Asmodeus’ words were terrifying,but what scared me most was Mammon’s laugh.
“You’re disturbed, As,” he chastised, but it sounded more like praise than anything else.
I rounded a corner so fast, I skidded on the rug and nearly crashed into the wall.
“Oooh, careful lovey,” a voice said with the sound of clinking porcelain in every word. I looked down to see the frog-shaped teapot sitting on a small table next to a flameless candlestick. I’d run into them my first day in the castle.
My heart lurched into my mouth as I launched into a full sprint down the hallway.
I’d been in this section of the castle before, and it was almost familiar. If I wasn’t mistaken, this was the floor with Belial’s study. Maybe he’d be there.
When I sped past Catherine’s portrait, I remembered the dagger still clutched in my hand. I held it up, hissing, “Any help would be appreciated. You know this place better than me. How can I get away from them?”
When the dagger didn’t respond, I shook it and held it to my ear. “Hello? Anyone home?”
I would have felt ridiculous if it wasn’t for the fact that I was being chased down by demon lords in a magical castle with shifting walls and sentient furniture.
“Let them catch you,” Catherine’s voice finally whispered, faint and almost impossible to hear over my labored breathing. It wasn’t nearly as clear as the first time she’d spoken. “It’s your chance to escape this place.”
Okay, so Catherine wasn’t going to be any help.
She didn’t know shit if she thought Belial’s brothers were the lesser evil…
I didn’t know if any of them would actually hurt me. I’d gotten the impression that Belial was their ruler—or at least, he had been. Maybe there had been a time when they’d listened to him and obeyed. But if he’d been depriving the other lords of souls, hoarding them here in his realm, would any of them fear him enough not to kill me?
Maybe they’d do it just to prove a point. I wouldn’t put it past them if it meant Belial resuming his duties and restoring order in hell.
I swallowed hard and turned down another hall, unsure of how closely the brothers were following me. Were Leviathan and Belphegor involved? Were they hunting me now, as I tried to lose the other demon lords in the labyrinth of corridors?
A figure slid into view at the end of the hall, and I stumbled to a stop. He was dressed all in black, snakelike eyes gleaming behind a horned emerald mask with scale-like spikes. The parts of his skin that I could see were green and scaly. Seeing him was the most surprising of all; I thought of all Belial’s brothers, he’d gotten along with Leviathan the most. Now, it seemed he was a snake too.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I won’t hurt you—much.”
“Kiss my ass, you creepy motherfucker.” I turned to dart back down the hall, but Asmodeus was already making his way toward us.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I needed help. As much as I hated to admit it, I needed Belial.
My fingers instinctively went for the dagger that would summon him, but my hopes were dashed in an instant as I remembered I didn’t have it on me.
“Belial!” I screamed just as the wall next to me opened up. I dove into the new hallway and screamed his name again, finding relief in the way it echoed off the walls.
Surely, he’d hear me.
I ran, getting even more lost in the maze of halls before checking over my shoulder for my pursuers. To my surprise, they’d disappeared, but I knew better than to assume they were gone. They were probably regrouping, working out a plan to corner me. I couldn’t outrun them forever.
Hiding was probably my best bet at losing them. Belial would be able to find me whether I hid or not, but his brothers? Maybe they’d give up and fuck off.
The first door I came to was unlocked. After checking the hall again, I slipped inside and gently closed it behind me. Light from the crimson moon crept in through a window on the opposite wall, illuminating the room in a bloody glow, just enough to see the layout. It looked like an old study that hadn’t been used incenturies, everything sprinkled with cobwebs. Bookcases and a small desk were covered in a thick layer of dust.
There weren’t any places to hide except beneath the desk, so it would have to do. I couldn’t risk going back out into the hall again.
I crawled under the desk, tucking the huge bell of my skirts around me, and tried to slow my frantic breaths.
Belial will save me. The words played in my head like a litany, over and over again, until I really believed them.Belial will save me.
He had to. I belonged to him.
