She was going to stab Murmur in the back, just as he’d done to her.
HELLHATHNOFURY
WHAT’S HE PLAYING AT?” ASH SAID, DRAGGING HISfingers through his shiny black hair.
“I have no idea,” Belial growled in response, but he was getting sick and goddamn tired of the Necromancer popping up all the time. “I think it’s time to kill him.”
Mist frowned. He and Lily had returned a day ago from Ireland to this mess. Bel figured they should’ve stayed away.
“I thought you formed an agreement that he wouldn’t bother you or anyone you cared about,” Mist said.
The demons were gathered in Bel’s living room to discuss what to do about their recurring necromancer problem. Iris had spent the previous day with her friend Suyin, only to tell Meph afterward that the witch had recently returned from Hell, having been captured by Murmur for some unknown purpose.
“I did,” Bel said. “But I didn’t think to specify every single one of Iris’s fucking friends, and that slimy fucker took advantage of that.” He ground his teeth. He couldn’t believe he’d been outmaneuvered in a bargain by Murmur. He wasBelial.He was supposed to be the one outmaneuvering people. It was embarrassing.
“Do you think he was telling the truth about the Cambion shit?” Meph asked, crossing his tattooed arms. He and Raum sat on one sofa, Bel sat on the other, Mist lurked in the corner like a shadow, and Ash sat at the grand piano, elbow propped on its polished black top. Sunlight streamed through the tall windows, casting golden rays across the hardwood.
“If he is, the implications are …” Ash trailed off.
Bel finished the sentence in his head.Enormous. Mind-boggling. Catastrophic.Demons who could reproduce? It was absurd. It went against everything he’d ever understood about the world.
But he couldn’t deny it made sense.
Sunshine’s mentor Adriel had already confirmed that they had evolved souls. And it was always understood that demons couldn’t procreate because they were soulless. The soul was responsible for the inherent gift of creation. A demon with a soul was already an anomaly. So why not demon offspring?
“I still think we should kill him,” Bel grumbled, stewing over how Murmur had played him. That kind of slight could not go unpunished.
“We need to find out what he’s up to first,” Ash said. “What did he want with Suyin? He made her swear a vow not to talk about it. That means it’s important.”
“Maybe he just wants to study her or some shit,” Meph offered. “I mean, even I’m pretty curious. Does she have a demon form? Or is she like Eva and she just kinda gets bigger and scarier? And on that note, does her blood have magical properties like Eva’s does?”
“Maybe that’s why he wanted her,” Mist said. “For her blood.”
“I think we should get Suyin over here and ask her ourselves,” Ash suggested.
“She’s not going to tell us any more than she told Iris,” Meph interjected, “and Iris already told me everything she said.”
“Yeah, but Iris was probably too busy panicking at the thought of having your deranged demon babies to pay attention,” Ash shot back.
Meph snorted. “I can’t blame her for that.”
“I can’t believe Gamigin was her father.” Raum shook his head. “I always thought he was a bit weird, but I never would have guessed that.”
“I gave that necromancer fucktwofavors,” Bel growled. “Then we gave him Raphael as a peace offering, and he’s still fucking playing us. He needs to die.”
“Bel, you sound like a broken record,” Ash said. “We aren’t even talking about Murmur anymore. Were you even listening?”
“He’s got a one-track mind,” Meph said. “Kill, kill, kill.”
His brothers chuckled, looking at him with amusement. Bel’s fingers tightened around his coffee cup. “This isn’t a goddamn joke. Murmur is a problem, and we’ve let him go unchecked for too long.”
“That’s because he’s fucking powerful,” Ash said. “It’s not as simple as marching into his lair and tearing his head off. He’s got an army of souls at his command. How are you supposed to fight ghosts?”
“Can confirm it’s impossible,” Raum mumbled.
Bel stood suddenly. “I don’t give a flying fuck about his shitty ghosts. He hides behind his spells and magic because he’s weak. If I can get close to him, I’ll wring his neck till his head pops off and cremate him with hellfire.”
“And how are you planning to do that?”
