Page 78 of Demon Demands

“We get it,” Dolyn snarled at them, straightening out his attitude and his shoulders when Hyde quirked a brow at him.

“She knows that it’s a prototype. I told her before I handed it to her. I also asked her to wait until she was sitting somewhere comfortable before she took it, just so we are clear.”

Jack stood from his seat at the table, wandering around the kitchen to peer at Sloane from over Briggs' head.

“We could move her to the couch,” he suggested. “So you don’t have to sit on the floor holding her.”

“I’m not moving her,” Briggs objected. “What if the motion fucks up her vision?”

“He’s got a valid point,” Dolyn acknowledged before scrubbing a hand aggressively over his face. “I should have known she was going to drink that shit the moment you guys started objecting.”

“So,” Novak tilted his head as he nodded, “we’re gonna be sitting here for a few minutes, at least, right?”

“Yeah, probably longer, though,” Dolyn admitted.

The vampire raised his hand and his eyebrows simultaneously. “I have questions for the demons in the room.”

“Of course you do,” Briggs quipped, sighing in exhaustion.

“Why do males keep propositioning Trouble…” Novak glanced at the little succubus, “and Hyde? I can’t quite wrap my head around that.”

Dolyn sat on the floor next to Briggs, monitoring Sloane while she was unconscious.

“Here in Hell, most succubi use sex as a form of work. A job. They get paid well, and the male demons know to treat them respectfully once the job has been accepted or the succubi could kill them while they fed.”

Hyde jumped in to give a more detailed explanation just as Dolyn finished.

“To answer your next question, Lo has been masking her powers under the guise of being a powerful succubus. That’s why it keeps happening. They see me for the mixed breed that I am; my basilisk nature scares the hesitant ones off. But these assholes love the thrill of a powerful charm. The stronger the lust, the more one becomes an addict, needing to be under the thrall of a succubus to feel anything sexual.”

Novak nodded once more, accepting the answers he’d received. His golden eyes glittered as they landed on me. “Have you ever sat through an exorcism?”

“No.” I groaned, knowing he’d keep asking until he got a sufficient answer. “But in theory… I could. I could even have one performed on me. Nothing would happen because I have permission to be topside, on Earth, from a representative of Hell. The demonic possession stories all come from demons who were trying to escape without permission.”

“Thank you, kind demon. That was a sufficient enough answer.” The vampire tipped his chin at me, and I shook my head, building my mental walls so the bloodsucker would stay out of my mind.

He turned his attention to Grim next. “Are you a demon?”

Grim gave him an unimpressed glare. “I’m a grim reaper,” he responded flatly.

“And those aren’t demons?” Palmer mused, his brows near his hairline as he made mental notes from our conversation.

“Nope,” Grim informed us simply before elaborating. “I mean, they can be, but they aren’t chosen very often. Mostly, reapers used to be humans. We get chosen to become grim reapers after we die, and then we’re given access to all the realms.”

“Huh,” Briggs sounded impressed, questioning Grim for clarification, “So, you’re a human?”

Jack grunted in annoyance. “No. He’s a grim reaper.”

“I’m so confused,” Novak whispered to York.

Grim sighed in exasperation, rubbing his hand across the stubble on his jawline. “I used to be a human, then I died. Now I reap the dead.”

“But when?” The vampire shrilled, raising his voice in confusion. “You’re always with us.”

“When you sleep.” The reaper's bland answer made me chuckle.

Novak huffed at him. “I don’t sleep.”

“Never mind.” Grim shook his head. “It was a joke, but clearly it went over your head. I haven’t had to take any jobs in a couple of weeks because Lo has been keeping me busy all on her own. You guys have helped some too.”