Jenna Black - The Devil's Due

“There’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

My instincts were to get the hell out of there now that I’d gotten as much as I could out of him, but I fought those instincts. I still wasn’t convinced whose side Raphael was on, but I couldn’t deny he was an important player in this deadly war of succession. And if he was actually willing to divulge information for once, it would behoove me to listen.

I forced myself to return to my seat. “I’m all ears,” I said, my voice brittle as broken glass.

“I wish you would let Lugh surface so I could talk to my brother directly,” Raphael said, and I snorted out a laugh.

“Not gonna happen.” Lugh was peeved enough at me to send a spike of pain through my eye, but that didn’t exactly endear him to me.

“So I gathered.” Raphael’s expression changed, the forced blankness disappearing as a mischievous grin took over his face. “I suppose there are some advantages in being able to talk to him without him being able to talk back.”

I felt my lips starting to curve into an answering grin, but stopped myself cold. I was not going to allow Raphael to disarm me. “So what is it you’re so desperate to talk to him about?”

Raphael sat back in the couch, the humor fading from his face. “I’m wondering if he’s formed anything that even vaguely resembles a plan.”

“If he has, I don’t think he’d tell you about it.”

Raphael ignored my comment. “Dougal will keep sending his forces after you. He might not know that you’re still hosting Lugh, but as far as he knows, you know the identity of Lugh’s current host.”

“Thanks to you,” I pointed out. Of course, I had to admit to myself that when Raphael had been playing inside man in Dougal’s conspiracy, he’d had no choice but to tell Dougal the name of the host into which he’d summoned Lugh. But just because I had to admit it to myself didn’t mean I had to admit it to Raphael.

His only acknowledgment of my jab was a brief dirty look. “Maybe even without having me on the inside, we’ll be able to protect Lugh. Adam is a powerful ally, and I’ll help as much as you’ll let me. But hiding out on the Mortal Plain is only a temporary solution. Eventually, you’re going to die.”

I must have made some kind of outraged face, because Raphael patted the air soothingly.

“I mean of old age, not necessarily by violence. Lugh can help you lead a longer-than-normal life with greater health than someone who’s not hosting a demon, but eventually the human body wears out. One of the many traits Dougal and I were trying to improve upon in our program.”

“Don’t even—”

“Forget I said that last part,” he interrupted. “What I’m trying to tell you is that demons are essentially immortal beings. The span of a single human life—even one that has been artificially extended by a demon—is a relatively short time to us. If Dougal decides he’s losing too many people and wasting too much energy trying to destroy Lugh right now, all he has to do is wait until you die and Lugh is forced to return to the Demon Realm.

“You. . That is, Lugh, must come up with some kind of long-term plan. If that plan doesn’t involve me, I’ll understand.”

Maybe he’d expected me to rush in with reassurances, because when I didn’t say anything, his lips pressed tightly together, and a muscle ticked in his jaw.

“Is that it?” I asked. “Can I go now?”

He stared down at his hands and nodded briskly. “Yeah, that’s it,” he said in his flattest voice.

I supposed I’d hurt his feelings, and a small part of me felt kind of bad about that, because I couldn’t help but see the occasional echo of myself in him. But I had little trouble hardening my heart. “If you want any sympathy from me, you need to stop holding my brother hostage.”

He raised his eyes to mine, and the expression in them chilled me. “Has it ever occurred to you that I trust you as little as you trust me?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Raphael’s capable of one of the most malevolent stares I’ve ever seen, and he was giving it to me right now. “It means you’re a vindictive, reactionary bitch, and if I weren’t inhabiting Andrew, you might do any number of unpleasant things to me—like send me back to the Demon Realm to face the brother I betrayed. That is not a reunion I anticipate with any great joy.”

I almost laughed. “So what you’re trying to tell me is that it’s my fault you’re holding Andy hostage? What a crock of shit!” His face turned a shade of red that should have warned me to silence. Naturally, I ignored the warning. “I’m not powerful enough to exorcize you, and I’m not about to murder your host just to get revenge on you. You’re the vindictive one. You’re holding Andy just to hurt me. And maybe hurt him, too.”

The fire flared in his eyes once more. I got the impression he briefly tried to control himself, but that effort didn’t last long. “Here’s what I’d do if I wanted to hurt you,” he snarled.

He moved so fast I didn’t have a chance in hell of protecting myself. He leapt out of his seat and crossed the distance between us in a heartbeat, taking my arm in a bruising grip to hold me still while his fist connected with my chin. My head snapped back with the force of the blow, my jaws clicking together so hard I think I cracked a tooth.

I’d have fallen down if he weren’t holding me up by one arm. I didn’t quite black out, but the room spun dizzily around me, and nausea roiled in my gut. I saw his fist coming at me again, but there was no escaping it. It occurred to me that it sure would be nice if I could voluntarily let Lugh surface just about now.

The second punch never connected, and through my blurry vision, I saw Raphael standing with bowed head, his fist clenched as his ribs heaved. I sure had a way of bringing out the worst in people.

He was still holding me up by my arm, though the floor was looking mighty inviting. I was pretty sure he hadn’t broken my jaw, but the nausea and blurry vision suggested I had a concussion. Still, enraged as he might have been, he’d pulled that punch, or I’d have been dead.

We stood like that for what felt like forever, my head throbbing in time to the beat of my heart as Raphael gathered the shreds of his temper together. By the time he managed that, I’d recovered enough that my legs could hold me, though I had a severe case of double vision.

Raphael’s voice when he spoke was soft and contrite. “It would hurt less in the long run if I went ahead and knocked you out so Lugh can fix you.”

The side effects of the concussion couldn’t stop the bark of laughter that escaped me. “Thanks for the kind offer,” I lisped, and realized for the first time that I’d bitten the side of my cheek and my mouth was full of blood. I spat the blood on Raphael’s carpet, but my vision was too blurry to make out the expression on his face to see how much that pissed him off. “I think I’ll pass.”

“Can you get home all right?” he asked. I wondered if he thought I’d missed the fact that, contrite though he might sound, he hadn’t bothered to apologize. “You can lie down on my couch if you want. I’ll go into another room and stay there until you’re well enough to leave.”

The idea of lying down held a great deal of appeal. But then, so did the idea of getting the hell out of there. I chose the latter.

“It’s been a pleasure,” I said as I made my way carefully to the door. Raphael didn’t answer, and that was just as well.

I managed to get home without passing out on the sidewalk, but it was a close call. No doubt about it, I had a concussion. The doorman asked if I was all right as he opened the door for me. I lied and said yes.