Page 66 of Cry for Help

“Now would be the perfect time for all of you to pull some forgotten skill or spell out of your sleeves.” I joked. “Because Behem doesn’t seem like the type to stop eating people with just a few stern words.”

“You’ve got that right,” Stolas murmured.

“We could use our magic?” Malphas suggested, stepping back. “What’s left of it, anyway.”

“We’ll die.” Caim protested. “Without our connection to Hell, we won’t heal. Whatever reserves we have left, which isn’t much. We can’t match Behem. I mean... He’s the Behemoth.”

“TheBehemoth?” I echoed in disbelief. “From the bible?”

“The very same.” Stolas nodded. “The land beast of insatiable hunger.”

“If he’s that powerful, shouldn’t he be in Hell?” Ispluttered. “As a King or something?”

“Beelzebub has kept a tight rein on Behem until now.” Stolas pointed out. “Asmodeus believes that Beezlebub is making a move on the West Coast. Perhaps he is distracted?”

“Perhaps.” Malphas’s lip curled. “That shit shouldn’t be our problem.”

“So we can’t blast him with your demonic magic.” I sighed.

Malphas gave me a look.

I didn’t like it. “What?”

Malphas shook his head but didn’t answer my question.

Caim stepped forward. “What Malphas is too much of a pussy to suggest is thatyouuse your magic, Banshee.”

“Very funny.” I pulled the jacket tighter around my shoulders. “I can only scream if someone dies.”

“Not that.” Caim waved a hand dismissively. “The claiming.”

Dread filled me.

The door outside the cell opened with a clang.

Behem was back.

There was a strange kind of mindset that I’d inherited from prison that I hadn’t even realized had sunk into my skin and laid eggs.

When I heard the familiar jangle of keys, I tucked my chin against my chest and squared my shoulders as if waiting for inspection.

The cell door slid open, revealing a demon I almost didn’t recognize.

Behem.

I hated that my immediate reaction to a jailor was subservience. Keeping your head down in prison usually meant an easy life, and my body had reacted unknowingly to ten years of habit.

My stomach curdled when Behem grinned, pleased at my display. He was watching me so intently that he didn’t notice the other inhabitants of my cell straight away.

If Behem was bothered by Caim and Malphas’s presence, he didn’t show it.

The spindly demon, walking like a human spider, was theBehemoth. Even I, with my limited biblical education, knew about the Behemoth. He was up there with the Leviathan in terms of monsters.

And he wanted to eat me.

“Does anyone want to tell me why Beezlebub and Asmodeus are on my ass about a bunch of missing nobodies?” Behem snarled.

If he came at me, I would scratch his eyes out. I was going to fight.

---