Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 274(@200wpm)___ 219(@250wpm)___ 183(@300wpm)
“So, you’re… here,” Ace said. “For the long haul?”
“I figure, why bother being in hell while Hades is down there renovating shit to his tastes. Tartarus and the Elysian Fields. When I can be up here. Tasting the many fine flavors of human women. Not that way,” he said, when Charlotte’s eyes widened. “The much more… fun way,” he explained. “It would be nice to see where all my demons have been disappearing to as well.”
“All of them?” Ace asked. “Not just fifteen or twenty?” he clarified.
“No. More like a hundred or more. Why?” he asked.
Ace’s glance moved around to the rest of us.
We knew why.
Because we believed that, for the most part, the only reason our level of demons were on the human plane was because of Ace and his determination to get back to hell, forcing the witches to open Hellmouths.
But if he had only had the ritual done twenty or so times, then who the fuck else was opening them up?
And why?
It seemed like the boring, predictable human world was suddenly becoming a fuckuva lot more interesting.
“You haven’t seen more demons?” Lucifer asked, looking around.
“Marceaus had a small crew, but that is all we’ve ever come across,” Ace admitted.
“Interesting,” Lucifer decided. “Has anyone seen my dear old Dad?” he asked, waving up toward the sky.
“Ah, no,” Ace said, looking a bit worried, which was not usual for him. “Are you expecting to?”
“Oh, you never know. The world is very… upside down right now. Five of my formerly high-ranking demons, for example, Claiming human women. Well, except for you,” he said, shooting Dale a smirk. “Though you’re more human than you’re not. So, which one of you is taking me out to a human bar?” he asked, scanning around.
“I guess that would be me,” Seven said when no one else volunteered. “Daemon would do the honors if he was around, but since he’s not, you’re stuck with me.”
“Let’s go,” Lucifer said, getting to his feet, and making his way back out of the house, leaving Seven to stand there looking like he had whiplash.
“What the fuck?” he hissed, throwing his hands up.
But none of us had any answers for him.
So he turned and followed our old boss out, ready to go get him laid by human women as the rest of us tried to process what just happened.
“This is bad news, right?” Nova, Drex’s girl, asked. “I mean… the Devil coming out of Hell and walking Earth, that’s a bad sign.”
“It’s definitely not a good one,” Ace said, exhaling hard.
“Especially for the humans,” Dale agreed.
“Why’s that?” Nova asked.
“Because, now, what or who is going to keep all the demons down in Hell?” Dale asked. “Not these guys,” she said, waving at the lot of us. “Though, them too. But I mean the lower ranking demons. The ones that possess people and eat babies and enslave human women. Those demons.”
“Guess that Demonslayer Academy of yours better get itself back on its feet sooner than expected,” Ace said.
“Right. Like we’re not doing everything in our power to make that happen. It takes time to train these people.”
“Come on,” I said, wrapping my wing around Charlotte who looked a little sick as she stood around and listened to everything.
She was new to this.
And Dale, Nova, and even Lenore had been a part of this world in some capacity or another long before they met and shacked up with one of our crew.
Charlotte needed some time to process. Away from the people who kept piling onto her confusion.
“Why did you usher me away?” she asked when we were back in my room.
“It looked like you were going to be sick.”
“It’s just… a lot to process. A Demonslayer Academy? The Devil. Possessions. Eating babies.”
“It doesn’t help that it is all coming at you at once. You need some time to process it all.”
“I’m not entirely convinced that time is going to help.”
“You have a good mind, Charlotte,” I reminded her. “You’re just having all of your previously held beliefs upended. You need time to cope with that. I have a feeling that once you do, you will throw yourself into what you do best. Studying shit. In no time, you’re be the world’s best expert on demons and demonslayers.”
“And vampires and werewolves and witches… am I missing anything?”
“Do you really want me to answer that question?” I shot back, giving her a smirk.
“You know what… no,” she admitted with a little laugh.
“Look at it this way. You’re safe here. You have time and space to process this. And if you have any questions, you are surrounded by experts. Demons, the Devil, a demonslayer, a witch, and a thrall.”
“Thrall,” Charlotte repeated.
“Nova. She was a vampire thrall for a long time. She can answer your questions about them. The only thing we don’t presently have is a damn wolf. But, fuck, you never know.”