Me and My Shadow
Page 79

“Oh, some very nice workmen let me in when I said I was a friend of yours.” She smiled her sharky smile at me.
Dr. Kostich transferred his horrified gaze from her to me. “This . . . woman . . . is your friend?”
“Well . . .” Sally’s eyebrows rose.
I cleared my throat, not wanting to cause trouble. “Sally is a demon lord, and she served as Magoth’s apprentice for a few weeks. I know her from when I was trapped in Abaddon.”
“I see.” His brows lowered.
“Yes, we did meet there, and we had ever such a lovely time, didn’t we, May? We had lots of fun talking about all sorts of girl things, like interesting ways to accessorize spikes, and how to get bloodstains out of leather harnesses, and just exactly what Magoth’s penis curse says. But silly chatterbox me, here I’m keeping you standing there when you clearly need to get some rest. I’ll get right to the point: I’m here because of Magoth.”
“Agathos daimon—he’s out?” I asked, trying to figure out how he could have gotten out of the Akasha.
She bent a stern look upon me. “No, and that was very naughty of you to have him banished without telling Lord Bael. He was most displeased when he heard what you’d done.”
“Why would Bael care what happened to Magoth?” Gabriel asked.
“Why? Because May is bound to Magoth,” Sally said just as if that explained everything. “And Magoth was a subservient prince to Lord Bael.”
“The key word there being was,” I pointed out.
“Exactly.” She smiled and patted me on the cheek.
I sagged against Gabriel. “Sally, I don’t have the energy to play clever word games. Just spit out what it is you want to say.”
“Well, I will, but I have to say I don’t much appreciate your attitude,” she said crossly. “You were bound to the demon lord Magoth, yes?”
“Yes,” I said, an uneasy feeling springing to life in my stomach. I leaned a little harder against Gabriel, relishing the feeling of his arm around my waist.
“But Magoth is in the Akasha, and you can’t be a demon lord if you’re banished to limbo, can you?”
“I guess,” I said warily, the bad feeling growing.
“Magoth is no longer a demon lord, and thus your existence is negated.”
I blinked at her in confusion. “What on earth does that mean?”
“It means, sugar, that you owe servitude to a demon lord, and since Magoth is banished to the Akasha and technically no longer a demon lord, then you must be bound to some other lord. Lord Bael considered this problem for a very long time, and decided that you should be bound to me. So I’m here to take your oath of fealty, after which we can discuss your schedule and duties.”
My confusion turned to outright horror.
“That is out of the question,” Gabriel said firmly. “I have never heard of such a thing, and I will not have it.”
“I assure you there’s provision made for this situation in the Doctrine of Unending Conscious, and since May was bound to Magoth, and he was governed by those laws, then they apply to her now.”
I looked up at Gabriel, a horribly hopeless feeling gripping me. I didn’t want to be bound to Sally. I didn’t want to be bound to anyone anymore other than Gabriel.
Gabriel’s lovely eyes narrowed. “What would happen if Magoth were returned to the mortal world? Would May still be considered bound to him?”
“Yes,” Sally answered, picking at a fingernail. “But Lord Bael would not be happy about that. He truly would not. And you know, May and I would have fun together. I would greatly enjoy having her by my side as I made my mark here.”
I shuddered. “Here? Here as in the mortal world?”
“Why, yes, sugar!” Her smile widened until I could see every last one of her teeth. “Didn’t I tell you? Lord Bael feels I’m just the person to reinstall the concept of hell on earth to the mortals. He is such a doll, isn’t he? Imagine me as the supreme overlord of all mortals? It’s enough to give a girl goose pimples!”
I looked at Gabriel. Gabriel looked at me. Dr. Kostich swore.
“I’ll have him brought back,” I said wearily.
Gabriel nodded, looked thoughtful for a moment; then slowly a smile curled his adorable yet manly lips. “Yeees, I think that will work quite well.”
“What will work?” I asked, watching him closely. “What brilliant plan have you concocted?”
His gaze touched on Sally for a moment, speculation replacing amusement.
“Magoth has no way to contact the world beyond the Akasha, isn’t that so?” he asked me.
“No way whatsoever.”
“Then you will have to go back there, little bird. You will present him with an offer—he will be returned to the mortal world, but only after he pays a price.”
Enlightenment burst into glorious being.
“Oh, you don’t want to do that,” Sally said, finishing with her cuticle examination. “Lord Bael would not like that, and you don’t want to cross him. He’s not happy with you as is, and if he was really annoyed? Noooo, not good at all.”
I began to chuckle.“Bael’s happiness is not my concern anymore. Especially if I’m no longer bound to Magoth.”
“But how—” She frowned until she, too, realized what Gabriel had first hit upon.
Dr. Kostich looked thoughtful. “Clever. Very clever. But no concern of mine. I must go find my apprentices so that we can return to lay charges against this dragon.”
He left the room as I kissed Gabriel very gently. “Sexy as sin, dimples to die for, eyes that could melt ice, and a brain. You, sir, are one fabulous dragon.”
He laughed and pulled me to his chest, kissing me until I stopped listening to Sally protest behind us. When we finally came up for air, Sally was leaving the room.
“Who are you?” Gabriel called to her as she went through the door.
She froze and looked back at him, her face a mirror of confusion. “I beg your pardon?”
“Who are you?”
Sally smiled as she tipped her head toward me. “Perhaps he’s not quite as bright as you think, sugar.”
It occurred to me then what Gabriel was asking, and why. “You’re not really a demon lord, are you?”
“I assure you I am,” she said smoothly. “Lord Bael himself appointed me.”