Page 50 of Dead Air
“Exactly!” Dùbhghlas nodded quickly. “Would you fault me for learning all the rules before dealing with a demon as wise as the mighty Cenn Cruach? I would never seek to offend you, Lord Smoak.”
“I’m not offended. Honestly, I’m flattered and I do appreciate the effort. And you have no idea how entertaining it’s been, tempting the ranger into giving me his soul.” Cenn groaned orgasmically, because Dùbhghlas didn’t need to know that Niall had given him free use of that glorious soul without making any kind of trade. That was the true beauty and magick of sharing.
“Whatever they’ve offered you, I can do better,” Dùbhghlas said with far more bravado than he possessed.
“I don’t think so…” Cenn made his eyes glow brighter, allowing Dùbhghlas to see how deeply pleased he was about the warlock’s impending demise. “All I have to do is keep the ranger alive until they’ve dealt with you. MacIlwraith and Oglethorpelive to fight another day but I get to keep the ranger, that big, dark, dirty soul of yours, and all the power and knowledge you’ve gathered over the course of your perfidious existence.”
“You would take their side? I would be a far more useful ally than MacIlwraith. How long before he’s strong enough to take you on his own? How do you know he won’t change his mind and sic his hellhounds on you?”
“Weren’t you hoping he’d sic those hellhounds on me? Isn’t that why you sent me to the top of that mountain without my army to protect me?”
“I never imagined they’d be strong enough to defeat Lord Smoak,Father of Demons.”
“You lie,” Cenn countered and wagged a smoky finger, then twirled it next to his ear. “I hear the excuses and the flattering titles spewing within that twisted brain. It screams with your scheming and treachery. You are loyal only to your own demons and you still think you can outcon the king.”
“What if I release you from our deal?” Dùbhghlas blurted, raising his hands and clasping them. “My quarrel is with MacIlwraith and his mentor, truly! I did seek the deal with you so I could gain your power, but only so I could put an end to them. Don’t you see? I do not seek the powers of the great Cenn Cruach for my own glory, but to rid us all of their light.”
“Why should I accept? I could do that myself with your soul in my pocket? Unlike you, I have all the time in the world and I find your little feud entertaining.”
“I could still win! I could defeat them, even if they have your help, and have your soul if you fall in battle,” Dùbhghlas said with a defiant laugh.
“That’s a pretty bigif, isn’t it?” Cenn swelled so he was larger and his eyes burned with fury as he loomed over Dùbhghlas. “They had little difficulty dealing with your baby Abhartach or the kraken, and your plan to rob MacIlwraith of his destinybackfired dramatically. Instead of framing him with that cult, youhelped himconsume a god and create a new one. He can throw lightning and he’s mastered dark magick in ways you can only dream. He speaks my tongue fluently and it doesn’t make him sick because he has claimed the Badb. She serves him andshe, I would not trifle with.”
Dùbhghlas drew back, shaking his head. “The Morrígan can be reasoned with and serves both the dark and the light. How do you know she serves him?”
“Because he is both dark and light, you old twit!” Cenn was spilling some of MacIlwraith’s most dangerous secrets but he honestly didn’t care who smote whom between the two and Dùbhghlas was shaking in his cosplay rancher boots. “That mother of his was descended from the Badb. She was chosen by Oglethorpe so his pupil could bend the darkness and the light to his will.”
“She was—?” He was utterly confounded, his panic rising as he considered the consequences and how badly he had miscalculated.
“You see why I’d rather hedge my bets and put my money on the heir oftwogods, don’t you?”
“I release you from the deal!” Dùbhghlas said, dropping to his knees. He summoned a blue flame and prayed into it. Despite his immense relief and the desire to crow, Cenn pretended to be amused.
“Do you know that ancient,ancientincantation, Hugh?” Cenn taunted as he circled Dùbhghlas, snickering. “It has never been uttered in the history of dark, demonic magick. Are you sure you cansay itcorrectly? Perhaps you should call MacIlwraith and ask him, I bet he can.”
“I know it!” Dùbhghlas insisted but his hands and his breath shook, causing the flame to go out. He relit it and mouthed thewords, practicing them. “The first handis that handles me, let my deed be burnt?—”
“Ah ah!” Cenn interrupted. “‘Let my deed bebrunt’,not burnt, you dilettante!”
Dùbhghlas was flustered, trembling as he struggled to keep the flame alight. “The first handis that handles me, let my deed be brunt and return the devil’s will?—”
“For demon’s sake, Hugh. Get your shit together. It’s ‘return thedevilliswill,’” Cenn sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You will need to step up your game and practice your dark charms before you face MacIlwraith or he will smoke you,” he murmured and clicked his teeth.
“The first handis that handles me, let my deed be brunt and return the devillis will too thee.”
“Finally!” Cenn declared, clapping dramatically at the plume of blue smoke that rose from Dùbhghlas’s palm. He felt the full might of his demon will infusing his spirit and heard the whispered echoes of his legion of souls returning to his possession. “Oh! It’s so good to bemeagain!” Cenn spread his arms, releasing a cloud of smoke and rising into the air as his strength recovered.
“There! I have released you and Gilpatrick is yours! Allow me to make another deal, Lord Smoak,” Dùbhghlas pleaded as he fell forward and stretched his body on the floor, face down with his arms spread wide. “Be my general and help me defeat them and I will serveyou. You may take my soul and all my power when I leave this body.”
“Tempting…”
Cenn was tempted as he pondered Dùbhghlas’s prostrate form and the warlock’s potential. If given a threefold death, Dùbhghlas could transform into a formidable demon. He’d already accumulated an impressive clutch of souls by bartering and besting lesser demons. And Dùbhghlas had learned how toraise a kraken and create various breeds of sídh, like his little Abhartach and numerous sluagh.
Cenn rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Together, we could stop MacIlwraith and unleash a glorious reign of chaos and darkness…”
“Yes, my Lord! We could stop them and I could help you rule!” Dùbhghlas said and attempted to get up but Cenn stepped on his back.
“I like you better there.” He continued to circle Dùbhghlas, weighing the possibilities and imagining how his war on the light would be waged. “There are so many souls in the Beltway that are just ripe for reaping… So, so many debts—so many souls—to harvest and new deals to sow,” he mused, his excitement rising as he pictured how magnificent his reign would be.
