Void Domain, Book 07 полностью

“It failed,” Catherine said to herself. It wasn’t a question for Eva. Rather, it was a simple statement of a fact.

“I wouldn’t say that.”

Catherine would have started at the new voice, but she had already been aware of Zagan’s presence somewhere nearby. In order to see him, she would have had to tilt her head up and back.

She didn’t bother with that, but couldn’t help the eyebrow that was crawling up her forehead.

“It didn’t fail?”

Zagan gave a low chuckle. “I suppose that depends. Did you expect to come out of that ritual able to challenge me?”

Catherine didn’t respond, which only raised Zagan’s chuckle to a full boisterous laugh. He walked around the table to stand just to the side of Eva’s chair.

He was, thankfully, back in his suit. Catherine didn’t care one way or the other about people in the nude, but Zagan was more like an incubus than most incubi she had met over the course of her existence. Seeing him clothed was reassuring.

“Then yes, it failed. If you might lower your expectations a few notches, perhaps you might be able to see some success. Already, that little diabolist man–”

“Demonologist,” Eva interrupted.

Zagan glared, but didn’t admonish her. The glare was probably enough. Eva shrank down in her chair and stared at the floor.

“That man is running around with his notebook, recording every little idea his mind can dream up as they come to him. Foolish, yeah? But amusing for the time being.”

Catherine frowned. When he had said that the ritual didn’t fail, she was hoping for more a more selfish result. Even something as simple as her charms being more irresistible.

“Well that’s just great for him,” she eventually said.

Eva cleared her throat. When Zagan didn’t glare or behead her or anything similar, she sat up a little straighter and looked at Catherine. “Devon has actually requested your assistance. It was a begrudging request, but he did admit that you know your way around rituals. He might not have admitted it in such a straightforward manner and there might have been a lot more reluctance… I might be paraphrasing too.”

Eva trailed off, searching for the proper words.

Catherine shook her head. “Great. I am so excited to waste my time with that insufferable man. I’m sure I have nothing better to do with my time in this mortal realm.”

“He’s not that bad,” Eva said with crossed arms and a pointed stare.

“Catherine has the more accurate assessment of the man,” Zagan said, patting Eva on the head. She didn’t appear appreciate the gesture, but not enough to actually fight back against the devil.

Probably a smart move.

“However,” Zagan continued, “I caught a glimpse of his notebook. There are some rather fascinating things for you. This ritual didn’t work the way you wanted, but it was never intended to do that anyway. Your rush job altering it was clever, but ultimately a failure. A more specialized ritual, one designed from the ground up with you in mind…”

“You’re saying,” Catherine said slowly, trying not to get her hopes up, “that there might be something we could do that would put me on par with you?”

“With me?” Zagan laughed. He threw his head back and grabbed his stomach.

Catherine immediately regretted saying that. She should have been vague. Asked for more power in a general sense or something similar.

Zagan’s golden eyes looked down at her. She could feel herself being placed on scales, weighed and measured.

“I wouldn’t mind seeing such. I shall not set my expectations so high. Show me something new. Create yourself anew. Do so and I may grant you a boon of some sort. Fail and…” He shrugged. “Try not to fail.”

With an unrestrained shudder, Catherine nodded. She had just been given an order. An ultimatum. One does not reject such a thing when the source is a Great King of Hell. Not if they wanted to continue existing.

But, oddly enough, she didn’t mind so much. The thought of becoming more powerful was an enticing one. And then there was a boon from Zagan? She was too afraid to ask just what that was. Boons were generally not bad things though. Receiving one from him would be far greater than a thousand favors from one as lowly as Eva.

Whetting the insides of her lips with her tongue, Catherine smiled. “When can we start?”

Yes, this project is far more enticing than the usual desires of succubi.

“Going somewhere?”

Eva glanced up from her work to find Serena leaning against the doorway. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she had a slight frown on her face.

Turning away with a slight shrug, Eva continued packing everything that she thought she might need.

“Just a little road trip. Though how I’m actually going to take it is still up for debate.”