Azagoth: A Demonica Novella (1001 Dark Nights) by Larissa Ione Read Free Book Online Page A

controlled spin, she whirled around, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Azagoth, his long strides eating up the distance between them with effortless grace.
    But her sense of relief was short lived. His mouth was a grim slash, and his glacial, calculating gaze left her feeling trapped, as if he was a gladiator and she was a declawed, defanged lion. For a split-second, she reconsidered grabbing a weapon. Instead, she squared her stance and met him head on.
    “I’ve been exploring your buildings,” she said, going on the offensive. “Seems you left some information out.”
    “Your righteous anger falls flat, given that you withheld shit from me too.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about—” Suddenly, they were no longer standing in the arena. They were back in Azagoth’s library, and as he gestured to the chronoglass , her gut twisted.
    “You failed to mention that you can time travel.”
    Oh, shit. “It wasn’t a secret.” Not...really. The truth just complicated things. Things like trying to steal a chronoglass . “But out of curiosity, how did you find out?”
    “A lot of people owe me a lot of favors,” he bit out impatiently. “Now, why did you keep this news away from me?”
    She swallowed. She’d always been a horrible liar. Every angel had to go through espionage ability screening as a youth, and she’d gotten a record low score. Nothing like being notorious for being the worst at something.
    “Answer me,” he demanded. “Is it because you thought you could run away? Breaking news, Angelcake, it won’t work. This device only works for an hour at a time...unless you break out of the shrowd.” He smiled, enjoying her discomfort. “Which is something you seem to be okay with.”
    She inhaled sharply. “What do you know about that?”
    “Does it matter? If it makes you feel any better, I don’t give a shit what crimes you committed in the past. But let’s be clear on one thing; down here, you don’t fuck with me. So tell me, are you planning to escape using the chronoglass ?”
    “That would be stupid. I’d be bringing Enforcers down on my head. I’d spend every minute looking over my shoulder for them. Eventually they’d find me and kill me.” She folded her arms over her chest and glared. “And don’t call me Angelcake.”
    “Enforcers won’t find you if you cut off your wings.” He ran his tongue over his teeth as if savoring the uncomfortable pause. “Angelcake.”
    Asshole. But the asshole was right. Any angel who cut off his or her wings became instantly undetectable to angelic senses. Any angel who would normally “feel” another angel’s presence under certain variable circumstances wouldn’t register her at all. Even face to face, an unobservant angel could very well believe the wingless angel was human.
    “I’m not cutting off my wings,” she assured him. “I hate pain, and seriously, why is this such a big deal anyway?”
    “It’s a big deal because you kept it from me for a reason. I want to know the reason. I don’t tolerate deception. I’d tell you to ask my last assistant about my low tolerance, but his soul is busy being tortured and buttfucked in the Inner Sanctum.” He laughed. “Buttfucked in the Sanctum. Get it?”
    Apparently, the males of all species remained children no matter how old they got. “I get it. Sanctum sounds like rectum.” She rolled her eyes. “So clever.”
    His smile remained, but his eyes were shards of ice. “Now, the truth. Why did you act like you barely knew what a chronoglass was while failing to tell me you could use it?” He snapped his fingers imperiously. “Let’s hear it. My patience is wearing thin.”
    If he snapped his fingers again, she was going to break them. “Maybe I just wanted something for myself,” she said. “I’m in a strange place, expected to mate with a strange male, and I have nothing of my own. Not even clothes, because somehow they’ve been delayed. So maybe I wanted an hour