Me and My Shadow - Katie MacAlister [120]
I shook my head as they left, and said softly to Gabriel, “I don’t know that I’m ever going to get used to that.”
“You and me both,” he said with a wolfish grin of his own, and I thought seriously for a few minutes about demanding a nap.
“There is still much we must do,” he said, accurately reading my mind. “But later, once it is done, then I will do all those things you are thinking about. Particularly the one where you are on your hands and knees and I take you from behind—”
I stopped his words with a quick kiss, then straightened my shoulders and entered the sitting room.
Dr. Kostich was there, but he wasn’t alone.
“Sally?” My brain, somewhat fried by this point, sluggishly tried to figure out what on earth the newest demon lord in Abaddon was doing in Aisling’s sitting room, chatting happily with Dr. Kostich.
“—Mama always said that there’s a place for everything and everything in its place, and I always believed that was true, but you know, my time spent in Abaddon has been quite the eye-opening experience. I see now that my dear mama just wasn’t right, no, she wasn’t. Because honestly, how do you explain portals? If your arcane magic was as strong as you say, why, then, you could just seal portals to Abaddon and no creepy crawlies would ever get through, would they? But they do. Therefore, dark magic has to be the stronger. May! You look horrible, sugar, just horrible. Are you using that salt scrub I recommended?”
Sally ceased patting Dr. Kostich’s hand, which was a good thing, since he was staring at her with unadulterated disbelief.
“What are you doing here? How did you get in?” I asked, looking around the room to see if any other demons were in attendance. I knew Drake had some sort of a demon alarm, but it must have been disabled with the attack and subsequent rebuilding.
“Oh, some very nice workmen let me in when I said I was a friend of yours.” She smiled her sharky smile at me.
Dr. Kostich transferred his horrified gaze from her to me. “This . . . woman . . . is your friend?”
“Well . . .” Sally’s eyebrows rose.
I cleared my throat, not wanting to cause trouble. “Sally is a demon lord, and she served as Magoth’s apprentice for a few weeks. I know her from when I was trapped in Abaddon.”
“I see.” His brows lowered.
“Yes, we did meet there, and we had ever such a lovely time, didn’t we, May? We had lots of fun talking about all sorts of girl things, like interesting ways to accessorize spikes, and how to get bloodstains out of leather harnesses, and just exactly what Magoth’s penis curse says. But silly chatterbox me, here I’m keeping you standing there when you clearly need to get some rest. I’ll get right to the point: I’m here because of Magoth.”
“Agathos daimon—he’s out?” I asked, trying to figure out how he could have gotten out of the Akasha.
She bent a stern look upon me. “No, and that was very naughty of you to have him banished without telling Lord Bael. He was most displeased when he heard what you’d done.”
“Why would Bael care what happened to Magoth?” Gabriel asked.
“Why? Because May is bound to Magoth,” Sally said just as if that explained everything. “And Magoth was a subservient prince to Lord Bael.”
“The key word there being was,” I pointed out.
“Exactly.” She smiled and patted me on the cheek.
I sagged against Gabriel. “Sally, I don’t have the energy to play clever word games. Just spit out what it is you want to say.”
“Well, I will, but I have to say I don’t much appreciate your attitude,” she said crossly. “You were bound to the demon lord Magoth, yes?”
“Yes,” I said, an uneasy feeling springing to life in my stomach. I leaned a little harder against Gabriel, relishing the feeling of his arm around my waist.
“But Magoth is in the Akasha, and you can’t be a demon lord if you’re banished to limbo, can you?”
“I guess,” I said warily, the bad feeling growing.
“Magoth is no longer a demon lord, and thus your existence is negated.”
I blinked at her in confusion.