A snippet from A Sense of Murder. Kellan learns that demons can speak the truth—when it serves their purpose…
“Forgive me if I don’t trust you,” I said flatly.
“Ah.” The fiend’s eyes widened. “I see. That’s the issue, isn’t it? Did your pet magus accuse you of consorting with your betters?”
“Yes. No!”
The hellspawn smirked. “You were entirely truthful with him, of course.”
“I told him that I am not the one who summoned you,” I said hotly. “That is the truth.”
“Part of it, at least.” The hellish creature shook its head in mock sadness. “It’s a shame, isn’t it? That I’m the only one being honest with you?”
That caught me completely off guard. Was it my imagination, or was there a hint of empathy in his words? “What in—what are you talking about?”
“Honesty. Truth.” Abnayel shrugged. “It doesn’t matter which side you’re on, they’re both in short supply. Do you think the Empire is full of sweet old ladies, holding hands and singing hymns? No. They operate the greatest war machine that the worlds have ever seen. They can’t afford luxuries like honesty. Not even with their allies.”
“I—”
“Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You are.” My hands opened and closed of their own volition. I forced them open and breathed through my nose once, twice, three times before continuing. “You serve the Accuser. The Father of Lies.”
“Wrong.” That single word stopped me in my tracks. It echoed with bone-weary exhaustion. “I am a slave to Him. What? Do you think I have a choice in the matter of my existence? Ha!”
“You chose to rebel.”
The hellspawn’s lips pulled back in a sneer. “I did. I admit. And I was taken by Him immediately. The same as all of His servants. Before I ever had a chance to draw so much as a single breath as a free being. If I could have somehow found a way to escape his notice, I would have. That’s the truth.”
“Is it?”
“Oh, it is.” The sneer disappeared. “And here’s some honesty for you. I still want you to kill the warlock, Kellan. If you show me you can’t, or won’t, you are worth nothing to me.”
“And I suppose you’ll torture me for ten thousand years?”
“Me? Oh, no.” Abnayel chuckled. “I’ll expose you to your precious Empire and let them do it for me.”
Read more about Kellan and his all-too-familiar demon in A Sense of Murder, coming soon from Selene Press!
Intriguing. This scene is very interesting with a lot of depth in the dialog.