Chapter 35
TRAILBLAZING
MURMUR THREW THE KNIFE IN HIS HAND.
It hit the charging demon right in the center of his chest. His steps faltered and he staggered into the wall. Behind him, Murmur heard Suyin cursing.
Belial only faltered a moment. He reached up and ripped the knife right out of his sternum, and then he chucked it right back at Murmur. Murmur dodged, but he wasn’t fast enough. It sank into his shoulder, in the soft tissue between his upper arm and pectoral muscle.
And then Belial charged again.
Murmur called on his powerful defenses … only to find he had none. His soul army was gone. He pulled the blade out of his now deadweight arm and got ready to stab his foe.
If Belial wanted him dead, he was going to be dead. Hopefully he’d at least make it difficult for him.
Belial reached him, and the moment he did, he burst into flames. This is going to hurt.
Belial’s palm curled around Murmur’s throat, and fuck, it felt like he was reliving his death vision all over again.
Murmur stabbed him in the side, below his ribs, but Belial barely flinched.
Murmur stabbed him again, right in the wrist, forcing Belial to release his throat.
Belial roared, and Murmur recoiled as more flames licked against his bare torso.
Suyin screamed in the background, and Murmur realized she could be hurt in the crossfire of their fight. That was simply not an option.
He stabbed Belial once more and then threw himself back from the flaming demon. The fire extinguished on his melting skin the second he was away from the source, leaving behind deep welts and bloody burns down his arms and front of his body.
“Stop!” he shouted at Belial when the demon immediately yanked the blade out and stalked toward him again. “Not here!” Murmur held up his hands. “We can’t do this here. Think of how many people are around. Think of how many humans could potentially die.”
Murmur didn’t give a fuck about random humans, and he suspected Belial didn’t either. But Heaven tended to get pissed off when demons killed people, so it was best to avoid that.
“It’s time to die, Necromancer,” Belial growled. “I’ve had it with you and your fucking schemes.”
“You still owe me a favor,” Murmur said, backing farther away, leading Belial toward the kitchen and away from Suyin in the living room.
“Not if I fucking kill you.”
“I could call it in now. Force you to protect me.”
“Again, not if I fucking kill you first.” Belial made a terrifying sight as he prowled down the hall toward Murmur.
Blood poured all over his body from various stab wounds, and hellfire danced in his eyes and outlined his impressive silhouette.
He was nearing eight feet tall, only a few inches below the top of the ceiling.
“Your fucking favor just started a war. A war I didn’t want!” Belial roared.
“A war that was coming anyway,” Murmur rushed to explain. “I foresaw it long ago. I’ve always known Lucifer would fall. All I did was arrange things so that you wouldn’t fall with him. I’m trying to help you.”
“Bullshit!”
“Why would I lie about this? I’ve seen it; I know what’s coming. But you don’t have to go down too. You can win, you can take him down, and I’m trying to make that happen.”
“Why would you want that?”
“Because I, like every other demon in Hell, am sick of Lucifer and his corrupt reign. I’m sick of the constant fighting. I’m sick of defending my territory and living in constant threat of intruders. I want peace. I’m tired, Belial. Sick and tired.”
Finally, Belial stopped. They’d made it into the kitchen.
Murmur was halfway across the room, and Belial stooped under the doorway.
He seemed a little shorter now, like he’d shrunk an inch or so.
And the flames around his body seemed to be dying down, though he still threw off heat waves like a desert mirage.
“There’s a war coming whether you like it or not,” Murmur said. “But thanks to me, Lucifer just lost his greatest source of power. You and I both know you couldn’t have defeated him before. But I just leveled the playing field.”
“I don’t want to fucking fight Lucifer!” Belial’s voice boomed around the kitchen. “I don’t want any part of this!”
“Too bad!” Murmur shouted back. “You’re part of it whether you like it or not. You’re Belial, the greatest King of Hell in the underworld. You’re a fallen fucking angel. You were always destined for this, and you know it.”
Belial’s nostrils flared like an angry bull.
“I’m willing to help you,” Murmur said again. “I want to help you. I want to see Lucifer fall just as much as the next person.”
“I don’t. Want. To. Fucking. Fight. Lucifer.”
Okay, so maybe Murmur needed to stop reminding him of the inevitable. It seemed Belial needed to entertain his denial a little bit longer. Fine by Murmur, as long as he didn’t get any more of his flesh seared off.
“Then you need my help to hide from him,” he said, switching tactics.
“Lucifer would have come for you—for both of us—even if you hadn’t been the one to open the door and free the souls.
You’re his greatest threat, and he wants to take out the competition.
You need my help and I’m willing to offer it. ”
Belial searched his gaze. The flames around his body extinguished, and he gradually returned to his normal height. In human form, he was just as tall as Murmur’s demon form. Belial’s full demon form was … something else. One could only give thanks that he couldn’t shift all the way while on Earth.
“How could I ever trust you?” Belial growled. “You’ve betrayed us more times than I can count.”
“Three times,” Murmur clarified. “First, when Mist wasn’t careful enough in his negotiations. Second, when we bargained, and I forced you to owe me a second favor in exchange for silence, despite the fact that I never had any intention of telling anyone where you were—”
“What!”
“I told you, I’m on your side. I never wanted Lucifer to find you—”
“Then why the fuck did you sell us out to Valefor? You sent him right here! He could have told anyone where we were!”
“Because it was Valefor!” Murmur snapped back.
“Have you ever met a more incompetent halfwit? I knew he wouldn’t say anything because he was so desperate to get Mephistopheles back and would break any rule to make it happen.
He told me I had to tell Lucifer your location because he’d sworn to Meph he wouldn’t in order to get him to shift.
I agreed. I told him I would. I lied. There was no way I wanted Lucifer to find you. ”
“Sending Valefor here was a big fucking risk,” Bel growled.
“I knew you’d kill him. I knew he’d go too far in his obsession with Mephistopheles, and I was counting on you to take him out to eliminate the threat. I wanted him gone as much as you did.”
“And Paimon?” Belial asked. “Why help Mist escape her? Why take her lair for yourself?”
“She and I had a score to settle,” Murmur said, eyes narrowing. “I swore vengeance against her a long time ago, and it was overdue. And it doesn’t hurt to start the war by taking out Lucifer’s most powerful supporter before he was even aware it was coming, does it?”
Belial stared at him. The flames were gone from his eyes, and the fury had been replaced with disbelief. “You were really manipulating this shit from the very beginning?”
“Of course I was,” Murmur said haughtily. “I told you I had that vision ages ago. Every single thing I’ve ever done since that day has been toward this goal. One does not simply overthrow the High King of Hell without centuries of careful planning.”
Belial slowly shook his head.
“You should be grateful to me,” Murmur continued. “Because of my centuries of prep-work, the war has begun, Lucifer is at a serious disadvantage, and you didn’t have to lift a finger. You and your brothers got to go your merry way and enjoy your life. I took care of everything else.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Belial said, and then he dropped into one of Suyin’s kitchen chairs. He hunched forward and dragged his fingers through his hair. “I came here ready to kill you. And now this shit. I can’t even … My head’s spinning.”
“I know you think I’m your enemy, but it’s not true, and it never has been.
And I’m not lying when I say you’re going to need my help with what’s to come.
I’m willing to offer it if we can put the past behind us.
You have no idea the things I’ve done to make it as far as I have.
If you’re going to survive this, you need me. ”
Belial straightened, dropping his hands and pinning Murmur with a glare. “And how am I ever supposed to trust a word out of your mouth? And don’t tell me you’ll swear a vow. I know how good you are at finding loopholes in every single fucking vow you’ve ever sworn. Your word is shit, Necromancer.”
Murmur winced, thinking of the witch in the living room likely listening to the conversation. This was what happened when one spent their life as a liar. When the moment came that they needed to be believed, no one would do so.
But maybe there was a way to prove himself to Belial. He couldn’t fix things so easily with Suyin, but at least he had this chance.
“You still owe me one favor,” he told Belial, who growled at the reminder. “I could call in that favor right now. You might try to kill me, but I guarantee I could get the words out and tell you to protect me from all harm before you succeed.”
“You’re not making me any more inclined to trust you,” Belial bit out.
“But,” Murmur continued, “to prove that you can trust me, I now relinquish that favor.”
Bel sat up straight. “You what?”
“I free you of your debt to me. There is no second favor owed. The slate is clear.”
“What? Why?”
“I told you. To prove that you can trust me.”
Bel stared at him. His shock was understandable. Unspecified favors were the most valuable commodity in Hell, and a favor from a demon like Belial was unfathomably valuable. For Murmur to throw it away on a whim was unheard of.