Page 111 of Demon Demands

“I’m trying!” Novak hissed. “But all her thoughts are in demonic with some random French words thrown in, and none of it makes any fucking sense.”

I was trying really hard not to laugh at the vampire, but Lo winked at me, and he growled at her before yelling, “Fucking stop!”

My shoulders shook as I wrapped my hand over my mouth. It felt so good to see someone get under his skin the way he did us.

“What’s she doing?” York wondered with too much amusement in his voice. I had a feeling that the druid already knew the answer to his question. He just wanted Novak to say it.

He gagged. “Math.”

We all roared with laughter at the disgusted tone of Novak’s answer, and he whined as he said, “It’s just so fucking complicated. I can’t keep up with how fast her mind is working the answers, and it’s giving me a headache.”

“I can tell you that answer,” she offered, tilting her head to show him the smug expression on her face.

He narrowed his eyes at her, but the rest of us grinned, knowing it was going to be a snarky remark. “What is it?”

“Seven to the power of stop rifling through my mind.”

I snorted as he pretended to pout, and Lira made a chuffing noise like the hellhound was trying to laugh.

All around us, the businesses had thinned out, making way for dozens of worn-down apartment buildings and empty houses with crumbling roofs. The landscape faded quickly from decrepit to lively as we passed a construction zone sign.

“We’re here,” Sloane announced, a hint of nerves in her voice.

Briggs whistled low. “This looks like the beginnings of a suburban area.”

She nodded enthusiastically. “It is. My family has been cleaning up the Underworld for thousands of years, but Jack and I chose to work in some of the worst parts of Hell. This is phase one, and it used to look like what we just passed. Everything was falling down and rotting; it wasn’t livable, but the people weren’t keen on change until we started talking to them.

“We’ve been focusing on the no-income areas for the last few years. The families that used to live here were moved to the outskirts where they could farm or expand the businesses they already had. We cleared all the old buildings off the land and started adding homes and apartments.”

She motioned for us to look to the left, catching sight of a demon flying up to a balcony and walking inside. There was activity everywhere; kids playing in yards, couples strolling down sidewalks. It was the epitome of normal.

“There’s a school for the children, a market for trading, and that is the foundation for a clinic,” she summarized, pointing at each building.

“We’ve integrated new technologies into this area, and if it’s successful, then we’ll start branching out. This neighborhood is acting as the hub for our experiment, but so far they’ve been happy with the changes.

“The occupants pay for their own expenses, but the Kings have paid for all the structures, given freely for their cooperation. We send a representative out monthly to check on all the designs, test the water and power systems that we put in place, make sure everything is running smoothly, things like that.”

We’d been moving slowly through the neighborhood as Sloane talked about what they were accomplishing in Hell. I wanted to laugh at how hellaciously wrong all her simple plans went, but when faced with her more long-term plans, I couldn’t.

How much work had she put into her projects for something this complex to go so perfectly right?

Stone was wide-eyed as he took everything in. He said something to her in demonic, and she shook her head.

“We don’t call this area by that name anymore. Jack calls it Paradise, and the residents seem to agree with him.”

He nodded slowly as he glanced at her, his black eyes reflecting her grin. “When do you have time to do all of this?”

Lo shrugged. “All I’ve had is time.”

York grunted. “And she’s always throwing herself head-first into work or some sort of project. She’s never not learning something.”

“Is there anything ye can’t do?” Palmer inquired, none of his usual sarcasm found in his words.

“I can’t do lots of things.”

Novak scoffed, challenging her. “Name five.”

“Cook, sew, sing.” She pursed her lips, staring at the sky. “I don’t know how to do any kind of plumbing, I’ve never used a lawn mower, and I can’t figure out nunchucks. That’s six right off the top of my head, but I can make you a list to go in your book if you’d like.”