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The owner of the bar was a reformed demon, though Luc used the word ‘reformed’ loosely in this demon’s case. Ozland was a hulking beast, on two legs with two arms like any man, tall and chiseled, shaded with charcoal gray skin and bright green eyes like a cat’s, with a smooth flicking tail and a sharp, pointy end to match. The bar wasn’t Ozland’s only foray into the darker side of the Elcadia Underground, according to Lexa, even if what he dabbled in wasn’t exactly demon business.
When he arrived at the table, he grinned at Lexa, his pointy teeth sharp. “Goddess,” he said in a tone that suggested he was intimately familiar.
Lexa’s eyebrows rose over her eyes. “Oz. Still on the straight and narrow?”
“For now,” he replied. “Come to coax me off?”
“No,” Lexa said, “but if I ever want to sample your wares, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
Luc and his brothers groaned.
The demon threw back his head with a raucous laugh. Then he pushed into the booth to sit next to her, taking the time to look at the rest of them. “And these are?”
“A handful of my brothers,” Lexa said and introduced them.
Oz’s thick black eyebrows rose over his green eyes, the dark slits of his pupils widening. He offered Eitan a nod, but his eyes stopped on Nix with interest. “God of night and darkness? It would seem, if rumors are true, that you have only returned to the realm.”
Nix nodded but remained reticent. Luc could understand, considering the last interaction they’d had with a demon.
“As talkative as your sister, I see.” He grinned at Lexa.
She chuffed at Oz’s assessment, which struck Luc as odd. Was this Lexa unsettled? He couldn’t be sure since he’d never witnessed it.
“We’re here for information,” Luc said.
Oz’s eyes narrowed, his pupils constricting to a slit. “Where’s your power?”
“Gone,” Luc said.
Lexa cast a dark stare at Luc and kicked his shin under the table. “My brother, it would seem, has lost his sense of propriety,” she said. “What he means is he’s enjoying the place.”
Oz dragged his gaze away from Luc’s, turning his head to look at Lexa. “One can offer allowances under certain circumstances.” The demon’s gaze raked Lexa.
Lexa’s eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head.
Luc and his brothers leaned away from their sister, knowing that look.
“Are you insinuating something, Oz? To the goddess of the Netherworld?” She placed her elbows on the tabletop, lacing her fingers, and leaned forward, her gaze on the demon.
“If I am?”
Lexa hummed and paused, a duration of silence stretching long enough to make it full of threat. “I have this amazing room in my maze, filled with all kinds of toys I enjoy.”
Oz’s gaze widened, intrigued.
“I like to hear unruly creatures scream and beg for mercy when they cross me. And not in a fun way.”
Oz swallowed.
“But here’s what you should know, Ozland. I don’t deal in mercy. I don’t deal in favors. Not when you cross me. You have this” –she waved her hand around indicating the club– “and everything else, because I let you. Are we clear?”
Oz grinned, his eyes alight with something feral.
Without turning her head, she said, “Ask your question, Luc. I don’t give a fuck about propriety anymore.”
Oz, still grinning, turned his head to Luc, adjusting in his seat. Luc wasn’t sure if the demon was frightened or aroused by his sister. The latter made him cringe, but he ignored it for the question. “We’re looking for access to human histories.”
“Human histories are a messy business,” the demon said. “Besides the name, you’ll need their realm and time-period. Terribly antiquated record keepers.”
