Demon Master 2 (The Demon Master Series) by Daniel Pierce

Author:Daniel Pierce [Pierce, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-26T22:00:00+00:00

30

New Orleans: Elizabeth

“Joseph, water, if you please,” Elizabeth directed in a firm tone.

He handed her a glass with a straw, which she took without looking back. Tied to a chair in front of her was a frail, old man with coal black skin. Wire bindings bit deep into his ankles and wrists, and a single strand of thin copper braid lashed his neck backwards at an uncomfortable angle. Despite his condition, and having been fetched several sharp blows to the mouth, he glared at Elizabeth with an indomitable set to his jaw. A swollen eye wept tears, but the other burned with hatred as he spat the straw onto the floor of the sumptuous hotel suite. Elizabeth shook her head slightly in amazement, as if failing to comprehend why the man would refuse to answer such simple questions.

She leaned slightly forward as if conferring a secret to a cherished friend. “Now, Peter, I’ve asked you here as a courtesy, but I simply cannot grasp why you’re choosing to be so difficult. A few minor questions, perhaps a drawing or two, and we could complete our business and get on with our respective days. Am I being unreasonable?” She stood, smoothing her skirt and walking to the window where late afternoon sun poured onto the carpet in a soft, golden rectangle. “Joseph, if you would be so kind as to repeat my request, using exactly the inflection that Enoch wrote down—”

“I will not help you, demon,” Peter spat. “You will rot before I give you license to tame a ghoul. It is unnatural and a violation of the ways of the gods. You are too poisonous to be trusted with such a thing.” He concluded this condemnation with a slouching motion, as if making peace with his end. It was the right thing to do, considering the atmosphere in the room.

Elizabeth approached him again and told Joseph, “Free his right hand. Then bring me that charcoal and parchment.” She stared into Peter’s eyes with a feral gleam as a shudder ran involuntarily through his chest. His death was close, very close now, and like an animal on the run, he could sense its approach. Joseph wrested one hand free of the wires and let his arm dangle, but Peter could take no action due to the cramps and numbness from his captivity.

Elizabeth placed a stick of charcoal in his weak grip and said earnestly, “Thank you for speaking English, Peter. I so distrust translations of any type. I cannot yet fully trust my pets, and to remove them from their assigned cages merely to—supervise your doodles, that would not be an effective use of my time. Not on such a lovely day, don’t you agree?” She smiled brightly at him as she levered the parchment pad under his hand. “Joseph, for posterity, if you please.”

“We are now recording, ma’am,” Joseph reported, holding a phone aloft to capture what would be the complete capitulation of a man who had been, only hours earlier, a feared practitioner of African blood magic.

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