angels dropped new demons near a portal point so he didn't have to travel for days. They also dropped them in deserted areas.
Since humans had become less superstitious and cities had grown bigger and technology stronger, letting them see too much of the preternatural world was no longer wise. And the angels didn't want their secrets revealed, either - if only because they wanted to be seen as elite and top secret. Perish the thought that someone should have the knowledge of how boring heaven was before they got there.
It was the club everybody thought they wanted in, until they arrived. Like just about any country club, when he thought about it.
This demon was female. A succubus. He found her in a forest in Romania. At one point he would have assumed the woman had been from that area. But he'd learned over time that where they were spit back out had nothing to do with where they'd been from, at least not these days. Once upon a time, they'd been more organized about it. She could be Chinese or Japanese or American. She could be anything. It was good that he was fluent in everything.
She was in the demon form, scaled reddish-brown skin, claws, horns popping out over her shoulders, fangs, and glowing red eyes. Not the best form to catch dinner in. He waited for her to speak first. He'd have to know what language she spoke so he could talk to her and help her shift. She looked up at him and scrambled back, a look of horror on her face. She'd been crying for a while. Who could blame her?
But the horror at seeing him? It was harmful to his ego. It wasn't the usual reaction from females. He was in his prime human hunting form. He'd spent his first thousand years fine-tuning it. No female could resist it. Except this one, apparently.
"Cain?" She said his name as if willing it not to be true.
He hoped this wasn't some woman he'd had for dinner. That would be just awkward.
"In the flesh," he said. "Whatever we had before... we don't sleep with our own kind. So don't get any ideas."
"Ewww, gross. I would never sleep with you," she said.
Okay, so not someone he'd slept with. He hoped. Generally, there was no pillow talk afterward because the woman was dead. There weren't often occasions for him to get critiqued on his technique. He wasn't sure his ego could handle a bad review after all this time.
"Who are you?" he asked, the suspense driving him mad.
"Jane Tanner, Cole's mate."
Fuck. He'd heard Jane had died. Cole never hunted his own food now; it was brought to him. He never left the den anymore. And now, here his mate was, a succubus.
"Jane, listen to me, I am going to help you. I know you must be hungry. But I need you to stay here and try to remain calm. I'll show you how to shift to a form you can feed in as soon as I return."
He knew she didn't trust him, but she also seemed aware he was all the help she had at the moment.
"Don't leave me here." She pushed the words awkwardly around her fangs.
"I won't be long, I promise." He gave her the blanket he'd been clutching and went to kick an ass.
***
Cain was in full-on demon form when he crossed into what he liked to call the lobby of Heaven. It was as far as he was allowed to go. But oh, he'd seen past the gates to those silly streets and those zombies that stayed there pretending to be happy with their harps and shit. He was fine with just the lobby.
The reception angel took a full step back from behind her podium. "Um..."
"Tell the fucker that just made Jane Tanner into a demon to get his ass out here right now."
The receptionist was a cute blonde thing, looked about twenty. If he had to guess, some human woman who had been elevated. Angels came in two types: created and elevated. Created were unfathomably beautiful. Elevated could be anything. She was cute, but she wasn't created-level cute. Part of him wanted to see if he could tempt her, to make her fall, but then she'd be a guardian, and what would he do with a guardian? Nothing. But it would be fun, at least. Corrupting the innocent always was.
She darted through the gate and returned a few minutes later with a couple of different angels.