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“My hero,” Moni yells, and wraps her arms around her mate.
* * *
Walking into the dining room, Reaper runs over to the bowls, yes, bowls of food sitting out for him. I don’t recognize the meat that’s overflowing in his bowls, but it looks to be a combination of cooked and raw meat. Um, could that be parts of the demons they just cleaned the house of? It’s probably best that I don’t guess at that when I’m about to eat my own meal.
There’s covered plates set out on the table and a notecard sitting in front of Levi’s seat. Picking up the card, Levi proceeds to read it.
“Well, it looks like it’s just us for dinner, but we’ll meet with the others in the parlor afterward,” he says before taking his seat. Tormeth walks out from the kitchen and sets down a few pitchers of drinks and turns to leave without saying a word as we all sit.
“So they didn’t completely clean house?” Moni questions, giving the Demon a curious look.
He turns and sneers in her direction. “What makes you think they didn’t?” His tone comes off challenging.
“I—I didn’t…” Moni stumbles over her words as her barks turns pink.
“Hey!” JP calls out. “She didn’t mean anything by it. She was just shocked that after the bloodbath we walked through that anyone made it through alive.”
“Pfft. I’m too important. I am L.A.M.B.’s right-hand Demon. Their assistant. Things don’t get done without me,” he says, before turning sharply and shuffling back to the kitchen. I take a moment to take in the others around the room and notice they have the same bewildered look on their faces. Lynx breaks the tension in the room by reaching for the pitcher that Trometh left.
After walking through the halls of death, I’m a little hesitant to look under my lid, but taking the chance, I find fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a dinner roll.
“Oh, chicken!” Moni says and digs in.
I turn to look at Knox, who’s sitting next to me, and whisper, “This isn’t fried Arte Demon is it?” I ask, and Moni yaks across from me.
She spits her food out into her napkin.
“It’s okay, Moni; it’s not Arte Demon,” Levi announces.
“Yeah, they have a more rubbery substance to them. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. It’s another reason they are used as ‘chew toys,’” Ryker elaborates.
Glancing back at Moni, I catch her trying to stare daggers at me, but all she’s really doing is pouting.
“What? It was a valid question after walking through what we did,” I point out.
She tilts her head in thought before nodding and smiles before going back to her chicken. Dinner is quiet as we eat and make quick work of our food. It’s kinda odd to not have Arte Demons milling around. I wonder if they will get around to replacing them, or get different ones to help with the odd work I’ve seen around the house. Soon enough, we head into the parlor where L.A.M.B. and Lilith are waiting. Their five chairs are placed in front of the fireplace, facing toward the other sitting area.
I walk in and immediately feel eyes on me. Glancing over at the fireplace, I find Lilith glaring at me. I violently flinch and Knots squeezes my hand as he guides me to the end of the sofa, where he pulls me down onto his lap. JP and Zeke sit on an extra large chair, where they cuddle up, and Lucifer gives them an approving look. Moni and Chester sit down in the other armchair, mimicking JP and Zeke. Levi slides in at the end of the sofa while Knox and Ryker push each other to try to sit next to me while Lynx jumps over the back of the sofa, taking their spot and the decision out of their hand.
“Ass,” Ryker hisses before he sits on one of the footstools.
“Yes, it is purrfect. Don’t be ashamed to check it out from time to time.” He blows Ryker a kiss and winks at me.
Knox simply sits on the arm of the sofa, taking my hand before he rubs his thumb over my knuckles. A throat clears, and I reluctantly turn my attention to the front of the room.
“How was dinner?” Lucifer asks before he sips on a drink. He always seems so laid back and unruffled. Well, until I tried to take down his house. But tonight he’s decked out in a red pin-striped suit, which looks wicked against his white wings.
“It was great once I was convinced it wasn’t Arte Demon,” Moni says innocently enough.
Lucifer chokes and clears his throat. “Excuse me?”
Chester speaks up, “Rez thought the chicken was left over Arte Demon, see—”
“Let’s just say we ran into some… pieces… on our way to dinner.” I smile awkwardly, and Astaroth huffs.
“Told you guys that you wouldn’t have time for clean-up before dinner,” he addresses Bez and Murmur, but they just shrug his comment off.
“It was fun either way,” Murmur comments.
