Page 103 of Demons & Damnation

With the click of his fingers he vanished into thin air, leaving the two red roses to drop to the floor. Almost a minute ticked by as they all stared at each other in silent shock.

All of a sudden, Lucifer reappeared, chuckling to himself. “Silly me. I got so caught up in all your family drama I forgot why I was even here.” He turned to look at Kyla and said, “Now, dear, given who your granddaddy is, I’ll give you a bit of leeway. You can come down to Hell when these two boys return. Well...” he looked at the roses on the floor “...if they don’t perish beforehand that is. If so, consider June twenty first your last day on dear old earth. I can’t wait to tell Abaddon who you’re hitched with. Them two—” he motioned his hand over to Azazel “—are like this,” he said, crossing his fingers with a mischievous grin on his face.

Kyla eyed the demon up for a second before deciding to try her luck. “What if you could have a trade?”

Lucifer quirked an eyebrow up. “A trade? I’m listening.”

Kyla looked over to the corner of the room where her two half-sisters were still quivering inside the tree. “You take those two instead of me.”

Lifting his nose in the air, as if trying to smell them, Lucifer motioned his hand at them. Like a curtain being dropped on stage, the vines fell away from the two sisters who were still huddled together, clutching onto each other for dear life.

“Yes,” he said. “I could be interested but only if I see them as beneficial to me in some way.” He roved over their bodies with his eyes several times, like a hungry lion deciding which part of the gazelle to go for. “They have their own abilities, I can smell it in their blood, although it’s somewhat dampened by that festering human DNA.” He struck a pose, tapping his index finger against his chin. Then his eyes lit up with a streak of red. He turned to Azazel and said, “I think they could have a use. What do you think, Zay Zay?”

Azazel scraped his teeth together as his jade green eyes speckled with black. “I think they could be very good additions.”

“Excellent,” Lucifer said, clapping his hands together and smiling at everyone. “It’s a done deal. Now I really must dash. Kyla, see you soon, sweetheart.”

With a further single clap of his hands, he vanished again, taking Kyla’s two half-sisters with him.

Chapter 42

“I think we all need a good cup of tea and a rest before we try to wade through what’s just happened,” Lily said. “And Kyla especially needs some time to process everything.”

Kyla nodded, the events of the past couple of hours running riot in her mind. “Can we reconvene tomorrow or something? I just want a hot bath, a pizza, and to think about nothing.”

“You can have whatever you want, Marmalade,” Malcolm said, running a hand up and down his granddaughter’s back. “Do you want to stay at ours tonight? So you feel safe?”

Kyla shook her head. “No, thank you. I want to be in my own space. Besides, the dog is at home.”

Sam frowned. “Dog? What dog?”

Kyla sighed. “Long story. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

Sam nodded. “Ok. Go home and get some rest.”

Kyla glanced across at Dylan. “Can you take me home please?”

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