Chapter 17 Hidden Machinations
Hidden Machinations
ROGUE
The journey further into ‘level nine’ isn’t particularly vomit-worthy, but it’s no Sunday in the park with George, either.
Demons are definitely loose regarding their boundaries for what they’ll enjoy in public, and I spend quite a bit of time just ignoring the things I don’t want to see.
I’m not judging anyone; I just have no desire to watch the masses get their freak on, whether it’s fighting, fucking, feeding, or punishing.
The appeal of voyeurism for me is about the people I want to watch, not all people.
The guys seem similarly inclined, though by virtue of being dudes I catch them peeking sometimes.
Luckily for them, I’m not worried about idle peep shows as we walk past the ‘shows’.
It means nothing, and I wouldn’t want them to ask me to pretend I don’t have eyes in the future.
It feels like insecurity, and I’m a lot of things, but insecure about my appearance isn’t one of them.
My little internal traumas have to do with abandonment and betrayal, not comparing myself to other supes and humans.
“Whacha thinking about, Wheels?” Archie asks. His hand lands on my arm and I look up at the easy going shifter fondly. “You had that little wrinkle between your brows that you get when you’re really focusing.”
Shaking my head at how well he knows me, I chuckle.
“Just random shit, Arch. This is a visual buffet of so many vices that I can’t help but think it’d be difficult to completely ignore it, even if you want to.
I don’t know if that’s the point, or if it’s just that this is bacchanal for the Gemini mob and their guests.
I feel like my Guardian impulses are going haywire inside every time I see something that’s outside of the lines, and I have to squash it so I don’t draw attention. ”
He blinks, considering it for a moment, then replies, “Does that happen everywhere you go?”
“Hmmm. No, not all the time. I suppose knowing the beings here are probably ‘bad guys’ makes that more intense. Though, I can’t truthfully say if they really are or if I just assume it based on the company they keep.
” My lips twist and I give him a rueful look.
“Species-based assumptions are probably not great, huh? I mean, that Prince and his group seemed okay.”
Angelo snorts and shakes his head. “You cannot adopt the Prince of Hell and his caliphate because you like the little one, Princess. I’m pretty sure we’re on the money with our assessment of them, but their parents are terrible, and we don’t know how much like them the children are.
Of course, the current royalty isn’t even close to as bad as Luca and his people would be. So that’s a complication.”
I frown. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been so glad I don’t remember nor have ties to Faerie. Their shit is probably as fucked up as Hell’s shit. Right?”
Javi, Rebel, and Damon look at me as if I’ve lost my mind, but the elder twin is the one who answers, “It is, and that’s why we’re willing to get to know the gargoyle lady’s group, too.
If Hell’s royal court is an eleven on the crazy scale, the people waiting in the wings to conquer the four Fae courts are about twenty.
Deities are above that, by the way. A rebellion that involves groups from all the realms and has access to all their powers is something we do not want to experience.
It could fuck up the universe entirely, depending on what their goals are. ”
“Anggg,” I whine as I bump his shoulder with mine.
“We’re in enough trouble trying to work out what the damn criminals in Bay City are doing.
Taking it global is more than I can handle at the moment, especially since I’d really like to avoid telling this to the Councils.
They overreact so damn hard when anything gets on their radar. ”
“They do,” Rebel adds as he scratches his chin. “They’ve always been sure that some big celestial nonsense is going to happen. It’s why they track, develop, and monitor lost ones, and why they’ve all got treaties with the leaders of the other realms.”
“We may have to visit other realms or places in this one if this is true,” I murmur. “The activity around Morgana’s school and nearby, plus whatever the fuck is going on in Hell may need firsthand experience to figure out if we’re all right.”
Javier glares at me, his expression pinched. “If you say we have to go to Faerie, I’m going to stab myself with a pen. They have such ridiculous rules and customs, dragonfly. I don’t think you realize how hard it will be to navigate, especially if they think you should already know.”
“Guys.” We all turn to look at Damon, stopping when he does. He’s looking at a large, ornate door a lot like the one we came in after the elevator ride. “Do we want to know what’s in there?”
No. Yes. No. Yes. Oh fuck, I don’t know, but I’m ready to jump out of my skin.
“Well, the vibes from it are awful,” Reb remarks. “So I suppose we have to decide if that could be something we need to know about or just want to avoid.”
Angelo tilts his head, and I have to step back as he shifts to let his horns and tail out.
This isn’t the full monty , but I think he wants to use his demon side to test the damn thing before we open it.
“It’s not my parents,” he murmurs as his eyes go dark.
“But it is full of powerful demons—ones more powerful than Luca has in his gang of goons. I think he’s hiding people for the secret meeting there. ”
“If we open the door, they’ll see us,” I say, uncertainty making my voice waver. “I don’t know if blowing our cover is a good idea. Are they… can you sense what they’re doing?”
This time, Damon shifts into half-demon form, and I wait as he makes a disgusted face. “Nothing you want to know about—trust me. I’m not happy I know now, Sparkles. It’s… well, it’s gross and pretty old demon stuff. We should move on.”
I consider asking him to elaborate—after all, I’m not a child—but the expression on D’s face makes me change my mind.
He’s actually grossed out and I don’t think I want to know what makes a demon that lived in Hell for that long before moving up here squicked out.
Sometimes, you can just let shit go. “Okay. Then we should keep going, right?”
The faster we find Luca, the faster we can get the fuck out of Gemini territory and go to the main meeting site.
“Dude, what the actual fuck did your asshole father do to build this place?”
I laugh as Archie gripes at the twins. We’ve been touring the massive level for what feels like hours, though I bet it’s been less than one.
He’s not wrong that it’s insanely vast and filled to the brim with so many demons and guests that seeing their perversions has gotten yawn-worthy.
I’m barely noticing asses, dicks, or boobs, much less the equipment some are using.
I even missed a crowded table of the horned fuckwits feasting on a dead dragon shifter, and that’s hard not to notice.
“Maybe he’s not even here,” I mutter as I cast my gaze around another room of vices. “Maybe the secret meeting isn’t at the end; maybe it’s now.”
Angelo and Damon stop again, turning to look at me like I’ve revealed the resting place of Jimmy Hoffa.
The younger demon pulls his phone out, his fingers flying over it without a word, and his twin groans as he looks at the ceiling.
“Seriously?! This is so much sneakier than our parents usually are. I mean, they’re demons, but they’re so fucking lazy, man.
Someone else had to come up with that plan if you’re right, Princess. ”
“Would they listen to anyone else?” Rebel snarks. “I’ve never known your dad to take anyone’s counsel in the past. He’d argue the sky is purple if someone said it’s blue, just out of spite.”
“Damn it, how did we not think of this earlier?” Archie and Javi flank me as I frown, angry with myself for not suggesting it sooner. I’m usually better at spinning this stuff, but all the surprises we’ve encountered have me off my game. “I feel like an idiot.”
“Then who the fuck are in the closed door rooms? We only analyzed the first one, but there were ten. What do you think Luca and Lola are hiding in them, if not demons who are attending the meeting?”
Angelo shrugs and looks at Javi helplessly.
“I don’t know. This gambit is so not like him and our mother.
They love being splashy and inappropriate in public.
Neither has any shame or moral compass, so flaunting their kinks and shit makes them giddy.
Not being down here in the worst of the worst has to be killing them. ”
“I think I’ve figured out the codes.”
Rebel walks over to Damon, peering over his shoulder. “Are you on the human dark net?”
“Yeah. There are a lot of demon boards there. It helps the crossroad guys strike deals and the vengeance folks like Ang find easy customers. There are more, but since human criminals and supes also hang out there, demons do a brisk business from the non-supe internet. I think I’ve found codes in some forums that reference ‘the circus’, which I’m pretty sure is this Apalachin.
I also found references to the clowns versus the ringmasters—I think the demons are supposed to be the ringmasters, or maybe the rebel groups… ”
Son of a bitch. Now we’re going to have to really dig into this global thing.
“Okay, little D. So where is their tent, so to speak?” Archie asks as he looks around. “Is there a portal or some kind of Hansel & Gretel thing or…?”
“I’m still looking,” the younger demon says as he stares at the screen, his finger flicking the scroll as he reads quickly. “I haven’t figured it out yet.”
“Then we should hang here until you—”
“Well, looky, looky, who’s playing hooky?”
My body tenses up at the voice and I have to count to fifty in my head slowly before I turn to face the person who said it.
When I do, I see Mina dressed head to toe in tiny leather straps connected by silver rings.
There’s more of her on display than I’ve ever wanted to see, and that’s after sharing a locker room with her for years.
Oddly, despite her awkward looking outfit, I’m sure someone else chose, she’s not wearing an ounce of her previous glam, nor is her hair coiffed.
She looks like she rolled out of bed and donned a silly BDSM suit to fit in, and didn’t consider for a moment what looking serious at an important event required.
It’s really off-putting, and I don’t mean because she made her own choices—I mean that because it makes her stand out as not belonging even more than her ill-fitting cosplay.
“Hello, Mina.” My eyes scan over the other Sickos, most of whom have pretty similar quirks that identify them as supes who normally wouldn’t run in this crowd, but want to look like they do. When I hit Winnie, my lips curl into a sneer and I sniff like I’ve run into something rotten. “Winnifred.”
Mina wraps her arms around Winnie, grinning as she cuddles in. “Doesn’t she look divine? I have no idea why I never noticed this gorgeous woman before, but as soon as I did, I scooped her up. And her skills? Top. Notch.”
Archie, Javi, and Angelo come up behind me, and their energy is full of fury.
I can sense their supe sides straining against them, so I hold up my hand to prevent them from causing a worse scene.
I’d love to get even with these bitches for their cowardly, sneaky attack at the club, but this isn’t the venue for it.
Fighting with them rather than finding Luca is a distraction I have no intention of indulging.
I don’t even know if that’s why they’re here taunting me—something that’s incredibly possible.