Page 48 of Their Promise

“If I didn’t think it was, I would have had him follow us.”

With no comeback to that, I sat silently.

We drove out of the garage and into the city.

“Where are we going?” Honestly, I would eat anything, so I wasn’t worried, but I was curious.

“I have a reservation for us at a new place. The chef and owner are former friends of Dad’s and I saved their son from a demon attack.”

“How many people have you saved?” I asked.

He parked and said, “I don’t keep track of how many people I save. That’s not the kind of person I am, you should know that.”

I shrugged. “We haven’t talked in several years. I’m not certain what kind of man you are anymore.”

“Hm,” he said as he climbed out and walked around to open my door. Stepping out, he whispered in my ear, “Then I’ll just have to prove what kind of man I am to you.”

“That’s what these dates are for, Trey. So, prove to me that you’re the best option.” With a wink, I walked by him and into the restaurant’s front door.

The food was delicious, but we didn’t get much time to talk since the owner and chef spent most of our time talking to Trey. My necklace had warmed a moment and then stopped and with no portal opening, I wondered if the other times had truly been coincidental or not.

We exited the restaurant, but the sound of screams had us running away from our car and to the park across the street.

The necklace warmed more and my feet moved on their own, towards something drawing me.

A large portal with two hellhounds and two bull-headed demons standing in front of it was open in the center of the park.

People surrounded it from fifty feet away, staring at the creatures who looked frozen if you didn’t notice their chests moving as they breathed. They weren’t even looking around, just … standing.

“Ever seen this before?” I asked Trey as we joined the onlookers.

“No,” he replied and dialed someone. “Portal on my location. Two bulls and two hounds. Something’s off, hurry.” He put his phone away and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. “No rest for the wicked, eh?”

Walking forward slowly, I kept my hands at my sides, open so they could see I was unarmed. “Hello?” I called out.

The demon creatures all turned to look at me, eyes focused on me immediately.

People backed away quickly once the creatures moved.

“Lily!” Trey snapped. “Stay back.”

“Let’s do one of our tests,” I whispered back. Smiling at the demon creatures I asked, “Can you speak? My name is Lily. Do you have names?”

The creatures moved forward, headed towards me, but didn’t make any noise in any attempt to speak.

I backed up a step and held my hand up. “Stop.”

They stopped.

“Uh …” Trey whispered.

Well, they understood our speech at least.

“Go back through the portal,” I ordered.

The two hellhounds turned and went back through the portal, but the bulls stayed.

“How is she commanding them?” an onlooker asked.

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