Page 14 of The Party

He probably can.

Motion beyond the porch drew her eyes.

Most of the rear garden was taken up by a cemetery and woodland.

Vozgan stood poised on the lawn hedging the graveyard, body braced for battle and expression fierce.

Gertrude issued a threatening “Bwak” across from him.

Nikolai grimaced. “Are they really doing this?”

Mae noticed a pair of familiar figures beyond the helldragon and the chicken.

Nikolai squinted. “Wait. Isn’t that?—?”

“Yeah, it is,” Mae said with a sigh as the demons’ potent energy brushed against her magic.

There, arbitrating the match, was Chazaquiel, the Eighth Leader of the Grigori and one of Astarte’s commanders.

Arakiel, the Second Leader of the Grigori, had his arms crossed beside him and was wearing a scowl on his face. He tapped his foot impatiently.

“How about you fools get on with it? It’s almost time for the party.”

Chazaquiel cleared his throat self-consciously when he realized he had an audience. He raised a small red flag.

Mila stared. “Where’d he get the flag?”

“Haruki bought it for him,” Tomas said.

“Christ,” Nikolai muttered.

“Ready?” Chazaquiel asked the two contenders.

“Ready,” Vozgan growled.

“Bwak bwak.”

The air fairly crackled with tension as everyone held their breath.

“And…GO!” Chazaquiel dropped the flag.

The chicken blurred.

The dragon grunted, flew across the yard, and landed on his back, all but knocked out.

Mae blinked.

Nikolai’s eyes bulged. “What the hell just happened?” He looked at Caspian. “Did you see?—?”

“Nope,” Caspian said cheerfully. “Gertrude is a law onto herself.”

“You owe me fifty bucks,” Mila informed her brother curtly.

That chicken is the spawn of the devil, my witch, Brimstone declared with bloodthirsty enthusiasm. We should befriend her.

Smokey huffed in agreement. The hellhound had woken up and was watching Mae intently, his brown eyes full of curiosity.

Vozgan came to with a groan. A portal opened behind him.

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