canât give me to them â that goes against everything both of you stand for. You keep humans safe from demons; you donât hand them over for the demons to play with.â
I was silent at that. She was right. I pulled myself together. âName your terms.â
âYouâve agreed to give me to the King. Heâs already paid for me. But if heâs destroyed, you donât need to pay the price.â
âThe last thing we need right now is a civil war in Hell,â I said. âHe may be a two-faced bastard, but at least he doesnât create demons that are self-aware, think theyâre human and are programmed to turn â like the ones your friend the Death Mother is making. Such things are cruel beyond belief.â
âNot my doing,â Kitty said. âIâm only after Immortality; I donât want to destroy anybody. Iâve never hurt your students. Iâve stayed quietly in my corner doing my stuff. Itâs not my fault that I scare the living shit out of the King.â
âYouâre nice and humble now your little posseâs gone,â I said.
âDestroy the King and Iâll set up a replacement. I have one ready to go; heâs intelligent, powerful and does what I tell him. Do this for me and Iâll put a King on the throne who will never bother you again. Youâll no longer have the forces of Hell breathing down your neck, killing your Celestials and harming your little human students.â
âYou want to set a puppet on the throne of Hell?â I said.
She gestured with impatience. âI donât want to rule Hell. I just want to be left alone to succeed with my Immortality and then live my life in peace! Iâve never wanted any of you dead; I just want to be left alone.â
âGloria Ho,â I said. âAndy Ho. The Death Mother. Before that, Six, and the Geek, and Simon Wong. Donât tell me you wonât try to kill us, Kitty; you and your friends havenât stopped trying. Youâve been the leader of this all along, so donât play the innocent. You want to put a puppet on the throne of Hell and then try to take over the Earthly Plane as well.â
She raised her arms to the side. âThis is a waste of time. Get me out.â
The two bodyguards transformed into humanoid demons with black scales and tusks. All three of them disappeared.
âWhoa!â Simone said. âThey were demons? I saw them as human.â
âMe too,â Leo said, and Michael nodded agreement.
âDid you see them as demons or human, John?âI said, turning to see him, but heâd disappeared. âIs he all right, Simone?â
âDaddy went back to the Grotto,â Simone said. âHe seemed totally confused by the whole thing.â
âIt was strange my sword didnât come to me,â I said. âKitty must have been blocking it somehow, which is very disturbing.â I raised my hand and summoned the sword and it still didnât come. âAre you having the same problem?â
Simone raised her hand and Dark Heavens appeared in it. She dismissed it. âI have no trouble calling my sword.â
âYou havenât called the Murasame since you lost your demon essence,â Leo said.
âYouâre right,â I said. âMaybe it doesnât serve me any more. Maybe it went back to the King?â
âAfter this, weâll head back to the Mountain and ask Miss Chen,â Simone said. She ran her hands through her hair and fluffed it out over her shoulders. âLetâs go upstairs and raise some money for these poor kids.â
CHAPTER 5
W e made our way back up in the lift to the floor above. The speeches had started, and we slipped in at the back to watch. Michael nodded to Leo, then went to the side table and grabbed a tray of drinks for us.
About halfway through Davidâs welcoming speech, a deep vibration thrummed through the floor beneath