A Manager From Heaven (girlxgirlxgirl)

22. A demon's game

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"Here is my dilemma, Shepherd."

The incubus demon Mazanin stares her in the eye, a confident but calm smile on his face. He speaks casually, as if this were nothing but a light matter, all while Hael is still tied up to his couch, and Tangie is all but forced to listen to him speak.

"I can't kill you, because that would gravely offend Hela and Hecate, as they outrank me." He begins, saying it with a smile. Tangie's expression is tense. Guarded. She doesn't want to know what he'll say next, but alas, she is forced to be here and forced to do everything that he says. She is powerless, and Hael is tied up. All she can hope is that he doesn't kill them. The clock ticks on the wall next to them. "I could reveal you, but sadly, that would mean a whole lot of bad things for everyone involved."

Tangie frowns a little, not catching on.

"Bad things?"

Her voice is cold and monotonous, but she can't hide the slight curiosity in her tone. Mazanin smiles, but Tangie can sense the slight annoyance pricking behind his expression. He is being awfully honest right now. She was honestly expecting him to kill her, but instead, this night has taken quite a turn. The demon makes sure to keep his tone light, even though the graveness of his words is hard to ignore.

"Well, the angels would be informed of your death and send another soldier after us, and then another and another. Clearly they know of our location and are determined to bring us down. All of us. Hela, me, Hecate..." He sighs out, looking serious. Tangie's eyes widen slightly in realisation.

She's been so caught up with her own misery that she forgot to look at it from the demons perspectives. If only she had. It would've been quite easy to figure out their weakness. Mazanin doesn't want her dead. No. Because that would mean that the angels would send another golden might soldier to kill him and the rest of the demons at his company. Another angel that might be much harder to control than she has been.

"It would be incredibly troublesome. Possibly even dangerous for them and me. Having to kill soldier after soldier until they eventually kill us..."

Tangie is suddenly invested in this, her eyes holding a sense of hope even though she keeps her expression as cold and stoic as it always is. She shouldn't trust this incubus too much. His honesty is nothing but suspicious, and she should take his words as nothing but misleading talk. But Tangie can't help it. She is desperate for any sign of hope to turn the tide in her favour. Now that Hael is here, and Mazanin has decided not to kill her, there might still be hope that she could finish her mission.

"And...?" She breathes out, seeing how he's keeping something at the tip of his tongue. Mazanin grins a little. "And, it would make things too easy for them if I just revealed you. That wouldn't have any benefits for me, now would it? There would be no fun."

Tangie leans back in her seat, sighing and holding back a roll of her eyes. She nods with her lips pressed together coldly.

"Right."

Mazanin ignores her disappointment, looking at her with a small wicked glint in his eye, and a surprisingly sweet amount of pride "If I can keep you here, alive, under my strict supervision, I can ensure our peace and safety for a longer time. And, for what it's worth, I can see many positives in having an angel ready to do my bidding. Two angels, even." He rambles, a grin on his face. Tangie squints, but doesn't say anything. She tries her best to understand his perspective. That way, she can understand what he wants from her, what he doesn't need from her, and how she can crack his weaknesses and use them for her own benefit.