Page 58 of The Misfit Mage and His Devilish Desires

“Part of why I’m sticking around.” Corson turned back with a smirk. “I might not be able to strike down a devil, but I can most certainly enjoy the show. Then I’ll go off and be a thorn in their sides.”

“Meaning?” I asked.

“Just do your part and make sure you two toss those keys back into Hell once you’re home sweet home and all that jizz.”

“Jazz,” I corrected.

“Whatever.” Corson shrugged. “Liked my saying better.”

“Wait. Why do we have to toss the Hell key?”

“Hell key.” Corson snickered. “Silly name, but it’s for a silly tool, so suppose it evens out.” He rocked his head side to side, hair swaying as he contemplated. “Lilith is a fool but always one with a plan to outwit any man. Those keys are a piece of her without expressly being a piece of her. Meaning, when fished out across the universe, it forces the door slightly ajar to her Hell.”

Bez huffed. “Meaning, even if Beelzebub shredded the bulk of her essence, the door wouldn’t close.”

“Precisely. Mommy is a paranoid type, so while you two head off, I’m gonna enjoy the show, then go pillage and plunder those keys across the various dimensions she’s tucked them away.” Corson waggled his eyebrows. “This’ll ensure she doesn’t get a backup place.”

“I’d ask how, but I truly don’t care.” Bez pulled in the opposite direction. “May your devil’s death provide entertainment and yours be swift.”

“Oblivion hoping.” Corson cackled; lightning above crackled; stars wailed; essence exploded; the world crumbled.

Bez and I stepped forward, falling through the billion layers of dimensional webbing that were met with an agonizing secondthat lasted ten lifetimes. Then it all fell away, and Hell vanished as the city of home returned.

A night sky hidden by the bright lights of the city.

The reality of the world began to set in. The actual world, not some fabricated setting of a muted dimension or a war-torn realm where two beings collided with such ferocity even armies of millions couldn’t create such a degree of devastation.

Once I’d gained my bearings, Bez snatched the energy pulsating within me and gathered it to the core of my chest before ripping out the blaze meant to carry us between worlds. He smothered the flames Lilith offered between his hands and then tossed them into the abyss.

“Where’d you send them?”

“The cracks between worlds.” He brushed the soot off his palms. “Eventually, they’ll find their way back to Lilith’s realm per their default purpose.”

“So, it’s really done then?”

“Not quite.” Bez glared.

With two devils clashing a world away, it was imperative we made every second count. Otherwise, that war might spill over into our dimension.

We flew across the city to Mora and Kell’s place. Bez flew. Despite my wings and other Diabolic features being actively present since returning from Hell, without the presence of a threat, it seemed my extensions didn’t cooperate. My cherub wings were about as useful as a novelty set. And while I could’ve used an incantation to create a quick broom to fly on, I wouldn’t move half as fast as Bez on my best day.

Bez didn’t even contend with the formality of security protocols, zipping over the front gates while I weaved together a quick incantation to counter any of the wards attuned to Diabolic threats. Though despite the obvious increase in defensive measures lining Mora’s estate, none of it seemed geared toward Diabolics. Odd. Usually, she kept her protective spells crafted by Kell more discreetly placed. Also, while Mora set precautions for anyone, mortal, Mythic, or Diabolic, I expected Corson’s recent infiltration to lead to more demon-resistant traps.

“I dare you.” Bez barred his teeth to the guards who circled us once he landed at the front door.

The door swung open, and Mora greeted us dressed in some tiny, bubbly blonde with a face covered in chocolate sauce and fingers coated in Cheeto dust. I gagged at the junk food wafting from her pores like she’d literally swam through a pool of greasy, fried snacks.

I made a face Mora clearly noticed.

“It’s a cheat day.” She sucked on her orange fingers one by one, slowly pulling them out of her mouth with a loud pop in this bizarre food porn kind of way that I imagined must’ve had a huge audience among Diabolics and their obsession with eating.

“Your devil takeover kicking in again?” Bez asked, caressing my face with his gray hand and brushing his thumb near my eyes.

The touch made me more aware of the veins around my face, the ones that must’ve bulged at my enhanced senses. Senses that allowed me to smell every meal Mora had binged recently. But this wasn’t a takeover. Or so I thought until my eyes fluttered ever so in an annoying, quick way that almost made my lashes visible before another room came into view.

I’d never adjust to seeing two things at the same time, layered over each other. Faded images of books, not quitesilhouettes but lacking full depth, lined my sight as I stared inside Mora’s home.

Tony skittered across the collection of tomes, analyzing various spells. He had stacks already annotated more meticulously than mine and piles of discarded texts that didn’t serve a purpose to his goal.

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