“Well, I’m sure your parents cared about their daughter, and the last thing they wanted was a demon like me hunting you down to use your blood in a spell.” Murmur smiled without remorse. “So by keeping the truth hidden, even from you, it assured no one ever learned of you. I only did from a vision. Lucky me.”
She ran a hand through her hair. “This is too much to process. I’m not even sure I believe you.”
“The truth is not dependent upon your belief in it.”
“Ifit is the truth, then what happened to him? My mother told me he died of an illness. But if he was a demon, there’s no way that’s true.”
“It’s not. It was Lucifer. As I told you, the High King seeks out demons he believes to have evolved so he can kill them and claim their souls for his power source.”
Her hand rose to her mouth. “He was killed?”
“Gamigin broke the rules by escaping Hell and living as a human on Earth, so he was free game for Lucifer to eliminate without consequence. Many have tried to do the same, and all have failed. Then Belial and his so-called brothers came along. Somehow, they managed to persuade Heaven to allow them to live freely on Earth. But regardless of whether the rules have been changed, Lucifer will still kill them if he has the chance.”
But Suyin seemed to barely be listening. “You’re saying my father’s—Gamigin’s soul is trapped right now. By Lucifer.”
“Yes.”
“He’s stuck in a horrible prison of endless suffering, like in your vision?”
“Correct.”
“And if your spell succeeds, he’ll be free? So he can go wherever he deserves to spend the afterlife?”
“Also correct.”
“With … my mother’s soul, maybe.”
“Perhaps, yes.”
To his vast surprise, Suyin’s eyes filled with tears.
Murmur blinked at the sight. He’d done all manner of things to her—isolation, starvation, threats, terrorizing her with his souls—and never once had she shed a single tear. But now, at the mention of her dead parents, her eyes filled with emotion.
She turned around and leaned her back against the desk beside him, dropping her head into her hands. Her hair fell over her face, and she stayed like that, silent and unmoving, for long enough that Murmur began to feel mild concern.
“Suyin,” he said gently. “As fascinating as the sight of your mental breakdown is, might I suggest you speed up the process a little? I’m rather bored.”
Her head snapped up, and she pinned him with a furious glare. “You’re kidding me, right? You just dropped this bombon me, told me that my entire life is a lie, and you’reboredby my emotional reaction? Fuck you.”
He nodded with approval. This mood was much better. He preferred her anger to watching her shut down.
“You’re an asshole.”
“Yes. Are we done now?”
She pushed off the desk and seemed to shake the remnants of shock from herself. A strange sense of pride filled him. She kept surprising him, and he kept liking it.
He didn’t regret telling her his secrets either. He wasn’t entirely sure why. It served no purpose to him. If anything, it hindered his progress, wasting the time it took to answer her questions.
His death vision was drawing closer by the hour, but all of a sudden, he was in no rush to get back to work. Part of it was simply because it felt good to finally explain the inner workings of his mind to another. He’d never revealed his plan to anyone, and speaking of it for the first time brought a certain clarity to his unstable thoughts. Even the ever-present screams of the souls in his head had lessened in intensity.
Another part was that he liked how Suyin’s mind worked. She reminded him of himself long ago, before the tormented souls and visions of the future had whittled away the edges of his sanity.
She was a distraction he didn’t need … but perhaps one he wanted.
If his plan failed, he would die. He supposed that would cause anyone to behave a little recklessly. As long as it didn’t completely derail his progress, he decided there was nothing wrong with enjoying himself a little. He’d certainly spent enough time being miserable and alone in his lair.
He smacked a palm on the desk suddenly. “We’ll cast the spell tomorrow. I’ll finish repainting the lines with Raphael’s blood and then—”
