“I understand that. Let’s see it.”
She sashayed all the way back to the bedroom, and hopped up on the bed again. “I’ll show you, if you answer my questions.”
“Pass. Show me the ring.”
She blew air out through her pony lips, making them flap. “Fine.” She turned over her hoof. There in the center of her hoof was a ring made of metal that glowed red, as if it were made of pure fire.
Power radiated from it, and in the back of my mind, I heard a song. The shriek of agony, the terrifying echo of battle horns. Mountains cleaving in two roaring in a crushing, burying doom.
Demon ring. Demon power. Demon song.
“Okay,” I said. “This needs to be stored somewhere safe. Myra can put it in the vault.”
“Vault?” She narrowed her eyes. “Where is this vault? It contains valuable items doesn’t it? I will of course need to inspect the vault to make sure my valuables will be safe. You do have a record of giving all sorts of undesirables access to this town, Delaney.”
Like demons, I thought to myself.
“No. You give me the ring, I give it to Myra, it goes in the vault.”
“Well, that’s just not going to happen. For very practical reasons.”
“So you can practically plan how you’re going to break into the vault?”
“Only a demon can touch the ring. If any other creature touches it, it will instantly destroy them. Splatter like a roasted tomato.” She showed a lot of teeth in her smile, and it was not pretty on a unicorn.
“All right,” I said thinking quickly. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed.
“Miss me already?” Bathin asked in lieu of answering the phone like a normal person.
“Not even a little bit,” I said. “I need you to meet me at your mother’s place.”
“Hell?”
I choked back a laugh. “Her place here. Hogan’s house.”
“Ah. What’d she do now?”
“I’ll fill you in when you get here.”
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. But I need your help with the ring.”
“Sounds interesting. Be there in five.”
“Why would you think my son can make me do what you want me to do?”
“Okay, I’m going to go over this again. You know my job is to take care of Ordinary and all those who call it home.”
“Boring.”
“That means you too, Xtelle. You call Ordinary home. Which means I’m looking out for you too.”
The look on her face didn’t fit the shape of the pink unicorn she was wearing. It was suspicious, yes, but also…considering. As if she were weighing more than just my words. As if she were weighing the fortitude of my morals. My soul.
Who knew? Maybe she was. She was a demon after all.
“I am the only one who looks after myself,” she said with no trace of histrionics at all. The statement was more than just the facts. It was the core of her, the core of how she’d lived her life all these years. It was the core of how she expected to live her life in Ordinary.
