Free Road to Hell by J. C. Diem Page B

to his pseudo-sister. “I have never heard of a human having the ability to see our true forms before.”
    “We have to ensure that the spell is working first,” Brie said. She wasn’t going to be deterred from her mission. “Do you see any more demons?” she asked me.
    Feeling far too exposed, I searched the throng. I spied more flickering faces standing near the girl, but none of the demons seemed to be aware of us. “I can see six demons in the immediate area,” I informed them. “None of them are paying any attention to us.”
    “There are six demons?” Leo said in alarm. “Do they all look the same, or is one of them different?” He peered at them, trying to see what I could.
    I cast my eye over the small group and did a double take when I saw what he meant. One was taller and larger than the other five. He had short, stubby horns growing from his forehead and was even uglier than his colleagues. I described him and Leo’s concern grew.
    “It sounds like a Captain rather than a Demon Lord,” he said. “Now that we have verified that the spell is working, we should return to the store.”
    Nodding in agreement, Brie put her hand on my shoulder again. Leo copied her and I shut my eyes a moment before brightness flared. This time, we appeared inside the store rather than on the sidewalk outside. They let me go before I was ready and I staggered over to the table and sat down. Even with my eyes shut, I was feeling dizzy. Maybe being teleported twice in a short space of time was too much for a puny mortal like me.
    Sitting in her usual seat, Sophia pushed a cup of tea towards me. “I take it the spell worked?” she said to the twins. I was pretty sure they wouldn’t have brought me back here if it hadn’t.
    Leo nodded and took a seat. Brie chose to remain standing. Her arms were crossed and she indicated for her brother to fill the clairvoyant in. “We were not spotted by our enemies,” he said. “But it appears that Violet has talents we have never seen before.” At Sophia’s inquiring look, he explained. “She can apparently see our true forms.”
    Her head cocked to the side and she looked at me. “I do not understand.” All three of them spoke as if they came from another era. My mother had sounded a bit like them, as if she’d been raised in a posh home. For all I knew, maybe she had. She’d never spoken of her parents and I had no idea if she’d had any siblings.
    “Angels look beautiful and demons look hideous to me,” I explained. “I guess this means I can tell good from evil.”
    “Her talents appear to be flawed,” Brie said in a clipped tone. She almost seemed to be angry that I could see something that she couldn’t. “The demons do not always appear hideous to her.”
    “It seems to come and go,” I admitted.
    “Perhaps you only see their true natures when they are contemplating doing evil,” Sophia mused. “This could prove to be a very useful ability, even if you cannot see what they are all the time.”
    “Being able to see them gives me an advantage,” I conceded, “but I doubt I’ll be able to sneak up and stab them all in the back. I need to be able to defend myself from their attacks.”
    Brie’s lips turned upwards in a smile that wasn’t the least bit friendly. “Then we should begin your training immediately.”
    Leo rubbed his hands together and grinned gleefully. “This is going to be fun!”
    I tried to share his enthusiasm, but I was already dreading the training session. They might be smaller than me, but they were immortal beings who possessed God’s grace. I was just a lowly human who happened to be able to see holy and unholy spirits. That wasn’t going to be much of an advantage when fighting them. I had a feeling training with the twins was going to be a humbling and humiliating experience.
    Sophia went in search of weapons that we could practice with that hopefully wouldn’t maim me. Meanwhile, Brie and Leo shifted the table and chairs