MURMUR SURVEYED THE WRECKAGE OF HIS LIBRARY. The portal had torn the room apart, ripping pages out of open books and scattering his notes in every direction.
He wandered over to the window and stared out at the plains. There was no sign of the approaching legions. The fires on the mountainsides were gone. Lucifer had retreated to his territory to regroup after losing his souls.
Murmur didn’t give a shit.
He didn’t give a shit about anything—Belial, Lucifer, his precious fucking spell, and all he’d achieved to get to where he was. He’d never stopped to imagine how he would feel once the spell was complete. He supposed he’d thought he would finally be able to sleep. He would finally rest, take a breath, enjoy his success.
But now that he was here, he felt worse than he had when he’d been so driven to succeed. Because now he had nothingleft. He had worse than nothing, because the one thing he wanted more than anything else had forsaken him, and he didn’t blame her one bit.
How did someone move on from this? What was he supposed to do now?
A knock at the door pulled him from his heavy thoughts. “Master? Master, are you there?”
He debated ignoring the demon. His servants knew better than to enter the library, and he really wasn’t in the mood for company. But that stupid soul-given part of him wanted to make sure the pathetic creatures who served him were at least safe from harm. Now that his mind was clear of the screams and he’d learned what it felt like to have his figurative heart torn from his chest, he sympathized with them more than he would have in the past.
He strode across the room and flung open the door, finding one of his tower guards outside. In the past, Murmur would have threatened to skewer him for daring to come up here and disturb him. Now, however, he was just tired.
“Master!” The demon began a routine of rigorous bowing in which his nose nearly scraped the ground. “Master, Master—”
“Stop.” Murmur held up a hand. “What condition is the territory in?”
“The legions are gone, and though the High King was spotted flying toward us, he has also disappeared. Word has spread that His Unholiness is back in his territory with his legions.”
He’s regrouping. And this territory will likely be the first place he comes when he’s ready again.
“So all is quiet?”
“It appears so, Master. Thanks to your mistress’s excellent instruction, we stayed inside the castle walls, and no one was injured. The legions simply turned and left before they ever made it to the walls.”
“My mistress?”
“Yes, she told us you were performing a dangerous spell to increase your power, and that when you returned, you would be stronger than ever. And she commanded us to stay protected within the castle walls and defend them, but not to ride out and fight the legions.”
“Of course she did,” Murmur muttered.
She resurrected you even after learning you planned to sacrifice her. And she protected your servants and lair. You don’t deserve her. And she deserves far more than you could give her anyway, even if you hadn’t betrayed her.
“So are you better now, Master?” the demon asked. “We were concerned for your wellbeing.”
“I’m fine.”
“The spell worked, then? You are more powerful than before?”
More like powerless.“Something like that,” he muttered, already backing into the library to retreat behind closed doors.
“Very good, Master,” the demon said, beginning his fervent bowing once more. “We are happy to serve you and eagerly await your orders.”
“Just … go take a night off.” Murmur flicked his fingers dismissively. “There’s no need to be hovering around my tower all the time anyway. Go celebrate your victory or something. I don’t care, as long as it’s not here.”
The gargoyle’s eyes lit up like Murmur had just popped out of the chimney in a red suit with an armload of wrapped boxes. “Yes, Master! Thank you, Master!”
Murmur slammed the door and leaned his forehead against it, squeezing his eyes shut and wishing he could disappear.
He had a distant memory of feeling the tether of Suyin’s resurrection spell drawing him back to Earth. He’d felt such hope then. He’d thought he was on his way to a second chance.
But this felt like more torture. This felt like he’d died again and been damned straight to the Rings.
He straightened and spun around, crossing the room to the hellgate. On a whim, he connected it to the one he’d left in his abandoned former lair in case he needed a quick escape, and he stepped through into an empty study.
