Samael sat down on a gray sofa and gestured for me to take a seat on the padded armchair in front of him. “Okay,” I said as I sat. “What do I do?” As irritated as I was at Samael’s high-handedness, I wasn’t an idiot. If he could teach me to ward, maybe two weeks as his lackey would be worth it.
“Close your eyes.”
On the other hand…
He smiled at me. His teeth were very sharp and very white.
Iloathedbeing vulnerable in any way in front of this demon.
“If I wanted to hurt you, you wouldn’t see it coming, witchling. Close your eyes.”
I ground my teeth but managed to find my lady balls and complied. Something about closing my eyes while I was in the same room as him felt oddly… intimate. I didn’t know if it was the bond, or just the sheer dominant energy the demon exuded, but I could stillseehim in my mind’s eye. And he hadn’t moved.
“Interesting,” he said, and I opened my eyes.
“What’s interesting?”
“Close your eyes.”
I blew out a breath but shut them again.
“Take your mind back to the attack,” he instructed. “Tell me what happened in as much detail as you can.”
I ran through the attack, shivering as I got to the part where Agaliarept was lying almost dead on the ground.
“Hand over the knife, witch, and we’ll let you live.”
“I hadn’t known which knife they were talking about,” I admitted, and Samael hummed. “I thought they meant the Mistilteinn Dagger.”
“What happened next?’
I forced my pulse to slow down, taking deep breaths.
“Mine,” I slurred as my vision dimmed. “Dead body.”
“We will take it from your dead body, thank you.” That creepy laugh again. “But it’s not yours, is it?”
The knife from the apartment. I’d shoved it in the sheath in my boot and forgotten about it.
“Go fuck yourself.”
The voice laughed again and I realized it was a woman. “Kill the demon,” she ordered. “He will want the witch.”
The world was getting soft around the edges. Distantly, I knew the lesser demons were gathering to charge us, and I fought to get to my feet.
I made it as far as my knees, barely managing to turn my head as six or seven lesser demons approached.
“Stop,” Samael ordered, and I froze. “Keep your eyes closed. Now reach deep inside. What were you feeling?”
My hands were wet with blood from attempting to shove Agaliarept’s intestines back inside him. Demons could heal incredible damage, but he was unconscious and they were approaching and we’d both been poisoned…
“Panic,” I admitted. “We were outnumbered. Agaliarept was down, and we’d barely killed the hellhound. The voice said they were going to kill Agaliarept and ordered someone to take me tohim.”
“Him who?”
“I don’t know,” I said, and Samael moved on.
“What did you feel when you knew Agaliarept was going to die?”
