Page 22 of Demon Sworn
Santa loses some of his badass standing when he starts to blush and turns to address the woman. “Joy, you’re—”
“In charge now. Right, Dad?”
He presses his lips together and doesn’t answer as the group of demons, all wearing hideously ugly Christmas sweaters, land in unison in front of us, touching down in the snow with a soft crunch. Their wings fold back simultaneously, with military precision, as they all eye us.
Beside me, I hear Zolroth snort at their sweaters. But when I elbow him, my materialism demon bites his tongue because we came here to ask a favor, not play fashion police.
The woman, a heart-stopping, gorgeous blonde woman, taps the shoulder of the demon who carried her, and he sets her down gently in the snow before moving to stand in front of her. But I watch her give himthe lookwhen he tries to shield her, and he backs away quickly, adjusting his glasses.
When he straightens up and looks at us for the first time, he freezes. “Raziel?” he asks, disbelief etched across his blue eyes. Fury follows a second later, turning his pale cheeks pink as he stomps around his pregnant mate towards us, claws extending from his fingertips.
Shit.
“Cal—” The beautiful woman tries to stop him, but Cal just gestures with a wave of his claws, and a big, red-haired demon in a kilt steps over to her and slides an arm around her, effectively keeping her still.
My entire focus is on him, this blond-haired, somewhat nerdy-looking demon that the devil said could help us find Adam. From the expression on Cal’s face, that looks about as likely as a honey badger befriending a snake. I am one hundred percent certain that he’s about to punch Raz. And that will lead to a fight, right here in Christmas Village, and surely put me and all of my descendants on the naughty list for centuries to come. And leave my brother stranded. Stolen. Forever.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.My heart turns my chest into a mosh pit while I try to think of a way to stop this but—par for the course—my panicked brain just short circuits.
To my amazement, a Christmas miracle occurs. Something that I would never in a million years expect. Raz drops to his knee and bows his head, his black wings flaring a bit as he says, “Cal, forgive me. I was wrong.”
What the what? My Raz is pulling a beta move? Apologizing? I stare down at the twisted ram’s horns jutting from Raz’s head and wonder if he’s been body-snatched like my parents. But no, that pull is still there, that desperate attraction between us. Surely I’d know if he wasn’t himself.
“Who has a cell phone? Is there service up here?” Van gives Raz a hard time as Zolroth whips out his phone and starts to record.
I smack Zolroth on the arm. “Stop.”
To my shock, Raz ignores them, only lifting his gaze to look at Cal. “I didn’t understand before, because I hadn’t met our Center then. I do now. You were right.”
A long silence follows before the pregnant woman interrupts. She wriggles away from the giant redheaded demon and steps forward. She holds out her hand, not to Raz or the guys, but to me.
“I’m Joy.”
I shake her hand numbly, not quite sure what’s going on. It takes me a second to even trip over my own name in response. “I’m, uh, Katrina.”
“You must be Raz’s Center.”
I nod and do a lame sideways gesture that encompasses all the guys.
“Right, and theirs too. Why don’t you come on inside? Your lips are turning blue. And I’ve got some cookies about to come out of the oven.”
“You’re just going to fooking invite them in?” The redheaded demon shakes his head. “After everything Raz did to us?”
Joy turns a stern, no-nonsense gaze onto her demon. “Do naughty kids ever turn nice?”
He scrunches his face, clearly unwilling to answer. A demon a bit shorter than him yawns and says, “All the time.”
Joy smiles over at him, this demon with a sleepy, surfer vibe. “Thank you, Bryn.”
Next to Bryn, another of her demons, the most beautiful one of all of them, one who might rival Van in the looks department, says sullenly, “People might change. Demons don’t.”
Joy gives a sigh that makes her shoulders sag. And then she turns to me. “I’m so sorry we have to do this, Katrina. But I’m going to need your help here. These demons are so pumped full of testosterone and bravado that they can’t think straight. Will you help me deflate them a bit?”
I nod, uncertain exactly what she’s getting at, but willing to do whatever it takes to secure Cal’s help.
“What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever seen your demons do for someone else? Something they might not want anyone else to know about?”
A picture pops instantly into my head. “Easy. They play tea party with my little brother, Adam, using my old tea set sometimes, and they’ll do all the voices, even for my old Barbies.”
