Void Domain, Book 04 полностью

A burning sensation not unlike his saliva touched both sides of Juliana’s face. How did he know that? Shaking her head, Juliana put it out of her mind. It didn’t matter. And if he was about to help her, a little kiss was a very small price to pay.

“I got caught here by Willie, a demon,” she started to explain. “My mother and Eva–and Arachne, I guess–came to rescue me. They got captured and–and I just want us to go home.”

Zagan rolled his neck. Four loud popping sounds echoed through the small cell. “I suppose I might be able to do a small favor,” he said. “After all, I did collect a good amount of information from your soul. Thanks for that, by the way.”

Juliana blinked. Her eyes grew wide as her heart started pounding harder than it had been. “My soul? What do yo–”

“Don’t fret over nothing,” Zagan said with an exaggerated sigh. “It is back, safe and sound, within your body. No harm done. Let us get back to the topic at hand. We were discussing a favor for you.”

Slowly, Juliana nodded. Her mind raced over what exactly Zagan would have wanted with her soul. When had he done whatever he had done to it in the first place?

Probably before she awoke in the prison.

That had disturbing connotations. Had he done something to Shalise as well? Was that why Prax had taken over her body?

No. Situation at hand. Shalise wasn’t here right now and, though she only had his word to go off of, her own soul was fine.

“Can you get us out of here?” she asked in a timid voice.

Zagan hummed. He rolled his neck again. One of his hands scratched at his chin.

All theatrics. Juliana’s heart sank. He was going to say no.

“Pick one.”

Juliana started. That wasn’t a no. Though it might as well be. “One what?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“One of the people you just named while explaining your situation.”

As expected, she thought with a nod. That might be as good as nothing at all. Still, she closed her eyes to concentrate.

If she picked her mother, herself, Eva, and Arachne would all still be stuck down here. The moment her mother recovered–if Zagan even dropped her off somewhere where she could get help–Juliana knew that she would be back. They would be back at square one.

And by then, Willie would likely have figured out how to keep her from summoning Zagan again. Even if she did summon him, Zagan himself would probably kill her.

No. Her mother wasn’t a good choice.

Juliana ruled out herself without hesitation. She couldn’t just run away and leave them behind. They had all come for her.

Eva was the most promising candidate. She could figure out something.

Probably.

Juliana frowned with a furrowed brow.

Maybe not. She had just jumped into Hell after Juliana without any visible plan. Juliana could hope that she would learn from her mistake and come up with something better, but it might not be enough. And Arachne had just let her do it, even following after her.

Juliana almost laughed at the idea of picking Arachne. That bitch had stabbed her mom. Even if she thought it was necessary to get them out, Juliana wasn’t about to forgive her that easily.

Besides, she probably had the same problem that Genoa suffered from. Namely, she would be rushing back in to save Eva, getting caught in the process.

No. Definitely not Arachne.

“Alright,” Juliana said. “I’ve made my choice.” She was feeling quite smug with herself in spite of the situation, though she tried not to let it show on her face. It was probably the choice Zagan wanted her to make anyway. Some secret test of character.

Taking a deep breath, Juliana opened her mouth.

“Willie.”

“The demon of this domain?”

“The same,” Juliana nodded. “If you’ll only get one of us out of here, I’d like it to be him. Preferably in a body-bag, or the demon equivalent.”

Zagan threw back his head and laughed. It was a full, mirth-filled laugh that almost seemed like it should be coming from Santa Claus. Certain depictions of him, anyway. Despite the jolly tone, the noise edged on her nerves.

It wasn’t something that should be coming from a powerful devil.

The laugh trailed off and Zagan looked back down with a golden glint in his eyes. “You have a bit of a vicious streak, yeah? I like that. Very well, Juliana Laura Rivas, I accept your proposal.”

Juliana let out a long sigh of relief.

“You’ll forgive me if I do not make this into an official contract. As I already have one with dearest Martina, I cannot enter into a second. Nevertheless, I am a demon of my word. Let us see what this talkina can do, shall we?”

He stretched out one hand towards her.

Nodding, Juliana slipped her comparatively tiny hand into his powerful grip and allowed him to help her to her feet. She wobbled back and forth. Everywhere hurt.

Zagan moved his hand to her shoulder and waited until she found her balance.

When he wasn’t threatening to kill her, he could actually be kind of nice.