Page 46 of Wicked Things

He stretched out his arm and pointed to a body lying nearby. “There’s one of the human ones there, sire.”

I spurred my horse to ride over to him and saw him still twitching on the ground. I leaped down and turned him roughly over, staring down into a face I’d seen not that long ago.

“Demon!” I shouted, rearing back in disgust and horror. It was the same creature I’d faced not long ago, when I’d gone through the portal to Hell to find my mate.

“Speak, Demon!” I said, pulling him up by the front of his hauberk and growled down into his ruined face. One of my soldiers had used their dagger to gouge out what was left of his eye, and he had a gruesome, bloody wound. Though he was trying to come back from it, he was still struggling. If I didn’t finish him off soon, he’d succeed. Many of these lesser demons had the power to recover from almost anything other than fire or cutting off their heads.

“Tell me who you are, damn you and why you came after Braden.”

He lifted his head long enough to snarl at me through bloody teeth. “Fuck off, Faery. I’ll tell you nothing!”

“Give me your name, demon!”

He sneered up at me mockingly. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

You could gain power over a demon or a Faery for that matter by knowing his true name, A name acted like a cosmic key or a handle and holding it would allow the questioner to force an answer or issue direct commands

“How unfortunate for you that I think I already know your name…Zaguel.”

The creature squealed like an enraged wild hog. He kept on trying to scrabble away from me until I slapped his face with all my strength, nearly dislocating his jaw and ordered him to shut up, using his demonic name to force him to comply. He looked up at me with pure hatred in his one good eye and spit out the words.

“What the fuck do you want, Faery?”

“Tell me where you took Braden, damn you, or I’ll rip off your head and stick it up your ass.”

“I believe you might try to, but my friends will be coming back for me soon.”

“Liar. Tell me where they took Braden.”

“Very well, I’ll tell you, but you’ll be hearing from Leofric soon enough anyway. He wants gold for his return. Probably jewels too. You’re rich enough. Give him what he asks and Braden will be released.”

“What’s your stake in this, Zaguel?”

“Me? I was only trying to help my son.”

I snorted. “Your son? Who the fuck is your son?”

“Leofric, of course. He summoned me and asked me for my help. We struck a deal. He made me an offer, and I agreed to help.”

“You’re lying, demon. How can Leofric be your son? Braden’s grandmother told him she stopped you from coming to her after his mother was born. The priests gave her holy objects and taught her chants to stop you from preying on her.”

He barked out a laugh. “Priests…half of them are crazy and the rest are useless. Leofric is my son. She loved me. She’d have given me more sons if I hadn’t tired of her first.” He laughed again. “She got rid of me…ha!”

“Tell me where your half-wit son took Braden.”

“What bargain will be made with me if I do?”

“Let’s see,” I said, pretending to think it over. “You tell me now, and I won’t cut your fucking head off.” I pulled back my sword, bringing it down on his neck just enough to make him bleed like the pig he was. “How’s that for a bargain? You tell me what you know, and I won’t cut off your fucking head and let my horse stomp it flat.”

He shot me a look of pure hatred, but he must have seen how serious I was by the look in my eyes, because he held up his hands to ward me off, and he began to babble everything I wanted to know.

The most reliable thing about demons was that when it came right down to it, they only cared about themselves.

****

Braden

The attack had all happened so fast. One minute I was taking my morning ride in the forest with my guards, giving Crow some exercise, and the next thing I knew, we were surrounded on all sides. They had flowed from the woods lining the road like the morning mist, filling up the road ahead and behind us, streaming out of the trees and surrounding us, and though the men of my guard pulled their weapons and fought valiantly, there were far too many of them, and we were quickly overwhelmed. Most terrifying of all was the fact that most of them were ogres, those monstrous, fearsome creatures my lord had faced not long ago at Falias. I thought we were all surely about to be slaughtered.