15. The Devils Like to Play
The Devils Like to Play
Rez
Well shit. Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad to see that L.A.M.B. is in one piece, but if they are here… One: who’s running Hell? And two: chaos is sure to follow them.
“You can say that again,” JP snorts, stepping up next to me and reading my mind. “I can only imagine what’s going to happen with them all here,” he says, giving me an unreadable look.
He’s been acting weird ever since he found out he’s pretty much the prince of Hell, and we haven’t had the chance to talk about it. I gently grab his arm and turn to look at him.
“Are you okay?” I ask sincerely. “You know, about everything? Your new position?” I hedge, not wanting any supes to catch on to what I’m getting at.
JP takes in a deep breath, his eyes sad but resigned.
“No, I don’t think I am,” he admits. “I d—”
“Chicadee,” Murmur yells, launching himself into the air and extending his blue-and-black wings.
Murmur’s full demon form is something to marvel at.
So, it doesn’t surprise me that he would forgo the snazzy dress code and has stuck with his dark jeans, biker boots, and messy brown hair.
What is a nice change is the absence of a white t-shirt under his black leather jacket, which would normally have to be pried from his ripped and chiseled abdomen.
Next stop, drool central.
Students stop and stare in awe as he glides in our direction and lands beside us.
“How are my favorite family members doing?” He wraps an arm around JP, and his tail wraps around my waist, pulling me to his side so he can do the same to me.
“I’ve missed you so much. We must catch up.
” His smile is bigger than the Cheshire Cat’s.
“There goes our cover,” JP mumbles.
“Oh, we were going undercover?” Murmur whispers. “Do tell. I love sharing information, or did Rez not tell you?”
JP rolls his eyes and slides out from under Murmur’s arm.
“You got this, right? I’m gonna mingle and see what I can dig up. It’s good to see you, Murmur.” JP excuses himself, and a part of me wants to follow him and demand that he tell me what’s going on.
But I know, on the other hand, I’ve already lost the moment of him opening up. I love Murmur, but fuck, his bad timing sucks. Maybe I can get something out of this, though. I mean, I am speaking to the Mischief Demon and the gossip queen himself here. Let’s see what kind of gossip he has today.
“It’s good to see you, Murmur. How’s Hell?” I start, leaning in and giving him a hug.
“Boring without you, to be honest,” he chuckles, his English accent thick.
“Oh, come on. I would think putting down a rebellion would be pretty exciting,” I push, and Murmur gives me a knowing look.
“Aww, my little minx. Are you up for sharing information?” He wiggles his eyebrows.
“I could be, if the information is worthwhile,” I hint, looking into the scenery behind him.
The ballroom is massive, and I’m beyond impressed that they conjured a practical forest of full-grown trees into the room as props, but it also leaves us with multiple ways of having people sneak up to eavesdrop on us.
“Oh, you do intrigue me so.” He rubs his hands together, and his green eyes sparkle as his lips curl up. “Come sit.” He leads me into the gloomy trees and into a corner where two toadstools have sprouted, and he motions for a shield.
I smile coyly at him and secretly try to throw up a shield. I feel the power build, but then sputter out as if there’s nothing to push it over. At least I didn’t feel pain like I did on the Trail of Worth. His expression drops, realizing something is wrong with me though, so I shake my head.
“That’s part of the information I need to share.” I awkwardly shrug.
He visibly recoils slightly and narrows his eyes, but doesn’t comment.
Throwing up his own shield, he casts another spell between us, and I feel a mental connection click.
‘I figure we might need the extra fortitude. I have a feeling this is going to be too good to pass up.’ Murmur’s emerald eyes sparkle with mirth.
‘You have no idea,’ I tell him.
‘Do share and don’t leave anything out,’ he insists.
Eager to comply, I tell him about our escape, the Gate’s monster, Lynx’s parents, and the prior Storm Shifters mysterious disappearance, our trip through the Trial of Worth, the different tasks, me being stabbed, losing my mother, Moni killing her mother, seeing the rebels waiting on the other side of the portal, changing the destination so we weren’t ambushed, all of us growing stronger in our combat skills—all thanks to L.A.M.B.
—and the attack on the school. We truly wouldn’t have made it without their help, though.
I have a Cliff’s Notes book’s worth of gossip to fill him in on, minus all the spicy bits, so his information better be worth it.
What I really concentrate on is what happened after we came through the portal because I’m hoping for his advice. I tell him about Levi’s kidnapping and what information he received because of what happened to him.
‘So wait. Levi voluntarily took this potion just to find out what they coated that dagger with?’
‘Yes. He agreed to take it, but they practically forced it down his throat.’
‘Shit, birdie. You’re in bigger trouble than you know,’ he states as he runs his hands through his brown hair.
That’s not what I wanted to hear at all.
‘Why do you say that?’ I try to keep the panic out of my mental tone, but by the look he’s giving me, I’m failing miserably.
‘When one voluntarily takes a potion, it makes it harder to break. Did Levi mention what Emer was wearing? Like a medallion?” His eyes bore into mine, waiting for the answer.
‘Um. I don’t think so. He only mentioned an incantation, but it’s possible, I guess.’
‘Fuck! She wouldn’t have done the incantation without wearing it,’ he murmurs almost to himself.
‘Then if what you said is true, and he really did take a potion voluntarily, and it had the demon memory potion combined with condonial, and Emer was wearing a medallion for intent, he took a potion to break your bond,’ Murmur tells me, looking slightly green.
‘WHAT?’ I stand abruptly, ready to kill someone.
Murmur reaches out and grabs my wrist, pulling me back down.
‘Calm down, warrior princess. The good news is, you don’t have a normal bond with Levi.’ I’m not stupid; I hear the “but” in that statement.
‘And what’s the bad news, Murmur?’ I narrow my eyes at him and growl.
‘Every time Levi feels that pain because he’s thinking of or sees you, it’s weakening your bond. He’s losing a memory of you and growing stronger with whomever the intended supe was that cast the spell.’
My nails immediately dig into my fleshy palms as I picture Emer’s sinister blue eyes and put a bullseye in the middle of her face. I’m two seconds from launching myself out of this bubble and causing my own drama at this shindig. Fuck our plans, she needs to pay.
Obviously reading every thought and emotion on my face, Murmur wraps his tail around me, pinning my arms to my sides and lifting me slightly so I can’t move. I huff and puff in frustration as I unsuccessfully try to break his hold, but he only stares at me as he waits me out.
I scream as loud as I can and buckle over from all of the frustration that I feel, but it helps to let out all the anger that’s coursing through me.
I’m sure from the outside of the bubble, we look foolish.
Murmur is watching me as if he’s studying a bug for the first time, his tail holding me at a distance as I thrash and wiggle.
I push and struggle against the weight of his tail, but all I manage is to wear myself out.
‘Feel better?’ he asks. I hang above him, feeling a bit embarrassed but ultimately better, and nod.
‘Yes.’
‘Good, because I want to talk about your powers.’
Great, now I’m not mad, I’m fucking depressed.
‘God’s Trumpet is slow acting, so the good news is, you will still have your powers, but they will be unreliable.” His smile grows massive as he must remember something. ‘Just like it was when we first met. So it should be easy for you,’ he chuckles.
‘Release me, Murmur, or we will test out the theory about your tail when we first met.’ I give him a salacious smile as he clears his throat, remembering the time when we wondered if he could grow back his tail, but it does the trick as he slowly lowers and releases me.
‘So, since I shared my information, what do you have?’
‘You will be visiting Hell once again, but if you allow Lucy to announce JP and Moni as heirs, you will walk right through and not have to worry about anyone challenging you. No one would dare touch them or their companions. As it is, you’re the only one that they should not touch, because of the brand they would sense. ’
I look down at the invisible brand Bez gave me on my wrist and rub it as I consider how big it would be for us if Lucy were to announce them, but I’m not sure how JP and Moni would feel. I think Moni would be all for it, but something tells me JP isn’t ready.
‘Anything else you know about this damn thing?’ I probe.
‘Along with Hell, you’ll be visiting the Fae realm and the Tranquil Waters.
In the Fae realm, everything will try to kill you, so be careful, and Tranquil Waters, just follow the power, easy peasy.
Of course, you already know that you’re starting in the Ever Woods; I don’t have to warn you about that place.
Hell, even I wouldn’t travel there, and my home is in Hell.
Oh, and don’t worry about looking for investors.
We have you.’ He winks and pulls me up for a hug.
‘Now mingle and say hi to the guys, especially the big guy. He might not say it, but he misses you too.’
There’s no guessing who he’s referring to. I miss Bez too.
As we step out of the bubble, we hear a scream and someone crying. Following the sounds, we come upon a group of hysterical students.
“What’s wrong?” Murmur demands, and one of the girls wipes her tears and points to a tree.
“Miriam. She was leaning against the tree a moment ago and— S-she just screamed and then disappeared.”