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“Each demesne is an outward manifestation of its prince,” Cronus told her, after a look scornful enough to make Eddie want to check she wasn’t wearing her undies over her leggings. As they tromped along beside the languid green river with living thingies chittering, chattering, and clucking around them, Eddie had a foray into fantasy that maybe gluttony’s demesne looked a bit like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. She could totally go for a chocolate river.
Xerxes had been scouting around them for most of the journey, and he reappeared to their left. “Village ahead,” he said. “She is hungry and should rest.”
She was hungry, but not tired, which was odd considering the big pink ball in the sky that passed for the sun here had made its way all the way across the sky, and now long purple and blue shadows were creeping across the land.
“I can keep going,” she said to Xerxes.
“You have power here.” Cronus said, “Your hell prince side is active in this realm, and it lends you greater strength and powers.”
“What powers?”
Cronus gave a canine shrug. “We will know only when they manifest. Nephilim are an unknown quantity.”
“Like shooting fireballs out my eyes and stuff? Or being able to pick up buildings and toss them at Wrath? Or maybe I can fly?” Eddie would like to be able to fly.
Xerxes snorted, and Cronus gave her another of his scathing looks and said, “You don’t have wings.”
Just to be clear, Eddie stayed on topic. “But the eye fireballs could happen?”
“We will need to get you something to eat,” Cronus said and stopped. He looked at her hopefully. “Unless you hunt.”
“Nope.” She gave Xerxes her own hopeful look. “Maybe you could hunt for me?”
“What we hunt, you could not eat, mistress,” Cronus said.
Which was probably a good thing, considering she had no way of cooking anything and certainly didn’t fancy the idea of disemboweling and skinning, descaling, or plucking whatever they found for her. “It’s fine. I can go a bit longer.”
“We know not how long it will take us to find the master.” Cronus stared at Yesterday.
Yesterday blinked at him. “What?”
“We need a cloak or something to disguise the mistress.”
“Disguise?” That sounded ominous. The only reason she would need a disguise was if she was planning to wander around amidst demons, and she definitely didn’t have that in mind.
“The village up ahead is quiet,” Xerxes said. “We can purchase something for you to eat and move along.”
“Yesterday can go and get me something.” Quiet or not, Eddie didn’t want to hang out with demons.
Xerxes nudged Yesterday with his muzzle. “This one stinks of Wrath.”
“Hey.” Yesterday threw his stubby arms up to stop himself from face planting. “Why don’t one of you two go?”
Excellent question, and Eddie waited for the answer.
Both hounds blinked at her, and then Cronus said, “We are hell hounds.”
“And?” She was going to need a bit more than that.
“The master deploys us to harvest demon souls. If we enter that village, there will be widespread panic,” Cronus said.
“Night is falling,” Xerxes said, and then trotted back into the heavy growth as if that explained everything.
“Demons are more powerful at night,” Cronus said. “Wrath will be hunting for us, and by extension, you. We need to get you some food and find somewhere safe for the night.”
Eddie ignored her growling belly. “If Wrath’s demons are everywhere, then that means they could be in that village. And the closer I am to other demons, the more chance there is I can be discovered.”
“She has a point,” Yesterday said.
