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When I used the commode, I snuck a peek at the TP I’d wiped with to check something that was bothering me, something that could be a big problem if Az doesn’t find me and get me out of here.
I was due for my period a couple weeks ago, by my hazy Hell-time calculations. I’d been hoping the lateness was just from being in another dimension, and the stress of getting captured would trigger it.
No such luck.
Chapter 20
Asmodeus
As soon as Elena and her backup have been read in on my plan, we all march towards Satan’s former stomping grounds. Incubi and succubi, shifted to their demonic forms and garbed in demon-hide armor, march behind me and my mate’s friends in a line that stretches to either horizon. Elena and her company walk alongside me, having earned that position by the sheer ballsiness it must have taken to all come back here after defeating Satan years ago.
My worry for Callie mounts with each step. Molli still refuses to tell me whether or not she can tell if My Love is with child, and I fear the reason she’s keeping mum is to prevent what she sees as unnecessary concern.
If we don’t make it to Callie in time, if she turns down Leviathan and He kills her for it, then the point is moot.
I still want to know. I want to know if I’ll be a Father again. Be able to have children with someone other than Lilith. I hadn’t thought it possible until Arman got Elena pregnant with Ben, and then again with Niki. Even then, since it was the same son that impregnated her both times, I thought it an abnormality with Arman himself, some unique trait he’d inherited like his healing abilities. He could heal almost as well as a human witch could, almost as well as the water- and life-touched fae could, so I thought that was the reason for his fertility.
What if it’s a result ofElena’sheritage, though? What if something in her line, and thus Callie’s, allows them to bear half-demon children?
What if Callie is carrying My Child?
These thoughts and more weigh me down, distracting me from my mission. Halfway to Satan’s Domain, My Son Kamran nudges my side to get my attention.
“Father, are You all right?”
I shake myself free from thoughts of parenthood and give him a weak grin, the best I can muster. “I will be, once Callie is safe.”
Kamran nods. “I understand. Whenever Elena is in danger, I am beside myself until she is rescued. I imagine You feel quite the same about Callie. From what my siblings tell me, You haven’t been the same since she arrived. Not in a bad way, mind You, just … different. Singularly focused, I'd say.”
I raise a questioning brow, and my grin widens. “Is that your delicate way of saying monogamous?”
He shrugs. “Word is You haven’t so much as looked at another soul with lustful intent.”
“I suppose I have not.”
“Are You in love, Father?”
“I am. For the first time in millennia, possibly since My Creation.”
After a thoughtful pause, Kamran smiles. “Good.” With that, he moves back in line with the others.
To my other side, Elena inches closer, taking her turn with me.
“You mean what You said to Kam there about Cal?”
I nod. “I do.”
She pauses longer than Kamran. “If You hurt her, if Youeverbreak her heart, I’m exorcising You. I don't care if it’s tomorrow or in fifty years. I don’t care if I have to come back from the dead to do it. I will. That’s a promise.”
“I would expect no less from you.”
“Just so we’re on the same page.” With that, she sidesteps back into formation.
I wait for another to come up with questions, advice, or threats, but none do. The rest seem content to remain on the line, marching towards the Realm of Wrath.
Satan’s abandoned Minions start appearing in my periphery several leagues out from His Borders. They skirt the edges of Hell, hiding behind rocks and boulders, peeking out but not engaging. I half expect them to nip at me from the front, defending their territory, but none of them approach me. Do they stay back out of fear, or are they planning something for when we reach the gates?
I get my answer soon enough. As the Gates of Wrath rise over a jagged hill, thousands of inky black wrath demons swarm out to meet us. They congregate in loose groups, almost milling about as opposed to, well, opposing. My Army and I continue our march until we’re within striking distance, then we halt as one. I brandish my sword high in the air and address the enemy.
