“Silence!” Sally commanded, her voice a whipcrack that was almost painful to hear. Alec hesitated, glancing at her. “As delightful as it would be to chitchat more, Diamond has things to do, and Cora’s Dark One appears to be under the misimpression that he is well enough to stand, so I’ll cut this short and simply say that Bael, known also as Beelzebub, premiere prince of Abaddon, ruler of seven hundred legions, by this light, by my virtue, by my being, I do banish thee.”
Bael’s scream of pure hate was a horrible thing to behold, the rage in it so great, it slammed through the room with the impact of a small bomb. Alec staggered backward, doing his best to protect Cora from it despite the pain that seared through his still damaged body. He gritted his teeth, fighting to keep from losing consciousness, determined with every atom of his being to protect her or die trying.
So melodramatic. Are you going to be like this when you get a cold? Because my ex-husband used to be the biggest baby in the world whenever he got sick or hurt, but he has nothing on the sort of thing you’re thinking right now. As if I’d let you die.
You seem to be confused about our roles, he answered, slowly straightening up as the last echo of Bael’s scream faded. He helped Cora over a small table that had been sent flying toward them. I am the Dark One; you are the Beloved. I protect you. That is my role in life.
And here I was hoping it was to provide me with never-ending highly erotic nights, she said with a faux sigh, her arm sliding around his waist as she leaned into him, the scent of her making his head spin with need and happiness and hunger.
“That’s . . . that’s it?” Pia asked as she and Kristoff slowly picked their way across the furniture that had been toppled in Bael’s wake. “You just say a few things and he’s gone?”
“Well . . . I could have made it a big production if it would have been more satisfying,” Sally said, getting down from the piece of rock that had thrust itself up through the floor. “I just assumed everyone had better things to do.”
“But . . .” Pia looked around the room as if seeking an answer. “But that was so easy. Why didn’t you do that before?”
“Easy? Oh, lawks a-mercy, no, it wasn’t easy.” Sally shook her head. “Bael was the premier prince, sugar. You don’t get to be the premier prince unless you’re packing a whole lot of wallop, if you know what I mean. And Bael had more wallop than anyone I’d ever met, which is curious, really, when you think about it. . . .” Sally looked thoughtful as her voice trailed off.
“I’m still confused,” Pia complained.
“I think it was us, Pia,” Ulfur told her, relief evident in every line in his body. “I think we made the difference. Being Tools, that is.”
“If Bael’s gone, does that mean no one can call me a Tool again?” Cora asked Alec, her hands gently caressing his arm and chest as she checked his injuries. Do you still hurt?
Not when you are near. “Yes, that is exactly what it means. Thank you, Sally,” he said, giving the petite woman a formal bow.
Sally, who had just resummoned Sable and was giving orders in a low tone, waved her hand in acknowledgment.
“But . . . they’re just three people. I mean, I understand they’re conduits and all. . . .” Pia shook her head. “I guess I’m missing something.”
Kristoff bent his head to whisper in her ear.
“I think it’s just that we’re awesome when joined together,” Cora said with a little laugh, licking the tip of Alec’s nose. His heart warmed at the silly gesture. He wanted to sing and dance, to shout from the highest peak that Cora loved him.
“Say it again,” he demanded of her.
She smiled a secret smile that delighted him to the tips of his toes, her dark eyes glowing with love. “Te amo.”
“Speaking of that, Cora, sugar, if you’re going to molest your Dark One, why don’t you do it somewhere private rather than jumping his bones right here where any of the demon lords coming to pay me homage can see? If you’re worried about Alec’s injuries, you can use one of the rooms on the human side of the house if you like.” Sally, having dismissed Sable once again, brushed past them, straightening the little red wool jacket and patting her hair. “Now, should my first act as premier prince be to restructure the hierarchy, or to install high-speed wireless Internet in Abaddon? I’m thinking the latter. I’m just a grouchy ole thing if I have to go a day without my LOLcats.”
“LOLcats? Right, that’s it!” Cora said, turning in his arms to frown at Sally. “One minute you’re being all nice, and apparently perfectly normal, if slightly obsessed about hair and makeup, and the next you’re the evil demon lord who wants to conduct the most horrible tortures upon us, and hand us over to Bael so he can destroy us.”
“Are you destroyed? ” Sally asked her sweetly, and Alec could feel the frustration and genuine confusion that gripped his Beloved.
“No, of course not,” Cora said with a glance over her shoulder to him.
“Then I didn’t want to hand you over to Bael.”
You’re not in the least bit concerned about Sally despite the fact that she is the source of all our troubles, are you? Cora asked.
She isn’t, you know. For some reason, she just likes to make it look that way.
Cora sighed into his mind. I’m missing something, aren’t I?
You didn’t happen to see a flash of light a few minutes ago, did you?
Huh?
I’ll explain it later, if Sally doesn’t do the job herself.
Cora rubbed her temple as if she had a headache forming. “You didn’t want to hand us over to Bael, and yet you told him you were doing just that. How is bringing us to Abaddon not handing us over to him?”
“Cora, Cora, Cora. I don’t know where you get your ideas about dear Sally, but I can assure you that you really are not being quite fair to her. Oh dear, is that the time? Dee will be absolutely furious with me. I must go reassure him that all is well.” Diamond bustled over to them, patting Cora’s hand and kissing her cheek before turning her eyes to Alec. “You take care of her, now.”
“I intend to,” he said gravely, amused that anyone could imagine he would do anything but worship the woman who made him whole again.
Diamond took her leave, greeting a man as he strolled into the twisted remains of a ballroom.
“Somehow, I knew you’d be here,” Cora said to Terrin as he made a bow in their direction.
“Indeed? I take it all is well?” He looked around the room with curious eyes before turning back to Sally. “I thought you said the room was full of liches and Dark Ones? ”
“It was, darling, it was positively teeming with them! You couldn’t put so much as an iron maiden down without hitting one or the other of them.”
“Iron maiden!” Cora said, straightening from where she had been leaning against him. “You’re back to that, are you?”
Sally giggled. “I just put that in to see if you were listening, sugar. I would never use an iron maiden.”
Cora glared at her with suspicion.
“Now, a Catherine wheel is a whole other matter. One of the demon lords—you wouldn’t know him; Bael had him expulsed because of his dragon consort, and oh, there’s ever such an interesting story to be told about them, but far too long to go into here since I am a busy person now that I’m the premier prince . . . where was I?”
“One of the demon lords?” Terrin prompted, propping one hip on an edge of the table.