Midlife with Demons (Chosen by 40 #2)

1. Kujo

My entire body was screaming, and it felt like my head was full of cotton.

I didn’t know where I was or how I got here.

And then I remembered something. My mother showed up with the entire family to take me and use me now that I was officially a seer and powerful enough to see through Enochian warding.

Satan was suspiciously absent. Wrathhog and the rest of us would have been overwhelmed with that many furies surrounding us.

Shit, was I at my mother’s house? I wasn’t upset in the slightest when she kicked me out when I was no longer legally her responsibility.

If I were at her place now, she’d never let me leave again.

My whole body hurt like a bitch, but I still tried to jump up to fight my way out.

I realized I wasn’t at her place. We were still at Satan’s house.

Celix and Nero were out cold, but Sydney was awake and watching me.

She was lying on her stomach with her wings out.

When did that happen? And why were her wings bronze?

The fallen all had black wings, and the other angels had white. Wrathhog’s wings were also black.

“So, I accidentally exploded and murdered your whole family. Are you mad?” she asked.

Was I? I kind of wanted to murder them myself, but I’d never get away with it, even if they attacked me first. Wait, a minute.

They did. My mother tried to kill me when I wouldn’t leave with her, and before I could even try to block it, Sydney jumped in front of me with no magic.

She didn’t even like me, but she could have died saving me.

“You didn’t accidentally do anything. You jumped in front of a Fury killing spell. I’m glad you killed them because I never would have gotten away with it, but you could have died. What were you thinking?”

“That you’re annoying as fuck, but it would be a shame to have that ass obliterated? The truth is, I don’t know. I saw her throw magic at you and just reacted.”

“I still don’t know how it happened, but when Sydney took the killing blow meant for you, her wings and all of her magic came in at once,” Satan said from the doorway.

He looked rumpled and unkempt. I’d never seen him look like that before.

“Where the fuck were you when all of this was going on?” Sydney demanded.

Because, seriously, angels could portal, and Wrathhog tried to call as soon as she realized Furies had gathered on the front lawn.

If Satan had shown up, none of this would have happened.

My mother would have slunk back home with her tail between her legs.

It was one thing to attack me, but it was treason to attack a Prince of Hell.

Since Furies outranked all of us except Sydney and Wrathhog, any story they told would be believed.

“Drugged out on the floor of Lucifer’s office.

Someone laced a dart with enough of Hell’s most potent drug to take down an angel.

Pretty sure that’s also how they snatched your dad.

I didn’t see who did it, and Lucifer’s security cameras were conveniently playing on a loop because, trust me, I checked those as soon as I portalled home in case I was needed.

My servants brought you all inside and cleaned you up, but I used magic to clean the gore on my front yard since no one should have to touch that. ”

Sounds like my family went out messy. Good.

I only wish I’d been conscious to enjoy it.

Still, I hadn’t been nice to her. I was only nice to people I liked, and I was honestly just annoyed that I did like her.

Most adult humans wouldn’t have come out swinging at my sack buck naked right after I took them to Hell like I did.

She had enough pluck to constantly mouth off to the Princes of Hell.

Everything I knew about being a Fury was self-taught. I knew the theory behind blocking Fury magic, but I’d never used it against a spell like that. I very well could have died.

Sydney could have too, and she jumped in front of me, anyway. I owed her a life debt. I wasn’t going to fall over myself kissing her ass like Nero and Celix because I didn’t think she wanted that.

But something told me that even if the rulers of Hell didn’t want her with two lesser demons and a half-breed, that honestly wasn’t going to stop her.

Before I could even process any more of what happened, the asshole parts of the Princes of Hell barged in. Sydney rolled over as much as she could with her new giant wings and just looked annoyed.

“That shirt is blasphemous!” Mammon hissed.

I peered over at her. She was wearing a racerback tank with Jesus peering around the corner that said Is That Smut? Most of the clothing she wore around the house was related to romance books.

“How would you know? Didn’t Daddy disown you before you could meet his son?”

Oh, my fuck, she went there. Mammon started glowing as if he was going to smite her where she stood, and Satan just jumped in front of him.

“Stop poking her and she’ll stop bringing up your unresolved daddy issues. Someone sent an army of Furies to my front yard, and I’m going to find out who it was.”

“Sorry, aren’t the Furies loyal to you?” Asmodeus said. “All of us have tried courting them, and they want you in charge.”

He wasn’t wrong. My mother made no secret that she wanted Satan to overthrow Lucifer and the other princes and rule. He was conveniently drugged when my family showed up to take the one person capable of maybe locating Lucifer.

Maybe Lucifer’s house was never bugged and none of his servants had betrayed him. Maybe Lucifer wasn’t there when we got to that volcano because it was Satan who kidnapped him this whole time.