Chapter 45

Lucifer

The second demon had given us some useful information about the rebellions. We hadn’t even needed to make threats to get him to talk. He had hoped to avoid punishment by revealing all he knew. Since the bastard had been involved with the rebellion plans and the escape, I felt no inclination to offer him much in the way of leniency, not that I’d told him that before getting all I needed from him.

“That Zareya demon has a lot of hatred for you,” Hades mused.

We were seated in my office near the detention area. I didn’t want to take him back to my home, not with Persephone there.

I shrugged. “Most in the detention areas do. They blame me for their circumstances.”

“Her hatred goes deeper,” he insisted.

“You’re right,” I agreed. “It seems the attempted rebellion before she was imprisoned was sparked by her belief that being Zeus’s daughter gave her the right to rule.”

“Half the demon realm could probably claim to have been sired by Zeus,” Hades scoffed. “That doesn’t make them all believe they have the right to rule Hell.”

“True,” I agreed. “We should try to find her family. They may be able to shed some light on her other motivations.”

“Who cares why she’s trying to take over the demon realm?” Hades asked. “Her motives might have helped us stop her decades ago, but not now. She hasn’t even seen her family in all that time.”

“I’d like to know what sparked this anger,” I told him. “Is there someone working behind the scenes we don’t know about, someone urging Zareya to rebel? It wouldn’t be the first time a family member cultivated hatred in a child for their own benefit. It’s a long shot, but I don’t want to risk missing any players in this. She may have even found a way to secretly stay in contact with her family while in prison. Contraband phones aren’t uncommon. Her family may also know where she’ll go once she returns to the demon realm.”

“Returns?” Hades asked.

I nodded. “From our interviews today, we know Zareya’s ultimate goal is to rule Hell. She’ll be back.”

“I wonder why she went to the human realm at all,” Hades mused. “It seems crazy since she’ll have a harder time hiding there.”

“According to Beatrice, Desmond is very good at manipulating people,” I began. “I’d say he found some way to convince Zareya to help him with whatever revenge scheme he has. Desmond tried to kill Beatrice before, and he plans to try again.”

“And now they’re both missing,” Hades muttered. “I’m getting tired of dealing with this shit.”

“In general, or just this time around?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Forget I said anything. I’m in a weird mood. I’d better head back to my place before I do something crazy.”

“Are you finally admitting that kidnapping every woman named Persephone is crazy?” I asked.

He chuckled at my question. “Hardly. I was thinking crazy like going over to your place to try to convince her I’m a nice guy.”

I shook my head as we both left my office. Only my cousin would think trying to convince a woman he was a nice guy was crazier than abduction. I needed to put some extra wards up around Persephone’s room, just in case Hades forgot his promise to behave himself. There were already demon wards in place, but I’d add some of my own. With Hades, I might need to resort to something drastic like a ward that caused anyone who tried to open her window from the outside to burst into flames.

When I entered my home, I found the Hellhounds backing a demon into a corner. Their eyes were glowing red as they growled. The demon was clutching two bags. Apparently, Lucy had delegated the task of bringing food.

“Please, help me,” the skeletal demon whispered so he wouldn’t startle the beasts.

“Sit!” I shouted.

The Hellhounds and the demon dropped to the floor. I shook my head and sighed.

Beatrice raced down the stairs in nothing but a towel. “I told you to wait upstairs while I took my bath,” she scolded the Hellhounds.

“Sorry, Beatrice,” they all mumbled.

The demon said nothing. He still looked terrified that the Hellhounds would attack.

“Sorry,” she told the demon before looking at me. “I let them out of the room because Lucy said someone was coming over to feed them. I should have listened to her and had them stay in there, but they promised to behave.”

If I weren’t having so much trouble concentrating with Beatrice wearing nothing but a towel, I might have laughed. A fallen angel could only handle so much temptation in one day. Beatrice had been pushing me to my limit for hours.

“They can be a handful,” I told her, my voice rough with arousal. Speaking of handfuls; I’d bet Beatrice’s breasts were a handful. They weren’t big, but definitely enough to enjoy. I wanted open the towel she was clutching to her chest and let it drop to the floor so I could see what color her nipples were. I wanted to suckle them as she moaned and writhed.

“Are you okay?” Beatrice asked.

“I’m fine,” I assured her. “Why do you ask?”

“You groaned, like you’re in pain,” she explained. “Did you get hurt in the detention area?”

“I’m not in pain,” I assured her in a rough voice. “It would be more accurate to say, I’m not in pain for the reason you think.”

Her mouth opened to form a silent “O” as she regarded me with wide eyes.

“Can I go now?” the demon on the floor asked.

I shot him an irritated look. “Feed the Hellhounds and then leave,” I commanded him in a sharp voice.

Beatrice scowled at me before saying, “Don’t be so rude. You should thank him for bringing food for the Hellhounds.”

Ignoring her censure, I stalked toward her. Beatrice’s expression was somewhere between wary and aroused. It was a good look for her.

When she began to back away from me, I grinned. “Where do you think you’re going, my little witch?”

“Upstairs to put some clothes on?” She’d meant it as a reply, but it came out sounding more like a question as she continued to back away from me.

“I don’t think so,” I murmured in a dark voice.

Beatrice looked like she was going to make a run for it, but I didn’t give her a chance. Bending forward, I tossed her over my shoulder and carried her up to my room. I ignored the pleas from the demon in the kitchen.

“Lucifer!” she squealed. “You can’t leave that poor demon down there. He’s terrified.”

“He’ll be fine,” I insisted, and he would as long as he fed the Hellhounds. It wasn’t a difficult task.