Read Online Devil's Bargain by Christine Warren - Free Book Online Page B

had to be made to keep Aaron alive and avert the apocalypse, Lilli would make it herself. But before it came to that, she had a plan that would make the next few moments ones she would always remember, whether or not they ended up being her last.
    â€œAre you ready to get started?” she asked, her voice already gone husky with anticipation. She held her hand out toward him and saw him hesitate for an instant before he took it and clasped it warmly in his own.
    â€œReady,” he smiled.
    â€œThen come into my parlor.” She chuckled as she stepped into the mostly completed circle and tugged him in behind her. She gestured toward the blanket spread on the chilly floor. “Have a seat while I finish this up. It’ll only take a minute.”
    Once he had folded his long legs beneath him and settled himself on the floor, Lilli turned away and picked up a book of matches, a small bowl of salt, and the chalk she’d used to draw the outline of the incomplete circle. First, she moved around the circle and lit all of the white candles. When she got back to her starting point, she repeated the process with the black ones. The tiny flames didn’t look like much, but when they were all lit, their collective warmth began to raise the temperature in the circle by a couple of degrees. She knew they’d be glad for that in a little while.
    Lilli pushed back a tickle of nerves and knelt down to close the gap in the drawing, making sure the line was thick and solid with no blank spaces. Then she set aside the chalk, returned to her feet, and began to sprinkle salt along the edge, making her third trip all the way around the circle. She might not be a magician, but even she could feel the way a wall of energy seemed to form around the perimeter of the space, stretching into a dome above their heads. When she glanced back at Aaron, she could see him staring at it with a hint of a smile on his face.
    He must have sensed her eyes on him and glanced back at her. “Nice work,” he said. “That shade of blue is a good color for you.”
    Lilli looked back at her handiwork, but she could see nothing, just the light of the candles rendering the room beyond them shadowy and indistinct. Still, it was nice to get the vote of confidence.
    She completed her binding of the circle by spreading the salt back to her starting point. Setting aside the tools she’dused, she dusted the chalk off her hands and took a seat on the blanket facing Aaron.
    â€œOkay, so that was the easy part,” she said with a wry smile. “From here on out, things might start to get tricky.”
    â€œDevils and demons and apocalypse, oh my?” he grinned back. “Bring ’em on.”
    She laughed. “Down, big boy. You’ll get a chance, but first I want to go over just a couple of things.”
    He took her hands and held them between their bodies. “Shoot.”
    Lilli took a deep breath, blew it out long and slow. Then she looked directly into his eyes and said, “I want you to know that I’m sorry for getting you into this.”
    â€œWhat? Why? What are you talking about? You didn’t get me into anything.”
    â€œYes, I did. If I hadn’t broken into your house and tried to steal the
Praedicti,
you might not be caught up in all of this.”
    â€œThat’s a stupid thing to think,” Aaron said, squeezing her hands gently. “I got caught up in this, so to speak, the minute my uncle left me his house and the contents. He’s the one who got me involved with the
Praedicti
, not you.”
    â€œI know, but I’m the only reason Samael is paying any attention to you. If I’d done the job right or left as soon as I heard you come down those stairs tonight, he never would have known you were alive.”
    â€œUm, hello, but aren’t you the person who told me that he’s been trying to get back a book that basically warns him about me in four different