Chapter 11 #3
“He won’t be a problem. Not now. All we need to do is lure him into the cell the Siren coven has bespelled. One word and he’ll be locked in for eternity.” Fucking Pestilence was far too smug for my liking.
And I knew those Siren coven bitches weren’t to be trusted. Nothing good ever happened when they put their wands, or whatever the fuck they used, together.
“How are we going to get him in there?” War asked, doubt in her tone. “He’s not stupid.”
Thank you, Minerva.
“No, not stupid, but he is a narcissist. He’ll be his own downfall.
He’s too self-absorbed to even suspect we’d overthrow him.
I bet I could walk him right up to the cell and he’d let himself inside if I told him we had it made especially to house angels.
” This from Death. She sounded both bored and superior at the same time.
I didn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.
Did these wenches not realize who they were up against? Had they forgotten my very bloody resume? Well, joke’s on them. Perhaps it’s time for a reminder.
I was about to clear my throat and give them the what for they deserved when Famine cast the final nail in her proverbial coffin.
“Imagine his surprise when we reveal just how weak he truly is. Why is it powerful men never realize how easily they can be bested?”
“Or how much better a woman is at doing their job,” Pestilence agreed.
“Creator grant me the confidence of a mediocre white man,” Death murmured.
“Darling, you have enough of that already,” War pointed out.
“Delusion, then.”
“That too,” Pestilence snickered.
It was at this point that my blood roared too loudly in my ears for me to listen any further. Turning on my heel, I raked a hand through my luscious locks and strode toward the dungeon.
Fuck this. I would raze them to the ground and piss on their ashes. Mediocre? Weak? Those words didn’t exist in my vocabulary. Yes, I may have been considering someone else taking over ruling hell. But not without my express consent and blessing. I certainly wouldn’t choose any of those cows.
And I absolutely would not abide my domain being taken from me.
As if I were some toothless monarch and not a conqueror in my own right.
For too long, I’d sat idly by and watched the pieces fall into place. Well, I would not take an idle role any longer. No. It was time to truly be the master of my own destiny. And that started right. Fucking. Now.
These harpies were going to suffer, and I was going to be at the helm of their doom.
Starting with my newly formed alliance with the resistance.
They thought to steal my apocalypse out from under me? They could fucking try. I’d love to see how far they got when facing off against me and their counterparts. Let alone the rest of the supernatural elite.
My steps faltered slightly when I remembered they also had the Princes, Knights, and the entirety of hell at their disposal, but then my swagger returned. Those losers had never gotten me anywhere. They were baggage, not trophies. They wouldn’t exist without me.
I was the game-changing piece, and it was time I proved it.
As soon as I reached the bottom of the stairs, I let out a sinister laugh. Not even a guard stationed down here. What an overconfident bunch of twits.
I passed an empty cell, my gaze locked on the bars, and a shudder rushed over me. Was that the cage they’d constructed for me?
A shocked gasp pulled my focus from the prison to the two people a ways down the hall.
They were frozen in comical poses as though if they didn't move, I wouldn’t be able to differentiate them from statues.
Perhaps that might have been true if I hadn’t just met them and known for a fact that I did not have a statue of a seven-foot purple demon in my dungeon.
They were coated in dust, and from my vantage point, I could just make out the bars of their recently vacated cell lying amidst a pile of rubble.
“Going somewhere?” I drawled.
“I . . . we . . .” Sunday spluttered.
“Escaping, then. I see. Well, you’re not doing a very good job of it, now are you?” Oh, this was just too much fun.
Pan pushed Sunday behind him and glowered at me. “Seems like things are going exactly as planned.”
I made a show of glancing around. “Is that so? And what exactly is the next step? You must know by now that you can’t simply teleport out of my castle.
How do you expect to slip past four scheming horsewomen and seven Princes of hell?
” I paused to point between the two of them.
“This is precious, by the way. Very heroic.”
Pan continued his glowering, projecting confidence from every pore except for the errant flicks of his tail. That was a dead giveaway to his agitation.
“Oh, you two are adorable, and honestly, you’ve made my job loads easier by breaking out of your restraints and your cell. Well done, you. But you will never get past the castle gates. Not without help.”
Sunday peered around Pan’s looming form. “Is that your way of offering?”
“Well, I did tell my Merri I would,” I said on a gusty sigh.
Pan’s eyes narrowed. “Merri sent you?”
Now my eyes narrowed. “How do you know Merri?”
“Uh, fellas? Maybe not the best time for a dick-measuring contest.”
“Clearly you’ve never had a dick,” I muttered.
Sunday stepped past her demon bodyguard and gave me a look that said try me. “Why should we listen to a word you say? You’re the devil.”
“So you have heard of me. Brilliant.” I clapped my hands and rubbed them together with glee.
“Literally everyone has heard of you,” Sunday deadpanned.
“Stop flirting with me. I’m a mated man.” The sound of footsteps on stone stairs killed any levity in the moment. Fuck, they were on to us. Or they were about to be.
Sunday and Pan tensed, likely thinking along the same lines.
“Trusting Merri has gotten us this far, Sunday. I think we should try our luck.”
“It can’t be any worse than being in the horsewomen’s clutches,” Sunday agreed.
My glower intensified. The absolute audacity. She didn’t think I could do worse than the horsewoman? Maybe she didn’t know as much about me as she thought. I gritted my teeth, but that was fine. I could let the insult slide. This time. We had more important matters to attend to.
“Well, come on then,” I said, gesturing for them to come closer with my head. “Take a hand so we can get out of here.”
“You just said we can’t teleport out of here,” Sunday said.
“I said you couldn’t. I never said I couldn’t.” I leaned closer and lowered my voice as if imparting a secret. “This is my domain, after all.”
Sunday took my outstretched hand first, her power a tangible thing as soon as our skin made contact. I saw now why they would want her. Why they would want all of them.
“Come along, Pandemic. It’s time for you to meet someone special.”
Pan cut me a confused look. “Who?”
I smirked before reaching out and snatching his tail. “Your daddy.”