The Darkest Secret (Lords of the Underworld #7)(40)
Author: Gena Showalter

He liked that she liked the look of him. Usual y, with Paris and Strider and, hel , Sabin around him, women found the roughness of his features too…wel , rough.

Sit down, he told her. Now we talk.

“More talking?” She didn’t sound enthused.

Yes, more talking. He would not al ow her to irritate him into forgetting what needed to be said, he vowed. Sit.

With only the barest hint of hesitation, she obeyed. She perched at the edge of the bed, folding her hands in her lap.

Thank you. Now, it was time to show her the rest of his cards. Her reaction would dictate their next course of action. Amun spread his legs, braced his knees and prepared to defend himself from attack.

“What are we going to talk about?”

Me. You guessed my identity, but I doubt you know exactly what that means. So here it is, flat out. I’m possessed by the demon of Secrets. He waited for a reaction; he didn’t get one. In the shower, he’d merely played with the details, never actual y admitting he was possessed.

“And?” she demanded.

No, he would not al ow her to irritate him. And you know about immortals, but do you know anything about the heavens and hel ?

“I know they exist.”

That was a start. Recently I ventured into hel to rescue a friend.

She gulped. “You rescued another demon?”

In a way. Legion had been demon, but had bargained with Lucifer for a human body. A human body she stil possessed. She wasn’t—isn’t—evil. Wel , not total y—and she was being tortured.

“She?”

Did he detect a note of jealousy or was that wishful thinking on his part? Yes. During the few days I spent down there, I was…overcome by demon thoughts and urges.

When he offered no more, she nodded.

Those thoughts and urges are a part of me now, driving me…

“Insane?”

Now he was the one to nod, though his was stiff. Only when I’m with you do those things become manageable.

Wariness fel over her lovely features like a curtain, but she didn’t attack. “Why me?”

I have no idea.

“Guess.”

He released a sigh. Perhaps for the same reason I can project my voice into your head.

“That tel s me nothing,” she said, pursing her lips.

How adorable she was, just then. A pouty princess. The thought made him frown. Whether we like it or not, there is something between us. Maybe, because of that, the demons know what I know, and they’re afraid of you. Afraid of Hunters.

“Maybe. So…you hate these thoughts and urges?” Her question was soft, almost hopeful.

Why hopeful? Because she wanted to believe the best of him? Yes. Beyond anything.

She peered down at her lap, where her fingers were linked and now twisting together. He hadn’t expected such calm.

Not from her, a demon-hater, when he’d just admitted to being poisoned by al kinds of evil.

Was she playing him? Lul ing him into a false sense of relaxation? If so, what was her ultimate goal?

He should know; his demon should know. More than ever he hated that he couldn’t read her. Hated that the two times he’d peeked inside her mind, he’d seen her smiling. Heard her laughing.

Hated, because the images were branded inside him, a part of him, haunting him. Hated that even so, he craved another glimpse.

“Why did you tel me this?” she asked.

Because of my affliction and your affiliation, we can’t stay here. I’m a danger to my friends, he told her, expecting her to argue. If she remained in one location, her associates had a better chance of finding her.

And you, wel , you’re a danger to them, too. As much a danger as they are to you.

He didn’t want either group to find her. Plus, his twenty-four hours were almost up, and every noise outside the door had him stiffening. Sabin was liable to burst into the room with a flamethrower at any moment.

“Yes, we need to leave,” she replied, thick lashes final y lifting. “So where do you propose we go?”

Such pragmatism was admirable. Combine that with the we and the heat of her gaze, and she presented a powerful aphrodisiac. You wish to stay with me?

“Of course.”

There was no “of course” about it. Why did she want to stay with him? His suspicious soul floundered for an answer, and found only one: she was playing him. Perhaps she even meant to lead him to her fel ow Hunters, just as she’d done to Baden.

Amun’s hands curled into fists. Fists so tight and hard his already damaged knuckles cracked from the strain.

“Amun?” she prompted.

His name on her lips…another aphrodisiac. We wil go to the only place I can purge the thoughts and urges.

Her eyes widened. “You can purge them?” Once again she sounded hopeful, as if she truly cared.

Though the prospect rocked him to the core, he revealed only mild surprise. While you slept, I spoke with someone in the know. And the conversation had pissed him off royal y.

“You must return to hel ,” the angel Zacharel had said, unconcerned, when Amun sought him out.

What? Amun had mental y shouted. When he remembered to sign, his motions had been jerky. My little jaunt into hel is the reason I’m like this. So returning isn’t real y a solution, is it?

“You took the demons out, now you wil take them back in.”

No.

A shrug. “Then you wil forever be chained to the woman’s side. Not that forever wil be long. Not for you. Without her, the spirits overcome you, and the next time you are overcome, you wil die by my hand.”

If getting rid of the demons is as easy as going to hel , why didn’t you take me back already?

“I did not say it would be easy. Nor did I say returning with me would be helpful. You must take the girl.”

No, he repeated.

“Your choice, of course. I have no qualms about removing your head.”

It was impossible to argue with so logical and uncaring a being. How do I get them out of my body once I “take them back in?”

Zacharel had walked away without answering, without offering even the slightest hint. Why? What was Amun supposed to do when he got there? How long was he supposed to stay? Exactly where in the endless pit did he need to go?

He told me the only way to free myself was to return to hel , Amun said to Haidee now.

“Return to…hel ? As in the fiery pit of the damned?” The last was uttered in a horrified whisper.

Yes. And you’re going with me. He waited for her to protest, to fight him. She didn’t, not yet, and he relaxed. Somewhat.