Page 101 of Not Today, Satan
“He’s gone. I’m pretty sure it’s for good. He left Ferus in charge.”
“What the home could he be thinking? He can’t do that.” I step behind the door and hold it open. “You’d better come in.”
XLVIII.
Attero follows me to the kitchen, and I call in Nate and my mom, making quick introductions. Nate narrows his gaze at Attero’s uniform, no doubt reliving those last moments over the Ignis River.
I can’t blame Nate for not trusting him; but also, this isn’t the time to give him a play-by-play of our friendship.
“How can your dad just leave?” Nate asks, snagging a chocolate chip cookie off the plate Mom’s set in the middle of the table. “I thought he had to stay down there. You know, to punish people and run the place. Also, isn’t thathispunishment? From, like, leading a war against God and all that?”
“It is.” I gnaw on a fingernail. “But he can take reprieves to visit here, like he did when he met my mom.”
Nate swallows a bite of cookie. “Doesn’t that mean he’ll be forced back eventually? He can’t leave Feces down there forever. He’s not related by blood like you are.”
“I’d think so.” I spread my hands. “Which is the easy answer. We wait him out.”
Attero clears his throat. “There’s more.”
“Oh good,” Nate says. “Lucifer leaves home the day before Halloween, but it somehow gets worse from there.”
Attero ignores him and meets my gaze. “As you know, in your father’s place, it’s on Ferus to judge those sent to Hell. His powers are weaker than yours or your father’s, because he doesn’t have your blood. And since he believes there’s no such thing as an innocent human, he’s taking them all without judgment. Condemning every soul that comes his way. The lots are already overrun; we can’t handle the load. And Ferus doesn’t care. All he does is sit on your father’s throne all day, punishing everyone who comes before him, regardless of their crimes.”
“What do you expect me to do about it?” I cross my arms over my chest and lean back on my chair. “That sounds like a you problem. I’m not going back, Atty. I have a life here now, with Mom and Nate. This is where I belong.”
“Youhaveto come back.” Attero reaches over and takes my hand. “We need you. You’re the only one powerful enough to beat Ferus, and you can rightfully take the throne from him. Then you can send the wayward souls where they belong.”
Like home I can.
I don’t owe Atty anything. Or Father. He can clean up his own mess.
I snap my hand from his and pinch my brows together. “You expect me to come help after you and the other souldiers abandoned me, then hunted me when I tried to leave? I saw you on the bridge, Atty. You stood there with the other souldiers while Ferus threatened me and forced me to throw Nate into the fire. You never spoke up, never defended me. You stayed silent, like a coward.”
Attero drops his head. “You’re right. I was a coward. I was afraid of what Ferus and the rest of the souldiers would do to me if I stood up to him. And somehow I let him convince me it’d make it easier for you to take over if you didn’t have to worry about bossing your best friend around. He got into my head, Dev. I’m sorry.”
“I’d never have a problem bossing anyone around,” I mutter. Nate snorts beside me, and I give him a pointed glare. “But that doesn’t matter. This is my home now.”
Attero runs his hand through his damp hair. “If Ferus keeps taking souls, Earth may be in danger as well.”
I straighten in my seat. “What do you mean?”
“As I mentioned, we’ve been overwhelmed.” Attero tents his fingers. “Demons are quitting left and right. It’s only a matter of time before demons and shadelings alike try to get through the portal.”
“Shadelings can’t live up here because of the whole universe balance thing.” I wave my hand. “They’ll keel over and die in, like, twenty-four hours. I’ve seen it myself.” Nate squeezes my knee under the table.
Mom speaks up from the kitchen doorway. “True, but think of the people down there and what they’ve done. Now imagine what they’d do with even a small bit of freedom after being punished for decades. For centuries.”
“It’d be likeThe Purge,” Nate mumbles.
We all jump in unison as thunder shakes the house and the windows flare with lightning.
Sliding out of my chair on trembling legs, I peel back the curtain. Rain splatters against the glass, then trickles toward the ground like blood from a wound.
They’re not wrong. Hell contains the worst of the worst. Even if they only have a short time on Earth, the sinners could do enough damage to Los Angeles that it’ll resemble the apocalypse.
But I fought so hard to get here. I battled my way out of Hell to my mom. Survived Alex so that Nate could live. I’ve finally found the happy ending all those books I read talked about. It shouldn’t be on me alone to fix this. It’s not fair—to my mom, to Nate, to me.
I lean against the pane, closing my eyes against the tears that threaten to flood them.
