Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Heat swelled in his face, sweeping from the tips of his ears and across his face until Luke swore his entire body was on fire. This was not what he needed. Not in front of Matteo.
Harper jumped to her feet beside him and bellowed, “Fuck off, assholes!” But that made them laugh harder.
For reasons he couldn’t understand, it seemed like the crows weren’t big fans of how he was being treated. Atticus cawed loudly and flapped his wings. The other crows took notice of his cries and began crying out as well. A great cacophony of bird calls filled the quad as if every bird within the immediate area was shouting.
Before he could even wrap his head around it, Atticus took to the air and headed straight for the frat goons. Banks, Caspian, and Dante immediately followed.
And then so did other crows in the quad.
And other birds like starlings, robins, and even tiny finches in the area.
Anything with wings that could hear Atticus’s shouts was now dive-bombing the frat goons.
Another shout went up, and Luke’s heart squeezed. The birds were also harassing Matteo and a few other people who had been unfortunate enough to walk out of the library as this entire incident occurred.
“What…the…fuck…?” Harper said slowly, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Did…did you teach them to do that?”
“Hell, no! How would I even—?” Luke couldn’t finish his question. The idea was mindboggling. How would he teach a bunch of wild animals to protect him from emotional injury? Besides, he’d known Atticus and his companions for only a short time. That wasn’t nearly long enough to train them in anything.
Except birds of the corvus genus were known for being remarkably smart.
But still…
He opened his mouth to call Atticus off, but the birds had chased the frat boys and some of the other students to the other end of the quad. He doubted the crows would even hear him. Plus, he didn’t know if they’d listen to him if he shouted. It wasn’t like they’d done this for him. That idea was crazy.
Right?
Chapter 7
It’s Tog’s Turn
TOG
His demon roommates were idiots.
They were making the entire affair of scaring Luke far too complicated. Spiders? Cats? Silly bullshit. It was time to return to basics. Even if it meant getting more than one glared warning from Azroth.
Stuck-up know-it-all asshole.
It was close to midnight, and the entire house was silent. The other demons had returned to their rooms to give him space to work without their possible interference. Luke was later than normal in returning from his night job, but Tog had patience.
When he had at last heard the slow thud of Luke’s steps up the stairs and across the porch, Tog was practically vibrating with excitement. This was going to do it! He was going to hit Luke with everything, and the guy was going to piss his pants. His hair was going to turn white, and his heart would stop in his chest.
The door opened to absolute pitch blackness. Luke’s long, tired sigh cut across the foyer, and Tog could hear him shuffling bags and other things in his arms as he fumbled for the light switch near the front door.
A dim light flicked on, and Tog leaped out from his hiding spot. He towered nearly nine feet in the air, covered in black fur. His gaping mouth had rows of teeth that would make a great white shark jealous and massive talons, as sharp as razors, tipped hands bigger than Luke’s head. Half a dozen tentacles sprouted from his back and waved wildly in the air, while three bright-red eyes stared at Luke’s face. He was the stuff of nightmares. He was death and destruction. He was—
Luke chuckled and shook his head wearily. “That’s gotta be Tog.”
The demon froze. This made no sense. Why was Luke laughing at him? It was terrified laughing, right? Luke was so frightened that his brain had broken, and that was why he was laughing.
“Man, how did you know I needed cheering up?” Luke smirked as he tilted his head left and then right, inspecting his appearance. “That is a killer costume. You’re gonna have to show me how you made it. You are going to scare people shitless this Halloween.”
Costume?
“But not you?” Tog asked softly.
“Nah, I love all things horror and scary. Most of it makes me laugh.” Luke turned away from him and used his foot to kick the front door closed. Tog’s shoulders slumped. All his planning. This was his scariest creation yet, and Luke laughed at him. How could he call himself a demon if he couldn’t scare this one little human?
“Hey, I had a really shitty day. I picked up a large pizza with everything and a sack of super-hot wings. You wanna eat junk food and laugh at a scary movie with me?”