Me and My Shadow
Page 22
“His Most Heinous and Imperious Majesty, the premiere prince Bael, has not sent us to deal with a has-been like you, Magoth,” the nearest demon said, a sneer curling its lips. It stopped a few feet away from me and jerked its head in what I realized was acknowledgment of me.
“You will address me as Lord Magoth, you sniveling little scum,” Magoth snapped, his words so chilling and filled with menace that Jim immediately backed up a few feet. I rubbed my arm nearest Magoth. Emotional outbursts caused him to leech the warmth from his environment, leaving me with the sensation of having brushed up against an iceberg. “And you will speak only when I give you permission to do so.”
My eyebrows went up at his imperious tone. I’d heard him use it before, but only on his own minions, never another demon lord’s followers, and certainly not the first-in-commands of the head honcho of all Abaddon.
The demons gave Magoth a scathing look and turned to me. “The Lord Bael desires your presence, dragon.”
I bit back the retort that I wasn’t, in fact, a dragon. “What?” Magoth shrieked, leaping to his feet. “He wants to see my consort? About what?”
The demon nearest him raised its eyebrows as it studied Magoth’s penis tattoo. The other one ignored the irate demon lord, its cold, flat eyes fixed on me.
“Why would Bael want to see me?” I asked it, since it obviously wasn’t going to answer Magoth.
“I will ask the questions around here, slave,” Magoth snarled, marching over to stand in between the wrath demon and me. He got right in the demon’s face, shouting, “Answer me, you watery scum on the underbelly of a toad.”
“I do not seek to question my lord’s commands,” the demon said, treating Magoth as if he were invisible. “I simply carry them out. He has commanded your presence, and we have been through three countries to find you. You hide your trail well, dragon. You will come with us now.”
“Argh!” Magoth screamed, his hands waving wildly. “I will not be treated this way!”
I considered the two wrath demons, wondering how long Gabriel and Kostya would be getting the shard. “And if I choose not to?”
The penis-watching demon shrugged. “You will come with us. The Lord Bael commands.”
“The Lord Bael commands, the Lord Bael commands,” Magoth parroted in a snide voice. “Well, the Lord Magoth commands, too!”
“The difference being, of course, that you’re no longer a reigning prince,” Savian said.
Magoth spun around and sent him a look of pure poison. Savian flinched.
I had a feeling that if I didn’t give in to Bael’s demands, there would be trouble for everyone.
“All right,” I said slowly as I got to my feet. I slid Cyrene a meaningful look. “Please tell Gabriel what’s happened, and where I am. I will try to return as quickly as possible.”
Cyrene’s face looked pinched as she glanced between the demons and a now nearly hysterical Magoth, who was ranting about the good old days. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?” she asked in a whisper.
“I should be. Even Bael thinks twice about tangling with a wyvern’s mate,” I said with a lot more confidence than I felt. “Jim, you may come with me, although I want you to mind your tongue in Bael’s presence.”
Released from the command to be silent, Jim staggered a little with the strain of holding in its comments. It cocked an eyebrow at the wrath demons. “Hiyas. Long time no see, Sori. How they hangin’, Tachan? Been forever since I’ve seen you guys. You still got a thing for rams?”
The penis watcher shot Jim an outraged look that nearly set the demon’s coat smoking.
The sound of a man’s singing grew louder as the bar-keep evidently found Magoth’s champagne.
“You guys stay here. I’ll take care of whatever Bael wants and be back as quickly as I can. Don’t forget to tell Gabriel I went willingly,” I said hurriedly, one eye watching the storeroom door. “He doesn’t need to come rescue me.”
“That you know,” Savian said, just adding that little extra dollop of worry that I needed to make my misery complete.
The demon named Sori grabbed my arm in preparation for yanking me through the fabric of being to Bael’s presence, but before it could do more than slash an opening, Magoth screamed a battle cry and threw himself on me. Jim leaped up at the same time, intent on intercepting the attack, but was too late. Magoth hit me, sending me careening into Sori as it was pulling me through the opening, with the end result that all four of us went down in a tangle of arms, legs, and furry black tail.
“I assure you that such a dramatic entrance is not necessary,” a cool, almost bored voice said as I tried to pull my limbs from the pile of others. Jim clunked its head on mine, making me see stars for a second.
I sat up, rubbing it, glaring at Jim for a second before Magoth used my head as a support to lever himself to his feet. “Well! You might have had your servants show a little more respect,” he said, making a great show of brushing his naked self off. He made a brief bow to Bael. “Lord Bael.”
Unlike Magoth, whose appearance never changed from his original, once-mortal form, Bael changed his at a whim. Today he was tall and thin, with a long Ben Affleck-type face, complete with stubble, and world-weary eyes. Those eyes turned on Magoth with extreme unction.
“Why did you bring him?” he snarled at his two wrath demons.
Both men bowed low, in a way that implied they were groveling without their actually doing so. “It was an accident, Your Greatness. He flung himself on the dragon as we were escorting her through.”
“I did not fling myself on May. I have never flung myself on anyone in my life. I am a demon lord—if there is any flinging to be done, it will be of minions!” Magoth snapped.
Bael rolled his eyes for a moment before dismissing the demons, turning his attention to me. His gaze landed on Jim. He frowned. “Have not I seen you before, demon?”
I swear Jim curtsied. “That you have, your most infernal of all infernal beings. I’m Jim. Effrijim, really, but you being stuck with your alternate names of Beelze bub and Baalzuvuv know how it is—short and punchy is definitely the key to success.”
Bael continued to frown, obviously not remembering who Jim was.
“I was here a few months ago with May. We kicked some wrathy ass, not that you probably want to hear that, but you know, if one sixth-class demon and a doppelganger can do that, you might want to up your standards a smidgen,” it said with a helpful air.
“You will address me as Lord Magoth, you sniveling little scum,” Magoth snapped, his words so chilling and filled with menace that Jim immediately backed up a few feet. I rubbed my arm nearest Magoth. Emotional outbursts caused him to leech the warmth from his environment, leaving me with the sensation of having brushed up against an iceberg. “And you will speak only when I give you permission to do so.”
My eyebrows went up at his imperious tone. I’d heard him use it before, but only on his own minions, never another demon lord’s followers, and certainly not the first-in-commands of the head honcho of all Abaddon.
The demons gave Magoth a scathing look and turned to me. “The Lord Bael desires your presence, dragon.”
I bit back the retort that I wasn’t, in fact, a dragon. “What?” Magoth shrieked, leaping to his feet. “He wants to see my consort? About what?”
The demon nearest him raised its eyebrows as it studied Magoth’s penis tattoo. The other one ignored the irate demon lord, its cold, flat eyes fixed on me.
“Why would Bael want to see me?” I asked it, since it obviously wasn’t going to answer Magoth.
“I will ask the questions around here, slave,” Magoth snarled, marching over to stand in between the wrath demon and me. He got right in the demon’s face, shouting, “Answer me, you watery scum on the underbelly of a toad.”
“I do not seek to question my lord’s commands,” the demon said, treating Magoth as if he were invisible. “I simply carry them out. He has commanded your presence, and we have been through three countries to find you. You hide your trail well, dragon. You will come with us now.”
“Argh!” Magoth screamed, his hands waving wildly. “I will not be treated this way!”
I considered the two wrath demons, wondering how long Gabriel and Kostya would be getting the shard. “And if I choose not to?”
The penis-watching demon shrugged. “You will come with us. The Lord Bael commands.”
“The Lord Bael commands, the Lord Bael commands,” Magoth parroted in a snide voice. “Well, the Lord Magoth commands, too!”
“The difference being, of course, that you’re no longer a reigning prince,” Savian said.
Magoth spun around and sent him a look of pure poison. Savian flinched.
I had a feeling that if I didn’t give in to Bael’s demands, there would be trouble for everyone.
“All right,” I said slowly as I got to my feet. I slid Cyrene a meaningful look. “Please tell Gabriel what’s happened, and where I am. I will try to return as quickly as possible.”
Cyrene’s face looked pinched as she glanced between the demons and a now nearly hysterical Magoth, who was ranting about the good old days. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?” she asked in a whisper.
“I should be. Even Bael thinks twice about tangling with a wyvern’s mate,” I said with a lot more confidence than I felt. “Jim, you may come with me, although I want you to mind your tongue in Bael’s presence.”
Released from the command to be silent, Jim staggered a little with the strain of holding in its comments. It cocked an eyebrow at the wrath demons. “Hiyas. Long time no see, Sori. How they hangin’, Tachan? Been forever since I’ve seen you guys. You still got a thing for rams?”
The penis watcher shot Jim an outraged look that nearly set the demon’s coat smoking.
The sound of a man’s singing grew louder as the bar-keep evidently found Magoth’s champagne.
“You guys stay here. I’ll take care of whatever Bael wants and be back as quickly as I can. Don’t forget to tell Gabriel I went willingly,” I said hurriedly, one eye watching the storeroom door. “He doesn’t need to come rescue me.”
“That you know,” Savian said, just adding that little extra dollop of worry that I needed to make my misery complete.
The demon named Sori grabbed my arm in preparation for yanking me through the fabric of being to Bael’s presence, but before it could do more than slash an opening, Magoth screamed a battle cry and threw himself on me. Jim leaped up at the same time, intent on intercepting the attack, but was too late. Magoth hit me, sending me careening into Sori as it was pulling me through the opening, with the end result that all four of us went down in a tangle of arms, legs, and furry black tail.
“I assure you that such a dramatic entrance is not necessary,” a cool, almost bored voice said as I tried to pull my limbs from the pile of others. Jim clunked its head on mine, making me see stars for a second.
I sat up, rubbing it, glaring at Jim for a second before Magoth used my head as a support to lever himself to his feet. “Well! You might have had your servants show a little more respect,” he said, making a great show of brushing his naked self off. He made a brief bow to Bael. “Lord Bael.”
Unlike Magoth, whose appearance never changed from his original, once-mortal form, Bael changed his at a whim. Today he was tall and thin, with a long Ben Affleck-type face, complete with stubble, and world-weary eyes. Those eyes turned on Magoth with extreme unction.
“Why did you bring him?” he snarled at his two wrath demons.
Both men bowed low, in a way that implied they were groveling without their actually doing so. “It was an accident, Your Greatness. He flung himself on the dragon as we were escorting her through.”
“I did not fling myself on May. I have never flung myself on anyone in my life. I am a demon lord—if there is any flinging to be done, it will be of minions!” Magoth snapped.
Bael rolled his eyes for a moment before dismissing the demons, turning his attention to me. His gaze landed on Jim. He frowned. “Have not I seen you before, demon?”
I swear Jim curtsied. “That you have, your most infernal of all infernal beings. I’m Jim. Effrijim, really, but you being stuck with your alternate names of Beelze bub and Baalzuvuv know how it is—short and punchy is definitely the key to success.”
Bael continued to frown, obviously not remembering who Jim was.
“I was here a few months ago with May. We kicked some wrathy ass, not that you probably want to hear that, but you know, if one sixth-class demon and a doppelganger can do that, you might want to up your standards a smidgen,” it said with a helpful air.
