5.5

The bed shook with every panting breath Grace and Tony took. Their scent mingled as they lay wrapped in each other. “You could have warned me before you teleported us to my apartment,” Grace managed between breaths. She attempted to sit up, before giving up and flopping down against Tony. He grunted in pain when her head slammed against his chest.

“I didn’t think you would say yes.” Of course, she wouldn’t fucking say yes. That shit hurt. It was the worse pain she had ever felt in her life, and she had given birth and been stabbed. Every cell in her body was in pain. “And teleport?” Tony shook his head. “That sounds so cheesy.”

“What would you call it then?” she asked, finally managing to sit up. She glanced around the room. There was no sign of the hounds, or of Lucifer. There was a piece of paper on her counter, which must be a note from the fallen angel. Must have gone to see Jane, she thought, getting to her feet.

Tony sat up as well. “I don’t know, but not teleport. No one has given it a special name since it was something that we could just do.”

“Well, I’m going to call it what it is. Teleportation.” The pain started to recede, which made moving easier. She went to the counter to read the note Lucifer had left her.

Be careful.

Two words was all she got from him. Two words. She didn’t know why she expected something different. It was so like him just not to explain anything and expect her to figure out everything by herself. And “be careful,” really? Like she didn’t already know that? What did he take her for? A careless idiot? Wait. That didn’t need to be answered. Her track record spoke for itself.

Rolling her eyes, she crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trash. There was someone stalking her, and someone had put a sword through Lucifer’s heart, she knew to be careful. “Why did you teleport us, anyways?” Her mind needed to be taken somewhere else.

Tony was on his feet, arms high in the arm in a nice stretch. “Didn’t want to take the chance of the cop following us. I saw the way he looked at you. He knows who you are.”

She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you. Even though it hurt like a bitch.” At least someone in this fucked up world had her back. “Now, shouldn’t we be getting ready to go.”

“Right after you find those tennis shoes.”

“There wasn’t a condition before.” And she’ll be damned if there was going to be a condition now. “We’re going out regardless.” Her tone was the same she used with Chase when he was being particularly stubborn about a toy he didn’t need.

“Just find the shoes.” He started to head toward the door. “I’ll be in my room getting dressed and finding something for you to wear.” With that, he left her to her own devices.

Sighing, Grace headed toward her bare closet to see if there were any shoes for her to wear. Low and behold, there was a pair of tennis shoes sitting right next to her extra boots. There were a pair of black flats next to the tennis shoes as well. Huh. Those had not been there before, and that was a fact that she knew. It was creepy how some things just magically turned up in her apartment. As if there was someone listening to everything she said. She had a feeling it was Lucifer, though she doubted he would ever admit to it.

There was a tug in her mind, and she turned her attention to the hounds. May we hunt, Alpha? Mother asked her.

“Of course, you guys don’t have to ask.” She liked knowing they weren’t cooped up in her small apartment, waiting for her to get back. They weren’t dogs, after all. “Just make sure to be careful. You know some shady shit has been going down.” Brother chuckled at that and Grace couldn’t help but roll her eyes. He was like a teenager. Probably was a teenager in hellhound years. And seriously, what the hell was so funny about “shady shit?”

Nothing is funny about it, Father said. Grace could feel his glare even from there. He’s just brain damaged. All that did was make Brother laugh even harder, cementing his father’s belief he had a brain damaged son.

“Just be careful, please?” she asked before moving them to the back of her mind. She trusted that they would take care of each other and would keep themselves out of danger. If not, she wouldn’t have let them go in the first place. She would not lose them. They were a part of her just as much as her arms were. Losing one of them would be like losing Chase.

You already lost him. The thought was so harsh she almost believed she hadn’t thought it. She shook her head violently, as if to physically get rid of the thought. Nope. No more negative thoughts tonight. You’re going to have fun, she told herself in the same tone she just spoke to Tony in. Sometimes, you had to give yourself a mental lashing.

Realizing that she had been staring in her closet for the past ten minutes, Grace grabbed the shoes and then slammed the door. Unlacing the boots was always a chore, but she did so anyways, and took them off, setting them next to the closed closet door. Next came off her socks, and then she put on the flats. They were mildly comfortable. Would be more so if she had socks she could wear with them. She hated to wear any kind of shoes without socks. Oh, the things she did for her friends. Well, friend.

There was a knock at the door before Tony just barged in, never bothering to wait for her to say he could come in. He wore a nice button up light blue shirt, dark slacks, and shoes that might have been a little too formal for the occasion, not that Grace was going to say anything. She was just happy that he didn’t hole himself up in his apartment. “I have a shirt and some leggings for you.” The clothes he handed her were perfectly folded. She was almost hesitant to unfold them. “You have flats?”

“I do, apparently. They just showed up in my closet. Maybe a magical fairy lives in there granting my wishes.”

Tony gave an ungraceful snort. “Fairies aren’t real.”

“Says the demon.”

“Yes, says the demon. Now, get dressed before I change my mind.”

“Alright.” She kicked off the flats she had just put on and started to remove her pants, not caring that there was another pair of eyes in the room. Tony was a gentleman, he would turn around. Sure enough, when she glanced up, his back was to her. She shook her head, smile on her face. He really was a terrible demon.

In a matter of minutes she was finished dressing and ran her fingers through her auburn hair. It had grown over the past two months. It was too long for her taste, but she couldn’t bring herself to cut it. While she had still been alive, she had gladly gotten it cut, but now, it just didn’t seem right. It was the last thing she had of her old life, and she couldn’t get rid of it. If she was going to keep it long, it was time to invest in some hairbands.

“I’m ready,” she said, feeling a little self-conscious. The shirt was a red tank top with a v-neck that went deeper than what she was comfortable with and hugged her hips, just covering the round of her butt. The pants were tighter than she liked as well, but they were leggings and nothing she could do about it.

Tony smiled at her. “You look good.” It made her feel better knowing she didn’t look as awkward as she felt. “Ready?”

“Not really, but let’s go!” She shoved Tony toward the door and they headed out. “Where are we going, anyways?” The only question she had failed to think about much less ask. Tony gave her a you’re-not-going-to-like-this-look. “Oh no. We can’t go there. He hates me!” Hate wasn’t a strong enough word, and she didn’t blame Iblis. She had, after all, threatened to kill his daughter. Grace would loath anyone that threatened Chase.

“I’m hoping there will be enough people there he won’t notice.”

“You know that’s not going to work.” The demon only shrugged. “Why are we going there anyways?”

“It’s the only place people like us can go that’s safe. It’s pretty much a neutral zone. We won’t have to worry about getting attacked there.”

“Ugh. Fine. But you owe me.” Seeing Iblis was the last thing she wanted, but it was going to happen whether she liked it or not seeing as Tony was dead-set on going there. Then again, she would rather not risk going somewhere else and getting attacked, especially since she would lack the hounds, her only defense. She couldn’t until Lucifer started to train her again, something she never thought she would say.

Fighting really wasn’t something she enjoyed doing, but she knew it was necessary in her new life. Otherwise, she was going to die for real this time. There was no third chance when it came to escaping death. And she was determined to stay alive. As long as Chase was still breathing, she would stay alive. She had to make sure he grew up into the great man she knew he would become. It was her job as his mother, the only thing left she could do. When he was old and worn, then, and only then, could she die peacefully.

“Are we going to call a ca-”

“No,” Tony cut her off. “The cab drivers here are terrible. I would rather walk.” Grace tried her best to hide her grin, but failed miserably. “What?! You know they’re terrible. You experienced one last night.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” she teased. “Besides, I thought it was hard to kill demons.”

“Hard, but not impossible. If I’m going to die, it’s not going to be because of a cab driver ramming us into the back of another car, or wall. Besides, you have no money to help pay for a cab.” He had her there. It was the one thing Lucifer had ever failed to give her, stating she didn’t have the need for it. He bought everything for her, and it wasn’t like she could eat. Though, it would be nice to have a tv, something she kept hinting at, which have seemed to go over the fallen angel’s head. Unless he was just ignoring the request. Something entirely possible. Maybe he thought it would kill her already dead braincells.

Grace’s eyes fell down to her shoes. “If I get a blister from this, I’m blaming you.” Flats were never idea to walk far distances in, though there was a chance that she wouldn’t even blister. It was hard to tell what her body would and wouldn’t do.

Tony rolled his eyes. “I will take that blame. Now, let’s get out of here before both of us change our mind.” He had a point there. Grace could already feel an excuse not to go creeping up on her.

“Alright. Lead the way, good sir.” She indicated toward her door. Even though she had been there several times already, Grace still had no idea how to get to Desires. She never really paid attention.

The demon headed out of the door. “One of these days, you’re going to have to learn to get around on your own.” He was right. She was going to have to buckle down and get used to the city. But that day, was not the day. There were other things she needed to worry about.

 

5.4

Maybe visiting Jane had been a bad idea. The lights in the diner were too bright. They set every one of Grace’s nerves on edge. It felt as if an army of ants were crawling under her skin. SHe wanted to claw at herself, just to make the sensation stop. But there were other people in the small room with her, and they already looked as if they wanted to run- something just her mere presence did to most people. No need to make it worse. So, she sat there, dealing with the irritation while Tony glared at her.

“What?!” she said between clenched teeth. If she didn’t force her mouth closed, she would have yelled at him. God, she should have brought her jacket. It would have blocked some of the lights. Why couldn’t she have some kind of foresight.

The demon shook his head. “I don’t know why we’re here. We’re just going to give her false hope.”

“No, we’re not.” He needed to give Jane a little more credit. “If Lucifer were awake, Jane would be the first person he would go to. You know that.”Grace sighed heavily, placing her head in her face. “Maybe it’s a good thing he’s asleep. If he sees that bruise on her face, I’m dead.” The fallen angel had never outright asked, but Grace knew he wanted her to keep an eye on Jane. Why else would he have put her in the same apartment building?

“You’re already dead.” Grace shot the demon a look that made him smile. “I knew what you meant. Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“Yeah, well, you suck at that.” She sat back in the booth, eyes falling to the window. The hounds were just outside of it, eagerly waiting for her. They hated staying in one place for too long. “I should have killed him.”

Tony shrugged. “He’s going to die anyways. Lucifer will take care of that.” That was true. Though, it would have been much more satisfying if Grace could have done the honor. Unfortunately, the had been short on time.

It was Chase’s birthday. The thought sent her spiraling. She would have willingly, gladly even, ended someone’s life on the day she had given birth the most important person in her life. Oh, how far she had fallen.

Grace moved her eyes from the window, ready to put her mind to something different. She spotted Jane headed toward them. The young woman was decked out in her food smothered apron, tennis shoes, and her long dirty-blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. Her dark eyes had the focus and determination of someone much older than her sixteen years. She had two coffee mugs and pot in her hands.

“You guys have to buy something if you’re going to sit here,” Jane said, almost apologetically. “This is the cheapest thing on the menu.” The bruise didn’t look too bad, but it had only been a day. It was going to look a lot worse before it got better.

“No worries.” Grace offered the young woman a kind smile. “I just have to figure out how to pretend I’m drinking it.” Grace had come to discover that her body rejects anything that is not a heart. It had not been pretty or fun. She hadn’t realized how much blood was in her body until it was coming out of every orifice of her body. Worse cup of coffee ever.

“Just put it up to your lips every once in awhile and I’ll come by and pretend to fill your cup.” That was better than the plan Grace had come up with, which consisted of just ignoring it.

“Thank you.” Another smile before she pressed the cup to her lips and pretended to take a drink. It was annoying. Coffee had been one of her favorite things while she was just plain old Grace. Now, she was Grace the Sin Eater and couldn’t eat or drink anything she enjoyed before. Sure, eating the hearts of sinners were some of the best meals of her life, but it had nothing on a bacon cheeseburger. Fuck, she missed those things.

There was a lot she missed from her old life. Her job, her nice apartment, Chase, James. Oh god, James. Her chest constricted as if a snake wound around it. That man had dealt with so much shit from her, and he had still stood by her. Even when she was shoving him away, he stood there, waiting for her. Why couldn’t she have accepted her love for him before? She may have still ended up dead, but she would have been happier.

A hand touched her arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. “Are you alright?” Tony asked, his thumb stroking her arm.

She cleared her throat, taking her hand away from her chest. She hadn’t even realized she had been rubbing it. “Yeah. Just realizing how much I missed my family.” Jane had left to take care of her other customers.

“Your son, Chase?” Tony picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. Grace felt a stab of jealousy. She really missed coffee.

She nodded. “And James.” All of her sorrow was thrown into one sigh. “I didn’t realize how much I loved him until after I was dead. I just kept pushing him away.” She shook her head. “I think I was afraid of what I felt for him.” If she loved him, he could have left her. Just like her father did. But James wasn’t her father, and he wouldn’t have left her. Ever. Took her now to figure it out.

“They’ll be fine, Grace.”

If it hadn’t been considered rude, Grace would have laughed in her friend’s face. Instead, she just offered a shake of her head. “Chase, maybe, but not James.” The look on Tony’s face was nothing short of skeptical. “James has loved me since the moment he saw me. We were kids. There has never been anyone else for him, and there never will be. His love for me was all consuming. It was everything to him. The only person he loves more than me is Chase.”

Tony took another sip of his coffee. “No wonder you were scared. That’s a lot of love for one person to handle.”

Grace shook her head. “That’s not why I was afraid. I thought he would leave me.” Saying it aloud made her realize just how stupid she had been. “God, I was an idiot.” All she could do now was laugh at herself. “I really had my head up my ass on that one.”

“Yes, you did,” Tony said. Way to let her have it easy. “But there’s nothing you can do about it now. Showing up at his doorstep would only make things worse for him.”

“True. I would rather him think I’m dead than I just left him. It would kill him if he thought I left him.” He dealt with her rejection just fine, knowing that she loved him and only was pushing him away because of her own insecurities. But if he thought she left him, she had no idea what he would do. Whatever it was, she doubted it would be pretty.

Jane stopped by to fill Tony’s cup and pretend to fill Grace’s, and without a word she moved to the next customer. “What about you, Mr. Relationship Guru? Anybody special in your life?” The teasing tone brought a smile to Tony’s lips.

“You know just as well as I do that there isn’t.” It was rare for Tony to go out and do anything unless Grace dragged him to do so. If it weren’t for her, he would be content to stay in his apartment and work on his clothes.

“Maybe you should get out more.”

“Maybe, but we both know I won’t.”

Grace shook her head. “You can’t be alone for the rest of your life.”

It was a sight to see the demon roll his sunset eyes. “I have you.”

“Pfft. We both know I’m nowhere near your type.” And who was to say she would be there for the rest of his life. Sin Eaters were near immortal. The key word “near.” There was a huge possibility that someone bigger and badder than her would take her out.

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, I have a vagina for one thing.” Someone in the diner choked on their drink. That was what they get for listening into someone’s conversation. “And two, I’m a little more violent than you care for.”

“Both are fair points, but I never said that I exclusively date men. I do like women as well, just prefer men.” It was Grace’s turn to roll her eyes. “But you’re right. It probably is about time for me to get back in the dating scene. It’s been a while.”

“A few centuries is longer than a while.”

“It hasn’t been that long.” That was a little defensive. Grace was right on the mark then. It was about time her demon friend did something other than hole himself up in a room surrounded by fabric.

“We could always go out?”

“Right now?” There were already beads of sweat forming on Tony’s forehead. He wasn’t prepared for the night Grace was about to take him on.

“Why not?! It’s not like we’re really doing anything else. And it’s Saturday.” The expression on his face said that she was right, but he still didn’t want to go out. That was too bad. He was going to have fun that night even if she had to force him to.

Tony met her eyes and studied her for several seconds. “I don’t have a choice, do I?” There was a smile on her face as Grace shook her head. “Fine. But we need to go home and change. There’s no way I’m letting you go out in that.” He gestured to her clothes as if it were the worst thing he had ever seen.

There was nothing wrong with what she was wearing. Sure, people don’t usually go out in black jeans, black t-shirt, and military grade boots, but it was what she liked. It was so practical for what she did. But she would have to concede to Tony’s wishes if she wanted him to go out with her. “You’re not going to make me wear heels or something, are you?” She walked like a newborn calf when in heels. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

“I don’t have shoes for you to wear.”

“All I have are these boots.” Grace indicated to her feet.

“I thought you had flats?”

A shrug. “If I did, they’re long gone.” It wouldn’t be the first time a pair of her shoes just disappeared nor would it be the last. She had a bad habit of misplacing things. To be fair on this point, she didn’t even remember owning flats after her untimely death. “I’m pretty sure I have tennis shoes somewhere.” That was if the black hole that seemed to swallow her things didn’t get those as well.

Flabbergasted, Tony shook his head. “That’ll work. It’s better than those fucking boots.” Grace’s lower lip jutted out in a pout. She liked her boots. “Let’s pay and then get out of here.”

The pair walked to the cash register and waited for Jane to ring them out. Grace turned around just as two men walked through the door. One black with tired eyes, the other white with a bright smile on his face. Both were obviously cops and had been there before considering how they just walked to seats. A tantalizing smell tickled the Sin Eater’s nose and her mouth began to water. The blonde was a very bad man. Andrew Wood level bad. And he would taste delicious. Too bad he was a cop. Made him off limits.

The other cop didn’t smell as good as the other one, but his scent was familiar. Grace had ran into that man before, but she couldn’t remember where. Then his voice drifted to her ears and her heart dropped to the deepest pit of her stomach. She turned back to Tony. “We need to get out of here.”

Something in her voice made his body freeze. “Why?” His voice was low enough only she could hear it.

“The cop over there, the black one, that’s the one that shot me at Andrew Woods’ place.” She took a quick glance over her shoulder. The blonde guy was looking at her as if she were going to be the next piece of meat on his platter. No one looked at her like that. No one. If she didn’t have better sense, she would have walked over there and showed him who the real big bad was.

“Shit. Jane better get here fast.”

“I’m here. I’m here. What’s the rush?” Jane asked coming from behind them and moving to the cash register.

“We’re going out, and I was afraid this one,” Grace pointed to Tony, “would change his mind.” The young woman didn’t need to know that one of the officers was actively hunting Grace for a murder she committed. Jane didn’t need to be brought into that.

Jane eyed the Sin Eater skeptically. “Uh-huh.” She knew Grace was lying, and Grace could see it, but she didn’t say anything. “It’s three bucks.” Tony handed her a ten and told her to keep the change. Even Grace cocked her eyebrows at that one, but no one said anything. They just headed out of the door.

The hounds were already anxious to get moving, but even more so feeling their Alpha’s fear. They practically ran down the street, heading back to their tiny home. Grace wanted to run with them, but thought better of it. Didn’t want to bring any more attention to herself than necessary.

One last glance at the cop and their eyes met through the window. They stared at each other as she walked down the street. He knew. She could see it, even though he made no move to go after her. He knew who she was.

Her eyes left his as she headed down the road. Shit.

*** *** ***

That was her. That was the woman that killed Andrew Wood, and King had just let her go. Some detective he was. Just watched her continue down the street with her boyfriend, glued to his seat. Fear keeping him seated.

It was how he had known it was her. The last time he felt that kind of fear was when he had walked into Andrew Woods’ house. His palms had been just as sweaty now as it had been then. His heart hammered against his ribs, and his shaky breath was the same. Everything was the same, so why was his reaction different? Why had he stayed seated?

Because you have no proof. All he had was a feeling. You can’t arrest someone because of a feeling. He needed solid evidence, and they didn’t have any. And the only person that could have identified her was now dead. Just his luck, too. A break in the case, but his star witness dead. This case was never going to get closed.

“You’re staring at that woman awfully hard,” Anderson’s voice drew him back into the diner. “Do I need to tell Tabitha on you?” The teasing was enough to eradicate the fear. “Though I don’t blame you, she was pretty attractive. Just my type.” Gabby didn’t look anything like that woman so King had no idea what his friend was talking about. Maybe his friend just liked to look at younger women. Some men were like that once they get married. Tabitha was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen so his eyes didn’t roam.

“That woman was Woods’ murder.” The conviction in his voice made his friend’s eyebrow cock. “I can’t explain how I know it, but I do. She’s our killer.”

“Alright.” Anderson leaned back in the booth. “I believe you. What do you want to do about it?”

“Keep coming here to put some pressure on her. Maybe she’ll start to get nervous and do something that we can get her on.” It was his only option. That was if she ever came back to the diner. Though with the friendly way she was talking to the girl waitress, she would be. At least, she knew the girl somehow. That could be his way in.

Speak of the devil. “What can I get you gentlemen to start with?” the girl, Jane her nametag read, asked them.

There was a fresh bruise on her cheek, but King ignored it. He was concerned but knew showing it would get him nowhere. The girl was the type to blow him off. He had seen enough to know, but he could guess how she got it. Either a boyfriend or her father. Could have just been a bystander, too, but usually it was either the boyfriend or the father. “I just want some coffee and french toast.”

“Coffee and the Two Plus Special.” Two pancakes, two pieces of back, and 2 biscuits smothered in gravy was what Anderson always got no matter where they were. The added bonus to this place was it came with hashbrowns. The man loved hashbrowns as much as he loved his children.

Jane wrote down their order. “Alright, I’ll get that right in for you.” She turned and froze. King couldn’t help but follow her eyes. A man stood not far from them, his eyes only on the girl. There was some familial resemblance with their blonde hair, dark eyes, and similar face shape, though Jane’s was a little longer, her chin a little more pointed. King guess the man was her father. “Dad,” the girl sniffled before rushing toward the man and wrapping her arms around him.

The man returned her hug gently before releasing her. With his fingers he turned her head, and his eyes hardened at the sight of the bruise, and King knew it wasn’t him that put it there. “We will speak of this later. Go. Take care of your customers.” He moved toward the counter. “Put my order in when you are finished.”

A smile on her face and wet eyes, the girl did as she was told. King’s eyes had yet to move from the one. There was something about that man that made it hard to look away. It was as if the man had entranced him. And then their eyes met, and the spell was broken. King couldn’t take his eyes away fast enough. Those eyes weren’t human. The way they looked at him as if seeing his very soul, was not a way a human looked at another.

“You okay there?” The smirk could be heard in Anderson’s voice. Nothing ever seemed to phase that man. He could stare down even the most monstrous of people.

“Yeah. Just a little exhausted.” No. He wasn’t fine. He was far from fine. Ever since the Andrew Woods’ murder, he had been far from fine. Things just kept getting weirder and weirder. And this was just another in the long list of weird shit he had to deal with. He was starting to get the feeling that he should have never taken the case in the first place.

5.2

Sitting on the edge of her counter, Grace stared at the fallen angel in her bed. All of his wounds had closed and he was breathing, yet he hadn’t moved an inch from where she and Tony had placed him last night. Still in the same sprawled out position, taking up most of her bed, sleeping. Grace wanted him to wake up if only so she could have her bed back. She had slept on the floor with the hounds. No way she was going to lay next to the dead-like Lucifer. Being a cuddler, she would have woken up wrapped around him and that was an awkwardness she hadn’t wanted to deal with. Not that it mattered, it would seem. He wouldn’t have even noticed.

Sometime during the day, Jane had stopped by. Her crying had woken Grace up, but she didn’t get up to comfort the girl. Moving during the day was still not easy for Grace, and she had been worn out. Fell back asleep almost immediately when she realized who had broken into her apartment, again. Jane had never done her any harm, no point in getting angry about a little B and E. Besides, the girl had just wanted to check in on her father.

Grace hopped off her counter with a growl and rushed to Lucifer’s side. “When the fuck are you going to get up?!” She fought the urge to poke him in the ribs. “I’m behind two weeks in my training because of this shit. And I can’t go to Iblis like you told me to before. I kind of burned that bridge. More like blew it up,” she muttered under her breath.

“I told you not to threaten him,” came a male voice from behind her.

Grace jumped and her hand instinctively went to her chest. “Jesus Tony! Don’t just pop in like that. You almost gave me a heart attack.” Tony gave her a deadpan stare. “Alright! I probably can’t have a heart attack. I would rather not test it out, though.” She shook her head and asked, “Why are you here, anyways?”

“I came to get you out of the apartment.” His eyes roamed around the room until they landed on the pile of hellhounds. He took a couple of steps toward the door, his eyes staying on them. “It’s going to take Lucifer a while to heal. I figured you would need some kind of entertainment.” Another step toward the door.

“They’re not going to kill you, Tony,” Grace said, hazel eyes rolling high in their head. “If they wanted to eat you, which they don’t, they would have done it a long time ago. You need to get used to them. They’re a part of me and I’m tired of sending them away every time you’re around!” Something she had been wanting to say for a while now, and had finally gotten the nerve to say it. At first, his fear of the hounds had entertained her, but it started to annoy her more and more as the days went by.

Back and forth Tony’s eyes went from her to the hounds. “I-I’m sorry. Being near them isn’t exactly easy for me.”

Another eye roll. “You’re a demon, Tony. You’re supposed to be one scary sonofabitch. So, demon the fuck up.” Not exactly the ideal way to put it, but she was irritated and not thinking of the words before they came out of her mouth.

“You know, not all demons are the same. And I’m sorry that my fear of the things that nearly disemboweled me as a child is getting on your nerves.” The sarcasm was so thick you could almost put it on pancakes.

“I know not all demons are the same, it’s just… wait, did you say they almost disemboweled you?” It had taken her a moment to completely digest what he had said. He replied with a curt nod. “Now, it’s my turn to be sorry. That’s a pretty damn good reason to be afraid of them. I thought maybe they just chased you around when you were younger or something. Chase is terrified of peacocks because one chased him at the zoo once.” To be fair, it was trying to peck him as well. Peacocks are evil little fucks that shouldn’t be allowed to roam the zoo freely.

Sighing, Tony untucked his dark gray button up and raised it a few inches above his navel. Or where his navel should have been. In its place was a mass of scar tissue. From it, several branches spidered out traveling to both of his sides, to his chest hidden under his shirt, and below his beltline. An attack that had meant to kill him.

“Holy shit,” Grace breathed. It had been a lot worse than she had mentally prepared herself for. She turned away, allowing Tony to tuck his shirt back into his pants. “I might have been a bit bitchy about this whole thing.” Just a little bit, though. He still needed to get used to the fact that her hounds were there to stay. And they weren’t going to eat him. Unless she told them to. She didn’t foresee a situation where that would have been needed.

“Where did you want to take me, anyways?” she asked, turning around when she felt it was alright to. Luckily enough, Tony had just finished zipping his pants up. “Where ever it is, they have to come with.” She gestured to the hounds with her chin. “They need some exercise.” And she hated to leave them cooped up in the small apartment. They didn’t really fit in the first place. She really wished Lucifer would find her a bigger place.

“I didn’t really have a plan on where to go. Just wanted to get you out of here.” His eyes fell on Pup, who was staring at him, tail thumping against the floor. If Pup could talk to him, he would be begging for some attention. Grace could feel the need radiating off of him.

“There’s an empty field that Lucifer takes me to train. We can go there for a while.” Her eyes went back to Tony. “He wants you to pet him.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Pup’s tails started to be harder against the floor. “Just think of Pup as nothing but a big dog.” She hoped she sounded reassuring.

Tony blinked several times before shaking his head. “Why don’t you show me where that field is,” he said, walking out of the room, leaving a despondent Pup.

Grace sighed, shaking her head. “Come on guys. Let’s get out of here.”

Mother trotted to Pup’s side, giving his ear a lick of comfort. Grace’s heart sank. Pup had been hoping that Tony would at least treat him differently. He so wanted the demon to like him. Considered him a friend just as Grace did. He was still young and didn’t under irrational fears. Well, not that a demons fear of a hellhound is really irrational. The hounds were created to hunt demons after all.

The group left the apartment, Grace taking care to lock the door behind her. If one of Lucifer’s enemies wanted to take him, a lock wouldn’t stop them, but it did make her feel better. There was something, even something insignificant, between him and a possible kidnapper.

Would you like one of us to stay behind, Alpha? Father asked. By his tone, he was volunteering to stay. He was the biggest, and strongest of the hounds, it would make sense to keep him there. Even if the apartment was just big enough to fit his frame.

Shaking her head, Grace met his yellow eyes. “You guys need to get some exercise. I’m sure he’ll be fine here by himself.” There was a confidence in her voice she had not expected to hear. Of course, he would be fine. No one knew he was there, with one possible exception, so there was no one to steal him. She had nothing to worry about.

Grace turned and nearly jumped out of her skin. Just a foot away from her was a woman. An Asian woman she had not seen before, though there were many tenants she had yet to meet. Her dark eyes were wide as she stared at Grace. “Hello,” the woman greeted with a shake in her voice. Then, she walked past, sticking to the wall and as far from Grace as possible, her ponytailed, rainbow hair trailing behind her.

“Awesome,” an ironic smile spread across Grace’s face, “one of my neighbors thinks I talk to myself.” Brother started to laugh in his snorty way. Eyebrow raised, Grace turned to him. “You really think that’s funny?” It was, but only a little bit. Not that Grace would ever say so. She preferred her neighbors not to think she was insane. Though she already burned that bridge with Beth. Not that she really cared about that bitch.

Brother cleared his throat. No, Alpha. Of course, it’s not funny. His voice cracked with suppressed laughter.

“Uh-huh. Let’s go before you get kicked.”

*** ***

The field was devoid of any life, including grass. There were a few signs of previous fights between Grace and Lucifer, but only a trained eyes and her knowledge would have been able to see them. It had only been a couple of weeks since she had last been there, but she had forgotten how dusty it was. She regretted letting the hounds play in it. They had only been running around for less than a minute and already their black fur was coated with a layer of dust.

But they were having fun so it was hard to tell them to come back. Their tongues were lolling, and they’re playful yips echoed off the crumbling buildings around them. And they needed this. Needed to run around and have fun. It was hard to for the hounds to stretch their limbs in the city. Even the field was too small for them, but it was better than nothing.

Shaking her head, she turned to Tony. His eyes were on the hounds, watching them with awe. It was the first time he had witnessed them running around, playing. By themselves the hounds would leave, knowing how nervous they made the demon. They understood their Alpha needed some kind of kinship with others and didn’t want to complicate things for her. She wished they would have stuck around, forcing Tony to like them. He could be afraid of other hounds, but not hers.

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” she teased. Oh yes, he was going to like them.

A blush crept up the demon’s pale neck. “Yes, they are,” he admitted as if it pained him.

Grace swallowed a growl. “I understand that you’re terrified of them, but at least treat them with a little respect. They’re not like normal animals. They understand what you say and do. They’re just as intelligent as us, and they have feelings just like we do.” Her eyes moved back to the hounds, roaming until they found Pup. “At the very least, be nice to Pup. He’s like a little kid. He doesn’t understand why you are afraid of him, and all he wants is for you to like him.”

When her eyes went back to her friend, there was sadness in his eyes. “What?”

“It was terrible of Lucifer to connect them to you.”

She was physically taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“Hellhounds are akin to wolves. They are not intelligent as humans. They are animals. By tying them to you, Lucifer made them different. No other hounds are going to want to be near them. They young ones will never find mates. Never have families of their own. They will only have you, and each other to keep them company for the rest of their lives, which is a long time, Grace. Hellhounds can live up to a millennium. Can you imagine? A thousand years, with no mates. Alone.”

That was terrible. So very terrible. “He better wake up soon,” she said, with gritted teeth. It was just another reason for her to hate the fallen angel. “I’m going to punch him in the face.”

A you’re-so-cute smile was on Tony’s face. “You can’t hurt him. No matter how much you want to, you’ll never be able to do it. You are physically incapable of hurting him.”

Grace’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Just you wait and see.” She would! She would punch Lucifer in the face like he deserved. It was horrible what he did with the hounds, even if it was to protect her. She would have rather been alone than force her pack to suffer a fate such as the one they were in. No one, even animals, deserved to be alone.

Tony gave her that smile once again but didn’t broach the subject. Her jaw clenched tight enough she heard her teeth crunch. “Where to next?” she asked, her voice terse. The demon just shrugged, causing a sigh from Grace. “Why don’t we stop by and check up on Jane?” Another shrug from the demon. It looked like she was going to have to take the lead on this one. “Let’s go.” Without waiting for an answer, she started to walk away from the empty field and toward the direction of the diner Jane worked at.

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.

4.8

The air smelled of mold, rust, and rotting meat, a theme surrounding witches it would seem. It tickled the nose and stuck in the back of the throat, making you want to gag. If bile did rise, you swallowed it down knowing that if you did puke, it would just make things worse. Grace was fortunate that there was nothing in her stomach to purge, not that her gag reflex worked. It made her eyes tear up, it made her want to run, but it could not make her vomit. A fact that made her strangely proud.

Her demon companion was faring just as well as she. Even better. His sense of smell was not as keen as hers, though even those with the dullest nose would be having issues in the old warehouse. The smell of decay was not something anyone could just idly walk by as if by a bed of roses. But that was exactly what Tony did, making Grace wonder if demons had a sense of smell at all. It also made her grateful. Having to stop every several moments so her partner could puke was not an ideal situation.

Another thing she was grateful for was he could see in the dark almost as well as she could. Not having someone dependent on her eyes made traversing the maze of broken machinery a breeze. It gave her time to think about the task at hand as well. Where was Lucifer and how was she going to kill the witch? If the smell of rotting meat wasn’t so prominent, she would sniff out the fallen angel. After three months of contact with him, she had memorized his scent. Though wherever he was in the building, the witch would be close by. That she was sure of. It was just a matter of finding him.

That only left killing the witch. It would have been wise to ask Iblis how to kill it, but the thought had not crossed her mind at the time. Lack of foresight was something she was really going to have to work on. Make a conscientious effort to think ahead. A possible New Year Resolution? But possibly something she should work on sooner.

She paused, looking to her companion. “Tony,” she said just above a whisper, “how do you kill a witch?”

Tony didn’t bother stopping nor lower the volume of his voice. “Just like any other animal. They’re still mortal.” That was a relief to hear. “They are, however, much stronger than humans.” Then he added as an afterthought, “And quicker. Much quicker.”

Wonderful. Just wonderful. It was true that Grace was just the same, but that didn’t necessarily mean she was on the same level as the witches. With any luck, her and the hounds would be enough to take care of it. She didn’t want to have to rely on Tony to help her out. It was the whole reason why he had come, but she can’t keep depending on him. There will be a time when he would not be there, and Lucifer might become disappointed with her. He had tried to train her for such things. The thought of disappointing him pained her more than she would have liked.

A noise to the left caught Grace’s attention. It sounded like the padding of bare feet against a floor, only there were too many feet to be human, accompanied by a strong whiff of rot. Must be the witch, she thought, the hounds confirming. Collectively they all growled in anticipation, and Tony shivered.

“I’ll go look for Lucifer,” he said, his voice taut with fear. If Grace listened close enough, she could hear his racing heart. But that was not what she needed to focus on. There was an enemy close by and the demon was not it.

Grinning from ear to ear, she turned to her friend. “Good. This is going to get messy.” Tony liked to use his hell flame, but had a distaste for blood and guts. He would deal with them if he had to, but preferred not to. Grace, on the other hand, didn’t mind getting messy. It went with the game. If she had a problem with getting blood on her, she would have starved long ago.

As the demon headed deeper into the warehouse, hazel eyes peered into the darkness searching for any sign of the witch. Not even a hint of movement. There was just too much in the way. Rusted machinery, large pillars, darkened rooms, plenty of places to hide. And the witch knew them all. This was her territory, her home. Grace was at a serious disadvantage, but hoped having the hounds on her side more than made up for it. Their sight and sense of smell should even it out just a bit.

The further Tony got away from her, the more Grace put herself between him and where she believed the witch was, the direction she had last heard it move. If it was anything like an animal, it would be waiting for the pair to separate so it could prey on the weakest, Tony. The demon had shown fear, though not for the reason the witch believed. No matter. Grace wasn’t going to let her only friend become witch food.

Grace’s attention was drawn to the hounds. They were still as statues, their muscles tight and shaking with anticipation. One word from her, and they would go on a frenzy searching for the witch. A single word from her, and they would tear anything in their way to pieces. A dog was a dog no matter the size or intelligence, it would seem. A smile played on her lips. “Find it,” she commanded, and the hounds took off. Bounded and leaped through the building as if there was nothing in the way, tongue lolling. She couldn’t help but smile like a proud mother. It was like watching Chase run around in a playground, playing with the other children. Though her son never hunted down a creature with the sole purpose of killing it.

With the Sin Eater alone, the witch decided to show itself. It made a beeline for her from behind a wide pillar. A scream bubbled Grace’s throat and she swallowed it down. Never, even in her greatest of nightmares could she have conjured such a creature. Taller than Grace, it stood with eight legs, all moving quickly toward her, knees breaking skin each time they bent causing blood to gush and exposing bone. Its skinny arms stretched toward her, trying to scratch her with its fang-like nails, dripping with venom. Eight black eyes, two big the rest small, focused on nothing but her. Its noiseless mouth hung agape, jaw unhinged and swayed with each step it took. Chunks of dark, greasy hair were missing from her unkempt head.

Once, this creature had been human. A woman from the small, withered breasts protruding from its chest. In her search for power she had given up her humanity and became a monster. Grace couldn’t help feel a slight kinship to the creature attempting to kill her. It wasn’t long ago she was in a similar situation, though trying to save her son’s life. She had given up her soul for that goal and became a monster herself. Maybe not to the extent that this woman had, but a monster nonetheless.

But that kinship was not going to stop Grace from killing the witch. This was a she-or-it situation, and she would be damned if she was going to let some spider-bitch kill her. She readied herself for a fight, calming her heart with a deep breath. Her first since Lucifer had started to train her. And it would go terribly. It had to, with how many times Lucifer had kicked her ass. Fighting took practice, and she hadn’t had much of it.

The witch raised its left hand and swiped out at Grace. Grace ducked underneath it, barely dodged it, and moved to the right, away from the venomous claws. She kicked at the left front leg, hoping to knock the witch off balance and gain the advantage. The bone gave so easily she fell into the witch feeling its slimy, hairy flesh against her face. She let out a cry of disgust and pushed off of the witch, putting as much distance as possible between them.

The witch tried to close the distance, but the broken leg was making it difficult for it to keep up. You would have thought having eight legs it could afford to lose one. That was not the case. It was having such a hard time Grace almost felt bad for it. But it gave her an idea of how she was going to take care of it. Immobilize it and then jam something into its heart. It was just finding something to use as a weapon, a task the hounds were glad to take up. Now, all she had to do was focus on breaking the witch’s seven other legs without getting scratched.

Again Grace allowed the witch to get close to her, to swipe at her, and again she dodged. This time she broke the front right leg, knocking the witch completely off balance. It braced itself with its hands, its jaw nearly falling off from the force. Grace kicked out again, in hopes of breaking another leg, but the witch dodge, moving faster than it had previously. It turned to face its attacker, all eight black eyes on Grace. Fresh blood ran from the tears on both cheeks.

“Finally realize that I’m serious?” Grace taunted the monster, not totally sure if it could understand her. “A little late, don’t you think?” She watched it, trying to see where it would attack from, because it would attack her again. It may have once been human, but that intelligence was no longer there.

For several more seconds it stared at Grace before charging at full speed. Again, Grace barely dodge, though this one was closer; she felt the nails scrape against her shirt. This time, it didn’t wait to attack her again. It kept charging and swiping. Each time the Sin Eater dodged, but it was getting closer and closer. The last one caught on her shirt, ripping it.

A little help, she pleaded with the hounds. She really didn’t want to put them in danger, but she needed them. One-on-one with the witch just was not working in her favor. All she could do was dodge and hope one of the hounds came to her rescue in time. There was still a chance that the witch’s venom would not affect her, but it was not one she was willing to take. She had no idea how Iblis had cured himself and he was not going to pass the information along to her.

When Grace’s back hit something hard, she knew she was fucked. “Shitshitshitshitshit.” It was just a pillar so diving to the side was possible, but the witch was fast. The only reason why she had been able to dodge the deadly claws so far was because she could back up. The witch was fast, but her reach left something to be desired and her forward movements were cut short because of the broken front legs. Now, she would have to chance a side dive and hope it went well. If not, Lucifer was going to have to look for a new Sin Eater.

Grace readied herself to take the dive, waiting to see which direction the witch’s attack would come from. It leaned heavily on its right arm and swung the left arm up, aiming for her stomach. She bunched the muscles in her legs, ready to jump to the side, hoping that the thick clear nails wouldn’t scrape the flesh of her legs. But the attack never came. The witch was jerked back violently, and it let out a frustrated gurgle at being denied its prey. Grace chanced a look and saw Sister dragging the beast away, and couldn’t be any more grateful.

With jaws that could bend steel around it, the witch’s leg didn’t stand a chance. It snapped like a toothpick. Before releasing the creature, Sister gave her head a strong violent shake. She jumped back just in time to dodge the witch’s attack. It left an opening for Brother to pull the same maneuver. When Brother jumped out of the way of the witch’s claws, Sister tried to attack again, but the creature had wised up to them already. Grace’s heart stopped when the witch’s nails brushed against the fur just under Sister’s left eye. That was too close for comfort and made her question her estimation of the witch. Maybe there was something intelligent remaining after all.

The duo took turns nipping at the witch, getting it further and further away from their Alpha. Grace took this reprieve to search for a weapon of any kind. There were plenty of things to use, empty bottles, buckets, empty cigarette packs, but nothing deadly enough. She needed something that would take down the witch in several hits, not shank her a few times and hope she dies from blood loss. It needed to be blunt and it needed to be strong.

I found something, Father claimed. Grace paused in her search and crouched down, hands touching the ground. Taking a deep breath and closer her eyes, she concentrated on Father, attempting to block out all other distractions. A shiver of pleasure coursed through her body when her mind brushed against Father’s and entered it. She opened her eyes and saw what he saw. Not even a foot in front of him sat a two-foot long piece of rebar.

A smile crossed her face. It was perfect. Bring it, she commanded, pulling herself out of Father’s mind. It was disorienting, which was why she had gotten into the position she was in. She had less of a chance of falling on her face. Not where she wanted to be during a fight.

Getting to her feet, Grace turned her attention back to the witch. Mother had joined in on distracting it. The three made a great team. They took their turns lunging at the monster, keeping it occupied while the other escaped, only for another to come in as a distraction. And they were relentless, never allowing for a reprieve. It wore them out, but their opponent more so. Its strikes were slowing down, as were its movements, the broken legs finally taking their toll on it.

Soft, thick fur brushed against Grace’s hand, and she held it out. Father dropped the piece of rebar into it. It was a little slimy from his saliva, but nothing she couldn’t wipe off with her shirt. Then, she felt it. That pull. The anticipation of receiving an order she was about to give. It put a teeth baring grin on her face. “Cripple it.”

The hounds made short work of the witch’s legs, breaking the rest in quick succession. With the four working together, the witch had not stood a chance. The most dangerous part of it, its arms, were still in fine working order, but that didn’t stop Grace from moving toward it. She stood just out of its reach, not even bothering to dodge the nails as they came centimeters from her face. It hissed and gurgled at her, as she stood there and watched it. Grace couldn’t help but almost feel sorry for it. It wanted to live, just as she did, and was fighting to do so. Unfortunately for it, Grace wanted to live more and she had help.

Grace allowed the witch one last swing before she hit it in the head with the rebar. Over and over again she hit it. Bones crunched and blood gushed from the wounds. One hit knocked the jaw completely off and it bounced against the ground with a fleshy plop. When the creature stilled Grace stopped her assault, tossing the piece of metal onto the ground. The clang echoed across the empty room.

“Alright,” she started, glancing at the hounds, “let’s catch up with Tony.” She turned and headed deeper into the building, hoping that her friend hadn’t gotten himself into trouble.

~~~~~~

A/N: This is technically late, so sorry about that. It’s been a little busy in the Mohr household. I’ve actually been writing a novel, and just finished the edits last night. Nothing spectacular. Just a 52k word romance novel. It should be coming out later this year though. I’m hoping in a few months. If you are interested in it, I’ll try to keep you updated in comments and author notes such as this.

I’ve also been thinking about a few things as far as Sin Eater goes. I have been thinking since I’m eventually going to turn this story into e-books, severely edited, that I should just get rid of my donation buttons and Patreon page. And if you guys want to support me, you could just buy a book. I’ll still be offering the edited version for free on this site, as well. That is not going to change. I would like to see what you guys think of that. The Patreon page is going away no matter what. I just need one less thing to deal with.

And last things last, I’ll be adding another page to the site. This one will have links to all my works, my Facebook page, and website whenever I get that one running. I just don’t want to clutter the sidebar with a bunch of links. Depending on responses, the “Support the Author” page might go down.

Thank  you for your time and reading this,

Emma Morh

4.7

Rotting flesh. That was what the djinni smelled of. Rotting flesh and too much cologne, an attempt to cover up the other smell. It made Grace want to gag and run out of the room, but she needed to be there. She had a promise to uphold, and this was the only person that could help her find Lucifer. At least, he better be able to help. If not, rotting flesh was going to be the least of his worries.

“Did you find him?” Grace asked, staring Iblis down. He was pale and his breathing heavy. It looked as if he were about to pass out, but that wasn’t her problem. All she wanted to know was where she had to go and who she had to kill. Though, from the looks of it, she was going to have some issues with that. Iblis was a great fighter, she had heard countless stories from Lucifer about him, and whatever he went up against had nearly killed him. She doubted her and the hounds would fair any better.

Iblis gave a weak smile. “Did you doubt me?” No, she never did. If Tony said he could find Lucifer, then she believed it. The demon has never once lied to her. He might not tell her everything or skirt over certain details, but he never lied, as far as she could tell.

Grace stayed silent, waiting for the djinni to continue. When he realized she was not going to say anything, he sighed. “Yes, I found him. I didn’t visually confirm he was there, but my source is never wrong.” Even as sickly as he looked the djinni exuded such confidence that Grace found it hard to doubt him.

Tony, on the other hand, could. “What do you mean, you ‘didn’t visually confirm?’”

“There were… complications.”

“Complications that resulted in you doing a half-assed job?”The demon tapped his finger against the wooden arm of his chair. “How do you know for sure Lucifer is there, and how do we know your source can be trusted?”

Grace was about to tell her friend to chill out, not understanding why he was so upset, but Ashtat interrupted her. The young woman had been so quiet Grace had nearly forgotten she was there. “My magic doesn’t lie,” she hissed. Someone didn’t like to be doubted, very much.

Iblis visibly wince. Obviously, he had wanted to keep that a secret. The cat was out of the bag now, so he went with it. “Ashtat can use blood magic.”

That seemed to impress Tony. “A rare trait.” He turned to her. “I apologize for insulting you.”

Ashtat held her hand up in an “it’s fine” gesture. “You didn’t know. And I still don’t know why you keep it a secret,” she directed at her father.

“Because people would try to use you.”

“Just like you do,” Grace shot at him. Probably not the best thing to say at that moment, but it was out of her mouth before she had even finished thinking it.

Some color came back into Iblis’ face. “I do not use my daughter!” It was not a shout, but there was heat in those words. The erratic beating of his heart filled Grace’s ears.

“Uh-huh. Yeah, whatever. Calm down before you give yourself a heart attack.” Grace didn’t want to be the reason the djinni keeled over. They could argue all they wanted when he was well. Not that she really wanted to come into contact with him again. Their relationship was strained enough that one of them, most likely her, might die if they were in the same room together. “Where is he?” she asked in hopes of changing the subject.

It seemed to work. Iblis’ face turned back to pale and he relaxed heavily in his chair. “In an abandoned warehouse in the southern part of town. I’ll give you an address.” He leaned forward and quickly wrote down the address on a scrap piece of paper.

“It’s always an abandoned warehouse,” Grace muttered under her breath as he wrote down the address. Tony snorted. Then cleared his throat and reached for the proffered piece of paper, taking a quick glance at the address. “So, are you going to tell us what the ‘complications’ were, or are we just going to have to find out ourselves?” Grace didn’t hate surprises, but that one she might.

“It was a witch.”

Grace stared at him blankly for a moment, trying not to laugh. “You mean pointy hat, fly on a broomstick, black cat kind of witch?” Even she knew it was a stupid question, nothing was the same as the stories, but sometimes acting stupid got her the answers she needed. The stares she was receiving from everyone in the room, on the other hand, made her feel as if she should have kept her mouth shut. “Why don’t we pretend that I’m new to the supernatural world and don’t know what you’re talking about.” Snapping at them made her feel better.

“A witch,” Iblis started tiredly, “were humans that made a pact with a demon for magic. Over the years, they start to lose their humanity and turn into beast. Each witch is unique in looks, but they all have one thing in common. Poison.” He held up his bandaged arm. “If not treated in time, it is lethal. I got lucky. Very lucky.” The djinni put a lot of emphases on the last sentence.

That was good to know, but how exactly would the poison effect Grace? Most of her body functions no longer worked properly. If she had no circulatory stream for the poison to get into, would it still kill her? And the hounds, how would it affect them?

Some of our kind have died from a witch’s poison, Mother informed her. Terrible news. Just meant Grace wouldn’t be able to use them in the fight. She was not willing to risk their lives. Ha. As if we would allow you to fight alone, Alpha. All hounds were in agreement. Even Pup, though he would definitely not be joining in the fight. He was currently at home, guarding Jane. Grace didn’t trust that Beth would force James to leave. He would probably be back that night. Beth was terrified of her, but she was probably more afraid of James, who was an immediate threat. Pup was under strict orders to kill the man if he went near Jane. Grace hoped he tried. It would be better for everyone if he was dead.

A smile lit Grace’s face. “Well, thank you for the information. It’s been fun, but I had a fallen angel to save.” The sooner she got it over with, the better. There was a chance she would die that night, but if she didn’t save Lucifer, there was higher probability that she would die.

Iblis returned her smile with a grimace. “Please, never show your face here again.”

“Believe me, if I do, it won’t be by choice.” Grace stood and headed to the door. “Also,” she turned to the djinni, “you might want to get whoever took care of that to look at it again. Your flesh is rotting.”

Iblis’ eyes widened. “How?”

“The nose of a hellhound.” She walked out of the room after that, not bothering to check to see if Tony was following her. He would catch up eventually.

She felt the demon’s presence beside her. “You know, you’ll have to see Iblis again. It’s inevitable.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean we have to like each other.”

“No, but you could have left on better terms.”

“I did. I let him know his arm’s about to rot off. I think that was pretty better of me.” No one wanted their arm to fall off. The disappointment was radiating off of her demon friend, but there were other things for her to focus on. “Where are we going, exactly?”

“The industrial park. It’s about an hours walk from here. Do you want a ride?”

“In a cab, yes. Not what you’re thinking.” A multi-person jump was not something Grace wanted to experience again. They had made it to the empty dance floor when she stopped. “He hasn’t called me.” It had been so long since he last had, she had almost forgotten he had the ability. “What could stop him from calling me?”

Tony started to head toward the front door, Grace followed closely behind. “Magic. It’s one of the few things angels, and demons, are weak against. It’s the only way he could have been captured.”

“So, the witch caught him?”

“No. If it has a poison strong enough to knock down a djinni, it’s more beast than human. Someone must be using it as a guard dog, so to speak.”

“Can only demons use them?” It would be reasonable to believe a demon would use a witch since they are the ones that created them.

But Tony shook his head. “Anyone dominate enough could get a witch to work with them. They would just have to prove they’re stronger than the witch. Most witches have the same mentality as pack animals, but you hardly ever find more than one. Fortunately for us.”

That was good news indeed. “Who would use the witch?” Grace shook her head. “Never mind.” Lucifer had a lot of enemies. Too many to list. With so many possibilities, they had no idea what they were going to walk into when they got to the abandoned warehouse. At least, they had been warned about the witch. Thank God for small favors.

When they reached the edge of the sidewalk, Tony hailed a cab. Several of the yellow and white vehicles hovered around the nightclub like vultures. One noticed the potential customers and quickly whipped his car around and slammed on his brakes in front of him. With the whorl of the mechanics in the window it rolled down. A jovial man bared his teeth in a smile. “You need ride?” asked in a thick Russian accent.

Tony smiled nervously. Even demons feared bad taxicab drivers. “Yes. We’re going to this address.” He handed the driver the piece of paper.

The man snatched and hardly gave it a glance. “No problem. Jump in. I get you there quick.”

An unsure look came across Tony’s face as he glanced as Grace. She just smiled at him. “Get in, Tony. We got somewhere to be.” Sometimes, the demon needed a little push, which she gave him, toward the car. He gave her a killer glare before getting into the backseat of the vehicle, she followed closely behind him.”

“Seat belts, please,” the driver said to them. Grace was mildly surprised. There weren’t many taxi drivers that asked their passengers to wear seatbelts. And he didn’t move until they were both buckled in. “Thank you,” he said before slamming his foot on the gas.

The last time Grace had rode in a car was the day that she had died, and she had no idea how much it had affected her, until then. Every little turn or stop sent her heart racing. There were several times she believed she was going to die again. She found herself gripping Tony’s arm for dear life. Then again, it could have just been the terrible driving since Tony was just as frightened as she was.

When the vehicle finally stopped, Grace had to peel herself away from Tony. She got out of the car, her knees and hands shaking. Next time, no matter how long it took, she was going to walk. Even jumping with Tony would have been more relaxing than that car ride.

While she calmed herself with slow, deep breaths, Grace took stock of her surroundings. There wasn’t much there. A fence with barbed wire at the top, with the intention of keeping people out, with no such luck; someone had cut a hole in the fence. A field of gravel and dust laid beyond the fence, leading up to a darkened building with broken windows and graffiti.

If this had been her old life Grace would have walked away. There were sirens going off in her brain screaming at the possible dangers that laid in there. Not just the witch, but broken down machinery that was strewn about and rocks and empty spray cans with it. There would be plenty of rust, but tetanus was something she no longer had to worry about.

And humans. There could be people in there, squatting in the hopes of having a roof over their head.

A small tug in her mind told her a hound wanted her attention. There are no humans in that building, sister assured her. Out of all the hounds, she had the best nose. Grace could trust her assessment.

What about anything else? She was trying to get into the habit of not speaking aloud to them, especially in public.

There could be deeper in the building, but the witch’s stench is too strong to tell. Great. They had no idea what they were walking into. Anything could be waiting in there for them. She was just going to have to trust that her, Tony, and the hounds were enough to take care of it.

After paying their fare and watching the cab driver take off, Tony joined Grace. “Ready for this?”

Grace turned and smiled. “Not one fucking bit, but let’s go.” And together they moved toward the building neither of them were sure they would ever come out of.

4.6

There was someone in her room. The sound of their heart beating, loud and obnoxious, was what woke Grace up. A low growl permeated the silence of the room, and then turned into a groan when the smell of cigarette smoke and bad food filled her nostrils. “Jesus Christ, Jane. You’re going to get yourself killed one of these times.” She sat up from her bed, and glared at the teen girl sitting on her counter. Jane was still wearing her work uniform, a plain white button up shirt and blue apron, and had a cigarette precariously dangling from her lips.

The cigarette came out of her mouth so she could flick the ash in the sink. “If you used your chain lock I wouldn’t be able to break in.”

“You’d probably just use bolt cutters,” Grace mumbled under her breath. Her body felt heavy, and her eyes were threatening to close. “The sun’s not even down. You better have a good reason for being here.” One of the hounds grumbled their agreement in their sleep.

“I wanted to talk to you.” Jane was nervous. Her hands were shaking and her voice was an octave higher. When she finished her cigarette, she put it out in the sink and immediately lit another one. Extremely nervous.

“It couldn’t have waited another hour?” The sun would have been hanging just above the horizon then, the time Grace normally woke up.

“It could have,” the girl admitted, “but I couldn’t. I want to know where Lucifer is.” Grace had come to know that Jane never calls Lucifer “father.” Just Lucifer or, when she’s feeling feisty, Asshole. Asshole is probably the one that Grace had heard the most. At least she worries about him, it appeared.

“I don’t know where he is, but I have someone looking for him. He’s supposed to be very good at finding people, and I have the high confidence that he won’t put me off.” Jane didn’t need to know the specific details. All she needed to know was Grace was actively searching for her father, and it seemed to relax the girl. She immediately put out her second cigarette.

“Alright. I guess let me know when you find him. I’m almost out of cigarettes.” Grace didn’t need to hear the girl’s heart speed up to know she was lying. Lucifer was the only family that she had, and it was understandable that she was worried about him. Grace may hate the fallen angel, but he did take care of his daughter, so she couldn’t begrudge him for that.

Jane hopped off of the counter and started to head out of the room. She took one last glance at the pile of hounds on the floor. “I’ll never understand how they all fit in this room.”

Grace allowed her eyes to shut and her body to fall back in the bed. “And you never will. Get out of here so I can sleep a little longer.” Before she plunged back into her dead sleep, she heard the click of the door shutting.

What felt like ten minutes later, Grace was awake again. The sun had just gone down. She felt refreshed, awake, and annoyed. Someone was having a party down the hall. At least, it sounded like they were having a party. There was loud music and people shouting at each other, mostly men. This was not the kind of awakening she wanted, and she knew exactly where the noise was coming from. Beth’s apartment. It was her fuckwad boyfriend and his “gang.” They liked to believe they were tough, and maybe they were, but they were small timers trying to seem big. Little dog syndrome, Grace liked to think of it as. Normally, she let those little dogs play, but not that day. She had had enough of it. It was time to show them how a big dog played.

Grace flung off her cover and headed out of her door, not bothering to change out of her spaghetti strap shirt and short shorts. Beth’s apartment was two doors down from Tony’s and on the opposite side. There were several people gathered around it, arguing on who should knock on the door. “Move,” Grace growled when she came up on them, and then pounded on the door hard, the wood protesting under her fists. She turned back to the small group. “Get out of here.” They didn’t have to be told twice.

The people in Beth’s apartment, however, did. She knocked on the door again and screamed, “Open the goddamn door before I break it down!”

“Grace,” a tiny voice said. It was Jane. Grace had barely heard it, but she could recognize the girl’s voice all the same. Jane was in that room with those men, and she was scared. That enraged the Sin Eater to a whole new level. She had known that Jane liked to hang out with Beth, but had hoped she would be smart enough to stay away from boyfriend who, as everyone in the apartment building knew, liked to beat Beth. Apparently, she didn’t. And now, Grace was going to have to go in there and save her, not knowing exactly how many people were in there and how much force she could use. Though if Jane was hurt in any way, she doubted she could stop herself from killing them.

As Grace was about to knock on the door again, it opened. She stood face-to-face with Beth. There was a fresh bruise on her face, and her eyes were red and puffy. If it had been any other time, Grace might have felt sorry for her, but not right then. Not when Jane was on the line. She all but shoved Beth out of her way as she came into the room. “Let’s go, Jane!” she shouted over the music.

Jane attempted to stand, but the man on her right forced her to sit back down. He made a mocking gesture of not being able to hear Grace over the music. Grace recognized the man as Beth’s boyfriend. He had light brown hair, brown eyes, and a decent looking face. There were tattoos on his muscular arms, of which he liked to show with short sleeved shirts that appeared to be two sizes too small for him. He wrapped one of those arms around Jane’s shoulder, and gave Grace a smile. It pissed her off that he actually had a nice smile.

Grace turned her attention to Beth. “Turn the music off.” Beth lowered her gaze and did as she was told. Silence filled the room. “Much better,” Grace said, a pleasant smile spreading across her face. “Now, let her go, before I make you let her go.”

Beth’s boyfriend started to laugh. “You really think you can make me let her go?” Grace could feel his eyes as they roamed over her body. “Though you are welcome to try.”

The disgust was plain on Grace’s face. “I’d rather you just let her go.” She chanced a look at Jane. The girl was paler than normal and tears were welling in her eyes, and her work uniform was still on. She must have gotten sucked into this shortly after she had left Grace’s room. This might have been avoided if Grace could have stayed up just a little while longer.

“James, please,” Beth pleaded. Grace clenched her jaw at the name. This pathetic human being shared the same name as her James. Her sweet and kind James. The man that loved her and fathered her child. And that asshole had the same name!

That was more than Grace could handle. “Yeah, James, please give me Jane,” she said, all but spitting his name out. There was a crazed look in her eye. She wanted to kill the man, and felt something egging her one. Practically begging her to kill him, and everyone else in that room.

Someone moved to her left and Grace’s eyes snapped to him. She had forgotten to check her surroundings, so focused on getting Jane out of there. Lucifer would have laid into her about that one. “Always be familiar with that around you, Grace,” he told her time and time again. That was enough to squash that little voice and its murderous intent.

Not including James, there were three other men in the room and a boy; she would not count Beth or Jane, since they would not join in a fight. The three men were around James’ age and seemed like they were having fun. Two were smiling, one sitting across from James, the other standing to his left, close behind Jane, as if ready to grab her, if necessary. The other was to Grace’s left and he stood next to the couch where the boy sat. There was a smile on his face as well, but it was hesitant.

The boy, on the other hand, was terrified. He appeared to be in his early twenties, but his brown eyes said he was closer to Jane’s age. He didn’t want to be there, and by the way one of the men kept glancing at him, he didn’t want him to be there either. Both were Hispanic and had similar facial features. Brothers. Looked like James roped the younger brother into coming here, against Big Brother’s wishes. Must have been a similar situation with Jane; Grace knew Jane was smart enough not to get herself in this mess on purpose.

James removed his arm from around Jane, but gave her a look that was clear she was not allowed to move. “A’right, since you asked nicely, I’ll let her go. But I want to you to have sit and drink with me first.”

“Fine.” Grace moved forward to the seat across from James, the one his friend was sitting in. He had a wide grin on his face, showing off his crooked, yellow teeth. His dark blue eyes sparkled the same as his bald head. “You’re in my seat.”

The man got up and gave a bow. “M’lady,” he said, earning laughter from his friends. For a second Grace thought about punching him, but she chose not to. There were other matters she needed to attend to. Like this drink. She didn’t know how it would affect her. Since her death she hadn’t eaten or drank any actual food. Just hearts. She didn’t even know if her body could digest it. None of her normal body functions worked. Even her circulatory system didn’t function correctly. Her heart beat, but it didn’t pump any blood into her body. From what she learned in high school biology, she shouldn’t be able to do anything. But she was a monster, so there had to be some kind of exception for her.

Grace sat back in the chair, crossing her arms over her chest. “So, what’re we drinking?” A bottle with gold liquid was shook in front of her face. “Tequila. How fun.” It was because of tequila she got pregnant. It had never been her drink of choice, but especially wasn’t after then. Not because of her pregnancy but the terrible hangover she had after. It had lasted three days. Three miserable days of puking and her mother giving her lectures. The lectures were the worst part.

“We’re here to have fun,” James shot back. He poured each of them a shot sloppily, spilling some on the table. “Cheers.” He lifted the shot glass, and Grace did the same. Even clinked glasses with him and then downed the shot.

“Huh.” She started at the empty glass in her hand. The burn she had been expected had not happened. There hadn’t even been a taste. It was like drinking water, though it sat weirdly in her stomach. Her body wasn’t accepting it, but it wasn’t going to purge it. She was grateful for that. James might not have taken her seriously if she started to puke.

Her attentions turned back to the man across from her. “We had our drink. Give me the Jane.” A bubble of laughter threatened to come out, but she forced it down. She felt like she was in a crappy action movie, trying to save some damsel in distress. If it hadn’t been Lucifer’s daughter, she might have laughed. She didn’t want to take a chance of her laughter getting Jane hurt. Lucifer would be more than upset. He might actually hurt her or Chase, knowing his sense of justice.

A familiar scent filled Grace’s nostrils and she felt herself relax. Tony. “I would suggest finishing this soon, Grace. Iblis just called.” His voice drifted into the room from the doorway. The brothers made frightened noises and put their backs against the wall, the oldest muttering something about diablo. Both of them were able to tell what Tony was. Interesting information, but not the kind that Grace needed at the moment.

“Hey Tony, think I should kill him?” Grace asked, staring James down. Killing him sounded really tempting. And he smelled really good. Not Andrew Wood good, but still good.

It was Jane that answered her question. “Don’t kill him,” she started, her voice firm and strong, “just hurt him.” Before Grace could react, James hit Jane. Struck her on her right cheek. It didn’t do much damage because of the angel, but there was going to be a bruise. He was about to go in for a second hit when Grace grabbed his arm.

Grace squeezed until she heard his bones groan, ensuring she had a good grip. “Jane, go to Tony.” Tears were falling from Jane’s eyes as she headed toward the demon. The man behind her made a move, but Grace stopped him. “I’ll kill you, if you touch her.” The man backed off seeing the trouble his friend was having getting out of her grip.

“Make him wish he was dead,” Jane told her as she passed the woman.

That she could. “Tony, take Jane and that boy,” she gestured to the younger brother with her head, “to my room.”

“My brother ain’t going nowhere with that thing.”

Grace turned to Older Brother, a tight smile on her face. “What I’m about to do to your friend is extremely violent. If you don’t want your brother to see that, I would suggest him going to my room where the most he’ll hear is James’ screams.” She squeezed harder on James’ arm, causing him to cry out, punctuating her point.

Big Brother nodded and pushed the younger man toward the demon. “Go, Arturo. I’ll be there soon.”

No one said a word until the door closed with a click. Grace was the one to break the silence. “Now, where were we. Oh yes, me hurting you.” She forced his arm toward the table, making him lay his hand out flat. Using the index finger of her free hand, she roughly rubbed the back of his hand, searching for the bones.

“You know, two months ago, I would have never even dreamed of torturing someone.” Not that that was going to be real torture. Just a little pain. There were worse things Grace wanted to do to James, but time was of the essence. So she pushed hard against the middle bone of his hand until it cracked. James screamed. Beth started to sob, but didn’t attempt to stop Grace. “I was a mother. All I could think of was taking care of my son.” Crack. “Then, I died. Apparently dying changes everything. Especially if you sell your soul to a fallen angel.” Crack. Crack. Crack. She didn’t have too much time to waste with James. She had to meet with Iblis after all.

Grace heaved a sigh. “It sucks I can’t spend more time with you. I do have stuff I need to take care of.” The last thing she did was squeeze his arm until the bone shattered. He screamed almost as loud as Andrew did when she ate out his heart. “I would suggest,” she started, getting to her feet, “not to come around here anymore. I have your scent now. If you come by, I’ll do worse to you. I really will make you wish you were dead.” Her eyes met the three friends. “The same goes for you three, as well.” The her eyes fell on Beth. “If you let him come into this building again, I’ll do ten-fold to you.” She left the room after that and headed to her own.

When Grace made it back to her room Jane was crying and Arturo was awkwardly trying to calm her down, both sitting on her bed. She moved to the bed, gesturing for the boy to move aside. He gladly did so, going to stand next to Tony. Jane sniffled a couple of times as Grace rubbed her back, trying her best to comfort her. Then, the girl slammed into her wrapping her arm tightly around Grace’s ribs. “I want my dad,” she sobbed, burying her face into Grace’s chest.

“Don’t worry, I’ll find him. Tonight.” A promise Grace hoped she could keep.

4.5- April Fools Chapter

Her name had been Claire. Claire DeSanta. She had emotionally manipulated, abused, raped and murdered a string of young men across the city. Grace saw, felt, all the memories of every single case, flooding through her mind. She would’ve been horrified if not for the euphoria flooding her head, overwhelming her thoughts.

She rocked back on her haunches, allowing herself to revel in the sensation for a second. In what was quickly becoming a pattern, she’d followed DeSanta by her scent until she was alone in an alleyway. There, she’d pounced, teeth sharpening into fangs, one hand slapping over the other woman’s mouth before she could scream. Then, she’d dug in, tearing out her heart and swallowing it in frantic gulps.

“Are you done?” Tony asked from the end of the alleyway. He was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, glaring at her behind a pair of sunglasses.

She rose, and the hellhounds melted out of the shadows to flank her. “Fuck off, Tony,” she replied, without any real vitriol. “Yeah, whatever, do your thing now.”

“Oh, well, thank you for your permission,” he said sarcastically. “I’ll get right on that. Maybe you should stick a broom up my ass so I can sweep the floor while I’m at it.”

“Maybe I will,” she said as she turned and began walking away, the hounds trailing a few steps behind.

She heard Tony mutter something incomprehensible, but she didn’t bother turning around. The high was beginning to fade, and now she was just feeling tired.

“Home?” asked Pup, bounding up beside her.

“Yeah,” she said distractedly, scratching him on the head. “Home.”

—–

She didn’t bother hanging her coat properly, just throwing it at the rack and letting it stay how it landed. Kicking off her shoes and letting her hair down from the bun she’d put it in to keep it clean of blood, she dragged herself to the sink and began washing away the blood that covered her mouth. Watery crimson ran in rivulets down the metal walls and into the dark hole of the drain, and the coppery, metallic taste in her mouth began to fade. She wondered idly if there were some way to detect which pipes blood in the water had come from, and if the amount of blood that was ending up in her mouth would stain her teeth. Hopefully, the answer to both was no.

Once done, she plopped herself down onto the couch. Legs hanging over the armrest, she reached for the remote on the coffee table without looking over. It wasn’t there, and after a second of scrabbling aimlessly, she sighed and rolled over to reach underneath the couch. It took a few seconds of swinging her arm back and forth, but she hit something solid, and clutched her hand around the hard plastic of the remote. She pulled it out with another sigh, a satisfied one this time, and pointed it at the TV and the white-suited figure standing in front of it.

“Fuck!” She jolted backwards, nearly falling off the couch before getting a hold of herself. “Fucking… aghhh.” She buried her face in her hands, taking deep breaths to try and calm her suddenly-racing heart. “You have to stop doing that.”

Lucifer’s face was impassive. “You have done good work today, Grace Barnes. You are learning quickly.”

“Uh huh,” she said, sitting upright. Honestly, she was too tired to deal with this right now. “Because the Prince of Hell shows up just to offer mild congratulations. What do you want?”

His face didn’t move, but somehow, Grace could sense a change in his demeanor. More energy, somehow. “I want to show you something. You have questioned my reasons for acting as I have. I feel the time has come to answer some of those questions.”

Grace sat up straight, exhaustion forgotten. “Really? Are you fucking with me?”

There was a flash of light and the sudden, overwhelming smell of brimstone. Lucifer glared down at her with burning eyes, and she would have swore in that moment she could see every single soul burning in Hell, and hear their tortured screams.  “The Lord of Darkness does not play jests, Sin Eater,” he boomed with a voice that seemed to have an iron grip on her very soul. “It would be unwise to forget this .”

Despite herself, she cowered in her chair. “Sorry,” she eventually managed to squeak out.

He stared at her for a few moments, rage burning in his eyes, then his presence suddenly receded. Grace let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, slowly unclenching her body.

Lucifer made a gesture, and a black doorway appeared in the air next to him. “Come,” he said curtly.

She scrambled to her feet. “Just let me grab my shoes-”

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Unnecessary.”

“…well, all right then.”

He turned and walked through the doorway, and, hesitantly, Grace followed.

Inside, it was pure black. Lucifer’s figure was still perfectly visible, and when she turned back, she could still see her apartment, but none of the light seemed to be able to pass through the doorway.

Lucifer began walking in a seemingly random direction, and Grace hurried to catch up with them. He walked with a regimented gait, not hurried, but determined, and she did her best to match it.

They walked in silence for a minute. “Why a Sin Eater?” Lucifer asked, seemingly at random.

“What?”

“Why ‘Eater’? Why not ‘Reaper’, or ‘Consumer’?”

“Is… are you actually asking me, or…”

“No. I am not. There is a reason for this, as there is a reason that your abilities are centered around taste. You, Grace Barnes, are a test.”

“A test?” She wasn’t sure she was following.

“Yes, a test. Not everything I have given you shall pass on, and some that you don’t have will be. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that I will be doing the opposite of what I did with you.”

Now she definitely knew she wasn’t following. “I’m sorry, but what the fuck are you talking about? A test? A test for what? What do you mean, the opposite? Who else are you giving these powers to?”

Lucifer chuckled dryly. “Patience.” He stopped, pausing for a second, then nodded. “We are here,” he said, tilting his head to the side to indicate a white doorway that had not been there a second again. Grace squinted into it, but couldn’t make out anything but white.

“This, Grace Barnes, is the culmination of my efforts. This is the reason I brought you back from the dead, and the reason behind all I have done on your measly plain of existence. This, is my greatest work.” He beckoned her, and together they stepped through the door. “Behold.”

For a second, the light blinded her, and she held up a hand to shield her eyes. As they slowly adjusted, things began to come into focus, and she braced herself for whatever horror was enough for Lucifer to consider it his crowning achievement.

The colors came first, bone-white and bright crimson and a black almost as deep as the void they had travelled through. Awful wailing assaulted her ears, and her nose filled with the awful stench of cooking flesh and-

…pleather?

As her vision returned fully, she turned around in a full circle, taking in her surroundings properly. The black and white were tiles, the bright red was the faux-leather coating on the seats. The ‘wailing’ emanated from a retro-style jukebox, and she realized that it was simply a classic song filtered through the box’s poor-quality speakers. The smell of sizzling flesh was exactly that; only it wasn’t human flesh, it was burgers, popping and spitting on a grill barely visible from behind the counter.

It was, in other words, the spitting image of a stereotypical 1950s diner.

She spun on Lucifer, who was standing slightly behind her with a contented smile. “What. The fuck. Is this?”

“As I said,” he replied, with an uncanny amount of energy. “My masterpiece.”

She struggled to get her words out. “How the fuck is a fucking diner your ‘masterpiece’?!” she eventually managed to exclaim.

“Not just the one, Grace Barnes. This is merely the first of what will be many.”

“Wha-” she spluttered, barely even able to form coherent words, “I don’t… how are you even… what?!”

“Simple,” he said, slinging an arm around her shoulder and sweeping the other one through the air. “Picture it, Grace: a chain where every product smells as good as those hearts you consume. People will be flocking in from all over. Every other fast food store will go out of business! Millions will lose their jobs! The people will grow gluttonous and weak! It’s the greatest idea I’ve ever had, and that includes those plastic cases on scissors, and hedge fund managers! I got a lot of mileage out of those.” He clicked his fingers, then broke away from Grace, who could only stand there, staring in bemusement. He dug around in his white suit jacket for a second, then pulled out a flip notebook. “Anyway, I wanted to run some slogans by you.” He pulled out a pair of glasses, donned them, and then cleared his throat. “‘Food to die for!’. ‘So good it’s almost a sin’. ‘Devilishly good’. ‘We are run by the literal devil and our food contains the hearts of mass murderers’. ‘Finger-eatin’ good’.” He tucked the notebook back into his jacket. “Personally, I’m leaning towards the second-to-last, but I’m pretty fond of the first one as well. Thoughts?”

With her mouth already hanging open, all she could manage was a strangled croak. He seemed to take it as an affirmation. “Excellent!” he crowed, rubbing his hands together. “I knew you were the right pick for this! Oh, but you haven’t even seen the best bit yet!” He strode towards the doors leading outside, and she followed, more out of inertia than anything else.

Outside, he led her a few steps away, then grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around. “Check it out,” he said eagerly, pointing up at the roof. “I’m pretty proud of it.”

Sitting on top of the roof was a sign. It glowed brightly in red and white, a neon star against the black night sky.

“Sin Eatery,” proclaimed the sign in bright, stylized letters.

“So?” asked Lucifer, turning to look at her with an eager grin. “What do you think?”

Grace stared up at it. “…I think I’d like to go back to being dead now.”

________

April Fools! I hoped that you enjoyed that chapter. This chapter was done in an April Fools swap on Webfictionguide. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Chapter was written by Knifleman who writes the web serial Outliers. If you enjoyed this chapter and are interested in reading more by Knifleman you can read his web serial here.

4.3

Alone in his office, Iblis sat trying to digest what had happened. It had been many years since he was threatened, and the last to do so, he had chopped his head off right then and there. A simple swing of his sword. It was a different time. He had a gun now. It rested on his lap, safety off, and ready to be used. but he hadn’t. Hadn’t for reasons unbeknownst to him.

It had nothing to do with her being Lucifer’s Sin Eater. While it was true the Fallen One frightened him, Lucifer knew that Iblis did not take kindly to threats. There had never been a person who did so that lived. And the Sin Eater should not have been an exception. But she had walked out of his office unharmed. Why? Why would he have done so? Her eyes? They had been begging him to help her. To not make her kiss his daughter. There was no doubt, she would have, but she hadn’t wanted to.

Iblis would have loved to believe that was it. “I’m a coward,” he stated aloud, staring at the gun in his hand. He had been terrified of what would happen if he failed to kill Grace. He would have come out and killed everyone in His path, in the most painful way possible. Because that was what He did. Killed, maimed, and destroyed all He set his sights on. He was the Devil, after all.

Once upon a time, before angels and djinn were created, and long before humans were, God and the Devil were one being. Bored of the nothingness He was born into, he split himself into two. Together the brothers decided to create the universe, life, and death. Life and death spread across the universe, and God and the Devil watched them grow.

Soon, the Devil grew bored. He wanted more than just to watch the worlds grow and die. He wanted them to fight, to have conflict. And so he created hate and war. To combat this God created love and peace. It turned into a game, each trying to outdo the other. The Devil, ever one to lose, destroyed a world. And then another. And another. And another until only one remained.

Earth was still a young world, and life was at a primitive stage. This displeased the Devil and he decided to speed up the process. He was disgusted with the results, and sought to end the world. God did his best to protect it, but few survived. This was the final act that drove God to put an end to his other half. Yet, he could not bring himself to kill the Devil. Instead, he was confined to a cage and put into a deep slumber until the key, catalyst, and body were born.

And they had been born. None of them knowing they will help the Devil end the world. Then again, who would really want to know that?

Three sharp knocks at the door. Iblis didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. “You’re actually going to knock this time?”

“I have to keep you on your toes,” Ashtat retorted. She leaned against the door jam, crossing her arms over her small chest. “You wanted me for something?”

Iblis turned to her, taking her in. Her makeup was impeccable, as always. Electric pink lipstick, a gold dusting on her cheeks, and silver on her eyelids. Her wrinkleless black shirt clung to her body, and her black slacks loose with a crease down the middle of each leg. She was just as gorgeous as her mother, and just as prickly. “You always know when I need something. Your mother was the same.”

Ashtat rolled her dark eyes. “You know exactly why.” Magic fluctuates with emotions. Those that use it, can feel those fluctuations within a certain proximity. Ashtat hadn’t been far from her father and could feel his mood easily. The fear, the anger, and the need to see her.

He offered a grim smile. “That was the only thing your mother regretted, giving you that gift.” “Your mother” was all he could bring himself to say. Never her name. That was a festering wound that would never heal. She had not been the first human he loved, but she had been the last he wanted to. The only person, human and not, that had made him only want her. And she was taken from him. If he had not sworn to her he wouldn’t, he would have found the demons that had murdered her and done ten-fold to them.

“It wasn’t like she had a choice. If she didn’t want to pass it down, she shouldn’t have had a kid.” There was no bitterness in Ashtat’s voice, just fact. The magic flowing through her veins was not a curse to her as it had been to her mother. She had accepted her fate, not being able to do anything about it. “What do you need me to do?”

“Use magic,” he said, holding back a bitter laugh. Her mother asked (not made him swear) that he wouldn’t allow Ashtat to use her magic. It was the one thing he could not do for her. Ashtat enjoyed using her magic and he could not bring himself to stop her from doing something that she liked. It wasn’t like she used it constantly. Just whenever need arose.

Ashtat pushed herself away from the door jam and made a “lead the way” gesture. Her face gave none of her emotions away, but for a moment he felt glee from her magic. It had been a while since the last she needed to use it, and was anxious to get back to it. Iblis saw no need in delaying her.

Several minutes and three flights of stairs later, the pair made it to the subbasement. It was a single concrete room that was empty save for a single wooden table dead center- Iblis had taken extra care to ensure it was perfectly centered- emitting a dim light. The only other decoration in the room were thick lines carved into the concrete when it was poured 200 years ago. There were eight in total, starting in the four corners and the walls, and meeting in the center of the room. They were used in certain spells and rituals, but were not needed for this one. Just the table and the map that was carved deeply into the top of the table.

“Wouldn’t this be better if we grabbed a map of the city?” Ashtat asked. The map on the table was one of the world, making it difficult to pinpoint an exact address.

“It would be, but I don’t have one,” Iblis admitted. Not his proudest moment, but he had never believed it would be necessary. This wasn’t something they needed to do every day.

“Who doesn’t have a map of the city?”

Iblis sighed, looking up at his daughter. “Let’s focus on the task at hand.” That was not the first time they had that argument, and it would not be the last. It was Ashtat’s way of poking fun at him for not getting with the times. He just didn’t like some modern technology. Mostly cell phones. They reacted badly to his magic.

Ashtat stood straight, reaching behind her to pull out her pocket knife from her belt. With a flick of her small wrist it opened, its silver blade reflecting in the dim light. Without hesitation, she slashes the palm of her hand. The blade was sharp, and it cut into the flesh with the ease of cutting into a butter. For a second, the wound stood clean before blood rushed out of it. Ashtat muttered under her breath, trying to say the spell as quick as possible.

A thick drop of blood formed on the edge of her palm, before detaching itself and taking the plummet to the table. Mere inches from the table, the drop paused and quivered. Ashtat retrieved her hand, cradling it to her chest. Iblis moved to her side, offering her a handkerchief from his pocket. She held out her injured hand and he wrapped it tightly. The white cloth was soon stained red, but that went unnoticed. All attention was on the shaking red droplet.

As the drop shook, it started to change form. It elongated and thinned, the end forming a point similar to that of a compass. The shaking stopped, and the needle hung in the air in a complete stillness. Then, it shot high into the air, nearly touching the ceiling, only to come back down with just as much speed. It stuck into the wood with a thwack, having hardened on its way down.

Ashtat moved toward the table, still cradling her hand against her chest. “Ready to see what we’re getting ourselves into?”

Iblis joined his daughter, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Only if you’re up to it.” It would take another spell, and she was already pale. Magic took a lot of energy, and losing energy before the spell was complete could be deadly. The last thing he wanted was to lose his daughter. Be it body or mind.

Without hesitation, Ashtat placed her uninjured hand on the hardened blood. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Iblis closed his own eyes as she recited the spell. There was a blinding light and then darkness. When the pair opened their eyes they were no longer in the basement, but an empty field. Long stalks of grass in loose gravel surrounded them, and a broken chainlink fence with three rows of rusted barbed-wire on top. There was an abandoned building several feet in front of them with broken windows and graffiti covering its gray brick. A blood red aura surrounded it. Danger laid within.

“Do you want to go in?” asked Astat, half-joking, half-terrified he would say yes.

Iblis’ hand still sat on his daughter’s slender shoulder. “We have to make sure he’s in there.”

Ashtat sucked air between her teeth, something she did when angered. “My magic doesn’t lie and it doesn’t fail.” Said in a near hiss. Ashtat was very proud of her magic, and the unintentional insult spurred her into moving toward the building. Iblis followed after her, shaking his head.

When they reached the building, Astat flung open the doors, they groaning in protest, and glared into the darkness. The air was stale with the scent of rust and something that made her nose scrunch. It smelled terrible, but not enough to drive them away. It did, however, make them hesitant of going into the building.

They went in all the same, Iblis in the lead. His eyes were keener in the dark than Ashtat’s human ones, though not by much. Enough to see the outlines of objects lying in the floor that could do some damage if tripped over, even if they were not there physically. Their bodies were still in the basement of Desires, Ashtat holding onto the solid blood him gripping her shoulder, it was their spirit that was wandering around the abandoned building. The backlash of the spell was any damage done to the spirit was done to the physical body as well. Even the tiniest of scratches. Being careful was the utmost of importance. Especially Astat. If she couldn’t break the spell, they would be trapped. And if she died, they both died. All the more reason to keep her behind him.

Deeper and deeper they went into the building, until Iblis could no longer see in front of him. On top of that, the smell, a mix of rotting meat and fresh blood, was getting stronger. It was nearly to the point it made him want to gag. Any longer, and he would not be able to keep the contents of his stomach where they were. There was a nagging sensation going with the smell. It was familiar, yet somehow not familiar. He had smelled the scent before, that he was sure of, but it had been so long he could not recall when. The worst part of it was he knew it should be something he remembered easily. No matter what kind of being you  were, time eroded the brain.

“Why did we stop?” Ashtat asked, nearly shouting in his ear.

“Something’s wrong,” he said quieter, hoping she would get the hint. She didn’t.

“Of course, there’s something wrong!” Her voice echoed all around them. “There’s no way in hell Lucifer would be in a place like this willingly!”

That hadn’t been what he meant, but Ashtat was right. Lucifer did weird things, but hiding in an abandoned building was not one of them. This was a trap. It may not have been set for them, but they had walked into it nonetheless. Iblis turned to his daughter. “Ash, break the spell.”

“What?! Why? We haven’t even found Lucifer.”

“Just break the goddamn spell!” He hadn’t meant to shout, but fear drove his volume up. Something moved in the dark. A pattering of feet. Too many feet. He had no trouble recalling where that scent had come from. “Break the spell, Ashtat. Do it now.” His voice was lower now, but the terror unmistakable.

Ashtat swallowed and started to recite the incantation, her mouth dry and tongue heavy. There was more movement from the dark and she closed her eyes, reciting the words faster. Iblis shifted more in front of her, taking a fighting stance. His heart pounded in his chest, but he kept his breathing steady, not wanting to alarm his daughter. She needed to focus on the spell. Any mispronounced word would cause the spell to backfire, and neither of them wanted that.

Nearly finished with the spell, Ashtat wrapped her arms around Iblis’ torso and buried her face in his back. For a second, Iblis shifted his eyes to his daughter, and the creature attacked. It rushed forward, its many legs thumping against the ground, a hiss from the back of its throat. All the djinni could do was curse himself and step backwards, hoping Ashtat moved with him. She did, almost tripping. The monster took advantage and swiped a claw out at Iblis. The djinni had barely enough time to raise his arm and protect his face from the attack.

Just as another claw struck out the spell broke, leaving both Iblis and Ashtat panting. Then the pain struck Iblis, bringing him down to his knees. “Oh God,” Ashtat cried, bending down with him. “We need to get you upstairs.”

Iblis shook his head, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “I need you to find the Magician.” He didn’t want to rely on the madman, but he was the only person he knew that could take care of such a wound.

“What if he doesn’t come?” Her voice was a perfect blend of worry and fear.

“Tell him a witch attacked me. He’ll come.”

Ashtat’s eyes narrowed in confusion, but nodded and headed out all the same. Iblis watched her retreating back. Once she was gone, he got to his feet and moved to the wall closest to the door. It had taken him all of his remaining energy to do so and he flopped to the floor rather hard, jostling his injured arm. The witch’s poison was already doing what it did best, killing him. “I hope they make it back in time,” he whispered before giving into the blackness of unconsciousness.

4.2

“Do you know how foolish this is?”

Grace shot Tony a patient smile as she perused the aisles of the toy store. Of course, she knew it was a stupid idea. She just wasn’t going to admit it. “It’s not like I’m the one who’s going to be giving him the present.”

“Then wh-” Tony’s jaw clenched, realizing what his friend wanted from him. “Oh no. You’re not dragging me into this idiocy.”

“Come on, Tony,” Grace pleaded. “I won’t ever ask you for anything again.” That was a lie, and the glance Tony gave her said as much. “Okay. Fine. I won’t ask you to do something as stupid again.” Another look. “Goddamnit! Fine! Just do this for me. It’s the last present I’m ever going to give my son, and I obviously can’t do it myself. Please?”

“Jesus Christ, Grace.” He ran an aggravated hand through his chestnut colored hair.“You’re going to be the death of me.”  Not exactly what she wanted to hear, but she was glad nonetheless.

“Thank you.” She practically bounced down the aisle. “I’ll make it up to you.” She would try to make it up to him, just like all the other favors he had done for her. So far, it had been nothing but an empty promise. Not without her trying. There just wasn’t a task that could make up for all he had done for her. And it didn’t help that every time she did try to do something, it just ended in disaster. Disasters that Tony didn’t witness, thankfully.

The stalker was watching. Grace could feel the eyes on her, watching her every move. The hounds were busy searching for the person, but it was useless without knowing what the person looked like. All they could do was sniff out for a supernatural being, all agreeing that it could not be a human. It moved too quick and was too well hidden.

A toy caught Grace’s attention. It was a stuffed bear. Small, about the size of a cantaloupe with silk soft brown fur. Black beads for eyes and a sewed on smile. If sat down, it would stand on all fours. Minus the fur, it was the most realistic stuffed bear toy she had yet to see. The perfect gift for Chase.

Grace froze, staring blankly at the bear. A sad smile appeared on her face, but was quickly replaced with fake joy. “You know what, you’re right Tony. This is a stupid idea.” She set the bear down and started to head out of the store. It had been hard, but she knew she had to do it.

How could I have been so stupid? I’m such a moron, she berated herself as she stomped down the street. I just put my son as risk. The agreement from the hounds stung worse than her own verbal abuse. But it had been the dumbest thing she had done in a while. Buying something for her son when there was someone following her. If they were an enemy of Lucifer’s and had already found her, they were smart enough to put two-and-two together. She didn’t know their motive, but Grace was sure it wasn’t benevolent.

When Tony caught up with her, out of breath from jogging, he grabbed her arm forcing her to stop and turn to him. “What the hell was that about?” Grace yanked her arm away from him, muttering “it’s nothing.” Turning, she started to walk away from him. “Is it about the one who has been following you?”

Mouth agape, Grace turned back to him. “How?”

“Do I really need to explain how old I am, again?” Shaking his head, he started to walk. It was Grace’s turn to play catch up. “I’ve known as soon as it started,” he told her preemptively. “They were making it pretty obvious.”

Grace tightened her jaw. The demon had more than likely known that she was being followed before she had figured it out, and hadn’t told her a damn thing. Just let her go about her business as if nothing was wrong. “Didn’t think I should know?” His shrug ticked her off even more. “Seriously? They could have fucking killed me! Why the hell wouldn’t you let me know?!”

“If I believed they were going to harm you, I would have dealt with it. They’re just observing, and I didn’t see a reason to alarm you.” She couldn’t be mad at that. It was exactly what she was doing with him. Keeping him in the dark until she figured out what the stalker wanted. To be mad would be hypocritical, and that was something she tried to avoid.

Still, she was mad at him and had to show it. “I don’t need you to protect me.” She regretted it as soon as it left her mouth. It made her sound like a pouting five year old. Enough that Tony laughed at her. She wanted to tell him to shut up, but it would only make him laugh even more. Best to keep her mouth shut.

Tony glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Grace, you’re a strong woman, but a weak sin eater and fighter. Even lesser demons would get the better of you.”

If Grace rolled her eyes any harder, they would have gotten stuck. “I know. I know. If I didn’t have my hounds, I would be dead.” Lucifer had beat that into her head, she didn’t need someone else telling her the same thing. The only time that was not true was when she had attacked Baphomet. But that hadn’t been her, and they do not speak about it. To her, that night had never happened.

“Have you informed Lucifer?”

“No. I haven’t even seen him in a week.” That was the longest he had been gone since he started to train her, and a sick feeling was building up in the pit of her stomach. Lucifer had said he had a lot of enemies. What if one of them had finally caught up with him? How did that affect her? He was in possession of her soul. If he died, if he could die, would she die as well? She had asked him that once, and he told her it was not something he could answer for obvious reasons.

The worry was plain on her face. “I’m sure he’s fine. Angels are hardy creatures.” He grabbed her shoulder giving it a little shake. “I’m sure he’ll be popping up sometime soon.”

Tony was trying to make her feel better. Grace appreciated it, but he was wrong. “No. Something, my gut maybe, is telling me that he’s in trouble. Big trouble. And I won’t be able to help him.”

With a hand on her wrist, Tony stopped Grace. “If you’re that concerned about it, we can go see the djinni.” Iblis was the king of information. He had a way of gathering intelligence that would give the NSA a hard-on. There was just one problem with it all. He wanted payment of some sort, and Grace had nothing to give him. Something she pointed out to her demon friend. “We can work something out with him.”

Grace snorted. “Owe Iblis? You know being in his pocket is not where you want to be.” She shook her head. “There has to be some other way.”

“There is. We ourselves could ask around. By doing so, we may arouse suspicion and curiosity. If others believed that Lucifer was in a position that left him weak, they would take advantage of that. One of those ways would be harming you.”

“And you think seeing Iblis is really going to change that?” They were going to be in danger no matter what they did.

“Djinn are very discreet. They don’t like to call attention to themselves.”

Grace guffawed, and continued to laugh until there were tears in her eyes and her stomach ached. “Discreet? Is that why he owns a nightclub and dresses like a male prostitute? To be discreet?” She shook her head while wiping away her tears. “Ahh, that felt good. Thank you for that.”

Tony gave her an are-you-serious look, then shook his head as if to wipe away the expression. “Grace, he’s our only option.”

“Yeah, I know. Let me talk it over with the hounds first.” Tony gestured to an alley a few feet in front of them. Grace moved to it, leaving the demon behind. Even her hounds terrified him, no matter how much she assured him they would not attack. There is a reason why they are called irrational fears. “What do you guys think?” she asked when the five surrounded her.

I don’t like it, Father started, but we have no choice. The djinni will be able to locate Master faster than we could. Grace’s jaw clenched at the word “Master.” She hated that word.

But we will owe the djinni much, came from Mother. He will not do this out of kindness.

“Yeah, that’s the problem. We don’t have anything to give him.” She was dead, her soul already belonged to Lucifer, and there was no way in hell she was going to give him anything of the hounds. And owing a supernatural being a favor was dangerous. Djinn especially so.

Lucifer could always repay the debt. Grace turned to Sister. That had been an option that she had not thought of.

“He’s not going to like it, but Iblis would be less likely to screw him over.” As far as she knew, the two were on decent terms. She would not say good. Lucifer wasn’t on good terms with anyone. Must be hard being one of the most hated people in the world. Then again, none of the races liked each other.

I don’t think Lucifer would like that though. I mean, he might get mad at us. I would rather him not be mad. Brother had a point. There was no telling what an angry fallen angel could do. But it wasn’t like they could sit around and do nothing. Facing his wrath was worth the risk if he came out of it alive. She couldn’t take the chance of his death causing her own and wouldn’t. The hounds felt the same.

“So, we’re going to Iblis.”

Twenty minutes later Grace found herself sitting across from the djinni in his dim office, regretting her decision. At least she had Tony with her for moral support. And to do all of the talking. Negotiating wasn’t a skill she had ever thought to pick up. Never needed to until then. Maybe that was something she should look into.

Iblis’ dark eyes fell onto Grace. “The last time I helped you and your master, I ended up having to replace my carpet and a wall. Why should I help you again?”

His point was valid, but it didn’t piss her off any less. She would have been glad to leap over the table and beat the djinni into submission, but knew that would not do any good. Not only would he kick her ass, but then he wouldn’t be willing to help her either. Having Tony fight for her was not an option either, given his pacifism. So, she had to sit there, seething.

Tony went to speak for her, but Iblis cut him off. “I’m not interested in what you have to say, demon. I want to hear from her.” There was a knowing smile on the djinni’s face that made Grace’s jaw clench. She really wanted punching him in the face to be an option.

“Out of the kindness of your heart.” She couldn’t think of an actual answer and resorted to sarcasm. Not a smart move, but it did give her time to think. Even more so with Iblis laughing. An idea struck her, and she wanted to see how it turned out. “That’s right,” she started, sitting straighter in her chair, “there’s not really a lot of kindness in your heart. I can smell that.” She smirked at the djinni’s interest. “As a Sin Eater, I can smell sins. The darker the sin the sweeter the smell, and you smell really good.”

“I fail to see your point.”

“My point is, you’re not good. If you were human, I would say you’re a terrible human being. But there is some good in you, and it’s your weakness.” Iblis’ face went blank. “I think you know where I’m going with this.”

“Threatening my daughter is not going to get me to help you.”

“I’m not threatening your daughter, I’m threatening you. Think of Ashtat as collateral damage. Do what I want, and she doesn’t have to die.” Iblis blanched. Grace smiled with dead eyes, the smell of his fear making her mouth water. “What? Think I was going to say ‘hurt?’ Oh no. Desperate times call for desperate measures, Iblis. If you don’t help me, I will kill her.” The djinni went paler, if possible. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick so you’re the only one that suffers.”

The djinni gave a defeated chuckle. “This makes me question how great of a parent you were.”

“I don’t know if I was a great parent or not, but I sold my soul to keep my son alive. What are you willing to do to keep your daughter alive?” Her heart was thumping so hard in her chest she was afraid someone would hear it. He had to say yes. Had to. If he called her bluff, she didn’t know what she would do. You’ll have to do it, she told herself. You’ll have to kill her. Please, don’t make me kill her.

Iblis’ face was a mask as he thought through his option. It was taking too long for Grace, and had to fight the urge to shift in her seat or to look down. Even if she was screaming on the inside, her face needed to remain blank her breathing calm. A lot harder than she had believed it would be.

“All right, I’ll help you.”

Grace nearly sighed in relief, and opted for a smile instead. “Good. I’ll stop by tomorrow to see how things are going.” She stood to leave. Tony did so as well, amazement clear on his face.

“It’s going to take longer than a day to find out where he is.”

“I know. This is the only way that I can contact you and vice versa. I’ll be here every night to check in. Don’t worry, I won’t rush you.” She didn’t need him thinking there was a deadline and rushing to find Lucifer. Rushed people tend to make mistakes, costly ones. A life, or two, might very well hang in the balance. Mistakes could not be afforded.

“I would advise not coming alone. I might kill you.”

Grace shrugged her shoulders. “You can try,” she said and then left.

Despite the heat outside, Grace was shaking. her heart pounded against her chest and her breathing erratic. Never would she had believed threatening someone would give her such a rush. She wanted to run, cackling with joy. She wanted to skip and leap down the street. But mostly, she wanted to hunt. Tearing her teeth through flesh and bone would elate her further. The hounds were game, though hunting for sport was not in their nature.

All that was ripped away from her when Tony yanked her arm, forcing her to face him. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” His breathing was just as heavy as Grace’s was, though for a different reason. “Are you trying to make more enemies?”

Grace pulled her arm from him. “No.” So much defense in that one word.

“Your actions speak otherwise.” Tony ran aggravated fingers through his dark hair. Do you even know who you threatened?”

“A djinni?” What did it matter? She got what she wanted out of the deal. They were one step closer to finding Lucifer. Tony growled, and Grace’s eyes narrowed. She was starting to get just as frustrated with him as he was with her. “Why don’t you just fucking tell me then?” she spat. This little exchanged needed to end soon. Otherwise, Tony was going to get hit.

“Iblis is not just a djinni. He’s the leader of them. The most powerful djinni in the world, and you just threatened to kill his daughter.”

That got a reaction out of the Sin Eater, but not the one that he had hoped for. “So? The last time I checked, he couldn’t use magic unless someone wished for it.”

Tony balked, not expecting Grace to know that. “That’s true.” He had more to say, but Grace cut him off.

“Then what do I have to worry about?” She paused for a moment, waiting for an answer. When it didn’t come, she began again. “Is he going to send someone to kill me? Because if he did, Lucifer would have his head and we all know it.” She may hate the fallen angel, but Grace knew he would protect her. He didn’t make her into a Sin Eater for her to end up dead.

“And how exactly will he protect you if he is in trouble?” A valid point, and one Grace didn’t have an answer to. All she could respond with was an eyeroll and “whatever” muttered under her breath. The triumph was visible on Tony’s face, which pissed off Grace more. She stomped off. Tony ran down the street after her. “Grace,” Tony started, reaching for her.

She slapped his hand away and turned to him. Her eyes were slits and her jaw clenched so tight it was painful. “What Tony?” she hissed. “What do you want?!” If it hadn’t been for her clenched jaw, she would have been shouting. Not that there were many around to hear her.

“I want you to be cautious. You’re-”

“Weak.” The heat in the word could rival the flames of Hell.

“That’s not-”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. It’s exactly what you were going to say. It’s what you keep reminding me of. ‘You’re a strong woman, but a weak Sin Eater’ or you like to say.” She walked off, afraid of what else bitterness would make her say. Being weak was not something she was accustomed to, and being reminded of it on a near daily basis didn’t make things any better.

Tony called after her several times, but she kept walking. There was nothing more she had to say. Nothing more she wanted to hear. Just wanted to get to her apartment and be alone (to pout). Though she was never truly alone. The hounds were always there, at the back of her mind. They were a comfort. Unlike Tony at the moment. He was still calling to her, feet pounding against the pavement. Any moment and he would catch up to her, not that she was making it difficult.

I could get rid of him, Alpha, Brother said, baring his teeth in a grin. Wouldn’t even have to hurt him. If Tony spotted one of the hounds, he would take off running without thought. It was tempting, but Grace declined, disappointing the young hound. As funny as it might have been, Tony was still a friend. She couldn’t bring herself to purposely scare him, no matter how angry he had made her. Party pooper. Grace gave a light chuckle and shook her head. Brother always wanted to play some kind of trick. He enjoyed scaring people.

Grace sighed and stopped, allowing Tony to catch up. “Look,” she started turning to him, “I’m only going to say this once. I’m weak. I know that, and I hate it, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I can only hope I get stronger and rely on Lucifer to protect me until then.” The words left a bad taste in her mouth, but they were true.

“But I’m not going to let that weakness stand in my way. I”m going to live this life, and I’m going to live it my way. I will do anything to protect myself, and if that includes threatening the ruler to the djinn I’ll do it. I’ll threaten and kill anyone I have to to stay alive.”

“What about your son?”

Grace stepped closer to Tony. “If anyone threatens my son, I’ll tear their heart out.” Her voice was low, her tone dangerous. She left having nothing else to say.

“I mean what would he think,” Tony muttered to himself. Grace’s keen ears picked it up all the same. I’m dead to him, why would he care? A thought she couldn’t bear to say aloud.

“We should go home. It’s getting late.” The night was still early, Grace no longer had the drive to stay out. She also had the feeling she was going to need the rest. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.