There was just one problem. Mother was smarter.
The house I’d purchased was on the far end of Calvert Lane, in the quiet confines of a development called Pleasant Pines. But even from the opposite end of the street, it was easy to see the huge plumes of smoke rising from what was undoubtedly my earth home, the one with shingles only slightly redder than the rest of the houses because that blasted homeowner’s association was so bloody afraid of individuality.
My knees nearly buckled underneath me, my heart sinking as I watched plans B, C, and D go up in smoke. Half of Pleasant Pines was already on the street, watching my house roast in fires that were in no way of natural origin.
“Is that really the house?” Pierce muttered, holding me up by my elbows. “No way. She knew. She always knew.”
The two of us staggered to the end of Calvert, though I wasn’t sure why. There wasn’t anything we could’ve done to stop the destruction, and half of the house had been irredeemably charred to ashes, anyway. The faces of our would-be neighbors alternated blue and red in the light of emergency sirens, and I heard firefighters yell at each other, bemoaning how the flames simply wouldn’t die down. I knew why: because they were fueled by Mother’s infinite fury.
I watched as the cinders fell like burning snow, as I once again accepted that we were all well and truly fucked. Asmodeus’s influence was far-reaching, and she’d made her point patently clear.
“We shouldn’t stick around for this,” Pierce said. “I can tell it’s hurting you.”
I scowled at him, doing my best to show a stiff upper lip, but Pierce knew me too well. I grudgingly nodded in agreement, following him behind a hedge. He unsheathed one of his daggers, slashing it in a vertical motion, drawing a line taller than a man in the air. He scratched the back of his head when nothing happened.
“That can’t be right,” he said, grunting as he made a second slash. Still nothing.
“But that’s impossible,” I said. This was how helleportation worked. You cut a slit in reality, access the Hexus, then ride the currents of chaos wherever you need to go. “Let me try.”
I bathed my right hand in arcane energy, then mimicked Pierce’s actions, raising it up to my fullest height, then bringing it down in a quick, decisive chop. The tear that was meant to open – well, it simply didn’t. Horror bubbled up in my throat as I understood what had happened.
“She’s banned us from the Hexus,” I mumbled.
Pierce’s dagger shook in his hand. “You’re kidding. Fuck. Then we can’t go anywhere. And wait. That means that – ”
Yes, exactly. We had to trudge all the way back to wherever the hell we’d left Dantaleon and Mr. Wrinkles, which, according to the map on my phone, involved at least three miles of walking.
Let me make this clear. I am the son of a demon prince. Walking more than half a mile in any given direction was simply inconceivable, but in case this hasn’t yet been properly established, Mother was very, very pissed. At least I still had my phone in one piece, for as long as the battery held out. In truth, I was surprised that it hadn’t already burst into flames, too.
This was a test. It had to be. And Dantaleon, as much as he wanted to keep up the dramatics, hadn’t been kicked out of Lust’s hell. As petty as Asmodeus could be, she wouldn’t have thrown out such a powerful and important member of her inner council for something I’d done. Maybe Pierce hadn’t figured it out yet, but it was very clear to me. Dantaleon had been sent to spy on us.
When Pierce and I arrived at our destination, stinking of sweat and with our legs turned to jelly, the first thing we did was to use our final reserves of energy to dash straight for the river and drink our fill. Three miles, on foot, with no hydration? Asmodeus’s cruelty knew no bounds.
“And what did you find?” Dantaleon said, fluttering out of the darkness to question us. Somewhere in the grass I heard Mr. Wrinkles make a mournful mewl.
I shook my head grimly. “The holdings I acquired out here, what I thought could be our temporary home? Mother knew about it. She burned it all to the ground.”
Dantaleon fell in a slow, despondent spiral, flopping pathetically onto the ground. “Then we are doomed.”
“Couldn’t you teleport us to the Palace of Veils?” Pierce asked hopefully. “Just somewhere Asmodeus won’t see us, long enough so we can grab some valuables and run.”
Dantaleon groaned from somewhere in the tall grass. “Without access to my study, my abilities are severely weakened. But even if I could? Well. If you are comfortable with the thought of bursting into flames the very moment we enter the palace, then by all means, Pierce, allow me to teleport you to your doom.”
Pierce’s legs collapsed underneath him, and he joined both book and cat on the ground, stretching his legs out and groaning. “So basically, we’re doomed, no matter what we do.”
“There,” I said, pointing at the abandoned building. “We’ll take shelter there for the night. We can take stock of things in the morning.”
I hadn’t been raised to just keel over and give up, after all. If Mother wished to disown me, well and good. Demon I may be, but I couldn’t just give up on minding the well being of my friends. Well – of my friends, and Dantaleon.
Pierce flicked his wrist at the pile of
