Page 21 of Fiends and Familiars
Typhon
Yeth had finally slinked into hell early morning, just before the sun would have been rising at the witch’s house. I couldn’t blame him for being just as under that witch’s spell as I was, but I still took the opportunity to chew him out. He’d failed to capture Faust, was under the spell of honey-smoked ham, and had spent the night curled up in her garage, cuddling a ham bone and eating hard-boiled eggs.
I didn’t mention that I’d spent the night boinking that same witch in her dreams, also failing to capture Faust. Yeth didn’t need to know about my failings.
Instead I headed in to see the son of Satan, my head completely occupied by memories of last night. Lucien greeted me at the door of a large house that looked like it had been cobbled together a section at a time over the last few centuries. Inside was human and homey with comfortable seating and a table that looked big enough to hold a board meeting. I followed the other demon into the kitchen where we sat at a little metal table and drank coffee.
“So…this is your home.” For a reason most of hell found bizarre, Lucien was living here among the humans. He’d come for vacation earlier this year and never returned. Rumors quickly flew through the fiery depths that he’d found a witch to bond with. I originally hadn’t paid attention to the gossip. It wasn’t my business who the prince was screwing. I normally tried to avoid the guy as much as I could, but with his father dealing with some VIP arrivals in hell I was temporarily reporting to his spawn.
And that worked to my advantage. If the rumors were true, then Lucien knew about witches. He knew how tricky and enchanting they were. He could help me with my little problem. He could help me retrieve Faust, and somehow hopefully manage to do it without losing the witch I was falling for.
What an idiot. I didn’t even know her name and I was falling for her? Sheesh.
Lucien shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed. “It’s Cassie’s. She grew up here. Her family’s lived here since they founded the town. I tried to get her to move somewhere more stately, but she refused.”
She refused. And Lucien knuckled under and moved in. The coffee churned in my stomach as I thought about the son of Satan, a powerful demon, becoming a doormat to a witch.
“It wasn’t a battle worth fighting,” Lucien went on. “Outside of my desire to live in a house that mirrored my station, I have no complaints. It’s centrally located, and location really is everything.”
What was he talking about? He worked in hell. He teleported. And I got the impression this wasn’t some posh address as far as human standards went. We were in some podunk town in a valley surrounded by mountains.
“And Cassie loves it. She’d be so unhappy if she had to live somewhere else.”
Ah. That I understood. My mind wandered back to last night, to the sound of my witch’s laugh, the beauty of her smile. The thought of her being unhappy nearly gave me a panic attack of anxiety.
“What is it like?” I asked him. “Being mated to a witch, that is. Did she cast a spell upon you to lure you in?”
Lucien chuckled. “It feels like that some days. I’ll admit there was an immediate attraction, but looking back I doubt it was magic on her part. In fact, she was really annoyed with me at first. She didn’t believe I was a demon. She thought I was a human who’d wandered into town, gotten into a fight with a few werewolves, and ended up in jail.”
I scooted my chair even closer and leaned in. “Go on.”
The other demon glanced around before speaking. “I loveher—not just the sex. She’s strong, smart, and sassy. She’s got a temper to rival any demon in hell. She’s fiercely loyal and protective. She’s funny. She makes me laugh. I haven’t laughed this much in centuries. We’re bonded. That means both of us are stronger together than we are alone. I give her magic a boost, and she enhances my powers—all through our bond.”
I sat back. Wow. “What if you do something and she doesn’t like it?”
Lucien grimaced. “There’s a huge fight and it usually includes setting things on fire and a whole lot of yelling. The makeup sex is totally worth it, though.”
That decided it right there. This witch who was sheltering Faust may have put a spell on me, but I still wanted her—and I wanted the sort of relationship Lucien had without all the fire and yelling, that is. Makeup sex. Hmmm. I’d break through her wards, grab Faust, then endure a big fight. I didn’t like the idea of fighting, but as long as there would be makeup sex at the end of it, I’d get through it.
“She forgives you, right?” I asked, a little worried about this plan of mine. “After all the yelling and fire and the makeup sex, things go back to normal? She doesn’t refuse to see you ever again or vow to never rest until she disembowels you or something?”
“You need to make sure the makeup sex is really good.” Lucien emphasized his point with a raised index finger. “If you did something really bad, then you might need to bring her flowers or cook her dinner, or even grovel a little.”
“Grovel?” Luciengroveled? The son of Satangroveled?
“Just a little.” He made a pinch motion with his thumb and index finger. “Happy witch, happy life.”
Break through the wards. Steal Faust and return him to hell. Come back and endure the yelling and fire. Enjoy the makeup sex, but ensure my performance is top notch. Grovel. I really didn’t like the last one, but I’d do it if it meant the witch forgave me.
“So, what do you need to discuss this morning?” Lucien leaned back in his chair, cradling his coffee mug in his hands, the picture of an executive from hell.
“He’s here,” I told the other demon. “We’ve managed to finally locate Faust.”
“Faust? Here? Where?” The prince looked confused as if he expected the man to be hiding behind the stove or in the pantry.
“Here.” I gave the pronoun lots of emphasis. “He’s about twenty miles from this town.”
“You’ve found Faust?” Lucien asked.
