Page 15 of Nope, No Regrets
Rei
Sabrina and my brothertotallyruined this whole getting out of jail early thing. I hadn’t fully processed the fact that for my entire he’d wanted to kill me, until he showed up with the high priestess of the US chapter of the Aether Circle. As far as shit sinking in really fast, well, showing up with the witch you stole from and who had been trying super hard to make you dead certainly was an eye-opener.
And what the fuck was she wearing, anyway? Hauser and I had no love for Venus, but there were cool witches at his poker night. Some of them did magic for us, and they didnotdress like humans pretending to be witches for Halloween. Real witches tried to blend in as much as possible, so they didn’t show up with a demon outside a jail dressed like that.
It said a lot about what the Aether Circle thought they could get away with. She had her hood up, but it wasn’t covering her face. Kudan half shifted right there in front of the jail. I spotted the cameras right away. It was instinct to check, but they weren’t even trying to hide them.
I knew Warden Snow would have made sure no one saw the footage if Sabina and Kudan went and slaughtered all of us, but she couldn’t have covered it up. There was a diner across the street from the prison and people had come outside to watch, although they weren’t losing their shit or recording everything with cell phones, so I guessed they were all supernaturals of some sort.
Some of them probably had beef with Sabrina, and would have jumped in to the fray just for the chance to take her out and blame someone else. I was guessing they weren’t dumb enough to jump into a fight when everyone shifted though. I’d never been remotely good at dating, but if I was finally going to get it right, a wolf, a sphinx, a gargoyle, and a witch weren’t bad to have on your team.
I didn’t know shit about Sota, and wasn’t super pleased to find out I was finally meeting my family with some massive strings attached. Still, I kind of liked him. He didn’t just go to bat to get everyone out with me. Sota somehow knew about Faust, and made it possible for him to come with us without me having to make arrangements later.
I didn’t know what kind of demon he was, but that big red bird was kind of sexy.
I wouldn’t usually jump through a portal with demons I just met, but Kudan wanted me dead, and Sabrina wanted her grimoire, then she wanted me dead. Neither of them was going to give up, and they’d have backup when they tried again.
I was going to jump through anyway, but Rajack picked me up and hurled us both through before I got a chance. I had no idea where we were when Rajack set me down. It was this dirt crossroads, in the middle of nowhere, the only thing in sight was a dirty outhouse with a metal roof that looked like they have demolished it ages ago.
Hell wasbleak.I’d wanted to see it for the longest time, but I didn’t want to poop in that thing. I had a healthy appreciation for indoor plumbing, so wrinkled my nose and put a hand over my eyes. The wind was blowing dirt everywhere, and there was something about this place made my fox go on edge. Was I safe here?
Wren came to stand next to me.
“Please, tell me there’s sentimental value to this outhouse, and that you have showers and toilets here… I thought they were spoiling us in prison when we got indoor plumbing. Everything about Silverhold was shitty, but at least I didn’t have to do my business in a hole in the damn ground.”
Barbatos seemed to find this entire exchange amusing. Sota looked like he didn’t know what to make of Wren.
“You aren’t in Hell, Wren. You’re still in your realm. This is the gate to Hell, from Earth,” Barbatos said.
“FYI, we have indoor plumbing and marvelous bathhouses in Hell,” Sota said.
“Shouldn’t the gates to another realm be more… uhh, ornate than an outhouse?” Rajack said.
“It’s better this way,” Barbatos said. “The only people allowed in Hell are demons, and those demons have been claimed. We don’t want strays wandering in and causing trouble. The only people who know what this place is are the guards who used to transport prisoners to Scorchwood, and us. Hell gave the Fae an area of Hell none of us wanted to live in for that prison to be built on. We let the prison employees think all of Hell is a frozen wasteland, so they don’t get ideas about wanting to live on our fabulous beaches.”
Faust and Dakarys were totally naked, and Rajack’s jumpsuit was ripped to shreds. I enjoyed the view, and they were all preening every time I peeked, but we needed to get out of here. This place was isolated, but my brother knew about it.
“We can see the fabulous beaches after everyone has clothes,” I pointed out. “This is going to be Kudan’s next stop. They know I walked out of there with friends, and they all know what everyone is. There will be more of them when they come back.”
Barbatos flung the outhouse door open and made a welcoming gesture with his hand.
“Then follow me. Welcome home, Rei. It’s about time.”
