Page 87 of The Demigod

“No, don’t,” she said when he grabbed her. “I’m covered in blood. And, I think, entrails.”

“What, exactly, are entrails?” Nova, Drex’s woman—the former vampire thrall—asked.

“The innermost parts of an animal or human,” Charlotte supplied.

“In other words, guts,” Jo said. “Mostly.”

“Exactly,” Dale agreed. “Their guts are almost human-like. But their brains are literally the size of a peach pit,” she said with a pointed look at Lucy.

“Can’t exactly have mindless yes-men if they have brains of their own, now, can you?”

“Um…” Dale said, waving around at the demons gathered in the library.

“Well, that’s different,” Lucy insisted.

“Care to elaborate?” Dale asked.

“Well, how were they going to come up with new, interesting ways to torture the worthy if they didn’t have brains of their own? Besides, they were supposed to stay deep enough to never be freed.”

“Guilty,” Lenore said with a grimace.

“Well, to be fair, you only freed me and my brother,” Daemon said. “We still have no idea how everyone else got here.”

“Probably that meddling Hades,” Lucy said under his breath.

Everyone in the room shared a secret smile.

It turned out Daemon was right; Lucy’s inferiority complex about Hades taking over Hell was kind of endearing.

“So what does everyone think of this Aggy witch?” Jo asked. “Do you think her plan stands a chance?”

“If she was able to hold off all those gods by herself, I think she has a good chance,” Lenore said. “It will depend on if whatever she uses to sustain her powers will be in abundance or not.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, all magic comes from somewhere,” Lenore explained. “My coven, we took from the earth and one another. Arick, he pulls from his plants.”

“Wait, that’s why he has so many of them?” Jo asked.

“Yes. Arick is incredibly powerful in and of himself, but he has to draw from the world to recharge himself. So he keeps the world inside his house.”

“That’s why they looked so much like they were fading,” I said.

“They did?” Lenore asked, looking concerned.

“We can drop off more plants, right?” Jo asked, looking at Ace. “To make sure he has all the power he needs.”

“We’d probably be rescuing them from certain death at the home improvement warehouses anyway,” Nova piped in.

“So… girls’ trip?” Jo suggested.

Which, hilariously, caused a chorus of demonic growls from around the room.

The girls, equally amused, decided to pile on.

“Oh, what are you grumbling about?” Jo asked, barely holding back a smile. “We’ve got a witch, a demonslayer, and a demigod. No one would stand a chance against us.”

“Not fuckin’ happening,” Drew snarled.

---