My brain felt too big for my skull after Asmodeus’s servants left. It was like they were all screaming in my head at once and I couldn’t pick up a single thread. It would have been handy if I could filter because maybe they thought something they weretoo afraid to say in front of Satan because I certainly had no problem saying it.
“I know that look,” Wrathhog said. “Your magic should have trickled in while giving you time to learn how to manage it. The telepathy should have started with random stray thoughts, but based on the look on your face, you are hearing everything now.”
“It’s all a jumble. I gave myself a headache trying to follow a thought to see if they weren’t saying anything.”
“You didn’t have to because I did. They were afraid of my dad, but they told us everything because ofyou.They gave the facts, and they knew if there was something a lower demon couldn’t say to a Prince of Hell, you would say it.”
I mean, that was valid. I wasn’t going to be a nard about it because I liked him, but I would call him on his shit. One of his brothers killed mine and kidnapped my father. We were past the point of being polite. The gates of Hell were weakening and my being here wasn’t going to fix that. I was terrified of meeting my father, but I was also afraid of the fucking apocalypse because someone was on a power trip.
Satan left to do devil things or just to avoid me. I still hadn’t figured out why he left. I didn’t think anyone in this house was going to let me near Asmodeus with my wings like this, but that didn’t mean anyone else couldn’t pluck his wings like a chicken until he answered.
“I could say a lot more if your dad hadn’t flown out of here like his wings were on fire.”
“He’s getting backup since they are using drugs and Furies. Dad is trying to convince Abaddon to come off the bench.”
“Abaddon does know while he’s shacking up with incubi, the gates of Hell are disintegrating, right?” Kujo asked.
Yeah, Kujo would say it sometimes too. This couldn’t all be on me. I was an atheist a few days ago. It was like Angels Gone Wild down here. Abaddon didn’t even need to tap into the beasthe became in battle. He just needed to pretend he would and put the fear of their father into some assholes.
“Abaddon helps in his own way. He’s the one who designed the alert system when there’s a breach. It’s how we know where it was and who escaped. If my father can’t fetch the souls, Abaddon is the one who goes. Asmodeus has a theory if the souls escape in a trickle instead of all at once, it’ll prevent Armageddon and they will become someone else’s problem. The rest of them agree with him and think it’s stupid anyone is bringing them back.”
“Well, that’s a shitty idea,” I said. “They think it’s some kind of drug and it’s not. Addiction is a health issue and we treat addicts like garbage. If someone isn’t locking them in jail, they are trying to profit off of them. They don’t actually know a fucking think about this alleged drug, so they are going to arrest anyone theythinkhas it and I already know labs are going up trying to figure out how to make it. The government is probably trying to figure out how to get their hands on it and tweak it to make super soldiers.”
“I don’t know about allthat,but the angels have tunnel vision when they are on a mission and don’t really care about collateral damage. Humans aren’t equipped to handle escaped souls and if angels do it, a lot of innocent people are going to die. And this might get the angels to get over their aversion to Hell.”
“Nope. Finding Lucifer and trying to fix the shitshow hierarchy you’ve got going on is all I signed up for. Of all the angels I’ve met so far, I only don’t want to kick two of them in the nards. The last thing we need is more of them here killing innocent demons.”
“I agree with you and so does my father. Abaddon does, too, which is why I’m certain he’ll get involved.”
Well, he’d better. There was a reason every writer chose a teenager or young adult if they needed someone to swoop in and clean up a realm after a bunch of men.
I was going to make the idiot men who broke it help fix it.
Iwasn’t sure if Abaddon would help. That was the thing with my kind. People got addicted to us even when we weren’t trying. They had whole rehabs for people who got with us and couldn’t handle it. As far as I knew, Abaddon wasn’t the kind of obsessed that was dangerous and he treated us well, but I knew the real reason he was always yawning and wanting to go home.
Still, I wasn’t going to tell a woman I knew better than her when I didn’t. Wrathhog grew up around Abaddon. I just met him and all I had were stories passed around bars in the bad parts of town.
“Is your dad having to give some grand speech? Shouldn’t he be back with Abaddon?” Sydney asked.
We all laughed. We weren’t laughingather because she was so new here and had a lot to learn.
“You already admitted you hit that,” Wrathhog said, pointing to me. “My uncle loves his incubi. Would you interrupt the Beast of Eden when he’s having a shag?”
Sydney sent me a smoldering look.
“They might have to give me a fancy nickname if someone interrupted me with Nero and Celix. I’ve decided I’m keeping them.”
Yeah, I was keeping her too. I didn’t think I’d ever wanted someone this much. It was like someone created my perfect woman and had her blow the roof off her bathroom.
“A bunch of people aren’t going to like that,” Kujo said.
“When I start telling them who they can be in a relationship with is the day they can tell me. Until that day comes, they can get fucked with a cactus.”
No, they weren’t. Celix and I were lower demons. Some people considered us a step above the imps. Even Kujo wouldn’t have been acceptable, even being half Fury. It was the human half of him that would have gotten everyone’s asshole in a twist, even if Sydney had human DNA.
Satan appeared out of nowhere and Sydney shrieked again. He managed to move as quietly as a Felid demon for such a massive bloke. He even startled me this time, and I was used to living with Celix.
“So, my brother is having an orgy, and it seems like it’s going to go on for a while. I decided to leave a note instead of waiting or father forbid, interrupted. Last time anyone interrupted Abaddon when he was with his lovers, he threw us straight through a brick wall.”
