Page 13 of Demon's Mate
Onyx huffed. “I’m not a thief.”
Both Ash and Dante gave him a look.
“Anymore,” Onyx amended. “Besides, I only steal fun things like jewels.”
Ash ignored the comment. Dealing with Onyx was like trying to befriend a feral animal. You couldn’t give him an inch of wiggle room, or you’d get bitten. “We need to talk.”
Onyx closed the fridge, his eyes flashing withblue fire. “I’m sure we do. I mean, why else would you have left your isolation cave?”
“My what?” Ash crossed his arms and loomed imposingly. “I don’t live in a cave.”
Onyx laughed. “You sure? You’re seeming very caveman.”
Ash shouldn’t let him get under his skin. Onyx was only trying to annoy him, and giving Onyx what he wanted led to even worse behavior. Ash needed to try harder to be friendly and forget the thousands of years of animosity between them, but it was nearly impossible.
“Oh, come on, Ash.” Dante elbowed him in the arm. “You live in the woods. It’s close enough. And maybe if you visited every few years, we wouldn’t make such a big deal out of seeing you.”
Ash grunted in acknowledgment. Dante might have a point.
Onyx flopped languidly into a chair behind a desk as sleek as the one downstairs. “What’s up? I’ve got a lot going on, so you better get to the point.”
Dante sat in the leather seat opposite the desk. Ash remained standing. “We have bad news,” Dante said carefully.
“So dour.” Onyx wrinkled his nose. “But I’d already guessed as much given…” He gestured to Ash.
“Lucifer has left the Realm of the Damned,” Ash began before relaying everything he and Dante discussed.
Onyx’s playful mood soured, his mouth tightening into a thin line. “Really, you two are going after him? What happened to getting free and living our lives? Forgetting about all of it.”
“We can’t forget Luc if he’s coming for us.” Ash refrained from mentioning they could ignore Lucifer if they hid somewhere other than Shearwater Landing and stopped calling attention to themselves by enchanting the wildlife, but he didn’t want to keep hounding Dante. There was no point. Onyx might be feral, but Dante was an immovable stone.
“Haven’t you considered Lucifer could have new minions?” Onyx flicked his wrist dismissively at the other two. “A new inner circle to leach power from? He isn’t going to come after us alone. We won’t have the upper hand. Seriously, do you know himat all?”
“Then what do you think we should do about it?” Ash challenged.
Onyx sneered. “We?Nothing. You and Dante? I don’t know. Not my problem.”
Ash ground his teeth. “Aren’t you even the least bit worried?”
“Why would I be? When has Lucifer ever cared what I’ve done?” Onyx’s voice turned as cold as his blue fire. “He lets me get away with anything. He’ll always forgive me. No matter what I do. Escaping the Realm of the Damned will be no different.”
It was true. Onyx could cut off Lucifer’s wings and Lucifer wouldn’t be nearly as angry as he’d be if someone else attacked him.
“Let him come,” Onyx spat like he was shooting venom. You’d almost think he hated Lucifer for letting him get away.
Ash rubbed his temple. He’d been in the middle of Luc and Onyx’s squabbles for eons. No one could deny that Ash and Luc had been close, but Onyx seemed to think Luc loved Ash more than him and treated Ash more like a brother, even though Onyx was Luc’s blood.
“We aren’t just going to sit around waiting for him,” Dante said, breaking the tension. “Come on, Onyx, you don’t want him dragging you back to the Realm of the Damned. He won’t let us stay here, not even you.”
Onyx chewed his lower lip. “Doesn’t mean I want to get involved in whatever the two of you are cooking up.”
Onyx always tried to get out of helping, no matter what theproblem was, but then, why had he settled in Shearwater Landing, so close to Dante? Shouldn’t Onyx be on the other side of the world where no one would bother him?
“Are you going to leave town and hide if you don’t want to help?” Dante asked.
“No.” Onyx’s mouth dropped open, eyes flashing. “I’ve worked my ass off for this gallery. I’m not leaving it behind.”
“Then we need a plan.” Ash braced his hands on Onyx’s desk, leaning forward. “If the two of you refuse to leave, we need to do something. Otherwise, we might as well walk back to the Realm of the Damned and lock ourselves in.”
