Chapter 12 Way Down We Go
Way Down We Go
DAMON
When the royal caliphate shifts into their demon forms, Angelo and I tense up.
We don’t have time to protest, though, because the guy Rogue is making friends with whirls around with a pinched look on his face.
He glares at most of them, and when I look closer, his hands are clenched in fists at his side that seem to tremble a little.
I don’t get why he looks so mad, but several of the demons look sheepish as fuck once Kit is facing them.
Something weird is going on and I have no idea what the fuck it is.
“Un. Necessary,” the guy grits out, and I grin a little as everyone but the Prince dip their chins in shame. “Salem and Oriel could have done… whatever the fuck this is.”
The Prince’s eyes narrow at him, fury flashing in his gaze until the enormous grey and white beefcake bares his teeth at him in warning.
They stop paying attention to the little guy as they have a silent standoff, and I worry that we’re going to see a demon duel if the tension doesn’t break soon.
This definitely isn’t what I expected when these dudes showed up, and I’m curious as hell about what’s causing it.
“Put them away, boys,” Rogue says as she smirks. “Whatever dramatic effect you wanted to have is ruined because somehow, you’ve pissed off the only one of you I actually like. Kit, are you okay?”
A heavy sigh punctuates his movement as the kid turns around, wrinkling his nose. “I’m okay. Thank you for asking, Rogue. They’re just, uh, breaking a promise about holding their tempers while we’re up here.”
He’s a fucking horrible liar, but I don’t think we need to call him out on it.
“Pretty big ask for demons like them,” I say as I jerk my head toward his group. “But I don’t blame you for being frustrated. Sometimes, we have family members who can’t control their tempers, too.”
Kit’s posture relaxes a bit as I joke, and I realize that he’s struggling a bit.
As I observe him, the telltale signs of anxiety become apparent, and I get why his aura is so spiky.
The guy must really have it bad, too, because the silence of his caliphate as the leaders stare at one another angrily is ramping up his pulse.
I’m about to give humor another try when the golden scaled demon that Kit called Xerxes steps forward. “The testosterone in here is practically choking me to death.”
The demon has a long, thick tail like a serpent, which makes me think they’re reptilian in their other form.
Everything about them is beautiful and alluring, including the lithe, muscled frame and curved fangs.
Xerxes has emerald slitted eyes that confirm my snake theory and two long, curling horns that almost look like Rapunzel tresses.
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a demon who looks quite so…
gorgeous and statuesque. They have to be from the lust line; there’s no other explanation.
“Boys will be boys, no matter what the species,” Rogue mutters in annoyance. “Since you’re not keen on the display, how about showing us why you all changed and ticked off my new friend?”
Kit’s eyes widen, and he practically beams at our girl. “Really? That’s cool as hell.”
Does this kid not have any actual friends at Discordia?
I shudder at the thought of being down there again with no one to talk to besides this group of royal assholes. That would suck a lot. “Our mate is a loyal friend, Kit. If she says it, she means it. She took us and we had some… making up to do for our reticence.”
The black and white demon looks at me curiously. “That’s interesting. See, KK? She let them grovel a bit to make up for their bullshit. Everyone is redeemable.”
“I think not, Salem.” The kid snorts and I don’t miss his eyes cutting to the proud Prince as he and his general square off still. “Some people can’t get their head out of their ass because their fucking horns are too big to remove it.”
Angelo bursts into laughter and before long, Archie and Javi join in. My lips quirk as Rogue gives Reb a pointed look, and he rolls his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. My twin mutters, “Yeah, we have one of those, too, man.”
The snickers spread to the demons, and it finally gets the attention of the two big guys glaring at one another.
The gray one gives Angelo a sharp toothed grin and I tilt my head as I try to work out what he might be.
Kit turns and moves closer, laying a hand on the enormous bicep of the second-in-command, which makes him immediately look down.
“Hey, big guy. I’m okay. Like X said, we should show them whatever you guys know about the system so we can all get out of this somewhat dangerous fishbowl we’re crammed into.”
“Good point, Kit Kat,” the feathered demon says as he nods. “This is pretty strategically bad for everyone. Fish in a barrel, right?”
Rebel blinks and groans. “For fuck’s sake. I should have thought of that.”
“Okay, boys. Everyone was distracted and there’s too much dick waving going on for anyone to be logical except maybe Kit, the pretty demon, and me. Let’s fix that instead of moaning about it, yeah?” Rogue winks at the small guy and he gives her that happy grin again.
She’s really making this kid feel accepted, and it’s more diplomatic than I’ve ever seen her be.
“Right. So I guess you don’t recognize these because they’re part of the newer security systems below,” the golden demon says as they approach one of the panels.
“It’s surprising that your father would install them here—except we think he’s in cahoots with Darkstar.
” Xerxes beckons the dark feathered demon, and the guy walks over, bending to insert one of his horns in the soft spot on the security panel.
I blink, watching the Prince and the small, fire-colored demon next to him do the same with the other two panels. The doors to each elevator open and Angelo smacks his forehead as he curses under his breath. “Horns and tails work… Fuck, I feel stupid.”
The Prince smirks, removing his horn and letting his doors close.
“As well you should, Gemini. You and your brother are far too removed from the culture at home. It will make your lives infinitely more difficult if what we all believe is true. You’ll be able to fight Luca, but not his allies, and we all need to be prepared for both surface and underworld battles. ”
“Jasper is correct,” the gray demon says as he cracks his neck loudly. “You must learn more about your true home.”
“Uh, not to be a jerk, but you guys are in the same situation in reverse,” Kit interrupts. “I can only do so much, you know. I have shit to learn, too.”
This guy isn’t afraid of anything and I kinda dig it. No wonder Rogue likes him.
“You know, I’ve always wondered why you two never went back there, especially because you went through school again up here with us…
.” Archie scratches his chin and I have to smile.
He’s not dumb in the slightest, but he often asks things that are so blunt that people assume he is because of how he looks.
Angelo sighs. “That is a question that requires a lot more time than we have here, Archer. We’ll discuss it later, but suffice to say that maintaining appearances based on what age we appear to be was important on the surface.”
The spunky guy blinks, then nods. “Actually, that makes perfect sense to me. Humans are really focused on how old people look. I’d assume vamps have to move around a lot, too, so they don’t get caught out.”
“Exactly,” I say as I shoot a finger gun at him with a wink. “Plus, we like it up here and Luca hates it down there. Thus, this sus alliance with the old fuckwit who runs your school, I’d bet.”
The quiet rainbow demon clears his throat, waiting until we all look at him before he speaks. “Not to interrupt the bonding, but the previous statements about being sitting ducks were right. Yet we’re all still standing here. Perhaps we should decide which level we’re going to and… go?”
Rogue looks at Angelo and me for a moment before she replies, “I’d guess we need to head straight down to nine, right? That’s where the Uber bad guys are, I’d guess.”
Jasper nods, then looks at the big guy. “Do you think that’s wise? I’m not sure my father would allow anyone to head directly to the highest security zone of his strongholds unless they passed magical tests embedded in his wards. If we do that, we’re likely to be identified immediately, right?”
“I believe that to be the case, Prince.”
I think about their supposition for a second, then I look at my twin. “We won’t seem suspicious if we head straight down. I’m sure Luca and Lola know we were invited. It won’t set off alarms if we show up in the shudder zone.”
“Maybe that’s the best way to handle it, then?
” Kit pipes up. “If we start in the middle and work our way down, it might not catch the guys’ presence.
You guys can pass go and collect two hundred dollars, gathering whatever info you can find as you go.
Just don’t call attention to us if we get down there. ”
The kid is smart and by the way those demons are watching him, even the reluctant royal, they’re all halfway to falling for him. It’s kind of amusing.
I wonder briefly if we all looked like that following Rogue around and realize that we almost certainly did.
It makes me grin, and she arches a brow at me.
“No worries, Sparkles. I’m pretty sure your new friend is right.
But you should exchange information with him so we can keep in contact later.
I assume that’s what they did when they met the group from the Southern college. ”
The snort Kit lets out is louder than he expected and he turns bright red. “Um, sorry. Yeah, Jasper and Slash got their info because it was all about royal dick waving. But I’m happy to exchange with Rogue this time. I don’t have weird protocols about contacting me, either.”
“I bet Morgana loved that shit,” Rogue says with a smug grin. “She definitely seems like she’d enjoy being talked around as princes and their guards flap their yaps.”
“Not at all,” Kit says with a mischievous expression. “I like her a lot, too. When the universe isn’t being threatened, it might be nice to hang out like normal people.”
Rebel’s eyes narrow, but our girl shakes her head at him quickly. She leans in, whispering in a stage voice, “Don’t mind him. He thinks with the little one before the big one way more often than necessary. That sounds fab, and I’m sure the gargoyle would agree.”
“Now that we’ve settled your party date,” the prince drawls sarcastically as he rolls his eyes, “…Salem, deal with the switch for the level they want to start on.”
Angelo thinks for a moment, communicating with me wordlessly before he says, “We’ll go to nine. The theory seems correct, and I’d like to get this bullshit with our parents over.”
The black and white demon moves away from Kit reluctantly, using a horn to activate the elevator at the back of the vestibule for us.
As we file over to go in, the guy leans in to murmur.
“Good luck, dude. Be careful… I’d hate for Kit Kat’s new friend to disappear.
He needs friends that aren’t us, too. It’s good for him. ”
Man, this one is definitely head over heels; I almost look forward to hearing about whatever this eight person thing is from our girl.