Absurd.
“I knew my daughter would come,” he said, forgetting the vampire as he turned to meet Raith’s horrified gaze.
“Daughter?” The creature shook his head. “That’s impossible. The Chatri have retreated from the world.”
Sariel eyed his enemy with cold anticipation. “I am the King of the Chatri. My blood can create gold out of dross.”
“But . . .” The Nebule hissed in sudden fury. “The witch.”
“Yes.” Sariel’s smug smile hid his initial shock when he’d first felt the witch’s spell that had reached even through the barrier.
Her desperation for a child had not only drawn his attention, but it’d given him the perfect solution to escaping from his prison.
If she wanted a baby, he would give her one.
A very special one.
The air trembled as Raith’s goat eyes smoldered with a slit of crimson.
“I should have tracked her down and killed her.”
“I knew in time your arrogance would be my eventual means for escape.”
Raith tried to covertly back away. Did he think Sariel would actually allow him to escape?
“You call me arrogant?”
“I call you a fool.” Sariel held up his hand, cold anticipation bubbling through him like the finest nectar. “Now you will pay.”
“No.” Holding out his hands, Raith went to his knees. “We can work out a bargain. I have acquired a fortune over the centuries.”
Sariel took satisfaction in the sight of his captor pleading for his life.
A pity he couldn’t take the creature to his homeland. It would be far more satisfying if he could prolong the Nebule’s torture for several centuries rather than a handful of minutes.
Unfortunately, the spells he’d woven around the entrance to the lands of the Chatri had been specifically created to kill a Nebule who dared to trespass.
“You have nothing I want,” he informed the pathetic demon.
“You don’t know that.” Raith paused, clearly trying to think of something that might tempt a Chatri. “I’ve collected priceless gems and magical artifacts,” he at last offered.
Sariel considered less than a heartbeat.
It was true that Chatri were addicted to collecting wealth. Only dragons could claim larger hoards of gems, precious metals, magical artifacts, and knowledge. And as king, his hoard was larger than any other.
The temptation to increase his wealth wasn’t something he would have dismissed so easily if he hadn’t been plotting for years to destroy this creature.
Focusing his power to a narrow band, he directed it to wrap around the kneeling demon. Like a lasso of light that seared into the Nebule with intense pain.
“All I want is your death.”
“Why?” The demon shuddered, his human form desperately trying to disintegrate to escape the searing magic. “It will give you nothing.”
“You’re mistaken.” Sariel smiled, taking full pleasure in watching the golden glow slicing through the spongy flesh of his tormentor. How many hours had he devoted to imagining this precise moment? Thousands and thousands. His smile widened as he deliberately allowed his magic to burn brighter, increasing the pain. “Killing you is a priceless treasure.”
Raith screamed until his voice came out in a hoarse plea. “What about your people?”
Sariel heard the sound of his daughter urging the vampire away from his power that was spilling through the portal. Not that he cared what happened to the leech.
It would be far better if he died at the same time as the Nebule.
“What about them?” he demanded, his tone revealing his lack of concern.
There was no means for the demon to hurt his people.
“I have them hidden,” the Nebule warned, his voice a mere thread of sound. “They will die if you kill me.”
Sariel frowned. Captured?
Abruptly he realized Raith was referring to the kidnapped fey that he and his partner kept in a holding pen somewhere in the portal.
He waved a dismissive hand. “They’re not my concern.”
“But . . .” The words were forgotten as another scream was wrenched from the Nebule, his flesh slowly melting beneath the heat of Sariel’s magic.
With a ruthless precision honed over centuries of battles, Sariel amped up his magic notch by agonizing notch.
The Nebule pleaded and cursed and threatened until he could no longer speak. Instead he tumbled forward, his body twitching with a pain that was unimaginable.
Sariel allowed it to linger for nearly an hour, his fierce need for retribution only partially fulfilled when the creature abruptly burst into flames. Within seconds there was nothing left of Raith but a greasy pile of sludge.
Walking forward, he passed a hand over the blackened pile, wrapping a layer of magic over Raith that would prevent his people from collecting his remains and giving him a proper burial.
He might be dead, but his soul would remain trapped in this spot for all of eternity.
“I suppose that shall have to satisfy me,” he murmured, turning to find his daughter clutched in the arms of the vampire. “You killed his partner?”
She gave a wary nod. “Yes.”
“You make me proud,” he informed her, knowing that his words of praise would be worth more than the finest jewel to his offspring. “Only the most powerful Chatri could destroy a Nebule single-handedly.”
She frowned, not seeming to appreciate how rare and precious it was to receive his praise. Some of his people had devoted decades of labor just to earn a faint nod of approval from him.
“It wasn’t single-handed,” she protested, glancing toward the vampire.
“Fah.” Sariel sniffed. His daughter’s bond with the vampire was something he needed to break. The sooner the better. “A leech couldn’t be of assistance.”
The vampire flashed his fangs. “I really don’t like you, fey.”
Fey? He was Chatri.
Sariel squared his shoulders. “Trust me, the feeling is mutual.”
Sally continued to frown, seemingly impervious to the male sniping.
“What did he mean?” she abruptly asked.
Sariel turned his attention to her tense face. “Who?”
“The Nebule.”
“Ah.” He forgot the vampire. This was a proper response for a true Chatri. “You wish to claim his treasure?” He offered a gracious smile. “It is yours if you desire it. You have earned a reward.”
Her brows snapped together as if offended by his generous offer.