Page 94 of Demon's Mate
Hurt flashed across Arthur’s face, giving Harper a sick satisfaction. Harper hated Lucifer for what he’d done to Ash and the others, but he hated his father more and loved seeing him realize he’d devoted his life to a Devil who didn’t give a shit about him.
“I’m on your side,” Arthur explained, a pleading note bleeding into his usually hard tone. “I’ve incapacitated your dogs so you can take them back. Everything I do is for you.”
“What do you know about what I want with my demons?” Luc snarled, baring his fangs, his cheeks burning red with anger. “I can’t stand witches like you. When you get to Hell, there will be no special place for you. You’ll be the same as every other wretched soul there. A nobody.”
Arthur stumbled back like he’d been slapped, and Harper grinned.
Ash’s weight lifted from Harper. He straightened and stepped forward, no longer incapacitated. Whether Arthur let his spell fail, too hurt by Lucifer’s rejection, or he’d lost concentration, it didn’t matter.
In a flash of motion, Ash grabbed Arthur by the back of the neck and slammed him face-first into the car. There was a sickening crack. Blood splattered. Ash released the witch as if he was tossing away something putrid, his nose wrinkled in disgust.
Arthur Nightingale slumped to the ground, body unmoving. Blood poured from his nose, forehead, and mouth.
Harper looked away, only one thought echoing in his mind:good.
Maybe he wasn’t a good person for thinking that, and that was okay. Harper had no loyalty to his father. No affection for him. Family meant nothing if they didn’t treat you right. Being Arthur’s son was just an unfortunate roll of the dice.
Blood wasn’t thicker than water, and Harper liked seeing Arthur’s spill for once.
“Ash, get Luc!” Dante shouted.
Harper whirled around. Dante ran full speed toward them, nothing but a blur, but he was still more than a block away.
“Thanks, Ash. I appreciate that.” Lucifer peered down at Arthur from on top of the ruined car, seemingly amused by the bloody witch, his eyes bright like he wanted to laugh. “But I’m not going to stick around. I don’t fancy getting put to sleep again.”
Ash launched onto the car, wings spread and arms outstretched, but just as he was about to close in on Lucifer, the Devil disappeared.
Ash whirled around, eyes wide.
“Shit!” Dante skidded to a stop next to him. “That’s a new trick.”
Ash bared his teeth. “Did he just leave this Realm? Fuck, we’re not chasing him down in Hell.”
“He t-teleported? To Hell?” A giggle rose from the depths of Harper’s hollow chest. It didn’t sound right. He sucked in a deep breath, prompting another harsh laugh to escape, his whole body shaking.
Ash wrapped an arm around him. “Harper, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I never should have left you.”
Harper choked on another laugh, managing to stop the strange sounds at last. “You got to me in time. That’s all that matters.”
“No, it isn’t. You never should have had to see this man again.” He nudged the unconscious Arthur with his foot.
Harper didn’t look at his father. Exhaustion swept over him and he gripped Ash for support. “Then take him away and make sure I don’t see him again.”
Ash nodded, his gaze serious but not uncaring. “Let’s get you home first.”
“I hate to interrupt, but we need to deal with that.” Dante pointed across the street where a small crowd of humans had gathered.
“Dammit,” Ash grumbled.
The street was mostly deserted, but it looked like some of the buildings were full of workers, who were now out on the sidewalk staring, along with the drivers of several stopped cars. Every single one was filming.
Dante strode over to the crowd and gathered phones from everyone.
“They just handed them over?” Harper blinked slowly, like his eyelids weren’t working properly. He leaned harder against Ash. Who’d give away video footage of winged men? That could be worth something.
“Just like your potion brewing powers come from us, vampires’ illusion and hypnosis powers do too,” Ash said, keeping Harper pressed close and, most importantly, upright. “Dante, Onyx, and I don’t use mind control lightly, but we can’t have word of demons being real spreading among humans, and we don’t need the magical community in the city aware of our presence. Dante will wipe the crowd’s memories and delete anything from their phones.”
Harper nodded. “Given my dad’s reaction to you, I can imagine there are other witches you don’t want knocking on your door.”
