Page 12 of Princess of Hell

“Miami. There’s a witch I have to see. Will you go with me?”

“As a pack, we travel together, eat together, fight together.”

“Do you have a car?” asked Drae from behind his teacup. Drae didn’t drink alcohol.

“Yes. I can give you guys a ride.”

“We have our bikes. Let us know where you want us to meet in Miami, and we’ll meet there. How does that sound?”

“I have a reservation at the Nightly Hotel in Miami. I’ll text and make reservations for you, too.”

“No need. We have an apartment in Miami.” I loved watching Silver do whatever she did. I was about to ask her something that made my heart beat like crazy. “Would you like to stay with us?”

“Oh.” Silver’s mouth turned into a small, perfect, pouty round O that I would have killed to kiss. “I’d rather stay at the hotel if you guys don’t mind. My offer to reserve rooms for you is part of the deal.”

“No, it’s cool,” I responded, hiding my disappointment.

“See you tomorrow evening in Miami. I’ll be going now. Ciao.”

Silver stood and left. It made me cringe. I was like a pup who wanted to run after her, not proper Alpha behavior at all. I sat again and sipped beer.

“She’s going to be fine, Boss. She’s a banging demon chick.”

“What’s your hunch?”

“This is going to be complicated.”

Four

Silver

I jumped behind the wheel and headed for Miami. Driving makes me happy. I love driving fast. It’s a thrill like nothing else, except flying on a dragon over the vast planes of the lower lands. Driving my brand-new C Klass Mercedes was very much like that, especially the way the shiver built up inside my spine and expanded over my entire body, creating heat between my legs.

I was to meet the guys at sunset on Charter Street. The witch I had to meet ran a small shop there. She was the real deal, born of the bloodline of the Fates and possessing the talent of foresight.

At the entrance of the store, she had several posters advertising yoga and other workshops. I read about yoga. Demons make fun of it. As I pushed the door open, the guys walked with me inside the store. The place smelled like herbs, old books, and dried animal carcasses.

“Namaste. Welcome, The Moon Goddess blesses your steps.”

A woman who smelled like the Fates stood in front of me behind a counter. She greeted me with her elbows angled and her palms pressed together as if in prayer. She was thin. Her hair was braided in those ugly dreadlocks that I felt the urge to cut off. She smelled like sage.

“Yes, thanks.Namasteto you, too.”

“How can the Goddess and I be of service? Are you looking for a love spell, a spell for fertility, or would you like something.…” She smiled toward Jacks. “Would you and your partner want something that helps spice things up in private?”

I glanced toward Jacks, who thumbed through a few weird books that had images of couples entwined. He could barely contain his laughter.

“I need a detection spell for an object stolen from Hell.” My eyes turned full black to let her see that I was a Demon.

The little witch smiled, her muddy blonde dreads looking like the feet of a giant spider that tried to catch a fly. Her eyes turned from pale green to grey. Even the whites turned to grey, but in the way watercolors spread on wet paper, slowly, like veins that connect and melt into one. The small woman started to look scary, and her face turned from a smile into a frozen expression. I recognize the Fates. They look neutral, as if nothing ever can phase them, neither the future nor the past.

“You are from Hell.” Her voice sounded eerie. Her lips barely moved as she said it. “Speak, Princess, but be ready to pay for what you ask.”

“Sure, I have money. Coins. Gold coins.”

The witch moved her head from side to side as if trying to take me in and see what I was about. “I don’t desire that. I want something else. I want energy as payment for my troubles. A strain of your hair.”

“What do you want with it?”

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