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Dropping my arms, I turn to face the long-haired demon. “How do you know I—”
“I’m a weaponsmith. I can sense them. Now, bring it here,” he commands, holding out his palm.
Deciding not to push the issue further, I pull my knife free of its holster and hand it, handle first, to him. I’m rewarded with a slight smile.
“At least you know the basics of how to hand over sharp weapons,” he comments.
“My mother was a nurse, and on odd occasions, I had to assist her with needles, scalpels, stuff like that,” I confirm, and he nods as he examines my knife.
He scoffs and shakes his head. “This is weak metal and poorly crafted.”
I jerk back at the slight offense. Damn!
“Well, excuse me.” I grab the knife back from Mr. Perfecto and put it back in its holster. “I conjured it up in my closet back in Purgatory, and it has protected me just fine.”
“Pfft. That is why she’s going with you. And when you return, we will start your training. Before and after dinner.”
My jaw drops as I look at him, but he just stares back at me, no expression on his face. “Yeah, okay. Lucifer said—”
“I know what Lucifer said when he agreed that we would train you, which includes me. I’m the A—your weapons trainer. We need to find you the right physical weapon to train with, and then we can work on the other issues you have,” he states in a no-nonsense tone.
My eyebrows disappear into my hairline for a moment as I take in the words that just left his lips. Did he just… excuse me?
‘Damn girl. You just got your ass handed to you,’ Lynx says. It’s great that he’s using the link, but now is not the time.
Oh, Astaroth wants to play that game.
Leaning back, I cross my arms under my breasts, purse my lips, and just stare back at Asstro. Yep, he’s earned the name since he’s being an ass.
“Do you really want to make me mad? A Wrath Demon?” he inquires.
I cock my head and really think about it. “I don’t know. When people say that, I kinda wanna poke them to see how far I can go before they blow up,” I say honestly.
He blinks at me, and then too fast for me to comprehend, he pulls me into a hug while he belly laughs. “I like you. We’re going to have fun training.” He chuckles before ushering me over to Bez.
Why do I have the feeling that him liking me isn’t a good thing?
CHAPTER 19
Inferno's Black Market
Rez
I rub at the phantom pain in my left wrist. I still can’t believe the brand that Bez drew into my skin isn't visible. They’ve assured me that when I go shopping, the keepers will have a way to know that I’m under L.A.M.B.'s protection and that my “money” is good. They didn’t actually give me any money, though.
Before leaving for the market, Bez sat me in the seat across from him at the chess table, and he rubbed a cold liquid on the inner part of left wrist. It tingled for a bit, and I took the opportunity to take in what Ryker called the gentle killer. I guess I could see it. That was before he gave me a small, lopsided smile and said, “I take no pleasure in doing this.” And then slammed Hellfire against my skin.
Gentle killer, my ass! Try sadistic asshole!
I should have let Fluffers tear him a new one. It was kinda funny, though, seeing Murmur and Astaroth try to hold back Fluffers, Knots, and Zeke from trying to kill Bez as I swore and cried out in pain. But after he finished burning their brand into my skin, you could barely see any damage. Before we leave, Trometh hands us a couple bags for the supplies and recommends a stall for us to go to first. I’m a little weary of it, but Zissa agrees, saying she knows the place.
When we stepped out of L.A.M.B.’s residence, we found ourselves on a hilltop, which they shared with another mansion. Levi helpfully pointed out that it was Lilith’s residence. Both places and their individual lands were surrounded by gates and protection spells. When asked why they needed it, he shrugged and said he never got answers when he asked the same thing as a child.
It’s a shock to step out and see Hell in the daylight. I’m not sure if the sun is actually red, or if it’s just the world that’s reflecting back making it look that way, but it’s enough to throw me for a loop. They have grass just like we do on Earth and at Purgatory, but with pale white mixed in with the green. Off to my right is an Arte Demon, cutting some with a sickle, and I have a sick thought and wonder if they’re short because they’ve accidentally cut off their limbs using that. In the sky, I don’t see any clouds, but I do observe winged creatures flying off in the distance and shudder to wonder if they are friends or foes.
“I don’t like her,” Moni whispers in my ear as she plays with a curl. Currently, she’s sitting on my shoulder as we follow Zissa and Ryker down a well-lit cobblestone path past a cavern-like dwelling. Knots, Levi, and Knox are trailing behind me. I’m sure she would be sitting on Chester’s shoulder if he was here. He asked to call his parents before we left to give them a quick update. Apparently, he checks in with them daily around breakfast and doesn’t want them to freak out about his disappearance. So, he was led into an office where there was a computer he could use to call from.
Turns out, when he mentioned he was pulled to Hell after getting separated from his mate, his mom freaked because someone dropped the ball and Momma didn’t know Moni was his mate. So, Chester wasn’t able to make his phone call as quickly as he wanted. I still chuckle, thinking of his “help me” look he gave me when Moni and I went to get him. He was so cute. Moni just gave him a kiss and said she would be back, and we left him there to suffer his mother’s wrath with a thousand questions about Moni.
