Page 17 of My Demon Assistant

Lowering my head so I could whisper into Hella's ear, I said, "Could you please get Fressia for me?"

Fressia was the closest demon—no way was I dragging Lux into this unless I absolutely had to—and she was the scariest one I knew, other than Korrigan.

Hella rubbed her head against my side, then disappeared, and I exhaled in relief before sneaking closer. I took a minute to use my magic to make myself less noticeable, to keep Mammon—because what other demon could it be?—from sensing me, before moving deeper into the abandoned building that had caught my attention.

There. Like me, Mammon was in his incorporeal form, but unlike me, he hadn't bothered with a human form. Instead, he was in his true form, all eight feet of him. Before the latest 'batch' of demons, most of them seemed to have the same basic structure. Like Star, Mammon looked like he was made of stone, a big, hulking boulder of a demon. But unlike Star, there was no fire seeping out of the cracks. Instead, there was darkness. Smoky, inky black darkness that filled every crack and line between the boulders that made up Mammon's form. Shit, he really was too far gone, wasn't he?

Poor Mammon.

I remembered a time when he'd been just like us, even after Underworld was closed down. How had none of us noticed the darkness clinging to him? When had the dark souls managed to drag him to their side? Was it when the souls first made their escape, when they couldn't even get out of Otherworld before they were recaptured? Or was it when Meredith, the ex-queen of Underworld, tried to take over?

Shaking my head, I snuck closer, burying all my feelings about Mammon. It didn't matter what he'd been before because for now, he was an enemy, and I needed to remember that.

Mammon jerked upright, and I froze. I checked my magic, and my shield was strong as ever, but it was clear Mammon had somehow sensed me anyway.

"Someone's here," Mammon growled, his voice grating on my nerves. Fuck, where the hell was Fressia?

The dark soul standing beside him, a woman in her twenties with drawn features and dead—no pun intended—eyes, turned to look around, her brows pinched.

"Don't see anything."

Mammon grunted, and I sucked in a breath as I felt his magic clamp around me. Shit, shit, shit.

"There!"

He jerked me close, his magic tight around me, so tight I couldn't even shift into my true form, my stronger form.

"Eshim," he said, and I winced.

"Hey, Mammon. How are things? Kill any more vampires lately?"

Mammon scowled, his dark eyes seeming to swallow up all the light around his face. "You're alone. Did you really think you could take me alone?"

"Ah, not really. I'm probably at level ten while you've already finished the game," I said, and the confusion on his face almost made me laugh. Until his magic started squeezing tighter.

I blinked as I realized I was corporeal again, and the dark soul walked closer to me. "It's almost like the universe is on our side. We needed blood, and how lucky that we found a sacrifice without even trying?"

Oh hell no. I had work tomorrow. Jerry needed me. I was not going to be their damned blood sacrifice.

"You know I'm already dead, right? This body, the blood in it, it's all magic."

The dark soul squinted at me, then shrugged as her nails grew longer. Fuck, I didn't even know dark souls could do that.

"Well, maybe I just want to see you all bloody."

My eyes flickered to Mammon, but he'd already turned his attention back to the tome he'd been reading before I showed up, though his magic was still tightly clamped around mine.

I tried to wriggle free as the dark soul stepped closer, but Mammon was strong. Too strong.

"Bye-bye, little demon," the dark soul said as she raised her clawed hand, and I sucked in a breath.

Fressia needed to get here quick because I did not want to be apart from Jerry for however many more years he'd live.

Seven

Jerry

"Where'sFressia?"Iaskedwhen I realized I hadn't seen her in a bit. The dog had gone silent as soon as she'd disappeared into the room with it, but neither of them had come back. "And you never told me you got a dog too!"

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