“They don’t have to followanyone’srules,” she said, chasing away the old memory before it got her into trouble. “Some of them live completely human lives, never getting involved in supernatural politics. Others live among the demons here, enjoying the privilege of their anonymity in the human world, using that to curry favor with guys like Chernikov and Rogozin. A few of them form their own communities, though you’d never know it if you ran into them on the street.”
“Would you?”
“Only if I’d seen them in hell first.”
“How dangerous are they?”
“That’s the thing, Prince. No matter which path they choose to walk on earth, at their core, they’realwaysloyal to hell—first and foremost.”
“Like demonic sleeper cells,” Gabriel said, and Jaci nodded.
“An army already in place, awaiting the call.”
“Why hasn’t it come?”
“The most powerful demons—ones like my mother and sister—are hellbound. Viansa’s sudden jailbreak aside, there just aren’t enough of the O.G. demons here to wage any kind of war. It wouldn’t make sense to risk exposing the hybrids for a war they had no chance at winning.”
“But if someone breaks the gates, and all those originals find a way to manifest here, the odds shift in their favor.”
“Exactly. Because at that point, why bother with demon deals and human vessels if you can just bring all the worst, most badass, most unbreakable demons up from the source? You’d have them, plus the hybrids already in place… No contest.”
“And this is what Viansa’s planning?”
“I think so. Whether it’s possible is another story.”
The delivery guy arrived, so while Gabriel dealt with the food, Jaci scooted into the kitchen to make another round of drinks. She passed him some plates and silverware first, and by the time she returned with fresh Magical Mint Juleps in hand, Gabriel had everything spread out on the table, gesturing for her to take a seat and dig in.
For one ridiculous moment, it almost felt like a real date.
The thought made her chest constrict, and she forced down a drink to loosen the sudden tightness in her throat.
After they’d each eaten a couple of empanadas, Gabriel said, “Back to the succubi and the dream thing. Is that how you were conceived? Some poor bloke’s wet dream?”
Jaci shot him a murderous glare. “Watch it, dickhead. The poor bloke you’re speaking of is my father.”
He had the grace to lower his eyes, but that was as close to an apology as she was going to get.
She reached for the last ham-and-cheese empanada—the one she’d noticed was his favorite—and stole it from right under his nose.
Good. Serves him right.
“No,” she finally said, tempering her frustration. “That’s not how I was conceived. My mother isn’t a succubus—Viansa gets that particular trait from her father.”
“An incubus?”
“The original.”
“And your mother?” Noticing the missing ham-and-cheese, he sighed and helped himself to a spinach empanada instead. “What sort of demon is she?”
“She’s… harder to categorize. She doesn’t appear in dreams, but shecanbe summoned, which is how my father met her.”
Jaci told him the story, just as her father had told her when she was old enough to understand.
He was only in his twenties when he first met her, but already a powerful dark mage, his skills and intuition surpassing most of his coven members, including the elders. More and more, he began practicing on his own, experimenting with riskier spells, pushing the boundaries, calling upon darker powers.
“He learned to summon and bind original demons,” she explained, “which meant he could channel some of their power without ceding control of his mind and body. In exchange, he made offerings to them, granted favors, that sort of thing.”
“Why? If he could bind them, why not just take what he needed, no payment required?”
