“Oh, don’t mind the freak,” the demon said. “Just a plaything the mayor picked up for his spoiled brat of a daughter. Says it’s rare. From the seventh circle of Infernum in the old days. But that’s bullshit. Nothing survived the purge of the circles. Not one soul before they paved it anew and renamed it the Keep.” The drake snorted, and the demon sneered at it. “I say we chop it up for meat. We could eat that rare.”

He chuckled at his own shitty joke, but the laughter petered out beneath the drake’s hot glare, and I noticed how he didn’t turn his back on the creature as he placed a bucket of pungent mulch in front of me.

“Eat up. You can sleep here tonight. I’d take you in the house, but Ivor has allergies, and the bastard is insane. He’ll put a bullet in you quicker than you can yip.”

Good to know.

“Wendall!” Another demon, this one wiry and tall, entered the barn.

The demon who’d given me the bucket straightened to greet the newcomer.

“Adopting strays?” the newcomer said.

“Pah, it’s just a dog. He’ll be a beauty with a little meat on his bones.”

“Ivor won’t like it.”

“Ivor can suck my balls.” Wendell grabbed his crotch to illustrate.

“I wouldn’t tempt him.”

They both guffawed.

“How’s our sleeping beauty?” Wendell asked.

“Awake and demanding answers.”

Conah? They were talking about Conah, they had to be.

“They’re all the fucking same, these nobles,” Wendell said. “Think they’re better than us. Felt good to stick it to him.” He licked his lips.

“We’re not killing him. You know that’s not the deal.”

“So what? We let him go? He’s seen our faces.”

“If we kill him, we’ll be next. You know who we're dealing with, and—"

“What the fuck are you two doing out here?” another male voice demanded.

Wendall gave me a panicked look, shoved his friend out of the barn, and slammed the door.

He was protecting me—the poor stray dog. It wouldn’t stop me tearing out his throat when the time came, though.

“What were you doing?” the new voice demanded again.

They were just outside the barn, and with my exceptional hearing, it wasn’t hard to eavesdrop.

“Nothing, Ivor,” Wendall said. “We were just checking on the freak.”

“You best not hurt it. Clemine loves that thing, and I promised her we’d let it live.”

“She won’t offer you her cunt, Ivor. No matter what you do for her.”

The voices receded.

I needed to get out of here, scope out the place, and find Conah. I nudged the door with my nose and froze as a voice filled the room behind me.

“If you go out there, you’ll get your head blown off.” A sigh. “But when has anyone ever listened to me?”

My head whipped round, and I planted my body facing the room, scanning it for the speaker.

There was no one here.

No one except me and the drake.

Which meant... No, it couldn’t be.

I locked eyes with the creature, and it lifted its head slowly and sinuously, reminding me so much of Cyril that it was fucking uncanny.

It tilted its head to the side. “Did you hear me?”

Yes. Yes, I bloody did.

Chapter Eighteen

“There are ten of them,” the drake said. “Ten mercenaries, a demon family of four, and a new demon. Blood of Lilith.”

I’d had to shift to speak to the drake, and there were no clothes here to cover up with. My nakedness didn’t bother me as much as I’d thought it would, though. Maybe because the only living creature in the room was a reptile, or maybe because I was becoming more comfortable in my skin.

I studied the massive beast, noble and regal even confined in a barn with his own shit. “Is there a way onto the grounds other than the front gate? I need to get my companion past the guards.”

“With ten versus two, a stealth attack is best,” the creature said. Its eyes gleamed. “Yes. I know another exit.”

I waited for him to tell me more.

He sighed. “You can’t expect me to give you everything until we’ve struck a deal.”

Of course, he’d want to make a deal. “How do you know all this stuff?”

“They used to take me out once a day so Clemine could ride me.” He looked down, and I noticed the silver shackles on his front legs for the first time. No chains, just the shackles. “There is no running or flying away.” He sounded beaten and weary. “But I see things and hear things. I’ll help you if you help me.”

He looked so hopeful, and yes, that sounded ridiculous because he had no eyebrows or motile features to make a hopeful expression, but he was hopeful. I could feel it.

I sighed. “I’d help you regardless. No living creature deserves to be treated this way.”

He blinked slowly, deliberately. “You mean that.”

“Of course I do.”

“And I would help you regardless because your heart is noble, and your cause is just.”

“Thank you. But before we do anything, I need to get those shackles off you and untie your wings.”

His head dipped. “You’ll need a key. Ivor has it. To free me, you’ll have to kill him.” And was that a glint of anticipation in his eyes, the sharp edge of carefully controlled rage? “I’ll tell you how to get your companion onto the grounds if you agree to my deal.”

I opened my mouth to agree but then snapped it closed. I’d been through this with Jasper, and even though my gut told me this drake was nothing like Jasper, and even though deep down I knew I’d take his offer anyway because it was the only way to save Conah, I needed some kind of reassurance that I wasn’t making a dodgy deal again.

“What are you? I mean, you’re not a regular drake, are you? The demon mentioned the seventh circle?”

“You’re concerned I may be malicious, dangerous, and amoral.”

“Yep, that about sums it up.”

“I’m only one of those things and only to those who are ignoble, immoral, and malignant. So my deal is simple. I give you a way onto the grounds, and you bring me Ivor, free me, and then allow me my justice.”

My brain did a quick workout. “You want to kill him.”

“Yes. He deserves to die.”

This was personal. I could see it in the dark depths of this creature’s eyes as if his soul was crying out for recompense.

“What did he do to you?”

He made a low purring sound, which was clearly a warning. “Deal or no deal?”

I looked into his dark eyes and saw nothing but sincerity. I’d seen the slyness in Jasper, felt the threat, but I’d ignored it because I’d wanted the key to helping Azazel. But this creature was no Jasper.

I nodded curtly. “Deal.”

“Good. There is a door that leads to a tunnel that comes out behind the house.”

“O-okay…Where is it?”

The drake turned and looked behind him. “Right under there.”

I followed his gaze and stared at the huge pile of crap. “Oh, shit.”

Chapter Nineteen

Conah

My prison is a cage housed in a room that looks like it was once used as a parlor or receiving chamber. The furniture is dusty, and the drapes are drawn, so it’s gloomy even with two lamps lit. But my body clock tells me it’s nightfall even if my comm can’t. The damn thing got broken during the scuffle in the tavern. You’d think they’d make them more durable.

We’re hours off schedule, and why that should bother me now is a mystery. I should be focused on my predicament, not the fact that we’ll get to Imperium late. Hell, I should focus on the fact I may never get to Imperium.

I try to summon my scythe again, but there’s nothing but a tingle in my palm. The drug they’ve given me is blocking my power, and the cage that shouldn’t be able to hold me is keeping me prisoner.

There are only two drugs that can incapacitate a Dominus this way, and both are produced in Imperium for medicinal purposes, used by the royal court, and tightly monitored. I don’t want to think it, but I have no choice.

Lilith’s done this.

My queen wants me delayed. But my delay will mean war, and I know that isn’t what she wants. At least it isn’t what she purports to want.

I’m so confused and weak. I wrack my brain, recalling my lessons as a young Dominus. There was an antidote. Something simple. If I could just remember its name…

The door to the room opens, and a man shuffles in carrying a plate of food. He places it within reach of my cage and quickly steps back. He isn’t one of them. He’s afraid. A hostage like me.

Maybe he can help me. “What’s your name?”

“Morty, sir. I know who you are. I’m sorry. I wish I could help you.”

My heart sinks. I’ve become adept at reading people, and there is no way this man is going to let me out. “They have your family?”

“For weeks now. We’re prisoners in our own home.”

He looks like he’s about to cry, but I need him strong if he’s going to help at all. I need to get back to Fee.

They left her behind. They told me that much, and if I know Fee, she’ll try to find me, but that’s a bad idea. Even with Mal in tow, it’s a bad move. There are ten of them, armed and dangerous. They don’t want me dead, but they won’t hesitate to kill Mal and Fee if they come after me. The fact they left her alive the first time was pure luck on her part and stupidity on theirs. They have no idea how tenacious she is.

I lock gazes with the man who owns this house. I have to try. “Listen to me. I can free you if you free me. I can make sure these mercenaries are stopped.”

He shakes his head sadly. “Even if I let you out, you won’t get far before they capture you again. And then it’ll be my family at risk. My wife and daughters. No. I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”