September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(83)

Those words echoed in my head, and for a moment I thought I might pee my pants in sheer terror.

Shya gaped at him with his mouth open in shock and anger. “I need her, and you damn well know it. She’s not an option. There’s your payment.”

Saber glanced at the bound man and shrugged. “What makes him so special?”

“It’s a life. A pitiful human life. You have no right to ask for more.” The heat of Shya’s growing ire caused the atmosphere to pulse and burn. It felt like the sun on the hottest day of summer. I considered jumping into the pool if only to rid myself of the wretched feeling. Arys held my hand, and his soothing energy helped.

“You’re asking me for help. I have every right.” Saber wasn’t backing down. “Give me the Hound or let me leave.”

“Alexa isn’t property for you to bargain over,” Arys spat, losing his temper. “There’s a reason Lilah never wanted you, Shya. You’re unworthy of acquiring anything on your own. Using other people as pawns, playing them against each other, you’re nothing but a f*cking puppet master with no real authority. We are going to end you.”

Uh oh. I expected Shya to kill us both right then and there. Especially when Saber burst into laughter.

Instead, Shya merely smiled, the fakest, most plastic-looking of smiles. “Is that so? By all means, please do. Oh wait a minute, you can’t. Not while Alexa is still mortal anyway.”

“The vampire is right, Shya,” Saber said when he managed to stop laughing. “There is a valid reason why Lilah didn’t want you for anything more than a servant. You should just be glad that she’s gone, for now.”

“Tell me what you know about the scroll!” The screech Shya let out was astounding. It hurt my ears, and I cringed when the rising heat of his rage continued to grow.

The two demons glared at one another. I took a few steps back, pulling Arys with me. Unfortunately, no amount of distance would ever make me safe from Shya.

Finally Saber gave a short nod and said, “I will tell you. And you will never call on my name again. I want no affiliation with you, Shya.” Pausing, Saber met my gaze, and I trembled. When he spoke again, it felt like his words were for me more than Shya. “The scroll is no longer a physical object. The ritual written upon it has been transformed, made incorporeal. There is one keeper of the key to Lilah’s kingdom now. And all who know it are forbidden to speak that name. That is why you will never find it.”

“Liar!” Shya hissed.

With a sweep of his hands, the flames rose until they stood high above us. Saber was enveloped in a cloud of sulfuric smoke. When it cleared he was gone, along with the man in the center of the pentagram.

I didn’t know what to make of Saber’s declaration. It could be a lie. But if it wasn’t, then what?

I exchanged a look with Arys. I couldn’t decide if this was good news, or very, very bad. I held so tight to Arys’s hand I could feel bones grinding beneath my fingers. He was oblivious, watching Shya with veiled suspicion. The demon swore at the fire, and it promptly went out.

Turning on us, he clenched his hands into fists and flapped his massive wings a few times. “Don’t enjoy this too much. The longer it takes me to find the keeper of that key, the longer I make your lives miserable.” To a few demons lurking nearby, he shouted, “What are you looking at? I will be your king, and you will all bow down to me.”

That sounded like crazy talk to me. Watching Shya meltdown was not on my to-do list. He was terrifying when calm. I imagined he would be a total mess during a tirade.

A vibration in my pocket indicated someone was trying to reach me. It didn’t seem like the best time to check a text message, but I had to know. I slid the phone from my pocket to find a message from Jez that said: Can’t reach Kale. At TSR waiting for Arrow. I slipped. So sorry.

Panic seized me as I thought of Jez waiting at The Spirit Room for a fix. Arrow would be all too happy to provide it. There was no way in hell I was staying at Shya’s a moment longer.

“Shya, I need to leave, and you’re going to let me,” I said, daring to anger him further. “I have a friend in need. Since you’re back to square one, you’re going to let me walk out of here, and you’ll have Falon return my things.”

It took effort to keep my knees from knocking together. Those red snake eyes fell upon me, and I stared steadily into him.

“I’ll do no such thing.”

“You can’t keep me here until I become old and grey just in case you find the f*cking scroll,” I shouted, losing my own temper now. “I am walking out of here, away from this filthy demon party and away from you. The only way you’ll stop me is if you kill me. And I don’t think you want to do that yet, do you?”

Shya’s gaze never wavered. So intently was he transfixed on me that for a moment I thought he might actually kill me.

Arys added, “Just let us go, Shya. Have Falon follow us if you like, or anyone else for that matter. But we’re leaving.” There was no room for argument in Arys’s tone. Like me, he’d had enough.

Shya stared at us in stony silence. I braced, expecting the worst. It took a lot to muster my best “don’t f*ck with me” expression. Shya was one of few people I truly feared.

“You know what? Go ahead. Leave.” Each word brought Shya a step closer until he was standing directly in front of me. He didn’t waste time with Arys. It was me he glowered at. “You just became a waste of resources anyway. But know this, if you willfully bring about your own death, I will make you suffer.”