Chapter 7 #2
If she was going to figure out a way to escape, she needed to get out of this dungeon. There was no other way. In her starvation stupor, she’d come to a realization:
He was the reason she was in here, and he was also going to be the reason she escaped.
She wasn’t deluding herself into thinking she could make him feel bad for her, but he had to have a weakness. All she had to do was find it and use it against him.
And she was pretty sure she already knew where to start.
“Look,” she said, “I may not know enough about Sheolic magic to be of any help to you, but I do know a thing or two about blood sacrifices. And I know that a blood sacrifice willingly given is twice as powerful as one taken by force.”
He stilled. For a moment, he didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t so much as twitch an eyelid.
She stared at him, heart pounding, willing him to take the bait.
“You want your spell to work,” she continued. “I want to go home. Which means I want your spell to work, since you already told me you’re going to keep me here until it does.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Let me out of this cell. Give me free access to food and water and a proper bed. And a shower. Let me wander around your lair and get some exercise. Vow you’ll let me go safely back to Earth after this is over.
And in return, I’ll give you as much of my blood as I safely can, whenever you want. Willingly.”
There was no missing the look of intent in those creepy bloodshot eyes. He was actually considering her proposal.
That’s his weakness. His need to complete his spell, whatever it was for, was his priority above all else. If she wanted something, she just had to convince him it was integral to his plan, and he could be persuaded.
“My lair is swarming with demons,” Murmur said. “Many can’t even shift into human forms, but even the ones that can are some of the ugliest creatures ever to grace the three realms. What do you think they would do if they found a living human woman wandering the halls, defenseless and alone?”
Okay, maybe she didn’t want free reign of his lair after all. “They’re your servants. Control them.”
“I don’t have time for babysitting. Keeping them contained here is enough of a job already.”
“Let me stay with you then,” she blurted.
His head reared back slightly, and his lip curled. With revulsion.
But that was why she’d suggested it. He spoke of his minions’ intentions were they to find her wandering alone, but he obviously didn’t share those urges.
He had no desire to touch her, or he would have done so already, and he certainly wouldn’t be looking at her like she was dog shit he’d accidentally stepped in.
Which suited her just fucking fine. To her, he was dog shit too. And she wanted nothing to do with him either, except perhaps to take a sword, separate his head from his body, and watch him bleed out.
But she had to keep such thoughts to herself. For now.
Murmur smiled suddenly. “You’re hoping to convince me to let you out of your cell so you can find a way to catch me unaware. Perhaps you plan to take one of my weapons and incapacitate me. Then you’ll wait until the potion I gave you wears off and take a hellgate back to Earth.”
She didn’t reply. Because yeah, that was exactly her plan.
She supposed it was pretty obvious. Bastard or not, he was obviously smart, and it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination that she’d be planning an escape. There was no point denying it, and in fact, she got the sense he’d be more likely to give her what she wanted if she stuck with honesty.
“So what if I am?” she said. “You can’t expect me to just sit back and accept my fate.”
“Then tell me why you think I should grant your request if your escape plans are so obvious?”
“Because if I denied it, you’d never believe me anyway.
And because you know I’m right. A willing blood sacrifice is twice as powerful as one taken by force.
What if that’s why your spell failed? What if that’s all that’s needed to make it work?
Are you willing to take that chance, just to prove your point by keeping me locked up in this cell? ”
His gaze was piercing, his eyes so unnerving, they made her skin crawl. Around him, the dancing shadows of his souls seemed increasingly restless.
Suddenly, he smiled. “All right. I’ll bite. Let’s bargain, witch.”
Triumph filled her. She played it cool. She couldn’t let him see how badly she wanted this. “My name is Suyin.”
“I don’t particularly care.”
Well, that was nice.
“You were right to tempt me with your blood willingly offered,” he said “You have indeed found something I want enough to be willing to negotiate. So here are my terms. I will provide for your human needs and agree to release you back to Earth when the time is right.”
“How long will that be?”
“Who can say?”
She lifted a brow.
“However, time is short,” he added. “I believe that if this doesn’t happen soon, it won’t happen at all. The stakes have never been higher.”
She frowned, wondering again what he was up to. He was hardly offering a guarantee that she’d get out of here any time soon, but somehow, she believed he was telling the truth about the time constraint.
At least this way, if she could get out of this cell and have access to sustenance, she wouldn’t completely lose her mind before this was all over. Or worse, starve to death.
“You have to let me go … alive,” she added, realizing how careful she needed to be bargaining with a demon. If she let anything slip, he would use it against her, no question of it. “Alive and unharmed, for our entire time together.”
His pale lips quirked. “Agreed. I will return you from whence you came in more or less the same condition I found you in.”
“More or less?”
His brow cocked. “Perhaps with a pint or two less blood.”
“I want out of this cell,” she said. “I want somewhere safe where I can move about freely, away from demons. I want fresh air and sunlight, or whatever the equivalent is in Hell. I want a bed and a shower and access to food.”
“There is no such place in my lair.”
“Then make one. Those are my terms. If you want my blood sacrifice, freely given, you have no choice but to agree.”
His eyes narrowed. “I could simply walk away and leave you to rot in this cell for as long as I have to. It would mean nothing to me.”
She didn’t doubt it for a second. There wasn’t an ounce of emotion in those cold eyes. “But then your experiments might never be successful.”
He turned his head away with a growl, and her heart raced. She had him. He was going to agree.
“Fine,” he snapped, and it took everything she had not to let a victorious grin spread across her face. She pressed her lips together to hide it, but she could tell by the glare he shot her that he knew what she was thinking.
“You can have free reign of the empty floor below mine, in my tower. But you will not disturb me in my work unless I call for you, and if you value your life, you will not go wandering through the rest of the lair.”
“Deal,” she said easily. She had no intention of spending a second longer than necessary in his or any other demon’s company.
“You will not attempt to escape, by hellgate or other means. You will not try to reach out to anyone for help. You will not attempt to harm me or betray our bargain. You will cooperate with me whenever I require your participation in my work.”
She cursed mentally. He was careful, all right.
With all those stipulations, he’d just obliterated all her potential plans of escape.
She couldn’t even try, and she definitely couldn’t gut him with his own knife just to watch him bleed.
If she agreed, she would be stuck here for as long as he wanted her.
But … she would be able to return home safely at the end. She would have access to food and water. She wouldn’t have to rot in this dungeon, from which she had no hope of escape anyway.
In the end, there was only one choice.
“Fine,” she said. “But you have to let me tell my friends and coven I’m okay.”
“No.”
“At least let me send a message—”
“No. On that, I will not be swayed.”
She gritted her teeth. Her hopes hadn’t been high, but it still pissed her off. “Fine. But you’ll let the potion that blocks my magic wear off, and you won’t give me more. I’m a witch. I want to practice while I’m here. Even if I can’t use it to escape, I still want to use my time wisely.”
“Agreed,” he said more readily than she’d expected. She supposed it made sense they could relate in that, since he was obviously obsessed with his own spells and practice. One didn’t earn a title like the Necromancer for nothing.
“And if something goes wrong with your spell,” she added, “or it permanently fails, or something unexpected happens to you or your lair, then I’m free to leave.”
If she wasn’t mistaken, she swore she saw a flicker of approval in his gaze.
Apparently, he was enjoying their negotiations.
“If I give you permission to go, then you may go. Remember, your blood has value to me. If there’s any chance of you being killed or seriously injured, I will take steps to prevent it. ”
She ground her teeth. “And what happens if your spell permanently fails?”
“It will not. But if it does, you’re free to go.”
“Fine,” she said, because why not. She’d already come this far. None of his conditions were worth rotting in solitary confinement underground for.
“Lastly,” he said, “when I do give you leave to return to Earth—unharmed, as agreed—you will never speak of my experiments or why you were taken to anyone. Even indirectly, by hints, symbolism, or inference.”
“What am I supposed to tell people then?”
He shrugged lightly. “Be creative.”
“Fine. But people are going to think I fucking died.”
He looked blandly at her.
She shook her head. Obviously, he didn’t care.
“Shall we swear in blood?” He lifted a hand, and she couldn’t help swallowing at the sight of those long black claws.
She nodded and then flinched as he gouged them into his own palm. Blood welled and he didn’t so much as blink.
“On my blood, I vow it,” he said, speaking the simple yet powerful words of a binding blood contract.
Once they both swore, neither of them would be capable of breaking the terms they’d agreed upon. If he tried to kill her, he would find himself unable to strike the blow. If she tried to tell anyone about him, the words would stick in her throat.
He pulled a rag from his coat pocket and clenched it in his fist to soak up the remaining blood. Like he’d done this a thousand times. She supposed he had. Then he reached across the cell, holding out his other hand.
Swallowing, she stretched out her palm. She expected him to gouge her with his claws the same way he’d done to himself, but instead, he used the dagger to carefully prick the tip of her finger. A single drop of blood welled around the blade.
She frowned at him.
“I told you I wouldn’t waste your blood,” he said. “Now speak your vow, and let’s be done with it. I have work to do.”
She did, and he released her hand, wiping the dagger on the rag. He climbed to his feet and sheathed the weapon at his hip. Fuck, she’d forgotten how tall he was. He positively towered over her.
Without another word, he spun and stalked out of the cell, leaving her to scramble wearily to her feet and hurry after him or get left behind. Maybe she had to put her revenge escape plans to rest for now, but at least she was getting out of this dungeon.