His gaze roved over the residents still standing on the sidewalk rather than rushing away and taking cover.What were these people thinking?I mean, this was the freaking devil, after all.
“Does it have anything to do with this quaint little town?”he asked, a slyness to his voice.
Quickly, I shook my head.“No, not at all, I swear!”
Idiots.They really should be running.
Think, Daruka, think.Think, think, think!I needed to distract him so he didn’t cause any more harm to this place and its inhabitants.
He tossed a spell over his shoulder.The nearest demons twisted their heads back and forth, some scratching their heads, confused.
“What did you do?”I asked, momentarily distracted.
“Silencing spell,” Dad said, stalking toward me.“I don’t want them to hear this conversation.In fact, I’d prefer if it were only you and I, but somehow I doubt those two behind you will leave us alone.”
“Nope,” Asmoday said.“Sir.”
Krishna shook his furry head.Actually, his entire furry body was shaking, his fearful gaze on the urbane man striding toward us.
“So anyway,” Dad drawled as he came to a stop, “I am fully aware that you’d make a lousy ruler in Hell.”
“Hey,” I protested.“Wait.You are?”
“Oh please.You’re just like your mother.Such a bleeding heart.Always looking out for the underdog.”He gave the fluffy werewolf a pointed glance.
I cleared my throat and dropped my gaze.While I much preferred to be more like my mother, protecting people like Krishna wasn’t something I consciously did.It just sort of happened.
“The problem is, you’re my daughter.Currently, my only offspring.”
“Currently?”
He shrugged.“I spread my seed far and wide.One of these days, another will take hold.Ever since your mother, I’ve made a concerted effort to screw only women with no morals.I’m sure the next one will be the perfect spawn to groom as my shadow.”
I swallowed thickly.“That sounds…lovely.”
“In the meantime, we need to figure out how to save face here.I can’t let all these followers think you’ve won.”He waved at the sea of demons behind him.
“Yoo-hoo!”Selina stepped out from behind an overgrown shrub, wiggling her fingers and shaking her hips as she made her way toward us on a pair of stiletto heels that kept sinking into the soft earth.Her red dress with black polka dots was so short, I suspected we’d be able to see ass cheek if we were behind her.And the neckline dipped almost to her naval.Her eyes were smoky, her lips a deep burgundy, and her hair was teased about a mile high.
She hadn’t looked like this just a short time ago.
“Hi there,” she said, coming to stand next to me.“I’d like to volunteer as tribute.”
“Tribute?”Dad asked, a red flame sparking to life in his eyes.
“Uh-huh.The idea of birthing the spawn of Satan…” Without taking her eyes off him, she shivered.Dramatically.
My mother had been so stressed early in my life, worried that I’d be more like Dad than her.And then later, she worried that he’d come after me and want me to join him in Hell.
This might be exactly what Selina deserved.Even if it was kind of skeevy to think about a twenty-something woman getting it on with my father.
Dad’s gaze licked over her.“Are you even legal?”
Selina pressed her hand to her décolletage and giggled.“You flatter me.”She finger fluffed her hair.“As it happens, I am a hundred-and-fifty-year-old hag.My magic reserve is so minuscule because it takes nearly all of it to maintain this beautiful façade.”
I felt my jaw drop to my chest.Did Asmoday know that?
I couldn’t wait to razz him about sleeping with a cougar.
