4.9

There were eyes on her. The way the hair on the back of Grace’s neck stood on end told her that. Someone was watching her. The stalker more than likely. Too much of a coincidence for it to be otherwise. And if they were there, it meant they were the ones to orchestrate this entire ordeal. While they could have just followed her there, it was doubtful. This person had been following her for weeks, arriving around the same time Lucifer had upped and vanished. There were such things as coincidences, but this was just too much of one. For some reason, the stalker was testing her. Feeling her out.

Or this was all a trap. One of Lucifer’s numerous enemies waiting for her to rescue him so they could just kill her instead. Probably in front of him, too. Because that was what bad guys did, right? Killed the woman in front of the guy. Though, usually, the man and the woman were in love. Definitely not the case for Grace and Lucifer. But she was important to him, somehow. She knew that, just didn’t know why. Maybe one day Lucifer would explain all of that. She wasn’t going to hold her breath.

Either way, she was fucked. As Tony said, she was a weak Sin Eater. The witch was the first supernatural creature she had fought, and it didn’t exactly go that great. Would have been worse if it weren’t for her hounds. She was more than lucky they were on her side. Dead was where she would be if they hadn’t been there to back her up. She was going to have to find a way to show her appreciation for them. Letting them go out and hunt on their own might be a good way. That was a hard thought for her. If any of them got hurt, she had no idea what she would do.

Grace’s hazel eyes rolled high in her head. None of the hounds were children (except Pup) and they were more than capable to take care of themselves (except Pup). She was going to have to let them hunt on their own eventually anyways. Might as well do it sooner than later. Especially, since she couldn’t keep the pace she was eating humans at. Someone was bound to notice that  people were going missing every other week. She needed to find a way to curb her appetite, and having the hounds hunt might just be the thing. Demons would sate her hunger longer, she knew that, had been told that by Tony, but she had to be the one to eat the heart. The hounds were good at hunting down demons, it was kind of their thing.

Speaking of demons. Tony’s scent tickled her nose, teasing her hunger. She shoved it away, but it was always there, taunting her. Waiting for a moment of weakness to attack her newfound friend. But she was not going to let that happen. Not only did she need at least one person on her side in her new life, but he could kill her. Easily. Tony was much more powerful than he let on. She might surprise him in her attack, but he would win in the end. There was no doubt in her mind about that at all.

The demon’s scent wrapped around her like a blanket. He was close, but she couldn’t see him anywhere, which she found strange. Her eyes could penetrate the darkness in near perfect clarity, and yet, she couldn’t spot him anywhere. With how strong his scent was, she should be right on top of him. So, her nose had to be wrong.

Someone is messing with my mind. That was an unsettling thought and one Grace immediately rejected. There had been many things she had come across, demons, angels, and a djinni, but none of them had shown an ability to mess with someone’s head. Psychologically, yes, but metaphysically? No. There was some other explanation. There had to be some other explanation.

There was a small gust of wind and movement from out of the corner of her eye. Grace couldn’t help but laugh at herself. A small piece of fabric from Tony’s shirt was stuck in a crack in a piece of rusted machinery, the reason why his scent had been so overwhelming. It had been purposefully placed, jammed deep within the crack. Grace didn’t need to be a genius to know that Tony was leaving her a trail to follow, something she was grateful for. The warehouse was turning out to be a lot bigger than she had previously believed. It had to be a series of interconnected buildings. Only explanation she could come up with. She wasn’t an expert in old buildings.

The next piece of cloth she found was a few feet away partially hidden by a rock. A ghost of a smile graced her face knowing Tony had to be seething. He made all of his own clothes, and ruining them sent him in a rage. When she had gotten the blood on her shirt that time she blacked out, he hadn’t talked to her for a week. She had believed he was afraid of her, until he had burst into her room and shouted at her about how she ruined his creation that he made specifically for her and slaved over. When Grace pointed out that it only took him ten minutes to make, he huffed, slammed the door, and walked back to his apartment. At least, she knew he wasn’t mad at her for nearly killing another demon. Especially one that happened to be his brother.

Tony didn’t know she knew he was Baphomet’s brother. Lucifer had told her that it was best to keep that bit of information to herself. The demon didn’t like associating with his family and preferred that no one know that he was even related to them. So, out of respect for her friend, she kept the bit of information to herself. She really didn’t know how he would react and she would rather not lose her only supernatural friend. And she needed someone on her side. Someone that was willing to talk to her and pass her information instead of leaving her in the dark. Someone willing to help her when she needed it. Someone that didn’t want to kill her. Tony was just that and she was going to keep a hold of him with an iron grip.

Without receiving orders the hounds rushed in front of Grace, sniffing out the next piece of Tony’s cloth ensuring their alpha went in the correct direction. She followed them, arms crossed across her chest and eyes on the ground, making sure she didn’t trip over any loose rubble. She was a hunter of the night, but even they stumbled and fell over the occasional obstruction. Falling flat on her face was not something she wanted to do in the den of rusty machines. She didn’t know if she could get tetanus, but it was best not to find out.

Tony’s scent grew stronger and Grace sent her pack on their way. The demon was still frightened of her hounds, and she didn’t need him freaking out at the moment. Especially with the tangy smell of blood in the air. Lucifer’s blood. She ignored the beat of panic in her heart and moved forward preparing herself for what she was about to see.

Nothing prepared her for the sight that filled her eyes.

Hooks. Hooks were in his body. Lucifer was hanging in the air by hooks. Meat hooks. Five meat hooks, one in each hand, one in each side at his ribs, and one in his back. This had been a slaughter house at one point in time. And Lucifer was hanging by the rusted hooks that once held meat, a large pool of dark blood under his feet.

Dazed, Grace moved forward, her eyes never leaving Lucifer’s body that swayed ever so slightly from his breath. Before she could reach her destination, by Lucifer’s side so she could rip the hooks from his body, Tony stopped her with hands on shoulder. “Tony, there are hooks in him,” she stated dully pushing against his grip, her eyes never leaving Lucifer. “There are hooks in him, Tony. Tony, there are hooks in him.” With each passing word, her volume grew, her voice more frantic. She fought harder against the demon that was supposed to be her friend until he slammed her against the ground. He straddled her with her wrists in hand and held her against the ground. “There’s a fucking sword in his heart, Tony!”

“We can’t get to him!” Tony grunted, trying his best to get Grace to calm down, afraid she might injure herself to get out of his grip. “There’s a barrier around him.” That seemed to calm her down enough for him to let go of her, though he still stayed on top of her.

Grace rubbed her tender wrists, glaring up at the demon on top of her. “Get off of me,” she demanded, her voice shaking. She could have hit herself right then. That was supposed to come out strong, firm. Not terrified on the verge of hysteria once again. She was Grace Fucking Barnes. She didn’t get hysterical. She was an independent woman and a single mom who got shit done. There wasn’t time for hysterics. There wasn’t time to be scared.

And she hated the angel hanging by the meat hooks. She should have been reveling in the fact that he was in as much pain as he was. Should have been doing a fucking Happy Dance around the barrier he was behind. So why? Why had she panicked and why was she underneath her friend who had just restrained her? That wasn’t like her. That wasn’t Grace Barnes. That was a by-product of her new life. S he would rather pretend it never happened.

Tony’s sunset eyes stared down at her as if taking everything about her face in. Then, he stood, offering her a hand. Grace took it, wrapping her fingers around his wrist to give him a better grip. “What are we going to do?” she asked with a steady voice this time. Her hazel eyes wandered to Lucifer’s swaying body. Her heart beat hard against her chest, but felt as if it had stopped at the same time. It didn’t take long for her to realize the contradiction in feelings was due to her holding her breath. Inhaling a deep, shaky breath, she turned to Tony with expectation.

“We need an angel.”

“Oh. Okay.” Grace started to feel around her body making a point to check the pockets of her black jeans. “Well, looks like I’m all out of angels. Do you have any other fucking ideas?!” Yelling at the demon wasn’t going to solve any problems, but it did make her feel better. Brought some heat back into the cold that had sunk into her bones.

If Tony clenched his jaw any more, his teeth would snap under the pressure. It was the only sign of his anger, his breathing regular, his eyes strangely calm. The muscles in his jaw finally unwound when he opened his mouth to speak. “There are no other options. This barrier was set by an angel and can only be broken by an angel.”

Well, isn’t that just fan-fucking-tastic. She didn’t know any other angels aside from Lucifer. So, he was going to be stuck in there, with the meat hooks in his body, until the could find one willing to help them. That was if they even found one. Fallen angels probably didn’t keep in contact with their heavenly brothers.

All Grace could do was stare at him and shake her head. “Who could do something like that?”

“That, my beauty, is a very good question,” a male voice called from right next to her. A noise escaped her and she found herself wrapped around Tony. The man’s dark eyebrows raised and his gray-green eyes shone with mirth. “Jumpy?”

Clearing her throat, Grace detached herself from Tony a red hue crawling up her neck. “Who are you?” she asked a little more sharply than intended. She wanted to play nice with the obviously supernatural being in front of her. There was a chance, a very high one, that he could kill her.

The man bowed low before her. “I am Gabriel, Archangel and lover of women.”

Grace visibly cringed which brought a delighted smile on the Archangel’s face. There’s something wrong with him, she said to herself. Aloud she said, “Can you break the barrier?” The excitement she had been trying to keep in check crept into her voice.

“I can!” Gabriel exclaimed, coming closer to her. He didn’t stop moving until their noses nearly touched. “And all it will take it one kiss from you.”

Soft fingers trailed up Grace’s arm, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Her face twisted into a grimace as she punched the angel in the gut. The air left him with a grunt. Taking advantage of the moment, Grace brought her hand on the back of his head and shoved it down to meet her rising right knee. There was a crunch when his nose met the joint, and his head snapped back. But he was still on his feet, and she needed him on the ground. So, she shoved him down. Dazed as he was, he went down with little effort.

She straddled Gabriel’s waist and twisted her fingers in his white button up shirt. “How about this? You release him, and I don’t rip your heart from your chest and eat it in front of you.”

A great laugh bellowed from the man under her. It was boisterous and she could feel it in her chest. It also unnerves her. There aren’t many that laugh when being threatened in such a way. “Oh, Morning Star, my brother, of course you would find someone that burns as bright as you.” His hands gripped her hips tightly, and she was about to hit him once again, but he pushed her away before she could. A small yelp left her as she flew through the air a few feet before landing on her feet in a crouch.

Still laughing, Gabriel kicked his feet over his head and rolled backwards to his feet. He laughed all the way to the barrier, standing to where he was facing Lucifer, and still laughing he placed his palm out touching the barrier. It started to pulse. Slowly at first, then faster and faster until it was so quick it was near solid. The sound of shattering glass fills the silent room, bouncing off the walls and echoing down into the building.

Grace couldn’t help but jump at the sudden interruption of noise. Tony quirked an eyebrow at her, but she ignored him, all her attention intent on what was happening in front of her. She was ready to run forward and detach the fallen angel from the hooks inside of his body. Someone was going to have to help her, and at that moment, she didn’t really care who.

“The barrier is broken,” Gabriel announces with a flourish of his hands.

With careful, quick steps Grace rushed forward wrapping her arms around Lucifer’s legs and lifting him up. “Can someone help?” She met eyes with Gabriel who was the closest out of the two males. His lips quirked up, but he didn’t say anything. Just moved to behind Lucifer so he could start removing the hooks.

There was a tap on her shoulder and she turned to Tony. “I’ll hold him.” Grace opened her mouth, but the demon covered it to keep the words she was about to say in it. “You’re too short. Once all the hooks are out you guys are going to topple over.” Not being able to see any fault in his logic, Grace nodded her head and relinquished her hold on Lucifer to him, muttering how she wasn’t that much shorter than him. He just shakes his head and takes Lucifer’s torso in his arms, lifting him giving the chains the hooks are attached to some slack.

Gabriel makes quick work of the hooks. He had them out in under two minutes, not even a twitch coming from Lucifer. “Don’t forget about the sword,” Grace reminded the men when all the hooks had been removed. The look she received from Gabriel said he didn’t appreciate her input. She fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him. She was not a child and she would not act like one. Though it would have been very satisfying.

Grey-green eyes still on her, Gabriel pulled the sword from his brother’s chest at a speed that could only be described as agonizing. The stare alone told her he had done it on purpose, but she kept her mouth shut. There was no telling what else he would have done just to be an asshole, and Grace didn’t really have time to find out. Someone was still watching them, waiting for… something. If she knew what they wanted it might be easier to figure out who they are. But so far, she has gotten zero information. She doesn’t even know if the person stalking her is a man or woman. The hounds haven’t even caught a scent of them. They were ridiculously good at hiding. A talent Grace was going to have to practice one of these days.

“What do we do now?” Grace asked, her eyes still on the limp Lucifer. Even when Gabriel had pulled the sword out, he hadn’t moved. Not even a twitch of the eyes. Nothing. If he hadn’t been breathing she would have believed him to be dead. It sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine at how lifeless he was.

Gabriel’s eyes briefly shifted to his brother before coming back to her. “He’ll need rest. A lot of it. It’s hard to kill an angel, but easy to make them weak. You’ll have to take care of him.”

A groan left her before she could stop. Her apartment was small and with the hounds in there it was already a tight fit. Adding another person was going to make it hard to move. “Alright,” she huffed. “Someone will have to get Jane out of my apartment,” the girl didn’t need to see her father that way, “the other will have to take Lucifer and put him on my bed. I’ll take it from there.”

Neither of them argued, just set about doing what Grace said to do. Tony quickly volunteered to get Jane out of Grace’s apartment and vanished as soon as he passed Lucifer off to Gabriel, leaving the three of them alone. A pregnant silence built between them until Gabriel broke it. “I’ve been following the detective on your case,” he started.

Grace just stared at the angel, not really knowing what he wanted her to say. If it was “thank you” he could go fuck himself. She didn’t ask him to stalk the detective that was hunting her, and she was damned sure Lucifer hadn’t asked him either. “Okay?” she finally said when it was clear he wasn’t going to say anything until she did.

“Someone is setting you up to get caught.” That was news to Grace. Then again, should she expect any less? Lucifer had enemies and she was a way to get to him. Maybe she really should have took her time with the hunt for Andrew Wood. She might not be in as much shit as she currently was. But even angels can’t change the past. “Watch your back.” He vanished as soon as the sentence left his mouth.

As if she really needed him to tell her that.

After staring at the spot Gabriel had stood, Grace lifted her eyes and shifted them all around her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her stalker. They were still there. She could still feel the eyes on her, but there was no sign of them. With a shake of her head, she started to leave. “I’m going to find you and kill you,” she muttered under her breath. A trickle of wind chime like laughter followed after her. She couldn’t help but smile. Her stalker was a woman.

3.7

There was something heavy on Grace’s back. It was putting a lot of pressure on the back of her neck, making it hard to breathe. Her left arm was being held down by it has well, her hand warm, wet, and sticky. The scent of blood reached her nostrils.

Her head was pounding. She wanted to to touch it, make sure it wasn’t injured, but when she moved the pressure on her neck and arm increase. The inability to move caused her to panic. She tried to move more, but it only resulted in the pressure increasing once again. It just made her panic all the more and fight whatever it was on top of her, resulting in the same outcome. A vicious circle that she repeated several times before she finally gave up.

People were shouting. What they were saying, Grace had no idea. Her ears were ringing. It had to do something with her head. She must have hit it. That had to be why she didn’t remember what happened. All she could recall was the demon coming toward her and Tony. Then everything went blank. Maybe she hit her head? She had read somewhere, or watched something, that said when people received head injuries, they could forget what had led to the injury. That was the only thing she could think of. Though it was hard to think, when it felt like someone was repeatedly bashing your head with a hammer.

All she could do was move her eyes. It hurt to do so, but she had to see what was going on. Her view was limited, but she could tell something terrible had happened. There was dark blood staining the red carpet. The wall across from her was cracked, with more blood smeared on it. A disembodied hand was floating in her face, bouncing up and down slightly. The hand, a man’s hand, was still attached to its arm, and body, but the rest was out of Grace’s vision.

The voices were starting to come to her, the ringing in her ears subsiding. A woman was shouting something. It wasn’t Ashtat. The voice was quieter, gentler, and there was a Southern accent. Though it was gentle and sweet, something about it made the hair on the back of Grace’s neck stand on end. That woman was not someone she wanted to trifle with, and from the sounds of it, Grace had already gotten on her bad side. She couldn’t hear exactly what the woman said, but caught words like “kill,” “bitch,” and “Lucifer.” All words, she was pretty sure were directed toward her.

A voice came from above her, and Grace recognized it instantly. Lucifer. And he was the one pinning her to the ground. That realization snapped her out of her groggy state. The headache was still there, but she no longer felt confused. Just pissed. Not only was he touching her, he was forcing her on the ground. “Get the fuck off of me,” she growled, trying to crane her neck to glare at him.

He stared at her for a moment, head tilted to the side. Then, he released her without a word. Grace scrambled to her feet, at the same time trying get away from him and avoid the blood. The last was a bit tricky since it was everywhere, including on her. It was the reason her hand was wet and sticky. And the smell. It was overwhelming. More so that it was all demon blood. The scent tickled her nose in a way that made her hate herself. She liked it, and wanted a taste of it. It took a lot to keep her hand away from her mouth and suck on her fingers. Instead, she tried to focus on her surroundings.

Tony was the her left, breathing heavily, holding onto his side. There was blood on him as well, but she couldn’t tell if it was his. And she didn’t think he wanted her near him. The way he was looking at her. A mixture of fear and loathing. So she turned from him only to spot the demon that had charged her. Baphomet had been his name. He was alive, but barely. The small movements of his chest and the sound of a slow heartbeat the only signs of him being alive. There was a woman holding him, the one that had spoken, Grace guessed. She glared at her with a hatred in her bright green eyes Grace had never seen before. She turned away, not being able to stand it. Her eyes landed on Iblis and Ashtat, both of whom were unharmed, but had fear in their eyes.

No one needed to tell Grace who had done that. The way they were looking at her was enough. Somehow, someway, she had put Baphomet at the brink of death and possibly had hurt Tony. She had been enough of a problem that Lucifer had to come and pin her down to stop her. The worst part of it all was she couldn’t remember any of it. It was just a black spot in her memory. As if she had been asleep. That frightened her more than the act itself. What other terrible stuff could she have done and had no memory of it.

Lucifer moved to her, nearly touching her. “We must go,” he said. Grace just nodded, not having anything to say. She wanted to get out there. As far from the scene as possible, and just forget about it. Out of sight, out of mind. The sight made her glad that she didn’t have dreams anymore. The nightmares of this would have haunted her forever.

The woman released a bark of laughter. “Do you really think I would allow you to leave after your sin eater killed my son.”

That caught Grace’s attention. The woman was about to say more, but she cut her off. “He’s not dead.” The woman just gazed at her blankly. As if she wasn’t fully comprehending what Grace was saying. “He’s even still breathing.” Her voice was sharp. It pissed her off that the woman was trying to blame her for something she didn’t do. She might have nearly killed him, but she wasn’t going to let the bitch say she killed him. And she just stood there, staring at her, which pissed Grace off even more. “Are you fucking stupid?!”

The woman’s hand lashed out, and Grace closed her eyes, waiting for the sting. It never came. When she opened her eyes, Lucifer was holding the woman’s arm. The stare he was giving her would have wilted anyone’s will, but the woman just glared back. Neither of them said anything, just stared each other down. When Lucifer did release the woman, he did so with a violent shove. Then, he turned to Grace. “We are leaving, now.” Grace didn’t argue when he grabbed her upper arm and yanked her to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and turned to Tony. “I suggest you leave as well.” His attention turned back to her. “This will not be pleasant.”

Something snarky was about to come out of her mouth, but was cut off by pain. It felt as if her body was being ripped apart in a million pieces at the same time something was putting her back together. She was hot and cold, and her headache grew even more intense. As suddenly as it all started, it stopped. Lucifer released her, and she fell to the floor panting. Unpleasant had been an understatement. She hoped never to experience that, ever again.

The dirty floor she was staring at told Grace they were back in her apartment. She had never been happy to be in such a shitty place. On hands and knees, she crawled to her bed. Though, she thought maybe she should head to the bathroom. She was starting to feel a little nauseated. Then again, she didn’t have anything in her stomach so did it matter? Whatever. If she puked, she would just clean it up. She made it to the bed and rested her head and arms on the mattress. Lying fully down might have been a bad idea at the moment.

Lucifer crossed the room and shut the door. The hounds must have opened it to get out. How they did that, she had no idea, but it was the only way they could get out. They were highly intelligent, but didn’t have the equipment to open windows. It was hard to believe that they opened the door, lacking opposable thumbs. They could though. She had never took the time to look at their paws. She just assumed they were like regular dogs.

I take offense to that, said Brother. There was teasing in his tone, and Grace needed it. It put a smile on her face and she felt her heart warm. She sent him a thank you.

There was movement out of the corner of her eye, and then Lucifer was squatting in front of her. He took her chin in his hand, his pure black pools boring into her hazel ones. She tried to turn from him, but his grip tightened on her chin. “What happened?” he asked. His voice was calm, quiet, but demanded an answer. An answer she could not give them.

“I don’t know,” she replied, shaking her head. Tears were starting to build, her vision blurred. “The last thing I remember is that guy coming toward me and Tony, and then nothing.” She could handle killing Anthony Thomas and Andrew Wood, she couldn’t handle nearly killing a demon. The difference was she had been aware of what she was doing to the two men, had even enjoyed it. With Baphomet, everything was blank. Nothing was there. As if she had been asleep when it had all happened. And that was frightening, knowing that her body could do such a thing on its own.

Lucifer held her gaze for a few moments longer, and then released her. His eyes drifted to the right, staring at nothing, his face unreadable. Grace would have loved to know what he was thinking. He wouldn’t tell her, of course. He never told her anything. Just like he wasn’t going to tell her what was wrong with her. Even she knew what had happened was not natural. All of their faces told her that.

When he turned back to her, he looked defeated. His eyes were tired and showed their many, many years. His face drooped into a frown. It looked as if he were carrying the weight of the world on top of it all. And for the first time, Grace felt sorry for the angel. Sorry that she had caused him so much grief. She would never tell him that, never show it, but she couldn’t stop herself from feeling it.

“What’s wrong with me?” she asked, voice cracking.

He shook his head. “I have no idea.” That wasn’t very reassuring, but at least he told her something. “Where are your hounds?”

“On the roof,” Grace replied without any thought. She could feel their anxiousness of returning to her, but they still waited until the two were done speaking. It had not been necessary, they knew exactly what was being said, but the gesture was appreciated. Still, Grace couldn’t help but think how strange it was to have animals that were that intelligent. Just not what a once human would be used to. “I don’t think I got that job.” It was her attempt at lightening the mood. It seemed to work. Lucifer gave the briefest of smiles. Grace almost didn’t believe her eyes.

“The job wasn’t the goal. I wished to have you trained by Iblis. But that is, as humans say ‘out the window.’” He was being surprisingly talkative, and Grace just kept silent, not wanting to ruin the moment. “I will have to train you myself.”

There really was no point in that, but Grace kept it to herself. Lucifer would train her whether she wanted it or not, and she most definitely did not. She didn’t see a point in it. Everything that she was possibly going to fight was much stronger that her, and more than likely had a few centuries on her in practice. Well, there are the humans she might have to go after. She had gotten lucky with Andrew Wood and Anthony Thomas. Neither of them had known how to fight. She may be stronger than the average human, but that meant nothing if they had a weapon and were proceeding to kick her ass. Learning to fight might be a good thing. “When do we start?”

“Tomorrow.” His hand briefly touched her face and then dropped away. “Rest for now.” Then, he was gone.

The vanishing act always annoyed Grace to no end, but that night, she could care less. All she wanted was to get some rest. The previous day she had not rested too well, afraid to wake up in that cage once again. This night, she would sleep good, possibly. As long as she didn’t think about what had happened at Desires. Not to worry about that. She didn’t want to think about it ever again.

The hunger clawed its way back into her mind with a vengeance. It didn’t seem to enjoy being forgotten. The pain that shot up her body made her double over. She was going to need to feed and it needed to be soon. The hounds agreed.

Getting to her feet, Grace headed toward the closet. She grabbed a shirt and a hoodie and tossed them on the edge of the bed, the hangers still swinging from the violent yank. She took off the shirt Tony had made for her, and set it on the bed carefully, making sure it was completely flat. Her heart sank. There were three little blood drops on the shirt all clustered together. Tony was not going to be happy with her. That was, if he didn’t already know. He had been glaring at her when she had came to. Maybe that was why he had been angry. She doubted it, but it was a nice thought. An apology was in order the next she saw him. Whenever that was.

It was not now. That was clear. If she went to see him as hungry as she was, she would probably attack him. Besides, it might be best to stay clear of him for a while. Maybe let the tension settle before she tried to approach him. She hoped it wouldn’t be too long. She liked speaking with him, and she wanted to know how to remove the stains. That was something she would usually look up on the internet, but that was something she lacked at the moment.

The hunger struck again, punishing her for not moving fast enough. Quickly, Grace got her shirt and hoodie on, and headed out of the door. It was time to feed.

3.6

The Strip is the place where past and present is molded into one. There was an array of bars and nightclubs on either side of the cobblestone street. Bright neon signs announcing establishment names on buildings centuries old. The old black street lights, that once held lanterns, lit the way for the young crowd as they walked to the particular bar of their fancy.

Grace stared at the crowd in mild amusement. Mostly the women. Most were wearing ridiculously high heels, trying to cross the uneven cobblestone street. They wobbled back and forth, side to side, holding onto their friends, who wobbled just as much as them, for support. It was almost like a dance. A terrible one, but it was pretty entertaining. There were a few moments where Grace hoped one would fall, just so she could see how the women would react. Though, there were several guys hovering like vultures. They were waiting for the ladies to fall, so they could sweep them off of their feet, literally and figuratively. Might have been a good way to get a date.

“You look like a creep,” Tony told her, walking deeper into the Strip. Coming from a demon, that said a lot. Well, maybe it did. Tony was the first demon she had met, so far, she couldn’t really judge too much. And to be honest, she did come off as a bit of a creep.

Picking up her pace, Grace caught up with the demon. “How much further is this place?” It had felt like they’ve been walking all night. Her feet were actually starting to ache. Not that she blamed them. She was wearing combat style boots, which weren’t really designed for normal street walking. And they were brand new as well.

“Not much,” was all she got from the demon. Thankfully, he was true to his word. Just several feet and they had reached their destination.

Desires was a two-story building made of a dark gray stone that appeared black in the night. All the windows were blacked out making it appear all the darker and lifeless. The only reason why you would know it was in business was the line in front of the stairs leading to the dark red front door. There was a bouncer at the front of the line, allowing people to go on his terms. When he saw Grace and Tony, he rolled his eyes. “I guess you guys want to go in?”

A tight smile formed on Grace’s face. She sized the man up. With her newfound strength, she could take the man. He was big, muscular, and tall, the stereotypical bouncer type. Even had the smooth bald head. It would destroy the man to be beaten by her. He was arrogant, she could tell by the way he held himself, tall and full height, and gladly looking down on her and Tony. More so Tony, than her. The only good thing she could say about the man was he didn’t smell too appetizing. He may have been an asshole, but he wasn’t bad.

“I’m here to see Iblis.” That was who Lucifer told her to ask for, and that was who she was going to speak to. As long as she could get inside, that was. It didn’t seem this guy was going to let her in.

That fact was punctuated when he laughed at her. “There is no way he’s going to want to see you. No offense, but see this girl,” he indicated to an attractive woman in the front of the line, “he wouldn’t want to see her, and she’s a lot hotter than you are.” He started to crack up again. Grace wanted to rip his heart out. Bad guy or no. He was starting to piss her off.

“Lucifer sent me.” That ended his laughter, abruptly. “Oh, so you know who that is.” She stepped closer to him, a wicked smile forming on her face. It didn’t show, but she was relieved Lucifer’s name had some weight with the man. “So, you know that when I say ‘I’ll rip you limb from limb if I don’t get my way’ that I mean it. That’s good. Leaves out a lot of that threat/promise awkwardness.” It really wasn’t necessary for her to threaten him, with how scared he had looked when she mentioned the fallen angel’s name. But he had been an asshole to her and she wanted him to pay for that. Petty, but who wasn’t every now and then?

The man straightened, a professional, polite smile forming on his face. “Please, step inside, ma’am. Our hostess, Ashtat, will take you to Mr. Iblis. Have a nice night.”

Grace’s smile changed to a much friendlier one. “Thank you… what’s your name?”

“Franklin, ma’am.” It was paining him to call her ma’am, and Grace revelled in it. Sometimes you gotta take pleasures in the small things in life.

“Thank you, Franklin. I’ll see you around.” She headed toward the stairs.

Tony followed her up. “You know there’s a chance you’ll be working with him, right?” That had not crossed her mind. All she knew was he had insulted her and she was going to get him back. Now, she might be stuck working with him for a while. Then again, he wouldn’t really fuck with her after what had just happened. A blessing in disguise, maybe? Hopefully.

“Would you stay with me?” she asked, ignoring Tony’s question. He gave her a look that said he would rather eat glass. “I don’t know my way home.” Unfortunately, she was telling the truth. The entire time they had been walking, she had been focused on Tony. She had wanted to make sure she didn’t lose him in the crowd. And then, it focused on not eating Tony. It took a great deal of concentration not to do so.

He rolled his sunset colored eyes. “Fine, but I don’t want to be in that room with you.” He seemed uncomfortable at the thought of being near the djinn. Grace was curious, but she didn’t push it. Just grateful that he had even said yes. He really must have been the nicest demon in the world. Maybe he was really young? No. It couldn’t be that, it didn’t feel right. He was old. Just timid and weak, power wise.

“How did you become a demon?” Grace asked suddenly, still standing in front of the door, blocking people from entering and exiting. It was a good thing her and the demon were close enough no one could overhear their conversation. That would have made for some awkward stares.

“I was born one. We should go in. People are starting to become anxious.” Grace opened the door, chewing on the thought. She hadn’t known demons could be born. She had always believed that they were created in hell from the evil spirits that entered there. Never crossed her mind some could be born. Though it had never crossed her mind that demons existed in the first place or that hell was an actual place.

When Grace opened the inner door to the nightclub, the noise hit her like a train. It bashed against her ears hard enough it felt like her eardrums had burst. Instinctively, her hands went up to her ears to muffle the noise, to no avail. It was just too loud. The flashing lights did nothing to help either. Just hurt her eyes and gave her a headache.

A woman appeared in front of Grace. She was tall, with slender shoulders, and a killer hourglass figure. Beautiful dark skin that was so black is appeared blue accompanied by dark eyes. Hair cut almost to the skull and a smile that said she had a secret. Her long nails were painted bright red, matching her lipstick. The woman was gorgeous enough she could have been a model. “Are you Grace?” Her voice was sweet, like candy. Almost too sweet.

Grace nodded, not being able to verbally respond. It felt as if her ears were about to bleed at any moment, and speaking might be that causes them to do so. The best thing to do was keep quiet, and let everyone else make the noise.

The woman, who had to be Ashtat, grabbed Grace’s arm in a strong grip. Still smiling, she said, “Good, this way.” She started to drag Grace into the crowd. “The demon comes too,” she shouted above the noise. Grace couldn’t see Tony, but she could only guess that he was following behind, though reluctantly.

Before they reached the edge of the dance floor, Ashtat made a right turn. She headed straight for a thick black door. There was a sign above the door that read “Employees Only.” The woman opened the door, practically shoving Grace inside. Tony was shoved in shortly after her. “Up the stairs,” Ashtat commanded, her voice no longer sweet. Grace was just grateful the noise was muffler. The area must have been soundproofed.

Removing her hands from her ears, Grace headed up the stairs, taking her sweet time. She wasn’t really looking forward to meeting the djinn. But a job was a job. Just felt a little sorry for Tony. He didn’t asked to be dragged along with her, but it seemed he was there for the whole ride. For his sake, she hoped nothing terrible happened. That would just be the icing on top of the cake of his shitty day. And it would have been her fault. She should have just let him leave and figured out how to get back home herself. The hounds probably knew how. Or, at the very least, they could have sniffed it out. That made her feel ten times worse already, and nothing had happened yet.

When the group reached the top of the stairs, Ashtat ordered them to make a left. Grace complied. They were in a hallways, carpeted with soft red carpet, matching the front door of the building. There were several rooms on either side of them, but none seemed to be used for anything other than storage; it sounded as if one were possibly a break room, though no one was currently in it. At least, there was no weird sex rooms. That would have been awkward.

Ashtat quickened her pace to move ahead of Grace. She led them straight to the door at the end of the hall and opened it without bothering to knock. “Ash,” a voice called from what Grace guessed was the office, “I’m in the middle of a meeting. What the hell are you doing?” The voice was male, deep, and had a slight accent that Grace could not place. It was Iblis. She didn’t know how she knew, but she knew.

“Grace is here,” was Ashtat’s response, seemingly uncaring of the goings-on of the office. “There’s a demon with her.”

“And you couldn’t have kept them downstairs like I asked you to?” There was a tight smile on that man’s face. Grace knew because her tone sounded similar when she had one. This exchange was starting to get entertaining.

“Nope. I have shit to do. They’re your guests, you deal with them.” Well then, that was one way to speak to your boss. Not that Grace minded. Just happy she wasn’t on the receiving end of that ice. She did feel a little sorry for the djinn. That was who Grace figured she was speaking to. If he owned the place, not many other people would be sitting in the office. Unless it was a manager, then she felt really sorry for that guy.

A scent drifted down the hallway that teased Grace’s hunger. There was a demon in the room with Iblis. A demon more powerful than the one the hound had hunted down. So much more powerful. A demon of this caliber would stave off the hunger for a week, maybe even longer. Oh and how good he would taste. Her mouth was already salivating. After eating this one, she wouldn’t be able to move.

Licking her lips, Grace took a step forward, and then stopped herself. No. She could not feed. Not at that moment. Maybe later, when there wasn’t a job hanging in the balance. If she just went into that office and ate the heart of the demon, she was pretty sure Iblis wouldn’t hire her. And it would cause some kind of trouble. A trouble she wasn’t able to deal with. Her hounds weren’t with her, though on the way, and she just wasn’t a fighter. She had never fought in her life. Been tempted to punch people, but have never done so. She did punch James once or twice, but that was just in the arm and she had been playing around. Nothing serious. If she did get into a series fight, she would lose. She would lose hardcore. Probably die. Again. But this time, a little more permanent than the last time. Not exactly what she wanted at that moment. It wasn’t the most enjoyable of lives, eating hearts and all, but it was her life and she was going to live it to the fullest.

So, she was going to stand there, ignore her hunger, and wait for her turn no matter what happened.

“Ash, please,” pleaded Iblis. “This is really important.”

Ash blinked and then pointed at her face. “You see this.” She paused a moment, waiting for Iblis’ silent response. “Take a good hard look at it, okay?” Another pause. “This is a face that doesn’t give a fuck.”

If Iblis was about to respond, it was cut off by Grace’s burst of laughter. It was just too much for her to handle. She had never heard someone say something like that to anyone, much less their boss. Even Tony coughed to hide his snickers. Grace boldly and gladly laughed aloud to her heart’s content.

This time, she didn’t stop herself from walking forward. She felt she owed Iblis an apology. It wasn’t really the greatest time to be laughing at insubordination, but she couldn’t help it. Not to mention, it was nice. That had been the first time she actually laughed since she died. Because of that, it lasted longer than it should have.

Grace poked her head into the door. “Sorry,” she said to no one in particular. Then her eyes fell on Iblis. Her words almost faltered. The djinn was very attractive. He had short, black hair, dark olive skin, and dark eyes to match. High cheekbones, full lips, and was wearing a dark green shirt that opened enough to show off his body; he leaned back in his chair from behind his desk, gladly showing it off. Eye candy, were the words that came to mind while gazing at him. “I can just wait out here until you’re finished,” she finished quickly. As attractive as the man was, the scent of the demon was even more tantalizing. She needed to get out of the doorway fast.

Movement from the corner of her eye caught Grace’s attention. In the chair on the other side of Iblis’ desk was the demon. He was attractive, but not beautiful like Iblis. His hair was dark, his skin pale, and he wore a nice form-fitting suit, that probably cost more than her entire apartment building. His eyes were a mixture of silver and gray that reminded Grace of the moon. He had a cocky smile on his face that she already wanted to wipe off. She could already tell she was not going to like him, especially with that stare he was giving her. It was as if he were trying to find a potential use for her. Too bad for him she was already being used by something else.

His attention returned to the djinn. “It is fine, Iblis. We can speak at another time.” He stood, straightening his suit. “It would not do well to let the young lady wait.” He had a Southern accent that Grace would have normally thought was nice on the ears, but made her hair stand on end.

“Thank you, Baphomet. I am sorry about all of this.”

“No matter. I’ll take my leave.” He started to head toward the door.

Grace backed up, bumping into Tony. She didn’t really want Bathmat, or whatever his name was, to touch her. As the demon made it to the doorway, she made sure to keep her eyes on him. Mistrust of him would be an understatement. His eyes landed on Tony and there was shock. “Tannin?” he muttered almost under his breath.

Grace turned to the demon behind her. “Tannin?” she asked, but she was ignored. He was staring wide eyed at the demon in front of them. Her attention turned back to Badmeth, and just in time. His face had darkened to a hatred she had never witnessed before.

Then, he charged toward them.

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Thank you all for reading!

I’m going to keep it short down here. I just wanted to let everyone know that I wrote a short story that’s on sale on Amazon. It’s called Dealing With Death, and it’s about a woman that can see Death and her dealings with him. If any of you are interested in reading it, you can buy it here for a whopping $0.99. It’s my first time actually fully completing something. I’m really excited about it and just wanted to share it with everyone!

Thanks again!