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"Wait, what? I thought we were just waiting for dawn when they would be settled for the night," she cried.
"Putting you into danger when Lex can glamour himself wouldn't make sense, let us handle this. You do not need to hold everything on your shoulders alone anymore."
Her mouth snapped shut as her gaze bounced between us. Then she pushed out of the booth and past me without another word.
"We might not want to wait until dawn. She is going to go looking for them on her own right now," I said.
Alastor clicked his tongue, and Cerberus lumbered to his feet as Alastor stood up. "Who will watch your bar?"
"I have people for that," I gestured at the Fae that took my place behind the counter.
"Then why do it yourself?"
"I like it."
With the way Alastor kept glancing my way, I think I did a little too good of a job on the glamour. He was obsessed with my girl, and if he could have me strip naked, he would probably paint a portrait of her or something. But the dimple on her left cheek was mine to know about, or the faint line next to her belly button where she had her appendix removed, or the small raised scar just beneath her breastbone from her first demon encounter. It was all for my eyes only.
Though I had to say it never crossed my mind to become her. It felt a little wrong, like I was trespassing or taking advantage of my intimate knowledge of her.
"You know her well," Alastor said. "You even have the small freckle on her collarbone in the right place. Why haven't you told her?"
I didn't pretend like I didn't know what he was asking me as I drew in a thoughtful breath. "She doesn't do relationships. I told you that already."
"Have you bothered to find out why she doesn't do them?"
"I'm sure she has her reasons," I said.
"Ah," he said, as he stepped over a log and held a hand out for me, as if I was actually Sam. I slapped his outstretched palm and climbed over on my own.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I grumbled.
"Nothing—"
"You can't say, 'Ah', and then say nothing. This is why we aren't friends anymore. You think you are better than everyone."
"I don't think that," he replied, and he sounded like a sulking child.
"Lover's quarrel?" A demon stepped into our path, and I wasn't sure how I missed him.
Cerberus let out a low growl that said more than any words could that he would sever his arms and legs from his body without hesitation if he made one wrong move.
Stumbling slightly, I kicked the branch that had tripped me up. A flush of adrenaline zipped through my body. It had been a while since we had used my ability to fool anyone. I felt slightly exposed and on display as the demon eyed me like I was its next meal. Imitating what Samantha would do in this situation, I reached for the dagger I made look like the one she always wore. My fingers curled around the handle, ready to pull it free. Not that I would actually need the blade to fight. My shadows would protect me. The snake slithered down my leg, ready to slip off of my ankle if needed, while my tiger stretched along my side, uncurling from its nap.
"Not so fast, hunter," the demon tsked as Alastor's hands landed on my shoulders, holding me still.
Doing my part, I struggled. We had gone over the plan before arriving. Get back to the camp with the portal, close the portal, and eliminate any demons unwilling to return home. The last part made me bristle slightly. I didn't feel right about sending demons back to a place they didn't want to go while I lived outmy life here because I didn't want to return there either. Can you say hypocritical?
"This way," he grunted, leading us deeper into the forest.
Alastor kept hold of my arm like I would run. If he had tried to manhandle Sam like this, she would have cut his hand off. I was half tempted to play the part to the fullest, but knowing he couldn't regrow limbs stopped me from actually doing it.
I could hear the other demons before we could see them. The woods thinned out, opening up into a clearing large enough to contain a house if anyone wanted to build one in the middle of the forest, far away from everyone else. Every kind of demon I'd ever met was in the area. Some surrounded a fire, chatting amongst themselves. Others were putting up a tent, while more were beneath another shelter already erected. The portal was on the edge of the space, the swirling colors on the surface and the red mountains beyond showed an area a bit away from the demon palace.
"We have the hunter," the demon cheered, drawing all the eyes to us. The noise level in the camp escalated as everyone spoke at once. If Sam had been in this situation, I wasn’t sure she would have been able to fight them all off.
Alastor dropped my arm and stepped forward. "As Hades's son, I order you to leave. Return to Tartus before my father gets involved." His voice rang out above all of them, the tone said he was used to people listening to him.
A few of the demons shuffled on their feet, glancing at the portal and back at him. Others straightened and faced us as the threats we were. The visible tightness to their jaws, curled lips, and crossed arms told me they weren't going anywhere unless we made them.
