Chapter 11 Friends in Low Places
Friends in Low Places
ROGUE
The second his hand met mine, I knew the guy had a big secret.
I mean, I knew it could have been something the rest of the demons were aware of until our eyes locked.
That’s when the surge of fear zipped between us and I realized he was definitely not doing this for an identity reason.
I make a mental note to ask Angelo about that college, and give the poor kid a gentle smile I hope lets him know I will not spill the beans.
Now that I see it, I can’t unsee it, but I definitely get why he’s been able to successfully hoodwink them—you don’t notice if you’re not looking.
“Um, Jasper’s rep has preceded him, I guess, which is no surprise.
” His crooked grin makes me want to laugh; there’s definitely something very Buffy/Spike between the secret girl and the grumpy prince and I’m here for it.
“The big guy is Slash—he’s nicer than he looks unless you don’t eat your lunch.
The dark-haired one is Oriel, the two-toned guy smiling is Salem, the only one who isn’t a giant is Zavida, and the two very suave looking demons are Anton and Xerxes. ”
“Little demon…”
I laugh when the big dude sighs and chastises Kit gently.
My gaze rakes over the group carefully and I let my magic taste the surrounding air.
The demon part of me—which I rarely access—tells me the truth of this situation immediately.
Every single one of these men is attracted to the spunky, unemerged demon pretending to be a guy; not only that, he is as well, though I believe he’s probably clueless about it.
His aura has flavors of desire and confusion simultaneously, so I’m uncertain Kit even understands what he’s feeling.
“Thank you, Kit,” I say as I smirk at his companions. “I’m not sure why the others find it so hard to be normal when they meet people, but I’m glad you have such lovely manners.”
The guy chuckles and shrugs. “I think it’s because these dudes,” he hitches his thumb over his shoulder, “never come to the surface. Since I was semi-lured into going to school in Hell after living my whole life up here thinking I was human… I’ve got a different set of social protocols.”
That explains everything—including why demons that old haven’t noticed why Kit smells like a female.
Angelo and Damon look at me curiously, and I shake my head slightly.
I don’t want them to accidentally out Kit, either, so I hurry to say, “That must have been an eye-opener. Reb and I are unactivated Guardians, which means someday, our job will be to protect a human who has the potential to be supernatural but hasn’t gotten their powers.
You should have had one, to be honest, but I’m not sure we worry about demons unless they’re hybrids. ”
The Prince finally speaks, scoffing at me with unsurprising bluster. “Demons do not use the Society’s Guardian program because we keep track of our progeny, even on the surface. We are self-regulating.”
Rebel snorts, then gives the snarky royal an amused expression. “I’d say you don’t, given this kid being yanked from the surface into a world he didn’t know existed. Unless I’m misunderstanding his story, which I don’t think I am.”
There’s a growl as the enormous guy Kit called Slash bristles at the offense and I cringe.
My step-brother lives to piss people off and he never thinks about what the consequences are going to be.
Shitting on the Prince of Hell definitely has repercussions, if you’re not the little guy who introduced them. “Maybe he’s not a hybrid, Reb—”
I’m cut off by another growl, this time from the two-toned dude who puts his hand on Kit’s shoulder. “You have no idea what KK is. Don’t presume to put him in a box without permission.”
Okay, that one clearly knows he has feelings for the kid and doesn’t give a fuck who else knows.
“Salem, Slash… It's okay. Rogue wasn’t trying to be mean to me, and her brother… Well, likely he has the same giant cocknozzle disorder Jasper has. No need to be confrontational.” The shorter guy winks at me and I cover my laugh with a knowing smirk.
“He’s right. Reb’s far too blunt for his own good—though he’s not my brother by blood.
I want to make that very clear before you think weird shit about me.
” I chuckle as their eyes widen, and Kit’s face turns bright red.
Quite cute, and certainly na?ve about sex stuff.
I’d almost pay to watch this shit unwrap, but alas, we have things to do.
“It is very odd that you were never tagged as a lost one or by the demons until you were of age. I know of a few older lost ones through our program, but you’re an exception to the usual rules. That’s what he meant.”
“Is there a point to this?” The tall, rainbow haired guy that is Xerxes or Anton squints at me. “I enjoy meeting new people, as does X, but we have specific things to do on this very unannounced visit to the surface.”
“Unannounced?” Damon says as he moves forward. “The royal caliphate shows up at an Apalachin with nebulous origins with no notice, and Tracer brings those people from the college to ask about secret shit. What the fuck is going on around here?”
“What college people?” Oriel—I think—gives my demon a sharp look as he tilts his head. “A group with a professor, a siren, a badass gargoyle, a Prince, and a dragon with an attitude?”
What.
“Yes, that group. One of them is related to the leaders of an organization here. They visited that gang, but a liaison related to both parties wanted us to meet them. It sounds like you’ve had a run-in with Morgana and her guys as well.
” I frown, feeling pieces fly together in my mind like a picture is going to form eventually.
Kit turns and glares at the dude she called Salem, then faces me again.
“We just came from the Fae territory. I can’t tell you the entire story of the orc attack because someone hid me in a tent.
However, I’m sure the other big, bad demons who dealt with it alongside our new friends can explain it. ”
Archie bursts out laughing, shaking his head as he grins at the smart-mouthed kid. “Man, I really enjoy your honesty, dude. You don’t mince words for a second. It’s hilarious to see how the demons all react to it, too. Shit, I could watch this all day.”
“But you won’t,” the gorgeous demon Anton called Xerxes says.
“My caliphate is full of poor communicators, save for KK, so I’m taking over this negotiation.
There was an orc attack, and we worked with that group to protect the Fae.
Many died or were injured, but both of our groups needed to leave prior to any ‘official’ authorities arriving.
Neither of our families are on the invite list, if you get my drift, so we don’t want people to know we’re here. ”
Angelo arches a brow at Xerxes. “You’re with the Prince of Hell, man. How in the fuck are you slinking around without being recognized?”
“Hey!” Kit puts his hands on his hips as he glares at my mate. “Xerxes goes by they/them. Be respectful now that you know.”
I thought I couldn’t like this faux guy more, but damn.
“Shit. Sorry, Xerxes,” Angelo apologizes quickly and I’m instantly proud of him, too. “I didn’t know. Damon and I were at DU many years ago, and we’re never down below. I didn’t know, though it’s probably fairly common knowledge in Hell.”
Xerxes smiles, the sparkle in their eyes brilliant as they nod. “No worries. The worst part about being a demon is that we’re so divided regarding up and down. I think it leaves a lot of room for trouble, which is… well, it’s why we’re here.”
“The Games,” Damon murmurs as he looks at them. “You’re here because they reactivated the Games for the first time since your families took the crown.”
“Yes,” Jasper says, his eyes dark as he looks at us suspiciously. “And if I’m honest, we believe your family is involved.”
Oh, fuck. Is this going to go sideways?
Angelo and Damon look at one another, grimacing before they face the demonic group. After a moment, Angelo sighs. “Yeah, we’ve been kind of suspicious about that, too. Did you know Darkstar was up here recently? He was at our father’s compound during a party recently.”
“I knew it,” the prince snarls as he looks at the huge silver-haired bruiser. “That son of a bitch is conspiring against us, and it’s why he’s doing all this bullshit.”
I feel Rebel’s eyes on me and suddenly, his voice echoes in my mind. ~Kiandra, orcs in this realm are very bad news. The Daybreak Prince and his family may be right about a bigger threat. ~
He’s not wrong, but I don’t want the surrounding people to know what he said.
“Luca Gemini is always up to something, and none of us are part of it, even Angelo and Damon. We have an invitation, but it was a mysterious one. No one has admitted to bringing us to the event yet, but we haven’t seen their parents yet, nor have the meetings happened. ”
Kit frowns, his brow crinkling. “How does this thing work? None of the guys seem familiar with it, but when we went to the Fae area and met Morgana’s group, they mentioned visiting Slade’s family. Maybe understanding why and what this thing is will help me put some pieces together.”
This time, Damon grins. “Good question, man. So, these meetings are mostly for the criminal organizations in Bay City and happen whenever one or more of the leaders call one. There’s enough time between when the mysterious invites arrive and the meeting for everyone to set up.
Often, there’s more than just crime lords attending because other supes—like the Society—need to keep their eyes on shit, too.
There’s a bunch of party stuff, like now, then the meeting happens.
It’s a few days each time—or that’s what I figured out when I had to dig up dirt before we came. ”
“Interesting,” Anton says as he scratches his chin. “Like in a human mafia movie, right, Kit Kat?”
I stifle a laugh as Kit gives the colorful demon a proud look.
He must be teaching them all about human culture and they’ve watched the Godfather or something.
“Something like that, yeah. There’s definitely supe mob here, plus motorcycle gangs, courts, demon families…
. all the ne’er-do-wells in one place. But Bay City is practically ruled by these groups and it actually works here. ”
The red and white-haired demon pushes his glasses up and finally speaks as he looks at me.
“If it’s true that the twins don’t support whatever scheme their parents have with our dickhead Headmaster, then why are you headed for the same private levels we are?
Aren’t you going to see the heads of the family now? ”
Ah, he’s the Damon of their group—the insanely intelligent, logical one. Bet he’s a gamer, too.
Angelo nods. “We are, but not because we want any part of their shit. There are threats against my mate, random attacks on our family, and a lot of weird things going on here. Tonight, we’ve learned—much like your caliphate, I suspect—that something much bigger is going on all across the realms. Something big enough to make me want to witness shit I’d prefer to never see again, so I can spy on my dad. ”
The Prince shudders, and the look on his face makes me wonder if he’s actually empathizing with my mate.
Man, demons are fucking weird with their kids and everything I’ve learned today makes me thankful that I am never procreating.
At least, that’s my stance for the moment and I don’t see it changing, no matter how hot my idiot mates are.
“If you’re so eager to find out, why were you standing around in this atrium when we arrived?” The dark-haired demon smirks at us and Kit swats him lightly.
“Because we have no idea how to breach this weird security panel,” I admit.
My guys all groan and I roll my eyes. “Look, dummies. I know it hurts your manly bits to say that to people, but if the twins have never seen these, and none of us know how to make the elevators move, we’ll stand here until we’re petrified. ”
That’s when our new friends, except for Kit, all smirk and shift into a half-demon form full of tails and horns.
I might have fucked up. Danger, Will Robinson.