He chuckled, and as I joked around with him like a buddy, I remembered that he was a powerful fucking demon lord. During our time together, I’d barely seen a fraction of his true power. He could’ve smote me on the spot. He probably could’ve obliterated the city with a snap of his fingers. At least, that’s what the phrase ‘demon lord’ brought to mind.
It was a good thing he was on our side. And had a sense of humour.
“No, dear, I have greater plans,” Faust said, waving his hand. “It’s fun, this matchmaking thing.”
I squinted at the term. He’d never mentioned it outright before, but he did say he wanted Sagitta and I to fall in love. It made as much sense currently as it did back then. But now, I was more inclined to take Faust at his word instead of doubting him. He was pretty instrumental in me falling in love with my boyfriend.
“Why, though?” I asked curiously. “If you’re a totally powerful demon lord, and you can have anything you want, why do this matchmaking stuff at all?”
Faust floated closer with a mischievous smirk. “We’re buddies, Chase, so I’ll let you in on a little secret.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’m a hopeless romantic.”
“Okay, that isnotthe reason.”
He cackled as I rolled my eyes.
“I was kicked out of Hell. Banned, even. You know this, yes?” Faust asked.
As he said it, I had a vague recollection of Cygnet saying something similar.
“Yeah, sort of, but I don’t know why.” I shrugged. “I joked with Cygnet that you were too nice of a guy, so they got rid of you down there.”
Faust’s eyes glinted. On the surface, his face was mischievous as ever, but something else lurked beneath it now. Something I couldn’t put my finger on.
“You’re sweet, Chase. But no. I was a very, very naughty boy.”
“How can a demon be so naughty that he gets banned from Hell? Isn’t that, like, the whole point of being a demon?”
“You are mostly correct. However, demons are supposed to plague humankind. Not other demons.” His grin widened. “I did the latter.”
The way he said it made a cold shiver crawl down my back. Whatever he did, it sounded bad—and I got the feeling he wasn’t sorry about it at all.
Hesitantly, and only because I was sure he wouldn’t reduce me to ashes after all we’d been through together, I asked, “What did you do?”
Faust let out a wistful sigh, as if recalling a fond memory. “I killed the mayor of Hell.”
My mouth dropped open. I seriously didn’t know how to react to that information. For one thing, I didn’t even know Hellhadany form of government, let alone a mayor. Although I suppose it didn’t have one anymore.
“Uh,” I said. “Any particular reason why?”
Faust’s long nose scrunched in disgust. “Because he was a loathsome, meddling prick. And he put a curse on my favourite soap opera actress! She got into an accident and never acted again. She was the heart of the show, which was promptly cancelled. I was livid.”
I blinked, stupefied. This conversation was raising more questions than answers. They had access to human TV down there? Didn’t the demons of Hell have anything better to do than watch our crappy shows?
“Once I found out he’d gotten my show cancelled, I flew into a rage. I offed him in the middle of the night. People got mad. I was chased out by all my neighbours. Isn’t that heartbreaking?” Faust sighed, clutching his chest. “Anyway, it’s ancient history now.”
“You killed the mayor because he got your favourite soap opera cancelled,” I repeated.
Faust chuckled modestly. “I was a bit dramatic back then. But you must understand, it was an excellent show.”
“What was the name of the show?” I asked, wondering if I’d heard of it.
Faust’s lip quivered. He looked like he was about to cry.
“TheSecret Passions of Paradise Avenue.”
By the skin of my teeth, I bit back an outburst of laughter. I recognized that outrageous title. My mom always watched that show when I was younger, so I’d caught an episode. Or thirty. It was not what I would personally describe as quality TV.
But Faust loved it. And I wasn’t about to tell him to his face that it sucked, especially after he’d just admitted to killing the dude who’d gotten it cancelled.
