they can control that one. I, for one, think he can do it. I’ve played around in his head, and I think he’s capable of far more than you could dream of. You think he’s doing this for the greater good, companion, but you’re underestimating the lure of power. It calls to him. He’s caught between his love for you and the need to see if he can be a god. Which need do you think is going to win? I have a suspicion. I think your boy is going to give this world hell. I think this plane will run red with blood before he’s done. That is a man whose gratitude I would find useful. He might be thankful if I let you go, but how much more would he value me if I did the one thing he cannot do?”

Suddenly that knife was in his hands, and he was tracing a light line across Dev’s very vulnerable throat. That dumbass knife had meant nothing to the demon, but it would nicely spill my lover’s lifeblood. Terror engulfed me. I strained against the ties that held me down because all it would take was a little flick of the demon’s wrist to end Dev’s life.

“Please, don’t.” I would do anything, say anything to keep that knife at bay. I couldn’t just lie there and watch it happen.

Stewart’s eyes lit with triumph. “There, now, that’s what I was waiting for. You’re awfully good at keeping me out, but there’s that terror I love. This is excellent, dear. You love him. That can’t make your vampire happy. Poor little Zoey, caught between two men. They’re going to chew you up and spit you out. I would be doing you a favor, too. This one is going to get you in trouble. Take my advice. Serve your master, companion. Give him the blood he craves and warm his bed. That’s your job. It’s what you were born to do. This one might bring you pleasure, but he’ll bring you all down in the long run. Trust me on this. In the end, you’ll thank me.”

He took the knife in both hands and held it over his head.

“I know what Brix is doing,” I shouted, giving up the last card in my hand. If this didn’t work, Dev was dead, and I would spend the rest of my probably short life trying to kill one demon.

Stewart let the knife fall harmlessly to the side. “Now, see, you really do know how to get a gentleman’s attention. I’m listening.”

This was desperation but I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t let Dev go, and there was no way to lie to Stewart. He would know immediately if I wasn’t truthful. He was smart to bring out my emotions because I had nothing to hide behind now. “He has an angel.”

Stewart thought about it for a moment. “Are you serious?”

I opened my mind as wide as I could, letting my every emotion spill across the demon. He actually took a step back as he took it all in. “You tell me if I’m serious.”

“Fine. So Brix is juicing an angel. That explains his resurgence. How is this supposed to help me? I’m not in a position to steal from him, and snitching tends to get you in hot water on the Hell plane.”