“So it’s not like Greek or Cuneiform?”
“Why would we use those?”
“To be aggravating?”
He pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache. “While there is some truth to that, we just created our own way back when.” Using his finger, he drew an odd assortment of symbols on the screen. The first looked like an eye. The next appeared as an unfinished star followed by a misshaped E, a weird W then an actual star. Something she couldn’t make out and a final five-pointed star…those must be the As in his name.
“That’s pretty.”
“It’s how a human might write my name if they knew our letters.” He then combined them into a peculiar shape. “This is how my name would be written by someone from Hell who actually uses our script.”
Yeah, that was very different. These weren’t runes or alchemy symbols. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. “So it isn’t a message to you.”
“I still think it is. Whoever or whatever is doing this is trying to set me up. Makes me wonder if it’s the same shit who had me tossed out of Hell.”
“Why would they do that?”
“That’s the question, detective. Why would they?”
By the ferocity of his expression, she would imagine what he intended to do to whoever had done this. Gone was any of the playful Luke she’d seen.
This was the demonic partner who wanted blood.
“Can I ask you something if you promise not to get angry?”
He frowned before he answered. “Sure.”
“What does Xynzara mean?”
“Blade of Rebellion. My mother gave it to me because she intended for me to be my father’s heir.”
That was a disturbing thought. “As in take over Hell?”
“As I said, everything can be killed. But I have never coveted my father’s throne. Which is why he agreed to name me his heir once I was grown. He knew I’d never lead an attack against him.” He gestured toward the closet. “I can barely ride herd on my tiny troop of demons. Last thing I want is the headache my father deals with constantly. He can keep that forever, and I’ve always made sure to watch his back because I don’t want to inherit any part of that drama.”
“So why ban you from Hell?”
He gave her a peeved stare. “Yeah. See the problem?”
Yes, she did. “So you think someone is trying to overthrow Lucifer?”
“I don’t know. I have a lot of enemies and siblings who would do this to me just for shits and giggles. Again, the old, Fuck you, Ken. My fear is that you’re right and someone is coming for his throne. But why frame me here where I really pose no threat?”
She wished she had an answer.
Luke’s phone rang out with Hell’s Bells. Without commenting on his ringtone, he answered it and put it on speaker. “Teivel.”
“Why did you kill me?”
The color faded from his face as Sorcha’s breath caught in her throat. What?
Luke’s eyes darkened dangerously. “Who is this?”
“You know who I am. Why did you kill me?”
“I haven’t killed anyone and I don’t appreciate your bullshit.”
The voice began sobbing. “I did what you wanted. Why did you laugh while you hurt me?”
