Death Lord

17

I nodded, still shaken by what we’d uncovered at the amusement park. While it was a relief to know my brothers and all those other missing shifters were alive, it was just as disturbing to see they’d fallen under the Furies’ spell and become completely different people. If I’d stayed, would I have ended up like them too?

Belial poured me a beer, and then disappeared into another room behind the bar. I stared at my drink, going over everything that had happened, searching for more clues or a reason as to why the Furies were doing this. Eventually, Belial came back with a burger and fries, and set it down in front of me. The smell of hot feed made me perk up a little.

“Where did you get this?” I asked.

“The cooks are already here,” Belial replied. “It’s not poisoned, I promise. You look like you’re about two minutes away from passing out. Eat.”

He wasn’t wrong. I ducked my head and dug into the surprisingly delicious food, while he watched me like he was studying me again.

“You really don’t eat at all?” I asked.

He plucked a fry off my plate and tossed it in his mouth. “I can eat. I just don’t need to.”

I pulled my plate away from him. “Hey, get your own damn fries.”

He smirked and reached for another one. “You’re in my bar, so I think technically they’re my fries.”

I slapped at his hand. “Nope, you gave them to me. Mine now.”

The smirk turned into an amused grin. “Would it make you feel better if I got my own food?”

“Much.”

“Fine.” He stomped into the back again, leaving me alone for a few minutes. Unfortunately, that left me alone again with my thoughts.

I didn’t trust the Furies at all. Why were they luring shifters there? Did it have something to do with bringing their missing third sister to Earth? I shuddered as I remembered how it had felt to be under their compulsion, with their words rattling around my head. I needed to get my brothers away from them before they ended up hurt…or worse.

But a tiny voice inside me was curious about their offer too. I still wanted vengeance for my father, but I’d found no way to defeat Belial so far. If the Furies were telling the truth, they could help me defeat him. Which I still wanted. Right?

I wasn’t so sure anymore. The last twenty-four hours had thrown everything in my world upside down. I’d come to New Orleans with the image of a clear-cut killer in my head, and I was ready to make him pay. But Belial had turned out to be different than I’d expected, and now I didn’t know what to think. Yes, he was a total d**k, and if he didn’t take these cuffs off my wrist soon I was going to scream, but I didn’t believe he was a cold-blooded murderer anymore. He seemed to really care about protecting New Orleans and finding out what was happening with the missing people, plus he’d protected me at the amusement park. Not to mention, there was that intense pull I felt toward him, though I was trying to ignore that as much as I possibly could.

Belial returned with his own burger and fries, but he remained standing behind the bar as he ate them. Did he want to keep some distance between us? Or was he standing over me to remind me he was the boss here?

I sighed as I finished off the last of my fries. “What are we going to do about the Furies?”

“We?” Belial asked, arching an eyebrow. “Are we on the same side now?”

“No, but we have a common enemy.”

“Glad to know you feel that way. I was worried you might go over to their side, like the other shifters did.”

“I almost did, until you shook me out of it,” I admitted. “The Furies were inside my head, trying to convince me to join them. But more than that, there was this compulsion that I couldn’t resist, like a voice inside me telling me to do whatever they said. By the time you stopped me, I was about two steps away from joining their little cult.”

Belial stroked the dark stubble on his chin. “That must be how they got the other demons to fall under their sway. Shifters feed on wrath, while imps feed on envy, which Alecto and Megaera can create and control. If they used that in conjunction with their ability to get into people’s heads, it’s possible they could compel the demons to join them. But since you’re part fae, perhaps you’re more able to resist them.”

“Maybe,” I said, though I wasn’t sure how good I’d been at resisting them. I had been closer to giving up and letting them have me than I’d like to admit, and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to stop them if they tried again. “They’ve turned my brothers into loyal guard dogs. How can we break their control?”

“I’m still figuring that out.” He took a long sip of his beer as he considered. “Although sending them back to Void would do it.”

“What exactly is this Void place?” I asked. “An alternate realm where the Elder Gods are trapped. That’s all anyone really knows. It’s been sealed off for thousands of years.”

“If it’s sealed off, how are the Furies going to bring their sister over?”

“I wish I knew. They don’t have a key to Void, or they would have done it already, but there are always other ways to open portals. It just depends on how much they know, and how far they’re willing to go.”