The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,127

Ron agreed. "I just have no idea how to dress to blend with college students."

Luke tipped his head at Sam. "I'll get Ron looking good, and you help Bel?"

"Sounds like a plan," Sam agreed. "Might even make Sia help me."

I couldn't help it. I loved how these guys just rolled with everything. I'd just told them that the angels knew we were here, and they acted like it didn't really matter. Granted, they'd been fighting this war for more time than I could even imagine, but still. There was no yelling, no blaming, and not even a hint of worry. They just made plans to work with the hand we'd been dealt, and it made me feel like we had our shit together. Like I was truly a part of this team.

But there was one thing I still didn't understand. "So what's the end game here?" I asked. "What are we all going out to look for?"

"The slaves," Nick said. "If they're collecting a hundred thousand humans to ship to Angelis, they have two options. Either they can send small groups back, or they can hold them as an entire group and move them all at once." He looked over at Luke. "Since Uriel didn't have any facilities ready - or at least he told you he didn't - I can only assume that somewhere, they're preparing to collect people."

"Wouldn't they, I dunno, fight back? Or make a scene?" I asked. "How can they hide that many people?"

Luke sighed. "Sia, they'll be mind-fucked. Probably sitting quietly like vegetables. Gabriel will simply need to keep them out of sight."

"Oh." Well, that would make it harder. "So, what are we looking for, then?"

Luke lifted both hands, palm up. "No idea. A warehouse or basement, probably. It won't be easy to find. The best way is to follow the people. Listen to gossip at the parties, talk to those who've bumped into them. Usually, it's the ones the missing pissed off who'll have the most to say."

"And the church," Bel said. "Ties between that and the school. The further in they pull these humans, the more ties they will have. Someone who moves between both of them may have seen something and not known what it was."

"Yep," I said, "and now I feel like a cop."

"Demon police?" Sam teased.

"Something like that," I agreed. "So what do we do when we..." I let the sentence trail off because I heard something.

The guys looked at me in confusion, but it happened again. Bleating, like a sheep, and it sounded really close. "What the..." Sam said, hopping up to head to the front door.

That made Luke get up to look out the front windows. I knew he saw something unexpected because of the way his head twisted. "Guys... There's a..."

"Sheep," Sam called from the front door. "Someone left a lamb in the yard! College prank?"

That had to be some kind of message from the angels, didn't it? Curious, I headed to the front door, but half the guys were moving to the window. I left the room and reached the hallway just as Sam opened the door and leaned partway out. When I moved behind him, I saw it.

A cute little white sheep was hopping up the steps of the porch as if it was headed to the front door, but when its feet found the top, everything changed - including it. The lamb began to dissolve, shifting into something even smaller. It took a few seconds to make it out, and then the flapping of wings told me all I needed to know. A little yellow butterfly fluttered up from the aetherial dust of what had just been a baby sheep. Then, as it made its way closer, flying exactly as jittery as a normal butterfly, the yellow and black wings began to change color, shifting to green, and then all the way to blue.

"God," I breathed, holding out my hand.

It aimed right for me, but what settled on my finger was not the insect I expected. Yes, she had the wings of a butterfly, but like my little flutterbee, she'd changed the body. That part looked like, of all things, a tiny little dragon.

"God?" It was a question this time.

It has been a long time since I last saw this world. I did not realize how fast things change. Hello, Ayala.

"Yeah," I breathed, carrying her into the house. "I'm kinda going with Devil, and I think we've all been calling you God. But I'd