Death Lord

18

“But there must be a way to defeat them,” I said. And you, I mentally added.

“They’re Elder Gods, like me, so they can’t be killed,” he said. “We could kill the bodies they’re possessing, but just like you can’t remove all anger or jealousy from the world, we can’t destroy them either. We need to either contain them in a specially crafted tomb made by the fae, or use a Void key to open a portal to send them back.”

“And we don’t have either one of those,” I said with a groan.

“Nope.”

Getting a tomb made by the fae would take too long, I suspected. If they agreed to help us at all. You never knew with the fae. “How do we get a Void key then?”

Belial smirked again, his eyes flashing with dark humor. “Why, so you can use it on me next?”

I hid my smile with my drink. “Well, now that you’ve given me the idea...”

He shook his head, but didn’t seem especially worried. “My father had one, and together we were able to send Pestilence back to Void, but apparently we unknowingly let two Furies in at the same time. But the Void key was destroyed, and I’m not sure where to get another.”

I tapped my fingers on the bar as I pondered our next move. “I could ask Loki. If there’s anyone who knows how to find some rare artifact, it’s probably him.”

“Loki?” Belial practically spat the name. “Could we really trust anything the trickster tells us?”

“Do you have any better ideas?” I tilted my head, staring him down. “Ask your parents, maybe?”

He grimaced at that. “No way. Besides, they’re in Hell right now, and I don’t have a key to go there either.”

“Sounds like Loki is our best option then.” I extended my hand. “Give me back my phone and I’ll text him now.”

Belial scowled at me, but he reached in his pocket and got out my phone, then slid it along the bar. I grabbed it and immediately saw a message from my friend Mirabella asking me if I was okay. She was half-fae and half-demon like me, and together we’d worked as messengers between the two sides, going back and forth between Earth and Faerie. I’d given up the job once my father started his rebellion against Lucifer, but I’d remained friends with Mirabella through it all. I shot her off a quick reply, saying I was fine and I’d catch up with her soon, then sent another message to Loki, asking if I could talk to him, noting that it was urgent. Hopefully he would respond quickly. Loki was the kind of guy who called on you when he felt like it, not the other way around.

“I sent him a message,” I said, and then quickly stashed the phone in my pocket before Belial could try to take it away. “Hopefully he responds soon. He’ll likely want to meet in person.”

Belial rested his hands on the bar on either side of me, towering over me. “If you’re going to see him, I’m coming with you.”

“Only if you play nice. He won’t help us if you’re rude.”

“I’m always nice.”

“We both know that’s not true.” I held up my cuffs. “If you were, you’d take these off and let me go back to my hotel.”

“No, I think it’s best I keep an eye on you.” He c****d his head. “But I suppose we could get your things from the hotel.”

“So you plan to keep me a prisoner for a while?” I asked, holding up my hands. The silver cuffs winked in the light, and his eyes fell to them.

“For now, yes. Show me you can be trusted, and maybe that will change.”

“How exactly am I supposed to do that?” I asked, blowing out a breath in frustration.

He caught my wrists in his hands. “Stop fighting me and we’ll find out.”

At his touch, electricity seemed to zip along my skin, and my heart skipped a beat. His thumbs slowly rubbed my skin along the edge of the cuffs as he stared into my eyes, and within them I saw a hunger there that made my breath catch.

“I’m not fighting you,” I said, my voice little more than a whisper. I bit my lip, and his gaze flickered to the motion, and then came back up to my eyes. The need in his eyes grew stronger, and he pulled me forward by the wrists, making me lean against the bar.

One of his hands came up to slide into my hair, turning my head slightly. His nose brushed along my neck as he breathed me in, and all I could do was melt into his touch, craving more. His breath moved across my skin lightly, traveling up my neck and to my chin and then to my mouth, where I eagerly waited for him to kiss me. Or throw me down on this bar and spread my legs for him.

Then a door banged open, and the spell was broken.

I jumped back, yanking away from Belial as I turned to face the sound. Yumi, the bartender from last night, stood in the doorway, her eyes moving between us. She looked at me suspiciously for a few moments and then headed toward the bar, shaking her head. Belial busied himself with tidying up our empty drinks, his face calm and collected, like we hadn’t just been about to kiss...or more.

“Can you handle the bar tonight?” he asked Yumi. “I have something I need to handle.”

“Of course.” Yumi shot me another long glance, but nodded at Belial. “Be safe.”

“It’s not me you need to worry about,” he said with a grunt as he stepped out from behind the bar.

“Are you so sure about that?” Yumi asked, crossing her arms as she stared at me.