Always he made things difficult. "The guardian. He can help me stop the ones responsible."

Lucifer snorted. "No. I like him where he is. My last guard fell victim to a demon's lies and almost allowed a legion to escape. Geryon is impervious to their wiles."

She barely stopped herself from running her tongue over her teeth. Was this a game he played? He needed the wall repaired as much as she did; his refusal grated. Well, not as much, she mused. Unlike her, he would not die if the wall crumbled. "I am your sovereign," she said. "You will—"

"You are not my sovereign," he growled in another display of anger. A deep breath in and out, and he calmed. "You are my…observer. You watch, you advise and you protect, but you do not command."

Because you are too weak, he did not say. But then, he didn't have to. They both knew it was true.

Very well. She would go about this a different way. "Shall we bargain?" she asked.

He nodded, as if he'd merely been waiting for the question. "We shall."

Gates of Hell

"I do not understand," Geryon said, refusing to leave his post. He even crossed his arms over his chest, an action that reminded him of his human days, when he'd been more than guard, more than monster. "Lucifer would never have agreed to release me."

"I promise you, he agreed. You are free." The goddess cast her gaze to her sandaled feet, saying no more.

Did she hide something? Plan to trick him, for whatever reason? It had been so long since he'd dealt with a female, he wasn't sure how to judge her actions.

She was paler than usual, he noted, the rosy glow in her cheeks gone, her freckles stark. Her golden ringlets tumbled down her shoulders and arms, and he could see soot woven throughout the fine strands. His hands ached to reach out, to sift those tresses through his fingers.