Paxton De Vil was sitting in a beach chair, relaxed as though he knew someone—or something—was coming. “Ah, and you are?”
I stared at the dick. “I’m the General Ad Hoc of the Order of Hades. I’m here because you need to tell me who the father of Vagar is.”
De Vil laughed. I stared into his eyes and did a Darth Vader move, holding my hand up and making a fist that should have clenched his throat. Unfortunately, it did nothing but make him laugh.
“You think you can intimidate me? You clearly don’t know anything about me.”
I chuckled. “So, you found a holy man to unbind your powers?”
Without warning, there was a shot of lightning that I dodged. Oh, he wanted to play? It was fifth-grade-playgroundon!
I pointed a finger at the asshole, aiming for his head, but it bounced off. That was a surprise.
“You can’t hurt me.”That cocky little bitch.
Now, as much as I loved a good challenge, my mate was outside that back door, probably itching to come inside with Jonas. If De Vil’s powers had been restored, then we would have an entirely new disaster on our hands.
I’d been told when I met Lucifer that if I was ever in a fix I couldn’t handle, I had the full power of Hell at my disposal. I just had to call for it—but I had to be prepared to accept the consequences. I had no idea what that meant, but as I looked at the smarmy little dickhead smirking at me...
“I call on the full powers of Hell to aid me in my quest.” I oddly sounded like someone out of an old knights-of-the-roundtable movie, but if one was invoking the full power of Hell, it should sound dynamic—or so I thought.
After a moment with nothing happening—and having to listen to De Vil’s ridiculous cackle—I decided to clarifywhyI needed the powers I’d been assured would be there, should the need arise.
“This warlock is withholding information necessary to maintain the balance of good and evil between the realms.” I braced myself, and when the charge came, I channeled the energy through my hands toward Paxton De Vil. That shut him up.
I lifted him without touching him, and for the first time, I saw that he was scared out of his mind. I could work with his fear.
“You will tell me now. Who is the sire of Vagar? Which prince of Hell?”
I held him there as the front door opened and Beelz stepped through, arms crossed over his chest and wearing another of theugliest track suits I’d ever seen, along with those stupid rubber clogs, which now had little plastic decorations poked through the holes on top.
“Who is the father of Vagar?” Beelz’s growly voice echoed through the shack to the point that a handful of hellhounds, Er’on, Jonas, and my angel rushed inside, all covering their eyes to shield them from the brightness of the current flowing through me.
The power surge stopped, and De Vil fell unceremoniously to the floor. Beelz pointed to one of the hellhounds, and he confidently strolled over to where De Vil was rolling around like a fool and picked him up, holding him in what appeared to be a steel grip.
“You will answer the prince of Hell.” It sounded like Brok, but which one, I wasn’t sure.
“It was Lucifer himself. He seduced Apate and then denied Vagar his legacy. He was to be a prince of Hell, but Lucifer said he didn’t intend to impregnate the demon, so he refused to bestow the gifts of Hell on him, and now you”—De Vil glared and pointed at me—"have taken his birthright.” I had no idea what that meant, but De Vil was singing like a bird, which was my goal.
Beelz laughter roared throughout the shack and was soon joined by the others.
“What’s going on?” I glanced at all in attendance for anyone to answer.
Scotty stepped forward. “Tell me you didn’t... Do you mean to tell me you summoned the powers of Hell? What does that mean for our mating bond?”
Finally, he reached for my hand. Whatever had upset him earlier seemed to be forgotten. I was ready to do a happy dance.
Beelz put his hands on his knees, continuing to howl, pointing at me, and then returning to his state of hysteria. Jonas simply shook his head as if he was disappointed in me.
“I believe by calling on the powers of Hell, you just sealed your fate as a prince of Hell. Scotty is currently bonded to one of Lucifer’s sons, and you’re no longer a balanced pair.”
Say what now?
Chapter Six
“...you’re no longer a balanced pair.”
My breath caught in my chest. I had previously been angry at Jay because he’d said we were more bonded than we would be in marriage because I wanted the damn tradition. What he’d just done made our situation much more serious. If we were no longer a balanced pair...I couldn’t fathom what would happen to us.
