He glanced at his serrated nails. “Demons don’t breed with humans for fun, doll. We always have an underlying agenda, and you are the result of a coveted prize.”
“What’s your agenda?” I needed to keep the slim-ball talking. If he was talking, I was still alive.
“If our offspring do not mutate a human, then they are eliminated. It’s not personal,” he said without any emotional attachment. “They are made to serve a purpose, and if they don’t live up to that purpose, then they are no longer needed—they end up just being a liability. We have to minimize exposure. You understand. If the demon feels that their prodigy hasn’t done their part, well I think you get the picture. Nature has to balance itself out, and we just give it a nudge.”
I coughed. “You have a funny way of justifying killing.”
He looked me straight in the eye. “I don’t have to justify anything. These are the facts. And I am not really here to educate you on demon politics. I’m here to offer you a deal.”
I religiously watch Supernatural. Demon deals are a big no-no. And there was no way I was letting this scum-bucket kiss me. Not happening. “I don’t do deals.”
Straightening his silver tie, he said, “At least hear what I have to offer.”
I crossed my arms. “Do I have a choice?”
He gave his head a tilted nod. “No, not really. Why don’t we sit for a spell?”
“I’ll stand.”
He flicked his wrist and I was promptly dumped onto the couch with Alastair at the opposite end, sitting so proper and straight in his three-piece suit. He twisted a finger in the air, and the fireplace flared with fuming flames. “There. That’s better. Cozy. Now, where was I? Oh yes, our deal. You’re connected to my world in ways you don’t yet understand. First, when my hound marked you. Again, when Chase saved you from death. With each link, your soul darkens and ties you to me. You are a key Hell has waited a millennium for. The link that would ground us to earth.”
I vomited a little in my mouth and swallowed the rest back down. His implication made me sick. “There is nothing you can say that would make me help you.”
He crossed his legs and gave me a sinister smile. His glossy eyes reflected off the flickering flames. “Let me sweeten the pot, love. Your commitment to me will release the one you love so dearly. Are you unwilling to make the sacrifice when he has made so many for you?”
Wow.
Lay it on thick, why don’t you?
“Okay. Let me get this straight. Are you saying if I agree to join you in the blazin’ pits, Chase will no longer struggle with the demon inside him? He will no longer be bound to you?”
His grin made me cringe. “Such a bright cookie. That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
If I agreed to accompany Alastair to God knew where, it would fracture my bond with Chase, but it would also break Alastair’s hold on him. I weighed the knowledge—Chase’s freedom from the demon, for my soul. I understood for the first time why Merci gave up her life. For Chase there were no lengths I wouldn’t go. It amazed me how quickly I could change my judgment.
“Are you giving me an option to decline?” I asked.
Sleek black eyes gleamed. “If you wish, but I can make the decision very, very easy for you, if I must.”
I swallowed.
I didn’t have to be a genius to recognize a threat. Like if I didn’t choose to go with him, he would find ways to make me extremely sorry that I had rejected his offer, or maybe he would find ways to ensure I chose him. Regardless, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. “Well when you put it like that…”
He wore a victory grin. “I thought you would see it my way.” Standing tall, he said, “It’s time for us to go.”
Whoa. Hold your demon horses.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I snapped, “I might need more than five seconds to decide.”
“A luxury I cannot give you. I will have your answer.”
Jesus.
No pressure.
I flirted with accepting Alastair’s offer, releasing Chase from what he considered a curse most days, but just as quickly, I dismissed his proposal. Right or wrong, I couldn’t stop seeing Chase’s face, hearing his voice, feeling the intense feelings between us. I knew that I couldn’t make the same sacrifice Merci did. I needed Chase. Selfish or not, I loved all of him, the demon too. I didn’t want to change him, and I remembered the cold, lonely life Ives lived by himself.
This decision wouldn’t just affect me. It would change Chase as well, and who was I to make that choice. I knew the depth of his love for me, and I couldn’t find it in me to cause him a shred of pain.
“Umm, I have no desire to see the world below, thank you.”
Everything about Alastair flipped.
He threw back his head and let out a roar that vibrated the ground under my feet. The sound of a thousand souls screamed within the roar. Teeth as sharp as razors extended in his mouth and dripped with venom that sizzled. Shedding his human skin, the demon stood, dominating over me in all his fearsome glory.