Bring Out Your Dead (12 page)

“
If you like, I can adopt
a more fearsome appearance,” he told me, apparently reading my
mind. “And no, I can’t read your mind. That, to my great regret,
has been a skill that has eluded me.”

I blinked twice. “If you can’t read minds,
then how did you know what I was thinking?”

He reached out to touch my face. I took a
step backward, out of his reach. Simon said something about
attending to other business and slipped out a door built into the
rock wall.

Asmodeus’s hand fell. He propped one hip up
on his desk, his arms crossed as he considered me. “I am quite
adept at reading expressions, and your look of surprise at my
mortal appearance presented no difficulty in interpreting. Do I
frighten you?”

I swallowed hard, ignoring the urge to look
behind me at the room filled with fire while wondering whether I
could pull off a bald-faced lie. I’ve never been good at deceit, so
I decided to go with honesty. “Very much so. What exactly do you
believe you are going to do with me? I am a Beloved, bound to a
Dark One.”

“
You are
tattu
,” he said simply,
falling silent for a moment.

I willed my body into quietude despite the
horrible need to fidget…if not outright run away screaming at the
top of my lungs.

“
You have that rarest of
things, a perfectly pure soul.”

“
I have two pure souls,” I
said, throwing caution to the wind.

“
No, you have the soul you
were originally born with and the second, which I assume was
granted at a rebirth. The first is flawed; it is the second that I
desire.”

“
You can’t have it.” I
rallied enough inner strength to carry my trembling legs over to a
chair, which I sat down upon in a sudden manner that belied my
brave words. “It’s mine. They both are, flawed or not. They’re
mine, and I have no intention of giving up either.”

“
Do you have any idea what
a perfectly pure soul means to me?” he asked with deceptive
mildness—deceptive but for the sudden light of unholy greed that
shone in his eyes. Just meeting his gaze took a year or two off my
life. I looked down at my hands, which were clutching each other.
Chills ran down my back and legs, my stomach tightening into a
leaden wad.

I shook my head.

“
A soul affords me power.
But a perfectly pure soul, one untainted by its bearer, can provide
me with almost unlimited power. With a soul such as yours in my
possession, my ascension to the throne of Abaddon is
guaranteed.”

My stomach roiled at the thought of my
beautiful clean soul being soiled and ultimately destroyed in
Asmodeus’s attempt to become premier prince of hell.

“
You can’t have it,” I
said in a low voice, gripping the arms of the chair so hard my
fingernails bent. “I will go back to the Akashic Plain before I
allow you to destroy something so good.”

He smiled, and for a second, I saw his true
form. A red wave swept down over my vision, blinding me, stripping
me of air and thought and, for a brief moment, the desire to
live.

I never thought of you as
a quitter
, a soft voice said, imbuing me
with feelings of being loved and cherished and valued above all
things.

Sebastian?

I am here, Beloved. I will be with you
momentarily. Do not allow Asmodeus to frighten you. I will not
allow any harm to come to you.

Where have you been? Why haven’t you talked
to me? You left and I couldn’t mind-talk with you.

Regret mingled with sorrow
leeched into my brain.
I apologize. I was
indisposed. But now I am back, and together, we are more powerful
than you can imagine.
His mind brushed
mine with an emotion that I couldn’t mistake.

Do you always fall in love
with women so quickly?
I asked, half
joking.

You are the only one, Belle.

Where are you?

Near. I will be with you in a few
minutes.

I lifted my chin, and kept my gaze steady on
Asmodeus. “I don’t see that we have anything further to discuss. I
have no intention of relinquishing my soul to you, and there is no
way you can force me to do it.”

He smiled again, but this time I was ready
for it.

Good
girl
, Sebastian said, his thoughts full of
approval.
You have been tempered. You can
withstand this.

“
I hate to disappoint such
faith, my dear, but time grows short.” Asmodeus raised his voice.
“Simon, bring in Orinel.”

The door opened just enough for Simon to
poke his face through the crack. “My lord, there has been a…an
unforseen event.”

Asmodeus frowned. “Spare me your gibberish
and summon Orinel and its prisoner to me.”

If it were possible for a demon’s face to
grow pale, Simon’s did. “Er…my lord…”

The door burst open at that moment, sending
Simon flying into the room. He landed in a heap at my feet, but
made no move to rise. I stood slowly as a man entered the room,
moving as silently as panther. A blond panther.

“
Asmodeus. I would be
lying if I said it was a pleasure to meet you again,” Sebastian
said, holding out a hand for me. I stepped over Simon’s inert form
and took his hand, his fingers tightening around mine. “Although I
admit to looking forward to this moment for a very long
time.”

The demon lord frowned a second time. “Where
is Orinel?”

“
The demon has been
destroyed.” Sebastian lifted his hand to show the ring of power on
his thumb. “I believe I took it by surprise, since it spent a good
five minutes before I dispatched it telling me of your plan to
capture me and use me to force Belle into compliance.”

At the sight of the ring, a red light shone
in Asmodeus’s eyes, but it quickly faded into one of
speculation.

“
That ring was
destroyed.”

“
It was
remade.”

Asmodeus nodded. “The folly of alchemists
and their precious carmot. Very well, we are at an impasse. You
have my ring of power, and I have your Beloved. How do you suggest
we proceed?”

Sebastian released my hand and pulled me
close to his side. “Belle and I will leave with the ring in our
possession. You will be allowed to continue as you are, until such
time as you attempt to harm either of us. At that point, I will use
the ring to destroy you just as I have done your minion.”

Is the ring powerful enough to destroy a
demon lord?

In the right hands it is.

Asmodeus looked thoughtful for a moment.
“That is not acceptable. I, however, have a solution to the
situation. In exchange for your Beloved’s extra soul, a soul, I
might point out, she has no need or use for, I will swear an oath
to never harm you or your families.”

Sebastian was shaking his head even before
the demon lord stopped talking.

I took a step away before Sebastian could
refuse Asmodeus’s ridiculous suggestion. Unless I did something, I
knew the situation would deteriorate quickly.

“
I just want to make sure
I have this all straight in my mind,” I said quickly. I backed up a
couple of steps until my back was to the fiery hell pits. “You’re
not going to let us walk out of here unless I relinquish one of my
souls, are you?”

Asmodeus pursed his lips. “No. Sebastian may
hold the ring of power, and he may possess enough power to use it
against me, but he would be destroyed in the attempt. You are his
Beloved. He will not do anything to endanger you, including
bringing his own life to an end.”

I looked at Sebastian. The truth was in his
eyes.

Do not listen to his lies. I have power
enough to destroy him.

I know you
do
, I answered gently. But I also knew
that Asmodeus spoke the truth…the attempt would end in Sebastian’s
destruction as well, and that I could not tolerate.

I looked at the cavern that yawned behind
me, at the still-inert demon lying at the feet of the chair, at the
man and the demon lord before me. A time had come that I suddenly
felt as if I’d been waiting for all the years of my life. I prayed
that what I was about to do would work. If it didn’t…well, I’d been
through that, as well.

“
There is only one path
open to me.” My heart sang as I acknowledged the emotions that had
been blossoming since I had first seen Sebastian.
I know you haven’t asked me, and it’s only been a
short time that we’ve known each other, but somehow, I’ve fallen in
love with you. I never thought I would willingly sacrifice myself
for another, but you are more important than even my
life.

Belle
—he started to say, but I held up a hand to stop
him.

“
A soul cannot be taken
away by force,” I said, my love for him all but bursting from me.
“It must be freely given. Sebastian de Mercier, I do willingly cede
unto you my soul. Bear it with all the love I have for
you.”

Sebastian knew at that moment what I was
going to do. Asmodeus screamed as Sebastian leaped forward to me,
but I stepped backward, off the stone plateau, down into the flames
that called my name.

I love you beyond life
itself
, was my last thought to Sebastian
before I was consumed by the fire.

Chapter Nine

Such a dramatic exit.

Oh, be quiet.

If I’d known you were capable of such
acting, I would have suggested that you simply brazen your way out
of the situation.

Such a funny man.

You had me believing you were sacrificing
yourself.

I wasn’t sure it would work. I didn’t have
time to talk to the director about whether a soul transfer could be
conducted via a sacrifice.

Had I known of your plan, I wouldn’t even
have bothered to destroy Orinel. You could have acted him to a
grave.

I reached behind Sebastian
and pinched his delectable rear.
One more
smart comment like that, and I’ll regret thinking I was dying for
you.

Immediately, my head and
heart were flooded with a wave of love so profound, it made my
breath catch in my throat.
Beloved,
nothing will ever approach the unselfish acts you conducted on my
behalf. I know what it cost you to believe you were sacrificing
your life for me, and I will spend eternity humbled by your show of
love.

That’s a little more like
it
, I said, allowing him to see the smile
in my mind. I couldn’t resist a possessive little touch to
Sebastian’s shirt as Sally opened the door to the suite.
They’re here. Behave yourself.

I have promised to do so in front of the
Betrayer. But once he has left, all bets, as they say, are off.

The accompanying growl in my head left me
breathless and wishing that Damian’s parents would hurry up and
take him off our hands so I could fling myself shamelessly on
Sebastian and allow him to pleasure me in all the many ways he had
been imagining since I had woken up in his arms.

Those are only the tip of
the iceberg
, he said with a silent laugh,
stiffening slightly as an auburn-haired man entered the
room.

“
Hullo, Papa,” Damian
said, glancing at Adrian and a woman I assumed was his wife.
“Hullo, Nell.”

“
Don’t bother getting up
on our behalf,” Adrian told his son in a dry tone.

I looked him over, wondering what sort of
life he had led to be named the Betrayer.

You forbade me to dwell on it.

“
Sebastian,” Adrian said,
turning to face us, giving Sebastian a little nod.

“
Betrayer,” Sebastian
said, making a stiff nod of his own. I elbowed him.
“Er…Adrian.”

I smiled at the love of my life, filled
almost to bursting with the joy he brought me.

Adrian’s dark blue eyes, so like his son’s,
passed over me with curiosity. “I do not know what miracle Ysabelle
has wrought to turn you from predator to protector, but Nell and I
are grateful nonetheless that you have kept Damian from harm.”

Adrian held out his hand.
Sebastian’s jaw worked, but the rest of him was frozen into a big,
unyielding block. I nudged him again.
It
wouldn’t kill you to be polite, you know. He’s offering you his
hand, if not in friendship, then at least in peace.

He is the Betrayer—

Yes, I know, the one who handed you over to
Asmodeus to be tortured, but you survived that just as I survived
being burned at the stake. Twice. Tempered, remember? It’s now time
to move on, Sebastian. The present holds enough challenge—we can’t
live in the past.

Sebastian’s struggle was evident on his
normally stoic face. I bit my lip to keep from smiling as he
wrestled with the memories of the hell he survived with an
understanding of what I was asking of him.

“
You can do it,” Adrian
said, dimples flashing to life for a moment. “It’s painful at
first, but it gets easier. Or at least my Beloved keeps telling
me.”

“
Honest to God, these men.
You’d think asking them to behave in a civilized manner meant the
end of the world,” Nell said with a roll of her eyes as she walked
over to Damian and told him to gather his things.

The boy’s nose wrinkled when she stopped
next to him. “You still smell,” he told her.

“
And you’re still
obnoxious,” she responded with a ruffle to his hair that spoke of
affection despite her words. “Get your things and we’ll stop by the
museum so you can say hi to the mummies.”