Page 95 of Soul Forge

The demon grinned. “Try it.”

“Holy shit,” Julian exclaimed, jogging over to them. “What happened?” He was bleeding from a head wound – Elda knew she should feel something about that, but she couldn’t find the right emotion amidst the fog in her brain.

Julian moved to put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, recoiling when a vicious snarl made him aware of Vel’s presence. “Oh.You.” He scowled.

“Me.”

“Why aren’t you killing things?”

“Nothing left to kill unless the valkyrie takes a stab at me.” Reiner’s fist clenched so tight her knuckles cracked, but Elda watched her put the mace away and flex her fingers, opting to avoid violence.

The vampire studied Malphas where he lay broken on the ground, his sandy brows knitting together. “Damn, demon. Couldn’t you have reasoned with him? Vampires are endangered.”

“No,” Vel replied through clenched teeth.

“Why not?”

“I didn’t feel like beingreasonable.” The demon stood, lifting Elda with him. “You’re stuck with me until the thrall lifts.”

“Where are you going?” Reiner asked, stepping into his path.

“Get out of my way.” Elda waited for a punch to be thrown, but none came. With murder in her eyes, the valkyrie moved aside. Vel strode away, the heavy hood coalescing around his head to hide his black eyes. He carried Elda through the inn, barging the still-brawling patrons out of the way to get to the stairs.

“You should try being nicer,” Elda mumbled, her eyes unfocussed.

“No.” He kicked open the door to the room they’d paid for, laying her on the bed once inside.

“You broke the door.”

“Whoops.”

“You’re in a bad mood.”

“And?” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Vildeh.”

“At least I’m fun.”

“Reckless,” he muttered. “The word you mean is reckless.”

“Who named you Vel?” she asked, her mind wandering wherever the thrall wanted to take it.

The demon cocked his head. “Nobody.”

“Then where did the name come from?”

“All demons have a name.”

“But who gave you it?”

“A demon name is known, not given.” He sat on the edge of the mattress and took his hood down. “You ask a lot of questions.”

“And you answer them. I’ll keep asking if you keep answering.” His brow furrowed. “How can a name just be known if nobody ever tells you what it is?” she probed.

“We just know it. A name can give and take power from the demon. My name was protected until I was paired with Cynthia. She forced me out and made me tell her my name.”

“Did she use the Compulsion?”

“No.”

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