Free Heaven and Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro

from the demon-greeting committee. My name’s Emma. Welcome to Pittsburgh. So sorry you can’t stay. Your departure to the abyss will board in oh…about three seconds.”
    The guy snorted. “You think you’re funny? Or are you hoping I’ll let you slice off my head just to get away from your lousy jokes?”
    I shrugged. “Whatever works.” Smart-aleck demons. Gotta love ’em .
    And just like that the sexy Adonis shifted forms—his big hands growing longer, talon-like claws forming at the ends of his fingers. His body mass increased, muscles thickening, bones lengthening. He grew taller by two or three inches and wider by the same degree. Veins bulged on his neck—down his forehead, shoulders, and forearms. He bared his sharpened teeth at me, growling. “C’mon, let’s do this.”
    His voice was raw, gravelly like a three-pack-a-day smoker. The sound didn’t go with the pretty-boy looks he’d had before, but it was standard form for demons.
    “What? That’s it? No lumpy horned head, no blood-red skin, no cloven feet? You’re not gonna get any bigger than that?” I had to admit, he was kind of a letdown.
    He waved me on with one clawed hand. “All I’ll need. Let’s go.”
    “You bet. Just one thing I gotta know first.” I adjusted my grip. “You kill that illorum back there?”
    “Would you let me go if I said no?”
    “Why? So you can live to kill another day? Uh…” I rolled my eyes, pretending to consider it. “No.”
    He stalked toward me. “Then don’t ask stupid questions.”
    “You kill Karoz too?” I asked, centering my weight—feeling the perfect balance of my sword in my hands, ready.
    But the demon stopped, eyes going wide. “Karoz? He was the boy’s magister?”
    I scoffed. “Like you care. You’re a friggin’ demon. Some Fallen’s bitch. All you care about is seducing moronic humans into throwing themselves on a grenade to protect your puppet master and keeping your ass out of the abyss.”
    He blinked at that, as though he couldn’t quite believe I’d said it. Then his expression twisted, a fresh mask of ugly rippling across his face. He crouched, preparing to pounce. “Filthy spawn.”
    Faster than an electric spark, he sprang and I ducked, his claws swinging at my head, ripping the shoulder of my white, silk blouse instead. I spun, my sword coming around and nicking his side.
    I was still wearing my date-night clothes—silk, tapered shirt, clingy black slacks, black fitted vest, and low-heeled, ankle-high cowboy boots. Not the best outfit to wear to a sword fight, but hey, it could’ve been worse.
    He skidded to a stop, slamming into the polished block wall behind him.
    “What are you doing with the swords?” I asked, finding my balance again, ready for his next attack.
    He got to his feet, seething, and looked up at me from under the shelf of his brow. “Rot in Hell, you murderous bitch.”
    The demon launched himself at me again, but this time I started my swing a half beat sooner, the blade poised to slice across his chest—maybe even sever an arm. It didn’t.
    Instead my sword met human meat and muscle, clipping a lock of bright red hair that hadn’t been there an instant before. Bodies collided and fell at my feet. My brain scrambled to make sense of the tangle of limbs, the tumbling flash of claws, hands, and legs.
    They slammed into the automatic doors, denting the white metal bottom. The sound of it echoed off the walls. The demon moved first, rolling quickly off the smaller body underneath.
    “Liam?” I said.
    He lay on his stomach, blood seeping through his shirt. I’d made a five-inch gash across his back. His blood stained the white doors.
    Slowly he pushed to his elbows and rolled over, his small Irish green eyes smiling, mouth in a crooked grin. “Hello, lassie.”
    “Are you crazy? I could’ve killed you.”
    The demon took advantage of our momentary distraction. He started toward Liam, and I felt sure he meant to finish the job I’d