"Second. I'm not on a plane. I'm talking about the plane, as in this limited version of reality."
She laughed. "Limited? Your options are practically infinite. What are you talking about?"
He sighed. "I'm bored."
"Well, maybe demons weren't meant to live for so long."
"That's your idea of sympathy? Feeling sorry for my grandchildren already." Instead of the indignant protest he was expecting, his daughter made no reply. "Hello? Can you hear me now? Where did I lose you?" He appeared in front of her on the other side of the kitchen island. He watched her reaction closely while he said, "Never mind," into the phone and then shoved it into the pocket of soft faux doeskin pants.
Litha set her phone on the counter next to her.
"I wasn't serious about thinking you'll be a bad mama jama." He flashed his most charming smile just as his eyes were pulled downward. "Ohhhhh." He grinned. "So all kidding aside, my little girl is really gonna be somebody's mama, which means..."
"Don't say it."
"I'm gonna be a grandemon!" He hadn't been this animated since, well, she'd never seen him so excited. "Forget what I said about being tired of this plane. This is just... It's just... I can't even think of a word to describe it. Transcendent! Yes! It's a transcendent experience. I can already tell."
"And when did you become interested in transcendence?"
Storm walked into the kitchen before the demon answered. When Storm heard voices in the kitchen, he knew it was his father-in-law and thought about hiding for a split second. He didn't, but suspected he would regret that decision before the visit was over. Deliverance almost knocked him over with a very big and, decidedly unwelcome, shirtless hug.
"The proud papa, I presume." He laughed and patted Storm on the back before turning back to Litha. "Have you named him?"
"He came with a name. It's Storm."
"Cute."
"What makes you think our baby is a him?" Storm asked.
Litha watched her father's face soften into something that looked like adoration. "It's a girl?" It was a whispered question that melted Litha's heart. One thing that could be said about her dad was that you could never guess which way he would jump.
Deliverance pulled Litha into an embrace and hugged her tenderly, rocking her back and forth. Litha met Storm's gaze over her father's shoulder. That beguiling twinkle she loved was fixed in her husband's black eyes.
"This is the best thing that's ever happened to me." He pulled back and looked his daughter in the face. "Next to you," he said softly.
"You trying to make me cry, demon?"
Storm spoke up. "He's making me cry. I had a nice, quiet, relaxing, private evening planned with my wife."
Deliverance shot his son-in-law a dirty look that as much as said, "I could burn you to a crisp where you stand."
Storm replied with a sneer that as much as said, "Maybe so, but like it or not, she's mine."
They both thought they were clever, but Litha was always aware of their wordless communications.
"Ratchet it down a notch." She grabbed her father's chin and forced him to look at her instead of her husband. "I need a favor."
"Anything within my power."
"Storm's old boss is throwing a small dinner party. I've been asked to bring you along."
Deliverance's pupils could narrow to slits when his suspicion was roused. "Why?"
"What happened to 'anything'?"
"I didn't say no. I said, 'Why?'"
Litha sighed. "I think they want to ask you to help with some matters that require extra-human abilities such as yours."