Be careful.
Before Delia could respond, one of the demons guarding him stirred, its red eyes narrowing as if it sensed something was off.Caleb quickly severed the mental connection and opened his eyes, doing his best to look like he’d simply been dozing.
The demon stared at him for another moment, then settled back into its watchful pose.
Caleb allowed himself a small smile.Vinea might think he had all the advantages, but the demon lord had just made his first major mistake.He’d underestimated the bond between Caleb and Delia, and that oversight might be exactly what they needed to turn the tables.
Now he just had to figure out how to stay alive long enough for his team to mount a rescue — and more importantly, learn how to sabotage Vinea’s ritual without getting everyone he cared about killed in the process.
The door to the holding room opened, and Vinea himself stepped inside, no longer wearing his human guise.The thing that stood before Caleb was still roughly man-shaped, but much taller, with skin that looked like polished obsidian and eyes that burned with actual flame.When he smiled, his teeth were sharp as razors.
“I’ve been thinking about our conversation, nephew,” the demon lord said, his voice different now, harsher as it emerged from an inhuman throat.“And I’ve decided to sweeten the deal.”
Caleb kept his expression neutral, even though every instinct was screaming at him to run…not that he was able to go anywhere, not tied up and with three demons close by on the off chance he did somehow manage to free himself.“I’m listening.”
“Your friends from Greencastle,” Vinea continued.“The ones trapped below.You know I can bring them back.All of them.Give them new lives, a new chance for them to prosper and be happy.”
The same offer the demon lord had hinted at before, only now he was being much more direct about the situation, as if he’d felt the need to reinforce with Caleb what it would be like to have his full circle of friends again.
“And all I have to do is help you turn Earth into Hell’s summer vacation spot?”
“You make it sound so crude.”Vinea’s burning eyes flickered with what might have been amusement.“Think of it as expanding the definition of family.Your friends, reunited with you.Their fathers, finally able to claim their birthright.Even some of the more…civilized…full demons, ones who could contribute to human society rather than simply consuming it.”
“Like you?”Caleb inquired, not bothering to hide the scorn in his voice.
“Like me.”Vinea inclined his head graciously, the elegant movement horribly at odds with his reptilian appearance.“I have so much to offer this world, nephew.Centuries of knowledge, power that could solve so many of humanity’s problems, wisdom gained through ages of existence.All I need is a reliable way to maintain my presence here.”
It was a seductive vision, Caleb had to admit.But he knew enough about demons to understand that their ideas of “helping” humanity rarely aligned with what humans actually wanted or needed.
“And if I say no?”
“Then your friends will remain trapped…and you’ll get to watch as I drain every drop of demon blood from your body to power a ritual that will last perhaps a tenth as long as it could have.”The demon lord’s smile turned cold.“Oh, and everyone you care about dies screaming.Did I mention that part?”
Caleb forced himself to meet those burning eyes without flinching.“Give me until tomorrow morning.I want to think it over.”
“You have until dawn,” Vinea intoned.“After that, willing or not, we will begin.”
The demon lord turned and walked out, leaving Caleb alone with his demonic guards and the weight of an impossible choice.
Save his friends and damn the world, or protect humanity and live with the knowledge that he’d condemned the people who’d once been his best friends to an eternity of suffering.
Unless, of course, he could find a third option.
Caleb settled back in his chair and closed his eyes, reaching out once more for that connection to Delia.He didn’t know what she and Pru and Ty were planning…but he hoped like hell it was going to work.
ChapterTen
The Harry ReidInternational Airport pickup area was a special kind of chaos on any given day, but today it seemed like every stress Delia had ever experienced in her life had melded into one perfect storm of family logistics and demonic dread.
She sat in her Hyundai Kona at the curb, engine idling, and watched the stream of travelers emerging from the sliding glass doors while her psychic abilities sparked and flickered, making it feel as if her brain was some AM band radio, hiccupping from one station to another.Every few seconds, another wave of ley line energy would smash into her, making her grip the steering wheel until her knuckles went white.
Get it together,she told herself.She pulled in a deep breath and did her best to center her thoughts on something other than the terrifying fact that Caleb was being held captive by a demon lord who happened to be his great-uncle.
Or something like it.She still wasn’t entirely certain how relationships worked among demon-kind.
Now, though, she needed to focus on a much more down-to-earth kind of relationship.
Your family needs you to be normal right now.
