Page 101 of Demon Demands

“No,” I responded hesitantly.

Novak nodded, cautiously replying, “Yeah. York, did you make leaves grow on that apple’s stem?”

Jack picked the apple up, showing us the new growth as he pushed it back to Stone. “I saw it. Do it again.”

“I don’t know how I did it. It just happened,” he admitted, staring at the fruit like it had offended him.

“You know, I’ve been hearing snippets of thoughts from Stone and Briggs,” York started, shaking his head. “But I thought it was Novak fucking with me.”

“Are you guys sharing power somehow?” Hyde slurred, and her words hit me hard.

“No, Hyde. I don’t think they’re sharing power,” Jack confessed, reading my mind. “I think they’re using Lo’s power. Between the sealed bonds, her mates are,” he cleared his throat, as stunned as I was. “They’re mimicking each other.”

My vampire looked paler than normal, his gaze wide-eyed before he squeezed his lids closed tight. “I’m not going to grow a tail, am I? I do not want to shift into an animal, but it would be pretty fucking cool to throw lightning or ice. I’m down for that. Can we pick and choose?”

“Novak?” I whispered, trying not to make him panic.

“Don’t tell me I have a tail, Trouble,” he mumbled.

“Calm the fuck down, man,” Stone grinned, chastising my vampire. “You just lit the tablecloth on fire.”

“Holy shit,” Novak whispered, peeking one eye open. “I’m a fucking magician.”

We all chuckled as Grim handed him a cup of water. “Now be a fireman,” the reaper jested.

Sighing, I let my forehead hit the table. “It’s time to go see Lucy, isn’t it?”

“Yep,” Jack muttered. “We should go before we drink too much to play his word games.”

“Don’t set anything else on fire,” I playfully warned Novak, patting out some embers on the edges of the tablecloth. “Actually, someone should stay with you until we figure this out.”

Jack and I left the kitchen, traversing the halls in silence as we stewed over how to get Lucy to be honest with us. Trepidation flowing freely through me as we emerged into the opposite wing of the palace.

I trailed my fingers over the rough, ancient mortar in the grooves between the handmade lava stones of the walls as we walked. They were original pieces from thousands of years ago, when this portion of the palace held the only standing walls after a massive demonic war.

The history of the Underworld had fascinated me as a child, and it was currently keeping me distracted. I desperately didn’t want to find out anything that would make the coming weeks more difficult, but I had a feeling that we would.

Nerves thrummed through Jack and me, pulsing in our connection as we reached Lucy’s door.

Lucifer was many things; a loving grandparent, a righteous ruler, the life of a party, a superior ally. But he was only honest when he chose to be. He always had a hidden agenda, and whether it was good or bad, no one knew until he was ready for them to.

Jack glanced at me, hesitating with his knuckles hovering over the thick wooden door of puzzles and doom. I nodded, taking a deep breath as he knocked. Straightening our shoulders, we waited for permission to enter.

“Come in, my Monsters,” Lucy called, sounding muffled through the door before it swung open on its own.

“Lucy, we need to talk. Again,” I grouched, slumping down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Jack perched on the other, vibrating with anxiety.

Our grandfather beamed at us, and I glared at him. “Of course we do. What can I answer for you two today?”

“Do I have some weird extra power floating around inside of me that I don’t know about?” Jack asked, dread seeping through our connection as he waited for his answer.

Lucy nodded. “You do.”

Groaning, Jack scrubbed his hands over his face. “Will you tell me what it is?”

“Not until you're ready.”

I scoffed at the First Devil, hating the conversation immediately. “If he wasn’t ready then why would he ask, Lucy?”