“Why are you in Hallowsdeep?”
“No reason.”
“Hmm, you know anything about these rogue possessions?”
“Of course not, Lord would be so displeased.”
“Yes, yes, he would.” I look around. No one here seems to give a rats ass about anyone but themselves. I grab Beelzebub by the collar of his shirt and drag him into the back alleyway of the building. I make sure to keep contact with his greasy skin, in case he decides to portal. “What did you do again, to get a corporeal body?” I ask him.
“I—I helped find Archangel Michael.”
“Mmm, that’s right.” I punch him hard in the stomach. If he was human, it would have killed him. “I don’t believe you, Beesnatch. You always know what’s happening in the underworld, the little rat you are.” I hit him again in the kidney. He is sputtering and spitting. “Now, tell me. Where can I find this demon?”
“It’s not,” he sputters.
“What’s that?” I punch him one more time, not hitting him as hard as I was previously. I’m basically holding him up at this point.
“Mara isn’t a demon.”
“That’s impossible. These are clear possessions.”
“She’s,” he says huffing, “a halfling.”
“No such thing,” I reply, knowing full well no demon has procreated another demon. We’re made, not born.
“That’s why she can’t possess properly, plus she’s fucking mad.”
“How do you know her? How come no one has heard of her?” I shout in his face.
“Because she’s been here, living as a human until recently. I suspect when she turned eighteen, things changed.”
“Who is her sire?” I punch him in the kidney, not even giving him a chance to speak.
“Stop fucking hitting me!” he shouts, and I hit him in the nose to make myself clear. “Ugh!” He pushes off my chest, and I let him crumple to the floor.
“Who is her sire?”
“You already know,” he says before he portals away.
“Fuck!” I shout. I knew I shouldn’t have ended physical contact with him. His words ‘you already know.’ Meaning she was sired by Milcom, Lucifer? Milcom looked the most guilty during that meeting discussing Mara and he has been kept up to date on these possessions. But how and what is she? Wouldn’t she have found a vessel and stayed in it?
At least some of the puzzle is connected. I walk back into the bar and put a twenty on the table before I leave and get my bike to drive home. Unfortunately for me, Kas and Asmo are still fucking. Looks like I will need to catch them up tomorrow. For now, maybe I can spend some time dream walking in the sweetest little witch’s dreams.
Chapter 9
I’mstillinabit of a haze when I leave Hex and drive home. My thirst for revenge against Ryan is quenched at the moment. Half due to how good it felt to plaster those posters around town. The other half due to how hard I came around his dad’s talented fingers.
Now I just need to figure out what my coven wants and how to make them pay for what they did. Like with any group of weak-minded individuals, you need to find the weakest link and use them to your advantage. I plan on using Clover for that piece of my plan. Partially because she isn’t a very talented witch, and because she slept with Ryan. I don’t care if she believed his lies, she still called me a bitch and tried to sacrifice me with the rest of the coven.
Then there’s the whole someone is stealing from my restaurant ordeal. Normally, that would be high priority, but the way that people are messing with me lately, it’s lower on the list. I already have an idea on how to lure the rat out, with Stevie’s help. She’s the best at potions.
I talk out loud to myself, trying to concoct a plan about the coven. Kidnap Clover, maybe some light torture. Get everything out of her that I can. Maybe cement her feet together and throw her in the ocean. Maybe let her live. It will honestly depend on my mood. Truly, the person who needs to pay the most is my mother. If I can find a way to strip her of her magic, that would be the ultimate payback.
Unfortunately, none of these scared bitches have shown their faces in town since the ritual. The first chance I get, I’m taking one of them and dragging information out of them.
I park my car in the garage of my home, and the door automatically shuts. Stevie is sitting on the couch watching one of her shows when I walk in.
“You didn’t leave at all today?”
