Page 17 of Hell’s Half Acre

But this wasn’t about her. They needed to locate those demons before they hurt innocent humans. “How many of them are we looking for?”

“Twenty-five.”

“Plus Trinket.”

Luke turned slowly to stare at Helly who stepped past him to enter the apartment. “Pardon?”

Helly lowered her head like a toddler facing an angry parent. “Trinket followed you out.”

“And you’re just now telling me?”

There was a ferocity in his tone that Sorcha didn’t normally hear. “Who’s Trinket?”

“A hellcat,” they said in unison.

That surprised her, though she wasn’t quite sure why. Hell had hellhounds. Why wouldn’t they have hellcats too? “And those are?”

“Nasty.” Helly took a seat on his black leather sofa.

Eyes wide, Sorcha closed the door behind them and turned to look at Luke as he inspected the open closet door. “Want to elaborate?”

“Not really.” Luke’s eyes turned bright red.

That made her take a step back. “What’s wrong?”

“One of my siblings was here.”

Given how many of them he had, that didn’t really narrow it down. “How can you tell?”

“I smell my father, and I know he wasn’t here. That leaves one of his progeny.”

Those hellhound genes must have kicked in. Another thing she’d learned about Luke—he could detect things no human could.

“Out of curiosity, what does the devil smell like?”

Luke shrugged.

“Honey, cedar, amber, and juniper…with a smoky tang to it.”

Sorcha arched a brow at Helly’s unexpected answer that Luke had avoided. “Really? I’d have thought sulfur.”

Luke scoffed. “Sulfur by itself doesn’t smell. Burning brimstone…that’s an odor you don’t forget easily. And no, my father is an arrogant prick who would never walk around smelling like one of his pits.”

She supposed that made sense. But it also caused her to wonder… “Why do your siblings smell like him?”

“They don’t all. Just the ones who get close to him. His scent is unique and it lingers.” He wrinkled his nose adorably.

“And there’s another scent over the top of his, but I can’t tell which sib it belongs to. It’s been too long since I was around them to remember who smells like what.”

Interesting. Luke never really spoke much about his siblings, other than as an annoying collective group he was glad not to interact with.

She felt bad for him that he’d never known the relationship she’d shared with her sister. Siobhan had been the absolute best. They’d shared so many incredible memories. So many laughs and hugs. Late-night chat sessions. Ganging up on their parents and teachers. Swapping classes…

How many times had she been asleep when Shy would bound from her bed into Sorcha’s and give her a giant hug.

Remember, we’re in this together. From cradle to grave. Love you!

God, how she missed her sister.