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Eddie for damn sure didn’t want to talk about Jean-Claude’s skills, and she had Dee on the line now. “We’ve got a problem, Dee.”
“I guessed that from the text. Tell me.”
Eddie kept it short and to the point. Macbeth, hell gate, hoppers, toads, Yesterday, and now hell princes.
After she’d finished, Dee fell silent long enough for Eddie to ask. “Dee?”
“Did you call the guardians?”
That was Dee’s first question? “No, Dee. You told me to never call them, but I have to say with all this going on, I was sorely tempted to call them.”
Dee took a deep breath. “But you didn’t?”
“No, I didn’t.”
Dee let out a long exhale. “Thank you, baby Jesus, for that.”
“Did you miss the part about the hell prince sleeping in your bed and the demon gobbling popcorn in my kitchen?”
“Okay.” Dee sighed. “Firstly, if what you tell me about his injuries is true, there’s an excellent chance an obsidian or heaven wrought blade was involved. But anyone can wield those and it’s unlikely another hell prince injured him.”
Eddie turned to throw Yesterday the stink eye. For an imp who claimed to know all about hell, he got a number of details wrong. “So, I could wield one if I wanted to?”
Yesterday shrugged and trotted out of the kitchen with his bowl of popcorn.
“It’s a weapon, Eddie,” Dee said. “It’s only fatal to a hell prince or an archangel when used by a hell prince or an archangel. That doesn’t mean it can’t deliver a nasty wound when used by another being. And for humans, they’re fatal regardless of who or what is doing the stabbing.”
“So Shade…er…Asmodeus might not be mortally wounded?” Her relief had nothing to do with Shade, but everything to do with her not having to get rid of a dead body. And yup, she was sticking with that story.
“If he’s still around, the chance of the assailant being a hell prince is slim. It’s bad, but it’s not hopeless.”
Funny Dee should say that, because hopeless was sounding pretty apt right now. “What do I do?”
“One thing at a time.” Dee’s take charge tone lifted the weight off Eddie’s shoulders. “You said the thing that bit you looked like a grasshopper?”
Eddie was struggling to find the conversational connection. “Ye-e-s.”
“And other than your arm being sore, you’re feeling okay?” Dee was really focused on the hopper.
“I feel fine,” she said. “Could we get to what I do about Asmodeus?”
“It’s very clear to me what you should do,” Dee snapped. “Send him back to hell.”
“Send him back to hell?” Eddie lowered her rising voice. “He could really die if I send him back.”
“Not your problem, Eddie.” Dee didn’t even falter. “Asmodeus is a prince of hell. He can take care of himself. You, on the other hand, are human.” She took a deep breath. “And I know you’re already freaked out, but we can’t ignore the possibility that now the gate is open that whoever injured Asmodeus may decide to hop through and finish the job.”
“Shit, Dee.” She moved closer to Dee’s bed. “That had definitely occurred to me, but did you miss the part about the possible end of the world if he dies?”
Shade lay on his back with the sheet tucked under his armpits. His clean, strong bone structure didn’t even look vulnerable in sleep. It was a bit like having a sleeping tiger on your bed. It might be wishful thinking, but he didn’t look quite as pale as he had. The blood that had seeped through his bandage didn’t look fresh.
“I think you’re the one who missed that part,” Dee said. And really with the sarcasm? “Someone has it in for Asmodeus, and that can only be a demon or a hell prince. Both of those options are deadly, and they don’t like us.” Dee’s voice gentled. “Listen to me, Eddie. They are not like us. They exist in a different universe to us, and we don’t know the rules to that universe. Send him back to hell.”
“Send him back to hell,” she said. Even as she said it, some elemental part of her rejected the idea. He’d crawled out of the hell gate searching for safety. He must have. “He is a bit of an asshole.” She hadn’t forgotten that first incident with Shade.
“He’s not a bit of an asshole, Eddie-girl, he’s a total asshole, and don’t forget it. Not for a moment. It will cost you your life if you do.” Dee paused and then said, “I’m coming home.”
As much as Eddie would love that, she felt guilty about dragging Dee back from her vacation. “Maybe that’s not necessary. I’ll haul him back downstairs and toss him back like a bad fish. That should fix the problem.” She stamped on the niggle of objection squirming around in her brain.
