Lucifer’s Daughter(19)

“To kill,” hissed the ugly creature.

I rolled my eyes. That had been a little too obvious. I hopped off the stool and walked over to them. I looked down at the minor demon, not recognizing it. Not that I knew every demon in Hell, but I knew a fair bit; some I even considered friends.



Auric lifted his sword to strike the killing blow that would send it back to Hell, unable to be summoned for a hundred years while it healed, but I stayed his hand.

“Kill who?” I asked. I hated vague answers.

“Lucifer"s daughter,” it cackled.

I frowned at it. “I know who I am. I asked who you were told to kill.”

“You.”

“Me?” I squeaked. I wasn"t scared, just annoyed at its effrontery. I mean, seriously, did he really think his not-so-impressive ass could have kicked mine? “That"s ridiculous. My dad is going to rip out your innards when you get back to Hell, you little rodent.” And I was tempted to follow and kick him around a few times, too, for breaking up one smoking hot kiss.

Auric"s voice rumbled and he didn"t sound happy. “Who wants Muriel dead?”

“The one who would rule Hell. My master, G–.” The little demon began choking up gobs of black blood and bile.

Eeww!

Auric and I both stepped back–me mostly to save my boots--and watched the creature"s body as it convulsed, its limbs thrashing hard against the floor. With a high pitched squeal of pain, the demon"s body caved in on itself, shrinking in size, „til with a pint-sized scream, it winked out of sight; and, judging by the burst of energy at the end, permanently.

“Shit! Now there"s something I"ve never seen before,” I exclaimed. “I"ve got to go.” I had to tell my dad about this. Someone had managed to completely destroy a demon from afar. An act that should have been impossible.

“It"s not safe; perhaps you should stay here,” said Auric, wiping his sword blade down with his napkin from dinner.

I looked at him in disbelief. “Nice try, Casanova, but the making-out thing is going to have to wait for another time. I"ve got to go talk to my dad and ask him what, by the hag"s hairy tit, is going on.”

“What?” Auric looked confused, then he frowned at me. “This isn"t a ploy to get in your pants.

You heard what the demon said. It was after you. You"re in danger.”

“Yeah, well, welcome to my life. Daughter of Satan, remember? This isn"t the first time it"s happened, and it probably won"t be the last. My dad made sure I could protect myself at an early age. Speaking of which, some of my weapons are back at my place, so if there"s going to be a bunch of demons gunning for me, then I need to get ready.” Not to mention one of the first things Dad had done when I"d moved out on my own was ensure my apartment was portal-and demon-proof; well, except for him, of course. The only way demons could enter my place was through the door, and by invitation only.

“You"re not going alone,” said Auric, moving to a cabinet against the wall. When he opened it, I almost clapped my hands in glee, for my handsome suitor had almost as many cool toys as I did.

Swords, knives, guns, and yes, even a flame thrower. I could feel another piece of my heart swinging in his direction, and I had to stifle an urge to throw my arms around him and kiss him silly.

I watched him slide silver knives into his boots in cleverly hidden sheathes, and up his sleeves with leather straps. I shook my head in bemusement. Auric just seemed too perfect to be true. I"d have to find his major flaw soon.

The final touch--his leather duster, of course. He swung it on, hiding his arsenal, and held his hand out to me, his eyes so vividly intense that I caught my breath.

As if in slow motion, I walked to him and put my hand in his; his warm strength made me feel alive, and closer to someone than I"d ever felt. For a girl who"d spent most of her life alone, almost friendless, this contact seemed precious to me. Auric knew my deepest secret. He"d seen some of the ugly parts of my life, and yet he didn"t run.

Yeah, but wait ‘til he meets Dad, said my stupid inner voice. Shut up, I snarled back.

I hated it when I was right.





Chapter Five


When we emerged from Auric"s building, his friends were just walking up. I threw Auric a suspicious look. He just smiled enigmatically. I"d really have to have a talk with him about whom and what he was.

“Muriel, may I introduce my long-time companions, David and Christopher.”

David smiled at me shyly while Christopher swept me a bow.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” And it was. Auric had good looking, not to mention interesting, friends.