Page 66 of Sweet Violence
When did I start wishing for happily ever afters?
Ugh, this was not gonna end well.
21
Iasked myself what was the most dramatic way I could enter a barracks full of violent, unhinged demons? The answer came quickly. I marched up to the gates, lifted my hands, and thought of something that made me really fucking angry.1
My hands heated, a little steam rising from the fingertips, but I needed them to be blazing hot. So I imagined something much, much worse.2
Magic exploded through me, and I caught my breath, my hands red hot.
"Careful, my sweet," Joseph warned, he and X close beside me.
I grabbed the gates and melted every bit of iron, and then allowed a grin as I walked through the pool of metal, trusting that it wouldn't burn me.
Hey, being a demon was fun. I should have taken Dev's soul in me earlier.
I heard that, babygirl...
I stiffened with a squeak. Uh oh.
You can hear me...
Every word. Stay safe, keep your eyes open. I'm here if you need me.
My face—and my heart—filled with warmth. I tried not to let the squishiness show as I marched into the courtyard, the demons stilling in their bloody feast to look at the three of us.
We were a scary, badass team. Insanity pulsed from all three of us, fire was now rippling from my fingers, and Joseph had assumed his reaper form, only a grin visible inside the dark hood. It was creepy as hell.3
"Who the fuck areyou?" a big, ugly guy asked, his blue face covered in human blood and some fleshy bits dangling from the corner of his mouth.
"Your new god," I replied, which was maybe atadover-confident. But I was full of power, practically vibrating with it. "We've been very, very bad, so the devil sent us here to play with you guys. But don't let us interrupt your meal. Bon appetit."
I walked around the mess on the ground, not looking too closely at what they'd eaten. Killing people didn't gross me out, but going all Hannibal on them made me queasy. Still, the rush of tingling power through my blood was pretty damn appealing. I swore my hair floated slightly around my shoulders.
Big double doors stood open on the grey fortress-like building, and inside I could see three demons locked in a brutal fight. Jesus, they were barbarians out here. I exchanged a glance with X and Joseph, but my mates were focused on the human-eating gang who watched us with narrowed eyes.
"There's a hierarchy here," the blue guy growled, his menacing companions nodding between taking bites. "You can't just walk in and think you're at the top. You're no better than worms at the bottom."
I shrugged. "I've always enjoyed being a bottom before."
X choked on air.
"And you don't know me at all, buddy," I told the blue demon with a grin. "I could turn out to be a total maniac. But nice meeting you."
I strolled through the tall doors, wondering if I'd have to kill their leader to blend in here. One thing was for sure; they wouldn't be expecting a meek, harmless demon. Not with the violence everywhere I looked. Not killing someone would stand out as suspicious.
"Whothe fuckare you?" a gravelly voice yelled when I walked through the foyer, X and Joseph covering my back, watchful and growling.
Wow, these demons must have been reading from the same script—Mr Blue Da Ba Dee had asked the exact same thing.
The inside of the training hall was what I expected: cold stone, blood stains, faded tapestries with violent scenes, and a distinctly coppery scent.
"I asked you a question," that voice snarled while I canvassed my surroundings. I knew my mates had eyes on the demon.
I hadn't thought about a fake name. I turned slowly, giving the weirdly normal-looking demon a calculating look while I thought fast.
"How is that your business? Don't tell meyou'rethe big guy at the top of the hierarchy?"
