Auric growled in reply. Seriously. I walked around his bristling body and went to the door.
Flinging it open, I was very careful to stand back from the threshold.
I heard a familiar chuckle, and a demon I unfortunately knew stepped into view in front of my doorway. “Hello, Satana.” Eerie black eyes flicked to look over my shoulder, and the demon"s next words weren"t so jovial. “I see you"ve found yourself a protector.”
Auric"s strong presence at my back gave me extra confidence and cockiness. “What do you want, Azazel? Did my father send you?” I asked Satan"s lieutenant, and my former suitor.
Actually, suitor depended on how you looked at it. Azazel wanted me; I had just never wanted him. Something he still had a problem grasping, hence my caution where he was concerned.
“Lucifer is on his last legs. A new power is coming, and it will sweep your father from his throne, and a new order will prevail in Hell.”
“Traitor,” I hissed. Knowing my father"s trusted lieutenant had betrayed him made me see red, and I fought an urge to step through that door and punish him. However, Azazel was a high level demon, thus a thread of sanity and self-preservation held me back. But being smart didn"t mean I wasn"t still pissed. “You"ll pay for your change in loyalty,” I promised. Perhaps it was my glowing eyes, or the nasty smile that curled my lip; either way, Azazel took an unconscious step back.
As if realizing he"d shown weakness, Azazel puffed up his chest and blew smoke out his nose.
“You do not have the power to hurt me, Satana. I, on the other hand, can cause you a world of pain.” Behind me Auric growled, and I put my arm up to prevent him from coming forward.
Azazel leered, revealing sharp teeth. “I"ve come to offer you a deal, Lucifer"s daughter. Leave with me now, as my concubine, and you can live.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then you die.”
I laughed. Sorry, the whole ultimatum thing...it just didn"t work for me.
“Listen, Azz; I told you before, and I"m going to tell you again. Not even if you were the last demon on earth. So you can take your offer and shove it up–”
I never got to finish my sentence, because, with a scream of rage, Azazel came rushing towards me, only to hit an invisible wall. The magic around my apartment, which even my powers couldn"t undo, stopped him; that and the sword point Auric shoved into his belly. Even Azazel, an old and powerful demon, could be hurt when blessed metal sliced into him.
Auric, with a grim look, pushed me aside and shoved the length of blessed steel deeper into Azazel"s flesh, then stepped out into the hall.
“Auric! No, come back in here,” I cried, worried he"d get hurt. Auric, of course, ignored me.
Azazel grinned evilly, the wound in his belly painful, but not incapacitating. Azazel reached for his weapon. With a shrug, I stepped out into the hall, too, and laughed at Azazel"s look of frustration; for his magical blade wouldn"t appear in my presence, and being overly confident, he hadn"t thought to bring a real one for backup.
“Get back in the apartment,” Auric grunted, trying to pull his sword up the demon"s body to eviscerate it.
“Not „til you do,” I said stubbornly, dancing back from a claw Azz swiped at me.
Auric realized his blade wouldn"t move any further and pulled it out, its shiny length covered in black blood. He spun its sharp length at the demon, who danced back.
“I expect you to listen to me. I can"t protect you properly, otherwise.”
“I don"t need protection,” I huffed, landing a kick on Azazel"s kneecap that made his leg buckle.
“Dammit, woman! Get back in the apartment,” Auric shouted, swinging his sword and scoring a slice across Azz"s corded arm.
“No,” I yelled back. I dropped to the floor and rolled towards Azz"s legs. As soon as I hit the leathery skin, I punched up, hard, into his jewels. Yes, demon balls are just as sensitive as a man"s.
With a scream of frustration–and quite a bit of pain--Azazel called up a portal and fell back into it, disappearing back into Hell and his new master. I wondered if Dad knew about his defecting to the other side. Another thing to tell him when I saw him.
I heard the sound of a door opening further up the hall, and a face peered out.
I gave my neighbor, ninety-year-old Miranda, a fake smile. “Darn door to door telemarketers.
They just don"t know how to take „no" for answer.” I doubted she believed me, but she ducked back into her apartment quicker than a bunny into a burrow.
The subterfuge that seemed to be a daily part of my life, not to mention the danger that came with just being me, suddenly fatigued me. Why couldn"t I just live a normal life? All I wanted to do was crawl under my covers and go to bed, and forget about everyone and everything.