The Sacrifice

Yes, I'd gotten the best part of the deal.

Eternity.

With the man who my soul had decided was the one.EpilogueLenore - 6 monthsAce deemed the "puppies" trained enough to take out of the house.

There was a biker meetup a couple of states over, something the men—and usually Red—went to every year, making new connections, selling product to continue to stock their coffers, inviting the next slew of humans to the house for a party. Where they would whisper in their ears, bring out their basest of instincts, slowly turn borderline souls evil, so their comrades in hell could have more souls to play around with.

There were some changes in me.

After all, that previous statement would have—before my deal—filled me with disgust and displeasure. Now, though, all I felt was an understanding.

Evil souls had to be punished.

Demons did that.

There was always a natural order to the world.

"When do I get my own motorcycle?" Daemon asked, hopping off the back of his brother's bike at the meet-up, seeing rows and rows of chrome and a sea of men and women to accompany them.

"When you can drive one without crashing it," Ace told him, rolling his eyes.

For all his teasing of Daemon, it was clear to me that Ace had a soft spot for him. Maybe he reminded him of a younger brother he'd left behind in hell.

As for Daemon's actual brother, Bael's general ornery and withdrawn demeanor hadn't softened at all yet. He didn't want to be stuck here. He made it clear he was just biding his time to get back. And since most of the others were in the same boat, they didn't fault him for his attitude.

That said, he had proven surprisingly adaptable, picking up on the human things like driving and use of electronics with relative ease.

He struggled where Daemon excelled, namely in all things that involved people or societal norms. Which was why he was in stony silence the whole day as the men moved around, making new connections, checking on old ones.

"Didn't realize your kind was recruiting," a familiar voice said as we passed.

I turned to find Sully standing there, eyeing Bael and Daemon for a moment before his gaze fell on me.

"What the fuck are you now?" he asked, body tensing.

"Off-limits," Ly said, tone low, lethal, eyes burning bright.

"Walk away," Ace demanded, gaze moving around, likely noting how many witnesses there would be to the event if Ly lost control of the Change, and his wings came flying out to protect me.

"They're going to be a problem again eventually," Seven observed as we got to the other side of the rally.

"Yeah, that's for another day," Ace agreed. "Shit. Here comes today's problem," he added, nodding his chin toward a woman who was making a beeline for our gathered group.

A woman I personally recognized as well.

From the party.

After my little public tryst with Ly.

When I was upset.

Short, fit, strong, and curvy.

Blonde-haired.

Green-eyed.

Dale.

The woman who'd almost referred to the men as demons before she caught herself.

"You!" she said, making a beeline for me, eyes enraged. "Oh," she said as she moved in front of me, shaking her head. "You stupid, stupid girl. What did you let them do to you?" she asked, voice seething. "Now I have to take you out too," she said, giving me one last hard look before marching away again, disappearing into the crowd in a blink.

"Lenore," Ace called, voice questioning, yet firm. "You know Dale?"

"I, ah, yeah. Who is she?" I asked, brows furrowing at her ominous message.

"Dale," Ace started, tone low, "is this generation's demonslayer. She kills us, or we kill her. Just like every other demonslayer. Where did you meet her? When you were in the coven? Are they working together against us?" he asked, strategic mind working in circles.

"I, ah, no. No. She was at your party," I told them, shrugging.

"Wait... what?" Seven asked, tensing. "You're sure?"

"I mean, yes. That's how she knows me. I was at the party."

Ace shot Ly a lifted brow, both of them acknowledging that he'd broken the rules, but also that it was too late for that now.

"How the fuck did she get in the house undetected?" Ace asked, waving out an arm.

"That's a great question. A really great question," Daemon said, bouncing a bit on his heels. "But there are a lot of women here. With a lot of mouths. And I was promised to be allowed to, oh what was the word? Charm them. I need to charm them onto their knees," he said, eyes dancing, shooting a boyish smirk my way. "I think I can manage that, right, Lenore?"

"I think you'll do fine, Daemon," I agreed. Ly grumbled.

The rest of the day was similar to the beginning. A lot of connections, a lot of talking. And, for me, a lot of standing around, thinking. Mostly about Dale. About her disappointment in me. About her vow to take me out.