Page 69 of Half Dead

“I’m aware of the problem.”

“Is your love for…”

“Kane.”

“Is your love for Kane not stronger than your loyalty to a strange creature you just met?”

“It isn’t about you, specifically. No offense.”

“None taken. I am fascinated by your logic. Continue.”

I told him the whole story of Kane’s torture in hell and subsequent escape, Lucifer’s quest to find him and drag him back to hell, and my role in the twisted game.

Kumbhakara gave me a mournful look. “If I could kill him for you, I would, but this Lucifer sounds far more powerful than I.”

“He is, but thank you. I appreciate the thought.”

“Everyone sees my monstrous form and assumes I am a killer, that surely a creature with my appearance must be prone to the most primal of urges.”

“Lucifer knows that isn’t the case. I have no doubt he did his research.” Which was the reason I wasn’t afforded time to do mine. The demon knew what I would discover, and that I’d find a way to circumvent the issue before I set foot in Kumbhakara’s lair.

“What happens when you leave here without evidence of my death?”

“I lose. Kane goes to hell to be tortured for eternity.”

We sat in silence for a moment.

“Pick up your sword,” he said.

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave it behind. It’s my favorite.”

He pulled a face. “Are you always this obtuse? Pick up your sword and drive it through my heart. It is the only surefire way to kill me. Awake and straight through the heart.”

I retrieved my sword and sheathed it. “No.”

“Then Kane will suffer far worse than I ever have.”

“We would both suffer knowing the price we’d paid to save him. Neither of us would be able to live with it.”

“Kane is like you?”

“I’m a goddess; he’s a demon, but he isn’t like Lucifer.” Not anymore.

Kumbhakara pushed himself onto all fours. “What if I attack you first?”

“You said you wouldn’t.”

“I changed my mind. You are a goddess. Can you adopt a glamour so you look like a gourd?”

I sighed. “Sadly, no.” It would make Halloween costumes much easier. “There will be no slaying today, Kumbhakara.” I glanced at the door. “What do you normally do on the days you’re awake?”

“Feed, mostly.”

“No visitors?”

“Only those who deliver the gourds, although they do that while I sleep because they believe it to be safer. Their ignorance makes them fearful.”

“Would you mind if I stayed with you longer?” The sooner I returned to Lucifer empty-handed, the sooner he’d abscond with the demon I loved. I wasn’t ready to face the consequences of my inaction.

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