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)
“Thank you for the crows. I really like them.”
“Go!”
The scurry of Luke’s feet across the floor and up the stairs was the only sound he made. But it was too late. Those softly spoken words of gratitude had already created a glowing warmth within his chest that wouldn’t stop.
Luke wanted to stay.
That was unexpected, to say the least.
Not that it was a bad thing. Luke had been a perfect tenant, kind and thoughtful of everyone who lived there. He made their days far more interesting.
“So, that went well.” Ogos’s voice crawled through the room in a lazy drawl.
The library had stopped its sobbing and was humming as it returned its books to their proper shelves. Ogos was lurking somewhere in the shadows, cautious of the temper he was purposefully stoking in Azroth.
“It did. The goal was to scare him. I did that. I won.” His tone was clipped and tight as his nails dug into the arms of the chair.
“True. True. But now he knows we’re all demons.”
“Yes.”
“And he wants to stay.”
Azroth grunted. That one still baffled him.
“So,” Ogos drawled out. “What do we do now?”
Chapter 12
Let’s Help Our Pet Get Laid
AZROTH
Azroth glared at the gathering of demons in the library. Trying to call a meeting to discuss the constant state of chaos in the kitchen was like herding cats. They couldn’t be found, couldn’t listen, and just didn’t care.
But the moment he called a meeting to discuss the fate of their human roommate, suddenly everyone had a minute to spare and was all ears.
Azroth was ready to pitch them back to Hell where they belonged.
The demon stomped his way across the room and threw himself into a wingback leather chair. His elbows resting on the arms of the chairs, he steepled his fingers in front of him and took a second to glare at each of his companions. Currently, Luke was soundly asleep in his room at the top of the house and highly unlikely to wake to hear their discussion.
“You ready to admit that you couldn’t scare Luke, either?” Tog drawled. A smug grin spread across his greasy face, revealing jagged sharklike teeth.
Azroth ground his teeth together, mentally slicing the demon down the center and flipping his entire body inside-out.
In a rare moment of helpfulness, Ogos chimed in. “Actually, Azroth was quite successful in scaring Luke. I could smell his terror rolling through the halls and trickling up the stairs.”
“What?” Several of the other demons gasped.
“What did you do?” Bath’tuk demanded. The one-eyed demon managed to sound both terrified and overprotective of the human at the same time.
Azroth opened his mouth to answer, but Ogos was in a chatty mood and continued to speak for him. “Oh, nothing much. He just revealed his true form and told Luke that he’s living in a house full of demons.”
Chaos erupted around him as nearly all the demons except for Ogos and Azroth panicked. Azroth dropped his right hand into his lap and pinched the bridge of his nose with his left. It was now clear why Ogos was being so “helpful.”
“Enough!” Azroth shoved to his feet and flung out his wings, surprising the other demons into silence. Or at least little whimpers. “Luke is currently asleep in his attic, and it would be best if we had this discussion without waking him.”
Once he’d cowed all the demons appropriately, Azroth threw himself back into his chair. “Now,” he growled, leveling a long look at Ogos, hoping to get the gelatinous demon to keep his gaping maw shut. “We need to decide what to do about Luke. Yes, he knows that we’re all demons. He has even seen me as I truly am. However, he has stated that he wants to continue living here.”
“Really? He wants to live with us?” Annod asked, his words bubbling over with excitement.
“He’s not scared?” Mullmag chimed in.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of not being afraid. I’m sure he’s quite afraid of me and likely all of you,” Azroth began.
“But it’s that he’s more afraid of being homeless as winter overtakes New England,” Ogos finished for him. “Also, it seems that his past roommates were rather atrocious.”
Tog launched to his feet. His meaty hands curled into fists, his knuckles cracking loudly. “Which ones? What are their names? I’ll teach ’em a lesson for messing with Luke.”
Azroth flicked a finger from the bookshelf to Ogos. An enormous atlas shot off the shelf and plowed into the demon, getting stuck halfway. That should occupy the demon for a couple of minutes at least, giving Azroth time to explain the situation without being interrupted.
He then turned his glare on Tog. “Yes,” he hissed, his mouth twisting into an ugly, sarcastic smile. “I’ve already heard how you helped with his boss. Let’s put the matter of Luke’s old roommates aside for now and focus on the situation with Luke’s current roommates.”