Doesn't hurt to have a reminder that we're powerful enough to make you miserable if you think to wriggle out of any deal we make." Caryon laughed when Rafe frowned, studied my face, then bit out a colorful curse.
"Relax, Valdez, they'll grow back. Now you two get busy. And, Glory, there's a bright side. You have your reflection." Cue maniacal laugh. "Think. You're going to give us the king of the EVs, who you yourself acknowledge is an evil man. He'll only get what he so richly deserves - a hellacious afterlife." Spyte hopped around in what could only be described as a demon version of a happy dance.
Caryon frowned at him. "He's right. You know Simon's goddess, who is a major slut, by the way, had probably planned to give him a cushy spot enjoying sizzling sex with her when he finally gets that stake he's been cruising for all these years."
"Yes, I bet she does. He worships her and has fed her energy for centuries from the poor saps he captures. He almost got my energy once." I held on to Rafe. He'd actually come up with a solution I thought I could live with. But how did we pull this off? What did you do to get someone to sell his soul? Barter? Coercion? Would it help to do a web search for deals with the Devil?
"Relax, dear girl. We have a contract. When the time comes, we'll make sure you know what to do." Caryon clapped his hand on Spyte's shoulder when he started to levitate. "Calm down, my man. You're embarrassing yourself."
"Can't help it. Lucifer is going to be so happy." Spyte grinned, all fangs and candy breath. "Maybe he'll even shut down the karaoke for a while."
"Silence? That would be too much to hope for. One more screaming version of 'Endless Love' and I'm going to . . ." Caryon rubbed his forehead. "Never mind." He gave Rafe and me a stern look. "This isn't a done deal yet. And the penalty for failure is steep. Valdez is Exhibit A, Gloriana." He glanced at Spyte and sighed. "Don't you dare reveal your true nature!"
"I can't resist, Glory doesn't like them. Look at her, she's freaking." Spyte now wore face paint, red pants, a green polkadot shirt and a blue bow tie. He squirted us with water from his bright yellow flower, then tooted a horn, which made me flinch.
I clung to Rafe. Spyte was right, I didn't like clowns. Yes, maybe it was a stupid phobia, but I'd never been comfortable around them. Leave it to a demon to zero in on it and take advantage.
Spyte danced closer to me and laughed when I cringed. "Going to cooperate now, Glory?"
"Leave her alone. She's going to. Aren't you?" Rafe looked down and I managed a weak nod. "Now back off, asshole." He put his hand on Spyte's loud shirt and shoved.
"Takes one to know one." Spyte giggled and did a flip, landing on my table and squirting Caryon and Rafe with his flower.
"Now you know what we endure down there." Caryon sighed and wiped the moisture off his face. "Clowns. Hell is full of them, the kind who like to torment kids. They actually have contests to see how many of them can fit into those little cars, then race, running over toys and Christmas ornaments." He shuddered. "Exhausting."
"Not as exhausting as watching you channel that loan officer who came down last week. Too bad you aren't buying your apartment, Glory. Cary just loves a foreclosure." Spyte gave me a creepy smile. "So he's really pissy this trip. Even for you, Cary, that eyelash thing was low."
"I left her eyebrows!" Caryon poked Spyte in his bulbous red nose.
"You sure you weren't aiming for them?" Spyte squirted Caryon in the eye before they both vanished.
I surprised myself with a giggle, then buried my face in Rafe's shirt. Before I knew it, I was crying bitter tears. Rafe's arms were strong as he rocked me against him. I finally pushed back and took the tissue he'd grabbed from a box on the table. I blew my nose and wiped my wet cheeks.
"Sorry for the meltdown."
"You earned it. That was pretty intense." He leaned down and picked up the dress Spyte had knocked to the floor. "At least they're finally gone."
"But they can pop back in at any time." I sat on the one chair in the room. "A deal with the Devil? You have any idea how