Page 67 of Demon Loved
This place is so pretty, so adorable, so edible. Gah… Heaven’s palace is different from the gardens. There, I’m fascinated. Here… I just want to cuddle it and squeeze it and hold it forever…which is probably God’s exact intention.
Who likes to hurt things that are adorable? I bet Heaven is deliberately designed to tickle that cute snuggle instinct inside of us, to tap us like maple trees and make us bleed sticky, sappy, syrupy feelings all over the place.
Damn.
That’s pretty manipulative.
Or that’s my impression now at least. If I’d dreamed about this place and not been attempting a break in, I might think differently.
As it stands, my eyes are on the main door of the castle, which appears to be a stereotypical arch in the keep. But instead of a wooden door, there’s nothing. Just an opening.
“I think he’s taking the open-door policy thing a little too literally,” I snark up to Raz.
He doesn’t follow, just crooks a brow, because for once, my thoughts didn’t all spill out my lips.
In any case, my nightmare demon holds a finger to his lips, telling me to be quiet. I obey and let my eyes scan the clouds below.
Angels walk and fly here and there. A lot of them head away from the castle. Towards what, I’m not sure, but I’m thrilled they’re not closer. Their feathered wings blend with the floor of clouds that seems to be the norm for the divine realm.
I see souls drifting back and forth as well, some lining up near one of the side entrances to the castle. How do I know they’re souls? Well, it’s a guess. But they aren’t solid like the angels. They look more like ghosts, if ghosts were a transparent gold.
“What do you think they’re doing?” I ask Raz, pointing down at them.
“Signing away their eternity,” Raz says with a snort. “They aren’t an issue. Look, Van’s waving us over.”
We dart out of our spot towards Van, who’s hovering behind one of the castle turrets. I’m tempted to lean out of Raz’s arms to see if it’s as soft as it appears. But I don’t. Just in case. What if the castle has like…car alarms?
Shut up.
It’s a magic castle in a divine realm. It could totally have alarms.
I shake off that thought when Van points at a window. There is no windowpane. Instead, tiny droplets of water are suspended there in the arch. They sparkle happily until Van’s hand slices through them and they’re sent flying in every direction.
Raz whispers in my ear, “You stay with me. No running off.”
I nod solemnly, knowing that one wrong move on my part, and Raz will snatch me and fly away, caring more about my safety than his own. But we really, really need this information. We have to find out what angel flock is after my guys.
Van and Kastros enter first and give a thumbs up.
Raz passes me through the window to Kastros, who smiles as he takes my hand as my feet touch down on a feather-soft cloud landing that breaks up a massive, winding stairwell.
My giant demon’s smile only lasts half a second before he presses us both into the cloud wall, which is as soft and bouncy as a mattress, so that the others can sneak in.
“No alarms. No hellhounds? No booby traps?” Raz scoffs. “Pathetic.”
But as he expresses his negative thoughts out loud, a black cloud appears above him.
“Hush!” I whisper-yell through my teeth, horrified that something awful is going to come out of that cloud.
Raz follows my gaze and looks up. “Huh.”
Akor pokes the cloud, which immediately sends a nasty miniature lightning bolt shooting out at him. He barely jumps out of the way before the bolt hits the floor, creating a singed spot on the lavender steps.
“Okay, so now we know. Heaven rule number one—stay positive!” I give a fake grin and a jazz hand—only one, because Kastros won’t let go of the other.
Akor starts to sing, “Keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side, keep on the sunny side of life…” in a honky-tonk voice.
I watch Raz grit his teeth and struggle not to spit fire at Akor. Kastros breaks up the tension by taking the lead and brushing between them with me to head down the stairs. He goes down two and then turns back, making me stand on the step in front of him. His arms extend on either side, and he lets me watch his hands as he uses demon signs to communicate with them.
