Page 45 of King of Night

“You were right,” I say and slit my eyes open to look at my husband.“He does have a wife, and he’s very much in love with her.That’s why he wants to join forces, to show her that he’s able to keep her safe by having friends in high places, so to speak.I was able to get him to agree to helping me kill Paimon first before we talked picking asave the date.”

“Not funny, Callie.”

“It’s a little funny.”

He just growls in response.

“And the good news is, once he’s been to Hell, he can come and go as long as there’s something there to act a beacon.So if we go through the portal with Drea and I have the scarab with me—”

“He’ll be able to come and help us.”

“Yes, exactly.”I yawn and sink a little deeper into the pillows, not really able to get comfortable while nursing.“He has an interesting idea in how to defeat Paimon, but it involves you.”

“You say that like you thought you could get away with not having me involved.”

My lips curve into a smile.“I know I can’t keep you away.”

“Not even if you tried.What is this plan?You’re tired, my love, but you seem confident.”

I yawn again and this time open my eyes all the way.Adrenaline starts to replace my exhaustion and I know this is just as crazy as trusting a demon to walk us through a freaking demonic portal.“No, now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Lucas brushes my hair back.“What was it?”

“It, uh, was stupid.”

“Callie.”

“I don’t want to risk you,” I say, getting a little choked up.“I can’t handle losing you again.”

“You won’t.”

“How can you be sure?”

“You haven’t gotten rid of me yet.”His full lips pull into a smile.“What was the plan.”

“We need something really powerful and unexpected to get Paimon as well as walk through Hell unnoticed.You didn’t go crazy sitting on Famine, so what if we got you to ride into Hell.”

ChapterTwenty-Three

“I’ll do it,” Lucas says with no hesitation.

“It’s crazy though,” I tell him.“What if you can’t control Famine?What if it takes over?You didn’t go insane or totally evil, but you also were in a sense of suspended time while you were in the Underworld.”

“I was,” Lucas agrees.“But I remember it all, my love.Famine wasn’t quite in control.”He shakes his head, brows pushing together as he thinks about how to explain it.“I felt as if I was waiting for an order to be given.”He moves onto his side, running his fingers over Juliet’s head.“But the demon still took over.I wasn’t able to get off the horse.You’ll have to hit me with everything you’ve got to knock me out of the saddle.”

“I remember.”Juliet falls back asleep, and I know someday soon I’m going to miss this sleepy newborn stage.She’s been a pretty easy baby overall, though at times it feels like I’m nothing more than a milk factory for her.

“Go back to sleep,” Lucas urges, kissing my forehead.“Nothing is happening today so take solace in that and rest.”

“Okay,” I tell him, feeling physically and mentally tired.The three of us cuddle in bed for a while, and Lucas says he’ll take Juliet so I can sleep without having to worry about her.I end up sleeping for three hours and wake from a nightmare where Paimon discovered the demon portal and came to visit us on earth.There’s a very good chance he could, and if not him, then any other demon could use that portal to their advantage.We have to act soon, and the longer we wait, the more dangerous the situation can become.As much as I would like to disappear to Disney World, taking advantage of Lucas‘s ability to day walk, I know this is not something we can put off any longer.

Eliza and Eamon stayed in Chicago last night to feed, and came back just before sunrise this morning.They’re in the family room with Lucas and Juliet.Lucas and Eliza are watching one of the international dramas that they enjoy, and Eamon has my book of shadows laid out in front of him.

It instantly annoys me that he is going through my personal book.But it annoys me even more that Lucas hasn’t stopped him.As soon as this Paimon drama is over, I need to get to the bottom of the strange relationship those two share.

We go about the rest of the day as normal as possible.A weird energy hangs in the air, with all of us knowing something big is about to happen, and that no matter how hard we try there’s no putting this off.It’s only a matter of days before it comes to head.If we’re lucky, we might get a full week of calm before the storm.

Kristy and Ruby both call to check in, and are relieved to know that nothing major has happened—yet.I text Melinda, remembering Easton‘s warning that they’ve seen an increase in demonic activity in the Midwest area, and set my phone down, not looking forward to her response because I know that it’s not gonna be good news.

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