Ann Aguirre - Devil's Punch

The demon shook its head. “Not yours, Binder. His.”

“Why not mine?”

The Imaron sighed as if I were dense. “Blood rituals comprise the most powerful spells in Sheol. You can’t risk that the Dohan would use yours to enslave you, rather than drink it. All the castes want you to align with them, elevate theirs above the others. Ninlil would sometimes pick a favorite and that caste had dominion. She did it because she was mercurial and cruel and it amused her to see them clamor for her favor.”

Those were good days , the demon queen whispered wistfully in my head.

“Which means you want Chance to feed them. No.”

“What else do you have to offer as payment?” Greydusk asked coolly. “Thus far, I have spent my own money on this endeavor with no guarantee of recompense.”

Before I could stop her, the queen snapped, “You are honored to serve me, Imaron. You are fortunate I do not remove your head for such impertinence.”

“Ah. I am reminded, now, why I serve.”

“I’ll do it,” Chance said.

I touched him on the thigh. “Not happening. Nobody’s bleeding for me. If I give my blood, they’ll drink it in my presence. I’m not letting them store it for later use. And if they try to double-cross me, I’ll set the queen on them.”

She growled in anticipation, pressing against her bonds, and this time it was all I could do to contain her. The mere promise of freedom and my body for her use? Her excitement pounded in my head like tribal drums.

“Are you sure you wish to pursue this path, Binder?”

“It’s the only currency I have.”

“The Dohan may claim to own your especial favor later,” Greydusk warned, “if you choose to feed them from your own veins.”

“They can claim whatever they wish. Let them try to enforce it.” I didn’t realize it until the icy words left my lips, but the dark lady was whispering them along with me in my head.

Now I wasn’t sure where the sentiment had come from, where I ended and she began. Oh, Shannon. What have I done?

I finished my drink. Afterward I remembered Greydusk telling me that food and drink consumed here would strengthen her hold on me. But we hadn’t packed much from the human world, so I hoped my self-control was sufficient for the time it would take to get the information we required from the Dohan, maneuver on what they told us about the Hazo plans and their stronghold, and then execute our final move by liberating Shannon from the warrior caste. Oh, and then there would be Sybella and the Luren to deal with, and then I needed to devise an exit strategy.

No problem .

Okay, maybe a few .

The Imaron blew out the candle and led the way out of Club Hell. He wove a neat path through the writhing bodies. Butch flapped in our wake; the pseudo-quasit flew like a drunken bat and nearly slammed into the top of a demon’s head several times, but he appeared to be having fun for the first time since our arrival. That counted for something, so I didn’t yell at him to get down. Of course, if the spell wore off in midflight, I’d have a very sad dog on my hands.

On the street, the night had gotten colder as the moon rose, as if it streamed icy breath down toward us. I shivered and Chance drew me against his side. He laid a gentle kiss against my hair.

“Why wouldn’t you let me help you?”

I knew what he meant. And it was complicated. I mean, I’d let Kel give his blood to the witch in Catemaco. But it felt different with Chance. I could accept it from Kel because it was his job. He’d been assigned to protect me, and he’d chosen a compact with the witch as part of his orders. I also thought Kel could protect himself from harmful spells. So maybe that was it. Chance seemed more vulnerable, even less at home in this fucked-up world than I was. I had to look out for him.

Greydusk pulled a little ahead of us as he walked, scouting, I suspected. If there was trouble, he would loop back and let us know. In the meantime, it permitted us to talk on the way to meet the Dohan. I wondered what they’d make of my eyes.

“I don’t want you hurt because of me,” I answered at last. “You know how you said it kills you to see me taking crazy risks? I feel the same way about you.”

“You do?” Some of the tight, injured pride faded from his face.

“Yeah. God, Chance, you were the first guy I ever loved. You’ll probably be the last.”

“I want to be,” he whispered.

A dark feeling came over me then. Like I could wrap him up in my arms, but it wouldn’t be forever. No matter how much I wanted it, or how much I believed in his feelings. He was one man I couldn’t keep.

Somehow, I pushed past the foreboding and blamed it on the demon queen fucking with me. I found the strength to tease. “You want it all with me, huh? House. Kids. The whole nine?”

Honestly, I expected him to panic. Instead, he stepped closer and in instinctive response I pressed into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me. Demons surged around us, muttering about uncontrollable Luren urges, but half of their ire contained an edge of envy. At least that many wished they were in Chance’s arms instead of me, even here, where beauty came in forms so powerful that it doubled as a weapon.

He brushed my lips gently with his and said, “Yes.” Another kiss. “Yes.” Yet one more, this the deepest and longest of all. “And again, yes.”

“Did you just propose?”

He smiled. “Technically, I think you did.”

“But I was kidding.”

“Then I’ll have to do it right…at a better time.”

If we made it out of Sheol, I looked forward to that day.

He went on. “Is that what you want too? A future with me?”

The old Chance had never been so direct with his questions or so plain in his intentions. I believed that he’d changed—or maybe it was more accurate to say he’d come back to the way he’d been with Lily, instead of the broken, guarded man he had been with me. On a street in Sheol wasn’t where I’d have chosen to have this conversation, but a throwaway remark got us here. I wouldn’t blow him off when he’d put himself out there.

“Yes. I love you, Chance.” It was time to say the words because he’d done what he set out to do—win my heart again. I was his, as much as I ever had been. Hell, the guy had stuck by me through this, through some super-crazy shit. It couldn’t have been awesome to learn I had a demon queen rattling around in my head, but he wasn’t running. He could’ve. Not home, maybe, but he could’ve said, Okay, this is just too weird. This is where I get off the crazy train. But no, he took some time to process and then came back for more.

With more than a little regret, I broke away, as I wanted to make out with Chance for about an hour, but I didn’t trust those urges. They might not belong entirely to me. The queen cackled quietly. Can you trust your feelings at all, Binder? Maybe I’m making you love him too .

“That’s bullshit,” I said aloud.

Chance glanced at me, but he knew what was going on. His mouth tightened, but he didn’t complain. How much of his patient understanding belongs to him, the queen wondered, and how much to my consort? This time I ignored her. Sighing, I hurried to catch up with Greydusk. Chance followed, his steps quick and light.

“All clear?” I asked quietly.

The Imaron nodded. “So far, so good. We have a clean run to the Dohan complex.”

As I recalled, each caste had territory in the city. “Where are we now?” Presumably his house sat within the boundaries of the Imaron sector, but Club Hell had been open to all castes, so it made sense that it would lie in neutral ground, so this must be…“The Barrens?”