"Tell us your true name," Tremayne had demanded. A name was power, or so it was spoken by all the mystics. "You are bound by these relics. You must obey me."
It had been a little too easy. The creature blinked. Its eyes narrowed, a muscle jumping in its jaw, and then with a snarl it had spat: "Lascher."
"We can never do this again," Drake had told her, later that night. "We have to destroy the Relics."
"But—"
"I caught a glimpse of its mind, Morgana." His voice had been tight. "For all its subservience today, it was furious. It wanted to destroy us, to rein upon us agony that would break a man's mind and tear him limb from limb, then do it over and over. We can never bind that creature again."
"But with the relics, we can control it."
"Do you believe that?" he'd asked, turning to face her.
And she'd doubted, just enough to agree to his plan to steal the Relics from Tremayne and replace them with illusory ones.
Over the years, she'd come to regret that decision, declaiming it as weak, but now, now that she stared up into those merciless pits of eyes... "What do you w-want with me?"
"What I've always wanted," Lascher replied. "It has been a mere flicker of years for me, a blink of the eye, but for you it has been many. Your flesh is sagging and eating itself alive from the inside with age. You are weaker and vulnerable." It poked her directly in the thigh, and to her horror, Morgana felt nothing. "I could tear you limb from limb, just for the audacity in summoning me, but I want more." It leaned closer. "We have an enemy in common, you and me. A powerful enemy."
"Who?"
"The one you call the Prime. He is too powerful for me to confront. Serve me," the creature replied, reaching out to stroke her tearstained face with his gloved hands, "and I may not kill you."
Never deal with a demon. Never trust them. Never believe what they can offer you. The only way to approach them was with the Relics Infernal in hand.
But what choice did she have? She couldn't feel her legs and her magic was weakened inside her. She needed to regain her strength, and even then she might not be able to fight this creature off.
"I can help you make them pay," it whispered, and the whisper slithered all the way through her veins. "I can help you bring that son you spat into the world to heel. I can help you make him crawl."
Yes, her heart thundered, while the little part of her that often offered counsel hid in its corner of her mind.
"I can give you back your legs," it promised, and Morgana's tears welled again, against her will. "I will even allow you to keep this." He slid the Blade closer to her fingers with the tip of his shoe.
"What is your other choice?" it taunted. "Lie here and rot whilst your enemies dance on your bones? Perhaps you will die before others find you, others who find your weakness... appealing. Or perhaps you will not."
There was no choice, not truly. Morgana grit her teeth. "What is your price? What do you get out of this?"
"The same thing you desire. Vengeance. To crush those who thought to harm me beneath my heel." He lifted a hand to his flawed cheek, to the marred flesh there, looking thoughtful. "And I am not fully here. Something happened when you used the Blade. I was brought only halfway into this world, my vessel torn from me before I could overtake it."
She'd used the kitchen knife to stab both Lucien and Sebastian, not the Blade. If he ever found out... "Then how—?" she blurted, gesturing to the body it wore to distract it.
"This?" It traced a proprietary finger down its suit. "Tremayne found this for me several months ago. It serves as a vessel until another more suitable one can be found. I can only use it for short periods of time, however, as the body weakens too swiftly. I need a stronger vessel, one that commands sorcery on the highest level and doesn't burn out so swiftly."
Several months ago. Her ally had never mentioned anything about this, but then Tremayne had somehow gotten his powers back after the Order's Council had locked them away from him.
"Tremayne made a deal with you," she said.
The demon smiled. "I made a deal with Tremayne."
"Then what can I do for you? You want a body?"
Lascher's lip curled. "I want the body that was promised to me. Rathbourne. I want the woman gone—his woman. It stands between us. Kill her, and I shall still have a link to Lucien. If you bring the three Relics Infernal together, then the spell that should have been completed with the Blade shall overwhelm him."
Her mind worked quickly. "What about Sebastian? You could take him as a vessel. He's strong, stronger than Rathbourne, even."
The demon considered it. Its expression shuttered. "No. No, there is... someone who stands between us. I would not rise against her, not yet, and I have no link to your son. He has never summoned me. Give me Lucien. Once I have a vessel, I shall have the power to do my will. I want you to assemble the Relics Infernal and call me into being. Then we shall destroy the Prime. Together."
Yes, a part of her whispered. If she gathered the relics, then she could do as this creature wanted... and then use the power of the relics to wield him. "How do we destroy him? Drake is powerful..." Especially if he could challenge a demon like this by himself.
