Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Staying several yards away from the door, I throw out my hand and telekinetically open the door. I can sense the demonic energy coming off of Drea as soon as the door opens. It’s heavy and oppressive and reminds me of exactly what she is: a demon.
She is not to be trusted.
“You’re early,” I state, blinking as my eyes adjust to the light shining behind her.
“Well, this body isn’t going to last long.” She steps inside and I can smell the decay coming off the person’s skin she’s wearing. “You wanted ethically sourced and Chicago has no short supply of homeless people. This one has been dead for at least a few hours. Rigor mortis had already set in and I had to crack a few bones just to be able to walk here.”
Drea is possessing an older woman with long gray hair hanging in messy braids on either side of her face. She’s thin and pale, with deep purple circles under her eyes. Blood pools in her hands, which is typical of a freshly dead body.
I telekinetically shut the door behind her and Lucas immediately zooms over to me, putting himself between me and the demon. I can’t see his face, but I know he has his fangs drawn.
“Before we even entertain the idea of talking,” he begins. “You need to answer one question for me.”
“Of course,” Drea says, voice hoarse. The woman who’s body she’s in must have been a heavy smoker at one time.
“What’s in this for you? And don’t tell me it’s because you don’t want the world to fall under Paimon’s rule.”
“I mean, that is a major why as I told your wife,” she explains. “I don’t want to have to answer to anyone, let alone some douche canoe sitting on the throne.”
“It’s more than that,” Lucas insists. “Isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” she admits and I feel my heart skip a beat. I summon an energy ball just in case. “There is one more thing.”
“Pray tell?”
“When this is over, you have to promise not to kill me.”
Chapter
Eighteen
“What do you expect? That we braid each others hair and talk about boys every Friday night?” I retort.
“It could be fun,” Drea says with a shrug. “Once I’m in a different body. But I’m talking a sanguinis vinculum. To ensure my life.”
“Blood bond?” Lucas questions, tipping his head ever so slightly so he can see me.
“It’s a binding spell,” I explain. “Similar to what was cast on my mother and her sister.”
“You can tweak it however you want,” she goes on. “Just as long as you promise that you won’t smite me, kidnap me, torture me…ya know. Nothing unpleasant. I want complete immunity when this done.”
Neither Lucas nor I speak just yet, and I know he’s thinking the same thing I am. Giving a demon a lifetime supply of get out of jail free cards isn’t a good idea. I have no idea what Drea is planning. She could want Paimon off the throne so she can try to take it for all we know.
“You’re going to have to really convince me on that,” I tell her.
“Would a two-way portal in and out of Hell that Paimon doesn’t know about help sweeten the deal?”
“Perhaps,” Lucas says calmly. “If we knew you weren’t lying.”
“Smart to question me,” she says back. “And I already thought of a way to prove it to you. Tell me something you saw in Hell and I’ll have someone fetch it for you. To prove that there’s a way in and out that’s been left unguarded.”
“Someone fetch it?” Lucas repeats. “Other demons know about the portal?”
“Yeah. A select few who are loyal to me.” She strides forward and goes around the bar, pulling off a top shelf bottle of whiskey.
“Let’s play the tape through,” I say, pulling out a bar stool. Lucas and I both take a seat, still on defense. “You smuggle us into Hell, I kill that motherfucker, and then you…what?”
“I want to possess every sad son of a bitch who wears one of those stupid dresses and takes videos on that viral swing in Bali.”
Raising an eyebrow, I look at Lucas, making sure I heard her right. “That’s…that’s oddly specific and very confusing.”
She grabs a glass from under the bar and fills it halfway with whiskey. “Maybe I’m enjoying my villain era more than my demonic one at the moment, but I have discovered the pure joy of messing up lives one little thing at a time. And the way humans rely on technology has made it so fun!” She takes a big drink of whiskey. “A message here, a nude photo sent to your sister’s husband there…it’s so fun!” Her eyes get big and I think I know how Eliza felt when she first met me.
Because this demon is bat shit crazy.
“Instead of killing people you just fuck with their lives?” Lucas asks, needing to be sure we’re following.