Ever After (Rachel Morgan)

little cooking this afternoon, love?”
    My eyes narrowed. “There was no need to kill Ceri and Pierce.”
    A hint of a smile lifted Ku’Sox’s thin lips. “Simple enjoyment.” He glanced at the nursery. “What a marvelous woman she was. Al taught her so many, many things. She lasted the entire morning. I didn’t even have to be careful. Ahh, that’s so rare, so invigorating.”
    Trent’s jaw was clenched, and my stomach twisted. Lucy had both hands out, craning her neck to see Trent as her fists opened and shut, struggling to reach him, little whines of frustration punctuating her loud demands. “You should have left,” Trent said. I could see parts of him starting to reassert themselves, assessing the situation, deciding what would be cast aside as unrecoverable and what might be salvaged. I wondered which side of the scale I was on.
    “Ku’Sox won’t kill me,” I said, my insides shaking as I shifted my feet to find my balance. “If he does, the demons will start looking at him to fix the line.”
    Ku’Sox’s expression twitched. “Just so. Unless you give me provocation, it’s best to leave you alone. For a few days.” Now he smiled, and again my loathing fought with my fear. “Which begs the question of what you are doing here, Rachel? Rescuing your familiar?”
    Ku’Sox was moving. My heart pounded, and I backed up. Trent, though, didn’t move.
    “As he has probably told you, he is here of his own free will,” the demon said, stopping to keep Trent just out of Lucy’s high-pitched, angry reach. “We’re good friends,” Ku’Sox said as he smacked Trent’s cheek. “The elf freed me, and in return, I’m going to free him of everything that binds him, no ties to anyone at all. Aren’t we, little Lucy?”
    Trent was almost panting as he stood inches from his daughter, afraid to reach out.
    Laughing, Ku’Sox turned away. Under his arm, Lucy cried her frustration.
    “I’m not leaving here without Bis and Lucy,” I said, and Nick, leaning against the window and nursing a swollen lip, made a noise of derision. “Lucy is my godchild, and Bis lives with me. I think that comes under ‘not harming me and mine.’ I get ignoring the me part since you’re an ass, but you will not harm them.”
    Sure enough, Ku’Sox smiled. “Rachel, Rachel, Rachel, I have no intention of harming you—unless you attack me first, of course. No one will fault me for defending myself. Please, do try. Then I can drop this charade and we can all move on with our lives. That’s what this is all about, you know. Getting others to kill you for me. But interpretation of the law is so-o-o difficult,” he drawled. “As I told you before, get the proper papers filed, and I will gladly hand Lucy over.”
    I slumped where I stood, the machines clicking behind me to mark time in this nightmare. Trent’s face was ashen as Ku’Sox struggled with Lucy. “Down!” Lucy cried. “Down, down, do-o-own!”
    Giving the girl a little shake, Ku’Sox shifted her to his other side, and her cries went from frustration to hopelessness. Behind him, Bis was waving me off, his gray-skinned hands making the pixy signal to go to ground. He wanted me to leave? Standing at the outskirts, Nick saw the gesture, but Trent didn’t, his attention on Lucy as he became more and more agitated.
    “They know you’re lying,” I said so the demon wouldn’t notice Bis talking to me.
    “Of course they do.” He turned to Nick, growling, “Get me that chair.” His expression again pleasant, he smiled at me. “Is it not deliciously ironic? My lie is far more attractive than your truth. If they subscribe to my lie, they don’t have to do anything about me—leaving it for you to handle or die. Which you will do if you persist.”
    His motions furtive, Nick darted between Trent and the machines for the chair. He looked like a bug, and my lip curled. “I know demons better than you do, Ku’Sox Sha-Ku’ru. They always bite the hand that feeds them.” Nick trundled the rolling chair back to Ku’Sox, and it was all I could do to not reach out and kick him.
    “Daddy! Down!” Lucy demanded, her eyes wet as she stared at Trent as if betrayed.
    Ku’Sox held Lucy in front of him, looking scornfully at the little girl as she howled. “You’ve noticed that as well?” he said dryly as he sat with Lucy on his lap. She began squirming, her little feet kicking as she struggled. “My God,” Ku’Sox said, his patience clearly wearing