15 NO REST FOR THE WICKED
NO REST FOR THE WICKED
S UNSHINE DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TRYING TO SLEEP, though she did lay down again. She stared at the ceiling instead, wondering when things had become so incredibly complicated.
It didn’t take long for her to realize she was far too restless for sleep, and there was no longer any point trying. She sat up with a sigh, swinging her legs over the bed.
A muffled sound came faintly through the door, and she lurched to her feet, frowning. It sounded strangely like a shout. Another came, this one sounding like more of a hollow thud.
Skin prickling, she hurried toward the door, pulled it open, and—
Found nothing.
The clearing outside was deserted.
“Raum?” she hissed into the blood-red night. There was no response.
She stepped out of the hideout on bare feet, searching around. She hadn’t misheard the sounds of a scuffle, and she was sure that even if Raum was angry with her, he would’ve told her if he was leaving.
Her eyes landed on a dark puddle a few steps from the door. Crouching, she touched her fingers to it, and when she lifted them to her face, she found them wet with a liquid the same color as the sky.
Her heart lodged in her throat.
Hurrying to the cliff edge, she scanned the skies, and her eyes caught on a dark shape in the distance. Long taloned wings were working hard to suspend an awkward burden. It was too far away to see clearly, but she knew instantly what she was looking at.
They were heading in the direction of the lair. Based on the distance, she guessed they’d already crossed the boundary wards.
Murmur had taken Raum. It was the only explanation.
The heart in her throat suddenly sank like a stone.
The temptation was nearly overwhelming to launch into the sky immediately and chase after him, but she forced herself to think rationally. She would only get one chance to rescue him, and she needed to be smart.
How had Murmur found them? Had Naiamah betrayed them? She’d claimed she wouldn’t tell Murmur they were infiltrating his territory, but how good was her word? Strangely, Sunshine’s instincts told her that Naiamah hadn’t lied.
Maybe Murmur had seen Raum when he went to inspect the boundary wards. Or maybe he had scouts searching the land who’d seen them up here.
Whatever the case, he evidently didn’t realize Raum had a companion—proof Naiamah hadn’t betrayed them—otherwise he would have waited for Sunshine to emerge and grabbed her too.
She went back into the hideout, closing the door to seal the ward, and stared around the room at a loss. It looked even emptier than it had a moment ago.
Tears welled in her eyes, and she let them. There was no one here to see her failure. There was no one here to hide her feelings from except herself. This was her mess. She had found Raum living his life and forced him to be involved in her mission.
She was a powerful angel. Had she felt powerful, she would have crossed to Hell by herself, flown right over Murmur’s wards, and battled with whatever forces she encountered on her quest to retrieve the book.
Raum’s involvement had been all about avoiding the conflict she was so scared of, minimizing the risk that she would have to fight demons. And now, her fears had resulted in him being captured. Now, she had to not only steal the book, but rescue him. And she had to do it alone.
As she should have from the start.
This was supposed to be her test. The Dominations had seen that the book was in Hell and known Sunshine would have to face her fears to retrieve it. But rather than doing that, she’d made a forbidden contract with a demon, bending all the rules to avoid her true purpose.
Well, no more. She was going to prove her worth and do the task set for her. And if she was caught and tortured and drained of every drop of blood, then she would escape or wait for rescue as she had before, and then she would try again. And again.
This was her redemption. Nothing could be more important, not even her fear.
She stared around the empty room, and her eyes landed on Naiamah’s amulets on the table, nestled in the little velvet bag. Her holsters and blades were in a neat pile beside them. Her boots were beside the door, just as Raum had said. He’d even draped her socks carefully over the top of each shoe.
Her heart gave a twinge at the sight.
Nothing was more important than her redemption, she mentally amended … except him.
Murmur tapped a restless foot, bored with waiting for his prisoner to wake. What was taking so long? He hadn’t hit him that hard.
When at last some moaning and groaning came from the demon trussed up on the wall, Murmur approached, tail snapping back and forth with impatience. He didn’t have time to waste with trespassers, but he needed answers.
Raum blinked and lifted his head slowly, as if it was too heavy for his neck to support. When he saw Murmur in front of him, he squinted, probably trying to get his concussed brain to focus. There was blood all over the side of his face.
“Th’fuck?” he slurred like he hadn’t the foggiest idea where he was or who was staring him down.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Murmur said, cocking a brow. Unfortunately, the expression was lost on Raum, whose eyes were still unfocused.
“Where … ?”
“Allow me to fill you in, since you seem to have forgotten. Memory retention is not your area of expertise, is it?”
At that subtle jab, Raum’s eyes sharpened a little on Murmur’s face. He didn’t respond, but Murmur hadn’t expected him to.
“In case you’re suffering from further amnesia, I am Murmur, or the Necromancer, and yes, the rumors are true.”
“What rumors?” Raum mumbled.
Murmur ignored that. “I caught you sniffing around my boundary wards and lurking in the foothills, and I want to know why.”
His souls patrolled the edges of his territory with extreme attentiveness—as ordered by their master—and they hadn’t missed the golden-eyed crow who’d paid a visit to one of his ward towers.
Murmur might not have thought anything of it had he not had the recent transaction with Belial. The rogues had been at the forefront of his thoughts and as a result, he’d become immediately suspicious at the presence of that distinctive bird.
He’d sent a squadron of souls on a search party until they’d discovered a small hideout in the foothills of the nearby mountain range.
It was a convenient coincidence that Raum had emerged from the cave shortly after Murmur’s arrival.
After a light tap on the noggin with his trusty spiked club, Murmur had scooped him up and flown back to his lair, and now here they were.
Raum was about twenty-five percent more conscious now and seemed to have realized his current position.
His shirt was gone—a prisoner always felt more helpless when they were unclothed.
His wrists were cuffed, attached to chains that spread his arms up and apart.
His feet were free to support him. Murmur had spread-eagle ankle chains as well, obviously, but he’d been in too much of a hurry to use them.
A shame. He derived great satisfaction from stringing up a body and watching them dangle helplessly. Even better if they were fully naked instead of just partially.
Was he perverted? Possibly. Depraved? Definitely.
Since Raum’s legs were free, Murmur made sure to remain a few feet back. He had no doubt Raum would kick him in the face if he got too close.
Raum tugged on his wrists, eyes widening with the realization of his predicament. When he yanked a few times and found no give in the chains, his next move was to attempt to shift forms.
Obviously, Murmur had thought of that, which his prisoner quickly learned. All the manacles employed in his dungeon were spelled against shifting and breakage via brute force.
A groan burst from Raum as electricity traveled over his body, and he remained very solidly in human form. Sagging in the chains when the shock passed, he accepted defeat and pinned Murmur with a murderous glare.
“Bit of an exposing position, isn’t it?” Murmur said, studying his claws to hide his smile. He truly enjoyed the sight of fettered limbs. “A shame I didn’t bind your legs too.”
“Why am I here?” The shock seemed to have sharpened Raum’s awareness a little, so at least there was that.
“You know, that’s exactly what I was wondering. Why are you here?”
When he didn’t respond, Murmur dropped his hand and fixed his full attention on the prisoner.
“Why were you snooping around the borders of my territory mere days after I reached an agreement with Belial? I would think you’d have a vested interest in remaining in my good graces after your dear brother made such a sacrifice on your behalf. ”
Raum gritted his teeth but still said nothing.
Murmur stuck out his lower lip. “I thought we were friends. I wasn’t even going to ask Belial to do anything that terrible with the two favors he owes me. Now, though, I’m not so sure. I’m feeling a little …” He stroked his chin with a foreclaw. “Vindictive.”
“Bel has nothing to do with this.”
Murmur tsk ed. “Oh but he does, considering he explicitly stated in our negotiations that my silence had to extend to the demons he calls his brothers. He also guaranteed that he and those brothers would leave me in peace and wouldn’t try to kill me for what I know.
Assassination attempts are an inconvenience I don’t have time for at present.
Yet now, here you are, in violation of Belial’s vow, which could render our contract void. Which, in turn, could—”
“I told you, Bel has nothing to do with why I’m here.”
“Then why are you here?”
Silence.
“I have ways of making you talk.”
Raum pulled off a bored expression well.
“If I wanted, I could summon my souls to pull out your intestines like rope and tie you up with them. I wouldn’t even have to lift a finger. I’d just sit back and enjoy the show.”
Raum looked unimpressed. Murmur smiled. He liked a challenge.