Chapter Nine

Stolas and the others had been invited to a party. Some shindig with a demon named Behem.

Every time I’d heard the name Behem, my demons had wrinkled their noses as if there was a bad smell hanging about.

Wait... My demons?

When did Stolas, Caim, Malphas, and Murmur become my demons?

I tabled that thought.

I’d never heard of Behem, though Stolas was less than enthused to respond to the summons, so I could only imagine he wasn’t pleasant to be around.

I’d fully expected to stay home, eating leftover ravioli and watching reality TV, but maybe if I went to the party, I’d be able to find some information about Sugar.

Drug dealers went to parties, right?

I just had to convince the demons to let me join their investigation. To show that I would be a valuable resource.

I was already at a negative. I couldn’t play the ‘ I’m human, and if you question any humans, I can help ’ card. Most humans didn’t speak ASL and wouldn’t live long if they heard my voice.

The Tailor had told Stolas I was a Bean Sídhe. I kept waiting for Stolas to mention it, but he hadn’t.

Maybe he didn’t care.

The demon hadn’t asked me a single question. Admittingly, the Tailor had used the Irish pronunciation, so maybe Stolas didn’t know?

Maybe he was just playing dumb.

It wasn’t like I could come out and ask him, especially if I planned to keep him sweet so I could join their little task force.

What else would I do in the Red City? Arrange Caim’s lubricant bottles by color while the demons were out of the house.

Malphas shooed us from the kitchen in his quest to make ravioli, hand-stuffing every parcel and making the sauce from scratch. Every time I got a whiff of garlic and tomato, my mouth filled with saliva.

Stolas locked himself in his room as the clock ticked down for the party.

Caim, Murmur, and I watched QVC to pass the time.

Murmur growled into the phone as he tried to purchase a mop and broom vacuum device that was way too expensive.

Either Murmur was passionate about cleaning, or he was going through withdrawal. I had no idea why Murmur hadn’t slunk off to Lust to get his fix, and I didn’t want to ask.

Caim and I exchanged glances, biting back laughter as Murmur dealt with the poor call center employee.

“ He really likes vacuum cleaners .” I signed, struggling to keep a straight face.

“He has an addictive personality,” Caim smirked. “He gets fifty magazine subscriptions on the first of the month. It’s like The Shining when the elevators open and all the blood pours out. Except it’s Good Housekeeping and National Geographic. ”

“ We all have our vices ,” I said, struggling to keep my face straight.

When I thought about vices, I couldn’t help but picture the demonic dildo in Caim’s room.

Caim’s eyes narrowed, and I wondered if he could hear my heartbeat—it definitely got faster.

Caim and Murmur glanced up in unison before the doorbell rang through the house's various smart speakers. I didn’t move—it wasn’t my house, after all—but based on Caim’s expression, the demons weren’t expecting company.

Murmur got up, stalking toward the door. Moving with the grace of a jungle cat, his steps didn’t make a sound.

Caim and I looked at each other but did not try to communicate.

“Hey!” An enthusiastic female voice echoed through the hall. I recognized it, barely, but couldn’t place it. “We met yesterday, didn’t we?”

Frowning, I stood up and padded to the door, my curiosity getting the better of me. Caim followed on my heels.

Aimee, the neighbor, and her friend Darla stood on the porch. Darla craned her neck, trying to look past Murmur, who seemed as amused as a man about to have a colonoscopy.

“You remember us, don’t you?” Darla pouted. “At the bar yesterday, when you came to get...” Darla let the sentence hang, clarifying that she had no idea what my name was.

“Maddie.” Murmur supplied, his voice dry as a bone.

Darla clicked her fingers. “Maddie. Exactly!”

Aimee rolled her eyes, shooting me an apologetic glance.

“Aimee’s shower doesn’t work, and we’re heading out to a party in Greed.” Darla continued.

I hadn’t noticed that Darla had a tiny towel hooked over her arm.

“Maddie...” Darla stepped to the side. “Can we borrow your shower?”

Aimee winced. “Mine really is broken.” She said apologetically. “We wouldn’t usually ask, but it’s an important party. Mammon is going to be there.”

“Mammon?” Caim echoed, making his disbelief known. “King of the Fifth Circle. That Mammon?”

Aimee nodded frantically. “One of the demons in his court is on the show. Zagan. I think.” By show, she meant Real Housewives of the Red City.

“Zagan can turn anything to gold.” Darla piped in helpfully. “They don’t have a romantic partner lined up for him on the show yet. I want to try my luck.” Darla dragged her hand over the strap of her top. “Unless someone else catches my eye.” She flashed Caim and Murmur a hot look, and I restrained the urge to make a face.

Caim stepped forward, his brows high and his expression innocent as he smiled. “Come in. You can shower. Absolutely.”

Darla flashed Aimee a look that spoke volumes. An ‘I told you so’ if I’d ever seen on.

“I’ll show you where the shower is.” Caim continued, stepping around me as he approached Darla.

My stomach curdled as the horned demon led the bombshell into the house, and I was in denial about why.

Aimee returned to the living room with me, sitting on the couch by my side as we flicked through the film options on the TV. Movies had changed since I’d gone to prison, though I couldn’t pinpoint why.

Maybe it was because I didn’t recognize any of the actors anymore.

“You should come to the party with us.” Aimee offered. “It’ll be the biggest party of the season. Mammon is a king in Hell. If anyone knows how to throw a party, it’s a king .”

I shrugged.

Aimee pulled out her phone and offered it to me. “You can type, right? I couldn’t imagine not being able to speak. I’d strangle someone in the first minute.”

I chuffed a silent laugh but took her phone, eying the device and wondering if I even knew how to use it.

“Party?” She prompted, her brows raised.

Stolas has a party to go to already. Some demon named Behem I typed.

Aimee shuddered. “You don’t want to go to that party. Behem is bad news.”

Why ?

Aimee looked over her shoulder as if expecting Behem to pop up out of nowhere. When no one appeared, she closed her eyes, shaking her head to clear it.

She held out her hand, and I gave her the phone. She opened an app and turned the screen to face me. A strange colored diagram filled the screen.

“This is the Red City.” Aimee declared. “Those rings are the walls, and those green bits surrounding the city are the ‘estates.’ Only demons with power and money get to live in those mansions. Demons with whole-ass courts and servants. Demons with connections.”

Like Mammon and Zagan. She didn’t say it, but I filled in the gaps.

“Behem isn’t really a known demon.” Aimee continued. “It's not a name that appears in the Demonica or the Key of Solomon.”

I needed those books, like yesterday.

“But Behem has a mansion,” Aimee said solemnly. “That means power. And if there is one thing I know, it’s that demons don’t hide their power. They just don’t use it unless they need to. Other demons avoid Behem. He doesn’t leave Gluttony, and his name gets auto-corrected from any texts we send outside the city. Gluttony is bad news in this Red City. Most other cities no longer have a district for that sin. Too many drugs and too much crime.”

None of that sounded good.

Darla was still in the shower, and Caim was curiously absent when Stolas appeared from his room dressed as a Victorian gentleman ready to attend a ball.

His hat was tall and stiff, his pocket square was made of silk, and the tails of his jacket reached his knees. A single brooch with an owl’s jeweled face was clipped to the band of his hat.

Though he looked better than I’d ever seen him, his hair combed back. His eyes were lined with kohl. Somehow, a stormcloud had settled over Stolas, and he was apparently attending Behem’s party at knifepoint.

Or at least as a favor to Seir.

Surely, my clothes weren’t worth that much. If Behem was as bad as Aimee made out.

Maybe Stolas knew about the link between Gluttony and the drugs in the city already. However, I only had Aimee’s gossip to go on.

I wanted to ask Stolas more questions, but his mind was clearly elsewhere as he stood in the hallway and fixed his cufflinks.

Malphas emerged from the kitchen, his blond hair plastered to his forehead with sweat. “Dinner’s in twenty.” He called out.

Stolas wrinkled his nose. “Really? Must you indulge in human food?”

“I put a lot of work into these ravioli.” Malphas put his hand on his hip. “Plus, I wasn’t talking to you. I’m talking to the one person in this house who appreciates a good meal.”

“The human in the house that needs food for sustenance?” Stolas quirked a brow, his tone dry.

Malphas waved a hand at Stolas as if warding away a bad smell.

Murmur appeared a moment later. “That Darla gives me the creeps.” He shot Aimee an apologetic look, and I’d honestly forgotten she was there.

“Maddie, you live with four demons?” Her eyes rounded. “Are you all, like, Poly ?”

I had no idea what that meant.

None of the demons dignified her with an answer.

“Where’s Caim?” Stolas said. “I’m ready to go to Behem’s.”

“About that,” Murmur’s lips pulled to the side. “Mammon is in the city tonight.”

“Mammon?” Stolas quirked a brow. “That can’t be a coincidence.”

“I don’t think it is.” Murmur shook his head, but he did not elaborate. I wondered if he wanted to say more. Maybe both parties had something to do with the human trafficking case.

“You guys should come to the Mammon party.” Aimee declared, blissfully unaware of the tension. “Fifth circle. In the Epsilon building. Penthouse.”

Stolas exchanged a glance with Murmur. Malphas muttered and disappeared back into the kitchen.

“Or I could just take Maddie?” Aimee suggested.

“No,” Stolas uttered the word reluctantly. “Maddie should take Caim and Malphas.”

“Hey!” Malphas called from the kitchen.

“Once you’ve all had dinner.” Stolas pinched his brow. He shot Murmur a pointed look. “You’re with me at Behem’s party.”