he could have overpowered me, even with his hellhounds as happy puppies. My magic worked on them, but not on him, and he was far stronger than I was. I had no real defense against demon magic. But he’d walked away from Faust, a soul he’d been hunting down for centuries, because I’d told him to.
Maybe there was some sort of compromise we could reach where Faust paid per the terms of his contract, but not necessarily the traditional hellish punishments. I needed to think on it before I reached out to contact Ty, though. And I definitely needed to get my emotions and heart under control before I saw him again.
You’re not going to turn me over to him, are you? Rhoid asked, twisting his paws nervously together.
“I don’t know. You made a deal, and it’s not my place to protect you when you refuse to hold up your end of the bargain.” Ugh. This was going to get ugly if I couldn’t come up with some compromise. If Ty went to Lucien and complained that I was protecting Faust, things would get very prickly in my family. I wasn’t even sure Cassie would stick up for me on this one. Rhoid had sold his soul after all.
Unless there was a weird loophole in the contract. I wasn’t a lawyer, but Cassie was. Maybe she could figure something out. It would be better than me trying to come up with a deal. The only problem with that was that I’d need to tell Cassie everything, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to do that.
But there was one of my sisters I’d definitely tell. Tomorrow. After a good night’s sleep, that is.
“Go hide under the couch with your buddies,” I told Rhoid. “I promise I won’t do anything tonight.”
Chapter 13
Adrienne
“You don’t have a lot of choices here, Addy,” Babylon wiped the bar down, then started washing glasses while I munched on a sandwich. “Turn the squirrel over, go to Cassie and Lucien and see if they can modify the contract somehow, or spend the rest of your life with this Faust barricaded inside your house.”
I really didn’t like the last idea, and it wouldn’t work anyway. “He won’t stay behind. He insists on coming everywhere with me now. I’m literally going on calls with a vulture and four squirrels crammed into the cab of my truck.”
Lonnie winced. “Honestly I’d just turn the damned thing over to the demon and wash my hands of the whole thing.”
I groaned. “If he was in human form I’d totally do it, but he’s this cute, adorable, fuzzy squirrel. With little tiny paws, and a little twitchy nose, and big dark eyes.”
“Yeah, they’re just as cute when they’re skeletons.” Babylon sighed. “I get it. I really do.”
“When I walked in and saw Ty holding that fuzzy little guy up in the air like he was strangling him, I just lost it,” I told her.
Lonnie nodded. “It would have been a different case if Ty were holding up a wizened old wizard who’d sold his soul centuries ago.”
“I’m not sure I could have just excused Ty for choking an old man either.” I picked at my French fries. “I’m going to have to go to Cassie. Which sucks. It’s going to put her right in the middle between me and Lucien. I hate to do that.”
“Eventually his job and ours was going to conflict,” Lonnie pointed out. “Cassie will work it out. She always does. And the best part is that takes everything right out of your hands. No longer your responsibility.”
Except Rhoid still would kind of be my responsibility. And I still didn’t know what to do about Ty. Was there any way to make up with him after all that happened last night? Did I even want to make up with him?
“You’re still coming to the party tonight, aren’t you?” Lonnie asked.
I wrinkled my nose. “I probably shouldn’t. I’ve got so much to do, and Rhoid won’t stay home. It’s probably not safe for him to be running around a corn maze and bonfire with half of hell after him.”
Although I hadn’t seen any of the hellhounds since last night. Neither had I seen Ty or any demons. Did Ty call a temporary truce? Were they waiting for an opportunity to jump on the squirrel and haul him back to hell?
“That’s not your problem. If asshole Faust wants to leave your nice, safe, warded house, then that’s on him.” Babylon dried her hands