Page 25 of Run Like the Devil

I peered down at the paper, then tapped on one. “It seems as if she has done fine. There is a similar number of souls as before, growth in line with what we had before.”

“There have been skirmishes with the souls owned by the other Lords. Things are far more chaotic because the souls she owns do not fear nor respect her.”

“That takes time to happen. You have watched how many Demon Lords take over? It is always an adjustment. The damned always press their luck and test the new Lord. That happens even in the most ideal transfer of power, and this one came out of nowhere. It would be foolish to think it wouldn’t take some time to work out the details. Even with that, she’s settled in well.”

Meyers dropped his gaze, the lines etched in his face screaming that he didn’t agree. Which was fine. I had never required those below me to agree with me, only to obey. Their thoughts and opinions were of no concern to me so long as they did as they were told.

I hadn’t told Meyers our plan, of course. I didn’t trust him that far. The wrong word breathed to the wrong person and the entire house of cards we had built would tumble down. Instead, I had only explained my return, which he had taken as yet another sign of my obsession with Loch.

Which…wasn’t entirely wrong, and rather convenient. It gave me reason for returning and helping.

“I need an accurate count of those we have at our disposal.”

“Why?”

“They may become necessary,” I hedged.

Meyers offered me a sharp look but didn’t ask, only nodding in response. “I’ll have that for you within four days.”

I nodded to tell him that was acceptable. Given the state Loch seemed to be in, it would take us at least that long to get ourselves ready. We needed to set up safeguards in the Chasm so things ran smoothly without the Lords, that way no one noted the absence.

When we entered the Path, we would be unable to transport anywhere else. Even Yazmor and I, who had never sold our souls and thus weren’t forbidden from the Plains, would be locked into the Path once we entered it.

It meant we all had to prepare before we could leave.

Meyers stood up straight after peering at the papers and nodding. “I’ll go get started on the things we’ve discussed.”

After a wave of my hand to dismiss him, he turned on his heel and headed for the door. Just as he reached it, it opened ahead of him.

And standing there in the doorway was the one face I truly wanted to see. Even with the dark circles under her eyes, the exhaustion hanging on her, Loch was unfailingly lovely to me.

Meyers acknowledged her with a short, quick nod, then slid past her to leave. He had no idea what had happened—no one outside of the Lords did—but one look at her said she wasn’t in any mood to deal with Meyers. He must have picked up on it because he didn’t so much as attempt to speak to her.

I didn’t move even when Meyers closed the door behind him, shutting Loch and I in together.

It was strange to look at her looking unharmed. The way she dragged her feet, the slumping of her shoulders—it reminded me of the time she had come to me after getting hurt.

Except her body carried no signs of injuries. I almost wished it had. Physical wounds could heal. Mental wounds were a far more difficult thing to resolve.

“Hey,” she said, her voice soft as she acknowledged me.

“I apologize if I overstepped my bounds.” I waved at the papers covering the table. “I had nothing else to do, so thought I could pass the time taking care of smaller tasks.”

She smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. Instead, it felt forced, as though she knew smiling was the proper response even if she didn’t feel it. “You never can just admit you were trying to help me, can you?”

Her words caused a warmth in my chest, feeling as if they created a bridge between us, one that made me feel as if we were close. She had always felt so far away, something I wanted but knew better than to touch. Now she knew the truth about me, and the idea that we knew each other well eased some tension inside me.

Of course, she wasn’t wrong about me, so instead of admitting anything, I reached for facts. “Meyers will have a full accounting of the souls you have bound to you in four days. I have already spoken to the other Lords, and they are gathering the same.”

“Why do we need that?”

“We don’t know what will help but going into a war without knowing our own strength would be asking for disaster. There is no way to plan unless we know what we have at our disposal.”

“This isn’t a war.”

“Isn’t it? I hope that we can get the upper hand on Hubis by taking him by surprise, but that is far from guaranteed. Should we fail there, it is vital that we know what we can fight with.”

Loch came farther into the room, each step showing just how tired she seemed. She went to the couch and all but collapsed onto it.

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