Page 75 of Judge of Saints and Sinners

“So you must understand that whatever happens today, whoever comes walking through those doors, they are not here to help us. They want to overturn my family, to run the Underworld as they see fit. The souls there are merely a bargaining chip to gaining power. They will not protect them. They will not offer them the afterlife they are owed.” His eyes flashed past me. “Isn’t that right, Drude?”

24

Justine

I scrambled to roll over so quickly that I nearly toppled off onto the ground. But nothing could have prepared me for what waited for me in the middle of the room. Smoky gray shadows were cast off a tall, robed figure. They curled and moved, making my stomach riot as a strange kind of motion sickness swept over me. It was as if the elements themselves were rejecting the creature that stood in their midst. The foreboding sense of unnatural power filled the air, and I could feel Nephesh’s heat and strength behind me as the bond in my chest brightened and tugged harder.

I blinked slowly, trying to re-center myself. Nephesh’s hand slipped around, holding my hip as together we stared at the creature who was single-handedly trying to destroy Nephesh’s world. And now my own.

“Enjoying pleasures of the flesh, demon?” asked the Drude, its voice an unnatural whisper that echoed across the chamber like the crack of a whip. I flinched as my heart burned, as if rejecting the words themselves. “Who could blame you? Humanity can be so”—he stepped towards our cell—“distracting, can’t they?”

“Release us, Drude, and then we can discuss whatever you'd like.”

“You know I cannot do that. The heir to Hell, in my very own midst.” The Drude tutted, but the sound was odd and clattering, and I wondered briefly if he even had a tongue amidst the blackness of his hooded face. “Too good of an opportunity to discuss the new rules for the new world.”

“And what world is that?” I asked before I could stop myself and instantly regretted it when the Drude’s hooded face tilted down. I could feel that he was tilting his head, watching me closely as he took a single, awkward step forward.

My stomach curled at the strangeness of his movements. Or was the Drude even a he? Not that it mattered. I was terrified.

“My world, witchling.”

Nephesh snarled, and I tensed as the Drude stepped forward. “Just like your mate here, I can see what all these humans cannot.” The hood tilted a little bit, revealing gray, pale flesh. “And besides, I can smell your witch blood from here.”

Witch? I was a witch? What did that even mean?

Nephesh’s voice broke through my harried thoughts. “Leave her out of this.”

“You know I cannot.” The Drude’s shadows leaped about him, tangling and touching the darkness of the room’s corners. The black-dressed tactical soldiers behind them quivered as his shadows moved around them. “How poetic. Your mother will be thrilled when I tell her. Her first son, destined to love a foul-tempered witch for the rest of his days.”

“I’m not…foul tempered,” I finished lamely.

The Drude observed us in silence for a long moment, and I could feel Nephesh’s growing tension and power. And while I knew he was strong, something inside me wanted to scream for him to stand down, to wait, because there was something bigger at play here. I could feel it. Showing his power, even without the soul he still kept separate, was showing the Drude what Nephesh’s capabilities were.

I didn’t think we were ready for that. Not when we were already trapped here, our backs to the wall. I reached a hand back, finding his fists clenched. “You kidnapped me for a reason. You brought us both here for a reason. If it was just to lure Nephesh in, then you would’ve been more prepared.”

The Drude moved across the floor silently, his shadows leaping and jumping against the gray cement floor. “This one is quite bright, don’t you think?”

The crew of people behind him remained silent, watching.

Nephesh moved to stand at my side then, his hand uncurling only long enough to intertwine our fingers before curling up again. “If you have a problem with my family, then you can address me. The girl is no asset to you. Let her go.”

I jerked my head up. He couldn’t mean that. We were in this together.

“Oh, but she is of great importance to me, my lord.”

I could almost sense the smile in Drude’s words, even though I couldn't see them.

“We could do great things together, Justine.”

Fear clogged my throat as his attention turned back to me. I couldn’t see his face or any of his features, but I knew he was looking at me. I knew he was observing me as if I were a lowly bug on the ground before him. I hated it. My legs shook as I spoke back. “I don’t want to do anything for you.”

“You say that now, but no matter what this one has told you, my offerings are quite sweet. And other than that sad business with your brother’s pretty face—” he tilted his hooded face to address Nephesh for a moment before looking back to me “—I’ve always held up my end of the bargain.”

Nephesh smiled, all fang, no emotion, and I wobbled in place. Here it came. The offer he must’ve been considering the whole time I was here. Because he was looking for an in. And I was as good as worthless with Nephesh holding my soul. Yet here they waited. They still needed something from me. I tightened my hold on Nephesh’s hand, just for a moment.

“What if I told you that the reason you always felt like you were in chaos is because chaos runs in your veins? An usually large amount, especially for the time and space. Perhaps that is why you were this one’s mate. I imagine it takes one hell of a person to hold the Prince of Hell's soul for as long as you did.”

I kept my face carefully blank, hoping he couldn’t see the rest of me as I shook. “Maybe I’m just stubborn.”