Hell On Heels(59)

“Will you tell my dad I love him?” I felt dumb sending a message through Mr. Life of the Party, but my need was great.
“Of course, Your Highness.” He smiled and disappeared.
The silence in my kitchen was long.
“Ith he gone?” Carl whispered.
“Yep,” I helped them up. “Why were you guys on the floor?”
“Becauth heth an athhole,” Carl muttered as he brushed the dust from the floor off of Janet’s dress.
“He forced us,” Myrtle said through clenched teeth. She pulled out a frying pan and slammed it down on the stove. Oh shit, was she going to cook? Last time she cooked the smoke alarm went off, the indoor sprinkler system came on and the Eden Volunteer Fire Department showed up.
Janet’s head was bowed and she was staring at the floor.
“Janet, are you okay?” I asked, trying unsuccessfully to take the frying pan from Myrtle.
“No, she’s not.” Myrtle’s pretty features hardened in anger. “Look at her.”
I approached Janet and gently lifted her chin. Her eye was swelling shut and there was a deep ugly laceration on her cheekbone. My stomach clenched and Janet refused to meet my eyes.
“What happened to you?” I had a difficult time reining in the fury that was about to set my fingertips on fire. My hair began to float around my head.
“Nothing,” she whispered and turned her head away from me.
“What happened to her?” I turned on Carl and Myrtle. It was a huge effort to hang onto my fragile control.
“He slapped her,” Myrtle hissed. “With a Hell Fire ring on his hand.” She began to crack eggs into the pan a mile a minute. I winced at all the shells she was adding to her egg concoction, then refocused on Janet.
“Why did he hit you?” I squatted down so we were face to face. Her eye looked hideous. I knew it would heal, but it must hurt tremendously. The ring Cole wore carried poison inside it. While it couldn’t kill a Demon it was said to be excruciatingly painful. It was fatal if used on a mortal. Worse than the pain was the humiliation of being struck. A Hell Fire ring was a large piece of powerful jewelry, only worn by a few. I hadn’t realized Cole had earned one. Janet shuddered and big tears rolled down her delicate cheeks.
I contemplated trying to heal her with my own tears, but they had burnt Grandpa. I was worried I would burn her. I realized my healing powers might only work on animals or possibly mortals. I didn’t want to risk causing Janet any more pain. I knew she would heal on her own even if it would take a while. The poison was evil.
Carl wrapped his arms around Janet and rocked her back and forth. “Janet told him we bow to no one but Thatan,” Carl said. He handled his mate with exquisite tenderness, but his voice was laced with hatred.
“But that’s true,” I said. “Why did he make you bow to him?”
“A few of your Dad’s flunkies are like that when Satan’s not around to control them,” Myrtle spat as she shook a ton of salt, pepper and Tabasco into her eggs and shells. I thought she was a vegetarian.
“This happens often?” My stomach roiled and my fingers began to dance with sparks.
“Yes Dixie, this happens often.” Myrtle’s voice was flat and lifeless. “We’re Demons, it’s the nature of the beast. The strong prey on the weak. Period.”
“That’s bullshit,” I shouted. My fingertip fireworks show set the tablecloth on fire. “Damn it.” I quickly clapped my hands, grabbed the salt from Myrtle and dumped it all over the flames. I certainly didn’t want to be the reason for another fire department visit. That was Myrtle’s newest hobby.
I paced the kitchen like a caged animal. How dare he abuse his power like that. It was one thing to punish evil. It was another altogether to beat up on someone weaker.
“I’m finding a portal and going to Hell. I’m going to ask my father to have that son-of-a-bitch destroyed. No one hurts my family,” I hissed. That’s what they had become, my family—and I loved them.
“NO,” Carl roared and stopped me dead in my tracks.
“What do you mean, no?” I challenged, turning my ire on him. The room crackled with tension and aggression.
“You will do no thuch thing,” he insisted, not backing down. “You are a Princeth, your life has been theltered. You have no idea what life ith like for uth.” He shook his head sadly. “If you go to your father about thith, it will be a death thententh for uth.”
“He’s right,” Janet agreed. “When we are done on Earth and go back to Hell, Cole will kill us.”#p#分页标题#e#
“But I’ll have him thrown in the Basement. He attacked my guardians. Royal Guardians. That’s a capital offense.” I frowned in exasperation. I wasn’t getting through to them.