Francis' eyes widen further when my hand goes to the back of her head and tugs, pushing her pretty little face into the shit cake she just mocked. I jiggle her head just to really rub it in there before letting go and backing away before she can cause any damage.
The moment she lifts her head, I lose it. Her entire face is covered in chocolate frosting. when she pulls her glasses away, there are two place spaces around her eyes, only making the situation funnier. I'm laughing so hard that I miss it when the crazy lady picks up a handful of chocolate mush and launches it in my direction, slapping my chest with a squelch and a comedic slow glide down the front of my dress, leaving a smear of chocolate in its wake.
Silence follows, Francis and I looking at one another with shocked expressions. When the cake finally slaps the floor, we both keel over with hysterics, laughing until my sides hurt and tears pour from my eyes.
That's exactly how Francis' guests find us not ten minutes later. One of the girls didn't realize it was cake, naturally, proceeding to dry heave the longer she looked at us. The others looked on as though we were crazy.
Francis sent them all home and cancelled the get together, quickly realizing sophisticated wasn't on the cards so long as I was around. It's how Francis and I ended up at home, covered in my failed attempt at baking, sprawled on the couch eating a unicorn cake and getting drunk off our asses to celebrate my bestie turning another year older.
Slurring her words, Francis asks, "Promise me every birthday will be this fun, okay? Don't let me try to do anything ridiculous like a gathering."
Snickering into my bottle of gin, I make my vow. "I can promise you now that your birthdays are going to be a blast. I'll be around to make your day special every year until you pass away from old age. I'll even get you strippers when you're wrinkly and can't stand without a cane."
Francis falls into fits of laughter, and the sound is a soothing balm for my bruised soul. That's my best friend for you. The light in the life of darkness I've lived since she turned up and demanded to befriend me. I'd have it no other way.
Blinking quickly away from the memory, I feel the salty liquid trail down my cheeks in a scalding line. Francis won’t get her strippers. She won’t have another birthday, and she won’t get to live until she’s old and gray just like I promised. No more will we laugh together, joke around, or wind one another up just to pass the time. I’ll no longer see the best woman in the world every day or talk to her about anything and everything. It’s all been snatched away by the monstrous hands that have bound me to this chair to watch my best friend’s life fade away until her lifeless corpse lies on the ground before me.
My tears drip steadily off my chin as I watch while blood begins to pool around Ms. Frenchie's prone form, a dark copper liquid pouring from the bullet wound at the back of her head courtesy of Lucifer. It's then that my vision begins to fade slowly, colors and shapes morphing until a film of black coats my vision. The familiar power that pours from my chest and through my body begins to change, the soothing touch of my power distorting until a sharp electrical current zips under my skin, prickling my muscles with sharp jabs. Gone is the sweet, mellow magic that usually courses through me, replaced with a harsher, nastier power I've never felt before.
Through the ringing in my ears, I hear Lucifer goad, "There. Now that's out of the way and I no longer have to babysit, I'll take my leave. I'll be seeing you very soon, dear sister."
Just as the last word leaves his cruel lips, everything around me disappears, my gaze overcome with darkness. Hatred bubbles in my chest, anger bleeding through my veins. Grief threatens to drown me, stealing my breath and forcing me under the current of agony and pain. And I allow it, letting the darkness claim me for its own, basking in the tainted power that rushes through my body like a wildfire. I hear the rasp of Asher's voice, the pained tinge in his words piercing my heart that little bit more while he calls out my name. Eli's groan and sharp intake of air has the same effect, their pain almost tangible in the air.
He will pay for what he's done here today, and I'll be the one to deliver that payment. Ms. Frenchie will not die in vain; my angels won't have suffered for nothing. I won't allow it. Francis deserved so much more. I left my guys to keep them safe, and this is what happens. The thought alone only pulls me further under the consuming cloak of darkness, my fury growing until I'm blind with it.
Satan fucked up. He just doesn't know it yet.
But he will. I can promise that.
Chapter 1
Devon
Blinking awake, I see nothing but a neverending expanse of blackness, sparkling white specks marring my vision. I blink, blink again, but nothing changes.
That is until I'm nudged in the face by a wet snuffling nose.
Turning my head a fraction to the left brings me face to face with the biggest dog I've ever seen, making me realize I'd been seeing the darkened sky above where I'm lying on the ground. Why am I lying on the ground?
Brutus sits on his haunches, deep brown eyes watching me with more intelligence than a normal canine. He whines low in his throat, tilting his large head to the left, and waits for... something.
"What is it, boy?" I rasp. I follow it by rolling my eyes because I'm sure the dog isn't going to answer me. I clear my throat directly after the words leave my mouth. My tongue is dry, and my head is pounding, though I have no idea why or how.
The dog stands and nudges my cheek with his nose once more, whining longer than before. I push myself up until I'm sitting in the damp grass in the chilly night air, my eyes scanning my surroundings with confusion. My gaze takes in the house to my right, the building looking like it's seen better days. To my left is a large shrub, hiding my body and dousing me in shadows. I'm hidden enough not to be seen, but I haven't the slightest idea how I got here. The last thing I remember was...
Luna. Shit!
We were supposed to check the address Satan gave her. I remember sending Luna to the back of the house with her bow and arrows, while I was supposed to go through the window at the side of the house. The one my eyes have just snagged on from where I'm sitting in a bush. We were supposed to knock out the two angels in the living room, get Ms. Frenchie, and get the fuck out of dodge. So, that just brings me back to the question at hand: why am I lying on the ground?
Just as the thought filters through my mind, I'm nudged by the massive dog once more. When I look over at him, I find him staring at me intently before he turns his head and watches the dilapidated house. Did... did Luna go inside without me? I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if she did. The woman is more stubborn than me, so it would certainly be something she would do. But if she went inside, did she get back out? Where the hell is she?
"Damn woman," I mutter under my breath, hauling myself from the ground only to be pushed and stood on by the giant oaf of a dog. Whispering loudly, I blurt, "What the fuck, Brutus?"
Obviously he doesn't answer, but the look he gives me with the snarl that pulls up at his mouth has me snapping mine closed quickly. It's then I hear what Brutus was warning me about.
Loud footsteps echo from within the house, the heel hitting the wooden flooring inside with unmissable clacking. Lowering myself further into the bushes, I wait until the footsteps fade, the sound getting further away from the window and deeper into the house. The sound of male voices reaches around the house to where I'm hidden, too low for my ears to make out the words.