Page 31 of Shadows of the Soul

I rolled my eyes. He had a soft spot for one thing alone, his own agenda. I happened to fit it. If I stayed, I’d be putting everyone I love in danger. I rubbed my temples. “I need to run.”

“I can hide you.” Uh, huh, sure. Satan says, ‘come hide in my lair, I’ll keep you safe’. He must think I’m an idiot.

The surrounding bubble contracted as magic sizzled in the air. And things were about to get a whole lot worse, because while Lucifer had been keeping everyone from hearing us, he’d also cut off my link to Hudson.

“More secrets, Cora? Ah, your shifter male approaches.”

Lucifer’s glacial eyes flared red for a split second. The door bursts open, and a prehistoric nightmare thundered in. Aunt Dayna shot to her feet and raised her hands. The house flared to life, bolstering her magic as she slammed air into Lucifer. He sailed out of his chair, his back hitting the wall with a thump. Hudson’s jaws snapped in his direction, going for Lucifer’s throat.

“No,” I roared, launching myself between Lucifer and Hudson.

Move, he shouted in my mind. I shook my head just as Lucifer’s lackeys came running into the room, and they’d brought reinforcements. A group of six men covered in black robes raised their arms and chanted in Latin. Not good. I grabbed Dayna’s hand and yanked on Hudson’s tail to get his attention.

“We need to leave now.”

Dayna pulled me toward the door.

Why?Hudson’s gravelly voice echoed in my mind.

“Because in thirty seconds this entire house is about to move dimensions, having a new zip code in Hell.”

He threatened you, and I can rip off their heads in half that time. Problem solved.

“But I’m okay. Come on, big boy, you should know me better than that. The King of Hell isn’t enough to tear me away from you,” I shouted.

Hudson grunted and ran after me and Dayna as we fled through the door. Dave’s SUV skidded to a halt outside the house. I threw the door open, stuffed Dayna in the front passenger seat, then dived into the rear. Hudson changed mid leap and slammed the door closed as he slid in beside me.

“Drive!” Hudson growled. I glanced out the rear window as we sped away. Lucifer stood on the porch, glancing between me and Hudson as a slow smile tipped his lips up. Dammit, me and my big mouth.

The house hummed with power, and an explosion spun the car 360 degrees. Dave righted his course and stuck his foot down. The house lit up from within, then folded in on itself, hopping from our dimension to Lucifer’s.

“It will be back,” Dayna called out from the front.

“The demon?” Dave asked.

She turned to face him. “No, the house, silly, it gets homesick without me.”

“Somehow, I’m finding these conversations less and less weird.”

I chuckled. “You’ve been hanging out with me too long, Dave.”

“Still fucking weird,” Hudson ground out as he hit me with his hard alpha stare and pushed the next thoughts into my mind.I’m waiting for you to explain why you protected Lucifer fucking Morningstar.

Get comfy, Hudson, because that’s one secret I’m not ready to share with you.

You are making it impossible.

I warned you, you said you’d be patient. Breaking your promise already?

That was before.

Before what?

Before you sat and had a conversation with the devil like you were old friends, before you stepped between us and protected the most evil being known to humanity.

The devil isn’t evil. He’s complicated. The souls he’s responsible for are evil. Do you think God would put someone in charge of Hell who was malevolent? Lucifer made a mistake he’s being punished for, but remember, he is still an angel.

And now you sympathize with the devil. I feel like I don’t know you at all. Your secrets run so deep they make it impossible to protect you—even from yourself.

---