9. The Devils You Know
CHAPTER 9
The Devils You Know
Levi
I ’m itching to get my hands on some books about the Princes of Hell. Funny enough, our curriculum doesn’t cover it in the demon course in our upcoming classes, or else I would have already known the information. I’ve spent plenty of time down here, but never have I been introduced to the darker sides of Hell or what the “lesser” demons are.
As I walk into the library, I take in the stacks as Knots steps up next to me. “So, what’s your best guess on how to tackle this?”
I sigh and fix my cufflinks Rez made for me in the shape of scales. “We each take a section and look for anything that references Demons, Princes, Legions, and Fallen.”
“Okay. Simple enough.”
I turn and take in his profile and find him leaning against a shelf. To anyone else, he might look like he’s comfortable and just taking in the room, but the fine lines around his eyes and the tension radiating off of him say otherwise. He no longer looks pale as a ghost, but it’s obvious he’s not one hundred percent as he gives me a weak smile.
“Are you doing okay? Are you getting stronger?” My curiosity gets the best of me. Plus, I know how much Rez worries about him.
“Being here helps. I don’t feel the weight of the world crushing me anymore, so that’s a plus. But I know we can’t stay.” Sadness seeps out of him, and I grab his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know,” I offer, and he nods before pushing off and going to the last shelf in the corner to browse.
I move to the other side of the fireplace to start my search, and I’m immediately rewarded with a book on Legions and Origins. Pulling that and another book on Factions, I sit down and start searching. A few moments later, Lynx joins me on the sofa with his own book.
“So you’re the leader of our group, huh?” he says, opening up the spine of his book.
“I’m just more logically minded than the others,” I reply, not sure if I would name myself the leader. It seems like Rez is more our leader than anyone else.
“Yep, and that’s why I said leader,” he says, flipping pages until he reaches toward the back of his book.
It’s the first time I’ve actually had a chance to sit down with the Storm Shifter, so I might as well take advantage as I browse the index of the first book in my stack.
“Does it bother you?” I ask, not at all talking about the subject he threw out but the deeper meaning behind his words.
Lynx peeks at me as a small smile plays on his lips. “Not at all.”
“You know I love her, right?” I say, keeping my voice down, hoping not to disturb everyone else’s search.
Lynx chuckles. “Everyone in our group loves Rez. What’s there not to love? Even Chester loves her, but he thinks of her as a sister that makes his woman happy.” He turns and places his knee on the sofa to face me fully. “To be completely honest, I hated the idea at first. Rezzi has always been mine. We have been an inseparable pair from day one when we first met. But being here”—he waves his hand around to indicate the room—“I realize I can’t take care of her by myself, and maybe I wasn’t meant to.”
The emotions I pick up from him aren’t anger or animosity but relief. As if he needed to get this off his chest.
“I’m just glad that if I have to share my amazing best friend with anyone, it would be with you, your worthless brothers, and the doorknob.” Lynx winks.
I nod and give him a smirk before looking down at my book. “They are pretty worthless,” I tease back, and Lynx laughs before digging into his book.
A few moments later, I find some information that we might find useful and jot it down before JP and Knots join us by the fireplace with books that look to be dog-eared.
“Got anything good?” Lynx nods in their direction.
“Yep, but I might as well wait for everyone so I don’t need to repeat everything,” JP suggests, getting comfortable in the seating he was in last night. Zeke strolls over with his own book, his finger holding his spot, and nestles in next to JP, giving him a kiss.
Ryker walks into the library with a smug look on his face and his eyes glowing like he has been plugged into a light socket. No need to guess where he and Rez were while we were working. Surprisingly, I don’t feel any insecurities or jealousy. I’m just glad both Ryker and Rez are taken care of. He walks past JP and does a double take at the book in his lap before backing up with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.
“What the hell,” Ryker shouts, grabbing JP’s book. “That’s the equivalent of raping the damn book, you monster!” he shouts, opening the book and smoothing out the page that was bent. He glares and would probably shoot daggers at JP if he could but simply shakes his head before reluctantly giving back the book to him.
Knots silently corrects his own mistake while Ryker is distracted and shoots a warning look at Lynx when the Storm Shifter just smirks. I can only imagine what their dialogue is saying right now.
“Where’s Rez?” I ask, scooting over to give Ryker a spot to sit.
“She was changing clothes,” he says with a straight face. “Got anything good?”
“Just waiting for everyone to get here,” I explain when we all turn to face the opening as we hear Reaper barreling down the hall. He runs in, shaking his head as he conquers a stuffed animal and slams into the edge of the seat closest to him.
“Sheesh, he’s a menace,” Chester observes, walking in behind him, and Moni smiles as she inhales the steam from the coffee cup in her hand.
“All stocked up?” JP asks, peering over his shoulder at the couple.
She gives a thumbs up as she takes another drink of her coffee and takes a seat with Chester. All we’re waiting for is?—
Confusion and anger slam into me hard, and I suddenly sit up, wondering where it’s coming from. Our group looks completely relaxed except for Lynx, who sits up in my peripheral and turns a look on me. I shrug, and we both stand up, our instincts propelling us and alerting the room.
“What’s going on?” Zeke asks, sitting up and addressing me.
“I don’t know,” I say hesitantly, but everything in me says something isn’t right.
“Rez!” Lynx exclaims in realization and takes a few steps, clearing the sofa before stopping in his tracks.
In the doorway stands Knox, but his attention is on the hallway behind him.
“Knox…” His green eyes pierce mine across the room. Without saying a word, I ask if everything is okay or if there’s anything I can do. He quickly and minutely shakes his head as Rez shuffles into his arms. She stares at something in her hands and doesn’t even look up as Knox guides her into the room.
I straighten out my suit jacket before sitting back down, trying to act like nothing is the matter, but the room is already on alert. They don’t need any special abilities to know something is wrong. All eyes are on her as Knox helps her sit down on the sofa before he kneels between her legs.
She’s holding a picture in her hands; it’s worn on the edges, but the people in the photograph look to still have clarity. But before I can assess them, she pulls the picture against her stomach.
“Kitten,” Knox gently says, and Rez’s gray eyes slowly meet his. Tears are gathered along her lower lashes, and once she sees Knox, she seems to snap out of her trance.
“Uh— Sorry,” she says, wiping her eyes and taking in the room. A blush slightly tints her cheeks before she claps her hands together. “What did I miss? Did we find anything useful?” she asks, trying her best to put on a brave face, but I can still feel the turmoil twisting inside her.
“Is there something you need to tell us first?” I hedge carefully.
“I-I…can I process it first? I don’t know what to make of it yet.” Her shaky voice comes out in a whisper.
I nod, grateful that she’s not trying to keep it a secret that something has happened. Asking for time to process whatever it is isn’t unreasonable.
Knowing she’s looking for someone to take the heat and move it off her, I catch everyone up with how we looked for anything that pertains to Demons, Princes, Legions, and the Fallen.
As I explain, Rez’s shoulders relax slightly, but I still feel some of her agitation.
“So before we start, I did find something on the trials as a whole. It turns out that there are some rules in Hell that the Princes have to abide by. A way to get around those was the Trail of Worth, so depending on how the princes were feeling, or last felt when designing their trial, will depend on what kind of traps we are going to walk into.”
“So it’s like my cousins and the Ever Woods!” Moni blurts out, shooting up into the air with her coffee.
“Exactly.”
“I bet they won’t be messing with me anymore after I pow-pow them with my super boom boom.” Moni chuckles and starts choking on her own spit, but Chester is there to save the day, patting her hard on her back until she starts breathing normally.
“That’s disturbing,” Knots points out, running a hand through his shoulder-length hair.
“Which part? The psychotic princes or our own princess going to the dark side,” Lynx mumbles.
“Both?” Knots shrugs.
“Okay, I think we’re getting off-topic. Did anyone find something on level one?” I ask, hoping to move this conversation on.
“Oh. I did,” Lynx offers, opening up his page. “Balam is the Prince of Illusions and rules over level one.”
“Really?” I’m taken aback since L.A.M.B.’s and Mother’s residences are on the same level. I can’t imagine them sharing their rule with someone else.
“Here, let me see that,” Ryker demands, grabbing the book out of Lynx’s lap and digging through it quickly before chuckling. “Who taught you to research?”
“Well, technically, no one,” Lynx deadpans, and Ryker’s cocky smile disappears off his face before addressing the room.
“Um, well, it says here that Balam was never motivated by greed and was okay with his small sliver of land, so ruling the small section of level one and the Road of Worth was enough for him,” he says confidently before trying to hand the book back to Lynx. Lynx whispers something to him, and they have a quiet conversation as we move on.
“Level two,” I prompt, and Zeke motions to himself.
“Oh, I have that one. That’s Asmodeus, the prince of Lust and the ruler of level two, which means anything can happen on that level with him in charge. The question is, will he know that it’s us that’s going through? I haven’t found anything that states how aware they are of us crossing their level,” he says apologetically.
“So, an orgy?” Lynx perks up.
“Really? Is that all you think about?” Rez questions him, and he backtracks.
“What? It could happen.”
“Yeah, it could,” Ryker mutters and shrugs as he sees our attention on him. “Continue on.” He waves his hand like a royal asshole, just to be a little shit.
“That’s fine, it’s better than nothing,” I reassure him. “I have level three,” I announce, grabbing another book. “Azazel, the Prince of Rage, is going to be dangerous. He enjoys bloodbaths and seeing how many pieces his minions can be torn into.” I’m fairly proud of myself that I don’t throw up in my mouth at the visual that pops up in my mind.
“It’s a good thing we have our weapons.” Moni pats her side, proving she’s carrying hers. A few groans fill the room, and I bite back my laughter when I realize she, Ryker, and I are the only ones prepared.
“Daddy would be so upset with all of you. Especially Astaroth.” Moni shakes her head in disappointment.
“And that’s why we won’t tell him.” JP gives his sister a pointed look.
“After this, grab your weapons and keep them with you,” Ryker instructs, pulling out one of his knives to show he’s prepared.
“What about the other levels?” Rez’s voice comes out meek, though it does its job of urging us on. I reach over and take her hand, attempting to push some calming feelings to her. I don’t want to take away her emotions, but maybe with some soothing ones, along with whatever Knox is hopefully doing, it will comfort her.
She gives me a small smile and lays her head on my shoulder, and I feel like I’m the strongest man in the world at the moment. I start playing with her hair as JP shifts in his seat and reads from his book.
“Sitri is a Prince of Deception that can cause men and women to fall in love with each other and expose their secrets, and he controls level four,” JP says, grimacing.
“You mean Cupid?” Moni asks with wide eyes.
“I doubt he’s that nice about it if he was,” Chester explains, softening the blow as some of us chuckle at her comment.
“No clue,” JP shrugs. “Just says he can make people bare themselves naked if he so desires.”
“Well, that’s just great. I’ll be blinded by all of you running around naked in the bowels of hell. Just what I was asking for,” Lynx groans.
“It’s better to have that information than nothing,” Knots chimes in. “Level five consists of Purson, the Prince that knows things, like hidden secrets or treasures.”
“Sounds like Purson and Sitri should be BFFs,” Knox mutters.
“They probably are,” Ryker says, grabbing the book that Lynx had picked out. “Level Six is said to be ruled by Beleth, but it doesn’t say what kind of Prince he is.” He shakes his head in frustration. “Only that Azazel’s rage is nothing when compared to Beleth’s cunning wits where courage, respect, and perseverance are needed to survive.”
“That doesn’t sound good.” Lynx shrinks in his seat. “At least level seven might give us a break,” he says, perking up. “Prince Seir isn’t considered good or evil but one to show the truth.”
“So, if that’s all of them, now what?” Moni asks, looking around the room.
Well, it just means we have a fairly good idea that we’re up against some sadistic assholes.