Page 47 of Okay, I Regret a Little
Chapter 32
Sota
I
t was all coming together. I knew precisely where Kudan was, and I could hear all of his plots. I wasn’t coming at him with a small team this time. The emperor granted me his entire imperial army. I understood everyone wanted Kudan tortured. I wanted him to suffer for the years he’d stolen from me. I also wanted this over. Everyone in Hell understood sometimes you had to kill instead of capture.
No one would be upset if Kudan died in the raid, but I was under orders from Bael to do as little damage to the prison as possible since it already needed a lot of work.
Bael also informed me Barbatos would be back very soon, and we could finally bring my bride home. It would be a rude awakening for her, I was sure.
I had read her prison file. They classified her as a fox shifter. If she had corrected them, she would have been sent straight to Hell. Bael sent an ambassador to clarify that with the topside people after someone felt the need to ship Amduscias off to Scorchwood. He also sent a warning that if he heard of another demon being held in a topside jail instead of being sent back to Hell for justice that he’d get his legions to make a point so big, no one would forget it.
He hadn’t done that with Rei, and I knew Bael to be a man of his word. He was waiting for the full picture. If Rei didn’t know she was a Kitsune, the prison should have figured that out by now. I read about their blood tests. It was how they took away magic at that prison.
Unless Rei knew full well what she was, but she didn’t know demons didn’t serve time topside. Or maybe she did, and she thought things would end badly for her here. She was a Kitsune. I didn’t know how many tails she had earned, but it made sense to me she had the entire prison fooled.
Go Rei. She would make an excellent demon bride.
Bael had summoned me back to his estate to go over the finer points. I portalled to his estate, and he offered me a glass of fire whiskey.
“Make sure you succeed, Sota. We need to be rid of Kudan for good. We have alliances with the Underworld and Olympus now. Barbatos would like to spend more time with his daughter, but I’ve ordered him back to bring Rei home. Make sure it’s truly safe for her to come back.”
“I get that he’s versed in human law, but I’ve gotten into their files. They don’t know she’s really a Kitsune. I don’t know how she tricked the blood test, but they all think she’s just a fox shifter. Don’t we just need to tell them the truth?”
“Don’t think it that easy, Sota. I tortured Warden Skinner myself. Her level of corruption ran deep, and it involves the Aether Circle. If the warden of Silverhold weren’t a little corrupt, your little demon bride wouldn’t be serving her sentence with a witch who would blame her for her capture. The warden could very well know and have altered her tests so that if anyone found out, she could claim innocence of Rei’s true heritage.”
I just shrugged. I had little experience with witches or wardens, but I knew many Kitsunes.
“Tricking a blood test, the warden, and an entire prison is just a normal Tuesday for a Kitsune. The ones I know would do it for fun.”
“Yes, but most Kitsunes don’t shoot themselves in the foot with their tricks. They wouldn’t stay in a prison with so many witches out there that want them dead when the truth would bring them somewhere safe. Her father wanted to make damned sure she never found her way back to Hell until it was safe for her, against my advice. I told him several times to send at least one demon with her to teach her. She might not know what she is.”
I didn’t know my bride. I couldn’t tell you what her favorite foods were or what her hair smelled like when she was snuggled up against me. But I knew she had figured out what she was. They had stripped her identity from her when she was sent topside. She didn’t know she was royalty, but she would have figured out she was a Kitsune.
Bael changed the subject.
“Do you need more soldiers? Solron would have fun killing Kudan, but she’s not available. I do have several other shadow demons I can spare.”
The entire imperial army volunteered when they found out the mission involved taking out Kudan. They were all Yokai and skilled soldiers. We didn’t have many shadow demons in my part of Hell. I could use all the help I could get.
“Are any of them trained assassins like Solron?”
Bael cocked an eyebrow at me.
“There’s not a single demon in Hell like Solron. That’s why I love her. You’re going for the kill?”
“This has gone on long enough. If I can’t take him alive, I want him dead. If a shadow demon can get me close enough, I’ll do it myself.”
Bael just grinned at me, and he could be scary when he smiled. All the other kings of Hell looked to him for a reason.
“I know just the shadow demon to get you close. Sota? Make it hurt when you kill him.”
I intended to. One more day and this was over.
