The Lure of the Devil (The Demons' Muse #4) - Auryn Hadley Page 0,57

will they know how to do that? Yeah, and then we'll have to go through them all and figure out who can go back to their own planes, who won't want to - because it's just as cruel to separate families and friends as it is to enslave them. And, um..."

"How to get them off Angelis," Nick said.

I nodded at him. "And that's a whole 'nother list. Like, we'll have to get in - which is easy for Luke and me, but not y'all. Then we'll need to make some kind of portal, right? Because it's not like we can just slip ten thousand people out one by one. So, like a tunnel? And I figure that if Gabriel wanted me to make a hole, then that means something like that is possible. Although, the 'how' part is going to take some research, and we won't want to leave it open. But then where? If there's that many people, we can't just open it and risk angels catching us in the act."

"And the Angelis veil," Nick added, encouraging me.

I sighed. "Ok, so from what I understand, if I just shatter the veil around that plane now, it will let all of the aether leak into the corridor, right? Basically, a death trap for anything not immortal, like the slaves and the trees. Considering fairy trees seem to have a mind of their own, well, that's kinda cruel. So, I'll need to make another veil either inside or outside the original, and then pop the one the angels made. Which, when I say it like that, it sounds pretty easy, but with what I did on Vesdar, I know that's a whole lot of heavy lifting."

"So where do we start?" Nick asked. The expression on his face made it clear he was taking me seriously.

Unfortunately, I didn't really know. I didn't exactly have an answer yet, because I didn't know enough. Wait. My eyes jumped over to Ron. What had he said earlier? He didn't have enough data? Well, that would probably be the logical first step!

"We need to know more," I told him, feeling like I was back in school and had figured out what the teacher wanted to hear.

Nick just smiled at me. "So far, I agree with you completely. Now, if this is your project, where should we start?"

"Uriel," Luke answered for me. "We can't do anything until we have something set up for the slaves, and her father happens to be heavily involved in the slave industry on Angelis."

I groaned. "Not quite the legacy I want to be known for. The child of a slave trader."

"More like a slave manager," Luke corrected. "And Uriel is also a master that most respect. He's fair, he tries to make sure their lives are comfortable, and he thinks of the mortal races more like pets than servants. Sia, they donate aether to him by choice. He doesn't take, and he also never has a shortage. Your father is really more like a shield for them."

"He still owns them, Luke!"

Luke just canted his head. "True. But he uses his power to help them as much as he can. I have a feeling he'd be happy to be a part of this project, which means we might have some inside help when it comes time to get them out."

"So can we go talk to him, maybe, tomorrow?" I asked.

"You need aether," Bel said.

"I can reap before we go, right?"

He sighed, the sound proving that he didn't like it. "Why do you have to go yourself? Can't Luke talk to him?"

"Maybe she wants to see her parents," Luke countered.

Sam held up a hand. "What's bothering you, Bel?"

He just thrust an arm at me. "Why is she always the one? We are supposed to protect her. We are supposed to be her shields. Why should we not also find the information she needs so she doesn't have to? We are her legion, so we should do for her! And how do we keep her safe if we do what Nick says and just not care when she visits dangerous places?"

"Any place is dangerous," I reminded Bel. "Unicorns, dragons, and car accidents could all kill me. I kinda don't want to spend eternity wrapped up in bubble wrap!"

"I just worry," he grumbled. "I am supposed to protect you, Muse."

"You're supposed to help me," I corrected. "And yes, part of that is protecting, but I'm supposed to protect you too."

"Slaves are not me," he said. "Slaves