Satan considered the offer with pursed lips and a look of displeasure.
“Take it or leave it,” Astrid threatened. “And just so you know, I have a little video you might be interested in… ”
“Are you blackmailing me?” he shouted with delight.
“Oh my Hell,” she gasped out and paled. “I think I am.”
“Apples do not fall far from their trees. You’re more Demon than you want to believe,” Satan told her with a lopsided grin. “And I accept your kind invitation to Christmas next year.”
“I’m sure I’ll live to regret it,” she told him with a smile and a snort.
“I’m sure you will,” he agreed and turned his attention back to the cage.
“Can you do it?” Astrid asked her uncle in a hushed tone.
Satan’s sigh was large and put upon. “I am going to pretend you didn’t say that,” he snapped. “I really don’t want to have to smite your ass when I’m done here.”
“Right. Sorry, Uncle Fucker… I mean, Satan,” she mumbled with an evil little grin and backed away.
“Oh and Heathcliff,” he added as he turned and smirked. “Astrid’s payment does not negate the request you have asked of me—or your favor.”
“I didn’t think it did,” I replied evenly. “Can you find who I requested?”
“For the love of everything evil,” Satan yelled and threw his hands in the air. “What’s this crap about everyone doubting me? This is not good for my ego. I’m the fucking Devil—the King on the Underworld—the most evil one of all, for shit’s sake.”
The walls shook and I put my hands up in defense. “I was simply assuming that this individual might not reside in Hell,” I quickly explained trying to avoid a satanic tantrum.
“Oh… okay,” Satan said magnanimously accepting my justification. “He doesn’t normally, but he was on a field trip to see all the Nazis being water boarded in the basement of Hell. He might have accidentally missed the bus back to Heaven.”
“Holy crap, you kidnapped someone else?” Astrid hissed as she marched up to the Devil and smacked him upside the head.
Everyone in the room blanched. Who in their right mind walloped Satan?
“Let’s get something straight here,” Satan growled. “I did not abduct my hero, Steve Perry. My daughters kidnapped him for me for Christmas.”
“He does have a point,” Ethan added cautiously.
“See?” Satan whined like a five year old. “Not everything bad is my fault. However, if I’d thought of it I would have done it before they did.”
He mumbled the second half of his sentence as he backed away from Astrid.
“Whatever,” she huffed. “You cannot keep people against their will.”
“But I did,” Satan replied.
“It’s still wrong,” Astrid declared, chastising him.
“And your point?” Satan asked, truly baffled.
“Never mind.” Astrid rolled her eyes and pressed the bridge of her nose. “Who did you detain anyway?”
“That is for me and Heathcliff to know and you to find out. Is this the only ward I have to break?” Satan asked as he flicked his fingers and the magic that bound Gareth oozed to the floor with a wicked hiss.
“I’m not sure,” Astrid replied truthfully. “Three of Ethan’s other siblings have gone missing and I’m not certain of their circumstances.”
Raquel and Ethan rushed forward to their brother. Hugs, backslaps and a few tears were shed. As the spell continued to fizzle and dissolve, the silver chains that bound Gareth disintegrated to a fine powdery dust. He was free—almost.
“Why hasn’t his aging reversed?” Raquel turned to Satan and asked. “He’s still aging.”
“Unfortunately my dear, that part of the curse cannot be reversed by me,” the Devil winked at my mate and gave Raquel what I assumed was his panty melting smile.
My hands fisted at my sides and the need to take him down boiled in my veins. Ethan shot me a look that would have made most cringe. However, we were dealing with my mate here.
No one except for me was allowed to even think of her in a suggestive way without dying violently. Thankfully the Devil’s advances clearly didn’t tempt Raquel in the slightest. It would have been incredibly bad form to take on Satan—especially when I’d asked him to come.
However, he was treading on paper thin ice at the moment.
“You can do nothing?” Gareth asked diffusing the tension. “You’re the goddamned Devil.”
“For the love of torture,” Satan roared. “I just freed your sorry ass. Does that amount to nothing?”
“Calm down and pull your panties out of your crack,” Astrid snapped. “It’s a reasonable fucking question. If you can’t do it, who can?”
“That information will cost you,” Satan said with a sulk.
“Mother humpin’ cowballs on a pointy stick covered in poop,” Astrid mumbled with disgust. “What do you want?”
“Can I get back to you on that?” Satan asked.
“No,” Ethan grumbled as Astrid snapped, “Yes.”
“Wonderful,” Satan bellowed completely ignoring the Vampyre Prince of the North American Dominion. “I’ll let you know my price. Soon.”
Ethan closed his eyes and stared at the ceiling. I was certain he was praying for patience. Satan was tough to swallow under any circumstance—let alone one where he clearly had the upper hand.