Chapter 14 Cinder
CINDER
“My…?” I started to tug from Discord’s grasp, but he held me tighter, drawing me against his side as my heart plopped into my stomach and ice flushed my veins. “You talked to my mom?”
An amused grin tugged at one corner of Lucifer’s mouth. “Your father was there too, though your mother is quite obviously the witch in charge. You seem surprised. Did they not tell you they made a deal with the devil himself?”
“They… I…” Holy Hecate on a highwire. No, my mom did not tell me she was consorting with Lucifer. Hell, the only reason I knew they’d summoned anyone at all was because I’d eavesdropped and followed them.
“You abducted her parents,” Discord said matter-of-factly.
“Abducted?” Lucifer shook his head. “You make it sound like a wrongful kidnapping. No, they promised me their souls in exchange for saving their daughter. I required more, and they didn’t deliver. I simply took what was already mine.”
“Where are they?” I asked, more growl than words, completely forgetting about our newly discovered truth magic.
“You asked for the amulet.” Discord squeezed my hand.
“Demanded it, really.” Lucifer clasped his hands behind his back and paced slowly.
“Scorsha insisted that if it still existed, it would have been mentioned in the grimoire where she discovered the curse. I insisted on seeing said grimoire, of course, and that’s when I discovered a page had been torn out. ”
My stomach decided to drop at that moment, and I squeezed my butt cheeks, just to be safe. “It wasn’t—”
“Foolish of them to try and trick the King of Hell?” He whirled toward me, holding my gaze a beat too long before he continued pacing.
“Your mother swore she didn’t know what happened to the missing page.
Whatever the motive for her lies, it didn’t matter.
She refused to produce the information, your father was of no help, so I took them both. ”
My hands trembled, and my stomach soured even more, bubbling and churning, threatening to bring my last meal into the conversation. I swallowed the lump in my throat and inhaled a shaky breath. “Where did you take them?”
“To my torture chambers. Where else?” He picked up a silky black shirt and ran it through his hands, a tiny twitch in his eye betraying his otherwise cool demeanor. Without our truth magic in effect, he’d donned the mask of an evil tyrant.
But I saw through it. Deep down, he hurt like…well, like hell…and I had to convince him we could ease his pain. I squeezed Discord’s hand and waited to feel the rush of his power before I spoke again.
“My mother didn’t tear out the page,” I said. “I did, and I swear all it contained were the princes’ sigils. The amulet still exists, and my sisters are already searching for it. I know you want to find it so Hecate will forgive you for what Discord did. Let us help you.”
His expression faltered, his brows furrowing and rising repeatedly as our combined magic seeped into his psyche. Lucifer probably had a “special place in Hell” reserved for anyone who tried to eff with his mind, but I’d worry about that fun fact later.
He shook his head. “Discord’s lover destroyed it when she destroyed him.”
“She stole it,” Discord said. “The amulet increases the bearer’s power tenfold. She would not have destroyed it.”
“And you know deep down it still exists, don’t you?” I asked. “Because it doesn’t just contain a piece of Hecate. It’s also got a piece of you.”
“Your power to send beings across the veil,” Discord said. “Her power to resurrect souls.”
I tried to back toward the door, but Discord held me in place. Predators could smell fear, so I could imagine the bouquet of aromas I was putting off. I suppose showing weakness in front of a being who could literally obliterate me with a snap of his fingers wasn’t in my best interest.
“It was a token of your love,” I said instead of tucking tail and running. “Both of you sacrificing such an important part of yourselves… Very romantic.”
The devil’s eyes glistened again, and he turned away, clearing his throat. “I see you’ve spoken with Seraphine. I hope you dispatched of the traitorous witch with a slow and painful death.”
Painful: check. The death part…? Not so much. I opened my mouth to tell him, but Discord gave his head a quick shake. The imp whimpered beneath the bed.
“Allow us to continue our quest,” Discord said as he sent another wave of magic into me, and I reciprocated. The feeling of our powers mixing and melding, becoming one, was exhilarating. If our lives weren’t hanging in the balance by a microscopic thread, I would have basked in it.
“Set my parents free, and they can help too.” I pushed as much magic into my words as I could. “They didn’t know everything I do. Let them find the amulet and make it up to you.”
Lucifer whirled toward me. “I cannot set them free.”
“Why not?” I asked.
His eyes twitched, and he worked his jaw from side to side like he was trying not to spill the truth. Discord squeezed my hand, and we sent another rush of magic toward Lucifer.
“They escaped,” he finally said, clenching his teeth as he spoke. “There is a traitor in my midst.”
The knot in my stomach loosened. “We can help you with that too. My sisters will get the amulet. Once we find my parents, they’ll tell you who helped them escape. We can give you the traitor, the amulet, and your true love.”
He narrowed his eyes, cutting his gaze between Discord and me. “Your sisters will be dead soon. The veil is on the verge of collapse. Demons will descend upon your world and destroy it…if the fae don’t get there first.”
“We’re working on that too,” I said. “Ash and Ember released Chaos and Mayhem. The four of them are taking care of the veil and searching for the amulet as we speak.”
“My sons are free?” A wave rippled through his hair, turning every strand jet black, and his pupils narrowed, his irises glowing gold, his lip peeling into a sneer as he pinned me with a ferocious, absolutely feral gaze. “They’re free and residing with your sisters?”
“Yes,” I squeaked, dropping the magic and hoping to Hecate all my bodily fluids would stay inside my body. My heart took off in a sprint, my blood pulsing through my veins with every beat, throbbing, turning to ice. “If you call off the hunt, we can fix everything.”
“You will destroy everything!” Lucifer lifted his arm, and a wave of energy slammed into us, knocking us backward into the wall. We bounced off, landing on our hands and knees.
My vision swam, and I was certain I’d have a knot the size of a lemon on my head, but I managed to scramble to my feet…
just in time for Lucifer to lift me from the floor and slam me into the ceiling.
He held me there with one extended arm and clenched his other fist, grabbing Discord by the throat and flinging him into the opposite wall.
“I will crush you with the very gears you’ve set into motion.” Lucifer released me to grab a drawer from the dresser he’d already destroyed. The imp squealed, high-tailing it out of the room as I dropped to the floor, and let me tell you… Granite hurt like a bitch.
Every joint in my body screamed with pain, but I rolled, barely escaping the dresser drawer hurdling toward me. It splintered on the floor with the impact, and I scrambled—once again—to my feet.
Lucifer grabbed a chair and swung it, slamming it against the wall, breaking it into twenty pieces. He threw what was left in his hands at me, hitting me in the gut. I doubled over, clutching my abdomen while Discord barreled toward the King of Hell.
My demon slammed into him, tackling him onto the bed. The frame broke, the legs crumpling as it crashed onto the floor. Good thing the imp had already made his escape.
And speaking of escapes…
“Discord!” I turned to the door, ready to run, but my demon grunted. Then he wheezed. Lucifer kneeled atop him, physically choking him with one hand while lifting his other—taloned—hand above his chest.
“If you kill him, I’ll die too.” I held up my hands in surrender. “And if I die, the amulet will be lost forever. So will Hecate.”
His chest heaving, Lucifer looked from me to Discord and back at me. His demon hand morphed back to human, and he hauled Discord up as he stood, holding the two-hundred-plus-pound man as if he weighed nothing before hurling him at me.
That much muscle slamming into my body…in a not-fun kind of way…knocked me down like a bowling pin. Everything in my backpack—crystals, water bottles, cans of mystery meat—jabbed into my back, making me scream.
Discord yanked me from the ground, threw me onto his shoulder, and powered toward the door. Lucifer flicked his wrist, slamming it before we could cross the threshold. Discord set me down and clutched my face, looking into my eyes, silently asking if I was okay.
“No, not really,” I wanted to say. I nodded instead.
Lucifer snarled, jabbing his talons into the mattress and shredding it. He grabbed everything within reach, throwing and breaking things, pounding his fists against the walls in the biggest, most extravagant temper tantrum I had ever witnessed.
He let out an agonizing wail, threw his arms to his sides, and transformed. His perfectly tailored suit turned to shreds as his body grew, his skin turning deep crimson, thick horns curling from his scalp as he doubled…maybe tripled…in size.
Discord shoved me behind his back, and I whispered, “Holy shit.”
“There’s nothing holy about him in this state,” my demon said over his shoulder. “Try the door.”
I grabbed the knob and twisted. “It’s locked.”
“Can you unlock it?” he asked through clenched teeth, spreading his arms to shield me from the flying debris.
“I don’t have the key!” I whisper-shouted.
“Are you not a witch? Use a spell.”
“Crap. Right.” Excuse me for my fight or flight mode going full flight and erasing my brain. I knew a spell. What was it?
Lucifer wailed again. Claws scraped across the floor. Discord backed into me.
“Hurry, Cinder.”
“Crappity, crap, crap. Oh!” I hovered my hands over the lock and recited the spell, “Iron bound and sealed so tight, hear my call and yield to might. By flame and force, I break your core. Unlock, unbar, and open the door.”
I grabbed the knob and twisted. The door opened. Lucifer growled and sent a pulse of magic into us, freezing us to the spot. Pressure built around us, squeezing the breath from my lungs. Those damn stars made an appearance in my vision again, and darkness tunneled around me.
“Find her,” The devil snarled, and the pressure on my body reversed, making me feel like he was turning me inside out.
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t see. Felt nothing but agonizing pain.
A flash of orange light blinded me. I raked in a breath, nearly choking on the sulfurous stench. My knees buckled, my hands scraping on the basalt as I hit the ground outside the palace.