Page 22 of A Study of Blood and Ichor

The damp, bloodied rag smacked onto the stones, and Vain rose to face me.

“Let’s hear it.”

If there was one indisputable truth that I knew above all else, it was that a demon should never be trusted. Their promises were veiled in deceits and half-truths. Taking anything they said at their word was a fool’s game, a cursed vow that could rear its head at their whim.

Yet, there I was, about to break every rule in the damn book.

“Swear to me that what you said was true.”

The demon’s eyes gleamed. “Be a little more specific, mellilla. I say a lot of things.”

I was suddenly hyperaware that my nipples were pebbled underneath the thin fabric of my shirt, not only from the cold in the air, but from Vain’s seductive voice.

“You want to save Rory’s life too.”

“That was the truth. It still is.”

The odds that Vain’s words were a thinly veiled string of lies should have set off every alarm bell I had. Of course Vain would be desperate to save Rory. If Rory died, it would be a waste of a perfectly good vessel.

And yet, I couldn’t shake the image of how Vain tended to Rory’s wounds.

My mind spun, and I was left with more questions. None of the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. I was missing something and couldn’t put my finger on it.

The demon cocked its head to the side, one brow twitching upward.

“Spit it out.”

I dragged my bottom lip out from between my teeth. “I’ll do it. I’ll help you get out of here.”

There was that wicked smile again. Vain bared Rory’s teeth and said, “Glad we are on the same page for once.”

“But I have rules.”

The demon made a show of rolling its eyes. “Always something,” it muttered. With a dismissive wave of its hand, Vain sighed. “Your terms, then?”

“After we’re out of here, you need to promise that you’ll let me figure out a way to exorcise you.”

Vain threw his head back, letting out a deep, throaty laugh that made my skin crawl. “Very tenacious of you, but I can promise you will find that to be most difficult.”

I would grind my teeth to stumps by the time I was through with Vain. I was sure of it. “I’ll find a way,” I gritted out.

Something akin to admiration sparked in those dark eyes. “I’ll allow you to exhaust yourself trying, if you must,” Vain said. “However, it will cost extra.”

There it is.

“What do you want?” Damn my voice for shaking.

“Oh, don’t sound so afraid,” Vain cooed. “I only desire the pleasure of your company.”

“For how long?”

“For as long as you will have me.”

The demon was offering a dangerous gamble. There was a trick hidden in its words, some deception I wasn’t keen enough to pick up on.

“For as long as you will have me.” That could mean many things and be taken a hundred different ways. And I had neither the time nor the patience to decipher them all.

I was desperate. And Vain knew it.

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