4. Asta

" S ix is perfect."

Even before I end the call, I feel Bast and Kai's eyes on me.

"So?" Kai asks, sounding as bored as ever. Too bad I know him well enough to see the hint of curiosity in his eyes.

"So, we might finally rectify our little problem," I hiss, glaring at him. He can act like this is a pain in his ass all he wants, but he did this.

"Whatever," Kai says, rolling his eyes. His head falls onto the back of the couch as he waves me off. "That guy was a creep, and you know it. I did the world a fucking service."

Bast barks a laugh but cuts off the second I turn my glare to him.

"What? He's not wrong," he says with a shrug, spinning around on the barstool he's sitting on with a smile.

"I don't care if he's a fucking mass murderer. We. Don't. Eat. The. Human!" I growl, making both of them snap to attention. As far as power levels go, we're all pretty high, but I outrank both of them combined. We might be friends, but I won't hesitate to give them a one-way ticket back to Hell, and they know it.

With a deep breath, I push back the itch under my skin. My powers push to the surface, begging me to give in, enjoy the chaos, maybe even kill them. But this isn't the time or the place, and as much as they might drive me to insanity, I'd rather not have to kill them. It always feels good in the heat of the moment, but waiting on their scaled asses to pull themselves from the pits always takes far too long. We've been waiting on Talian for over six months now.

No, it's not worth it, at least not yet. We have shit to do, and the angels are already on our ass as it is. With any luck, our new human will be enough to change that, though.

"It was one time. Won't happen again," Kai says as he stands, making his way to the door.

"Six tomorrow. You need to be here," I call after him.

Without turning around, he salutes me before flipping me off and disappearing out the door, letting it slam closed behind him.

"I didn't think Kai could be grumpier, but being topside seems to do it," Bast says, and I huff in agreement despite my annoyance.

"Who would have thought being away from the burning brimstone and constant wailing of the damned could be a bad thing?" I agree.

Bast smiles at me, but it slips the second I stand.

"Where are you going?" he asks with a pout, even though he already knows the answer.

"To work. One of us has to actually do our jobs," I tell him, raising a brow, daring him to say something about it. He huffs but remains quiet. He knows I got him.

Bast isn't gentle exactly, I'm not sure that's even possible with us. But even with his power level, he isn't as natural here as the rest of us are. Down at the club, one of the lower-level girls has him locked in her sights, and ever since, he's been avoiding going there as much as possible.

It's fine. Kai and I are there often enough, but eventually, he will have to get over it. How women scare him when he's fought and slaughtered our brethren makes absolutely zero sense, though he rarely does.

He's fascinated by humans, their pitiful lifespans, technology, and their concept of love. He can't get enough of them. Humans are fragile creatures. It makes no sense why God loves them so damn much when they can so easily be ruled or eliminated. They are far below us, yet we're the ones cast away for some reason. Bast spends most of his time in the city now watching, ‘learning,' so he claims, but even with his fascination, I know what it really is, the same way he does.

Avoidance.

"Six tomorrow," I call back in reminder as I slide my suit jacket back on and head for the door.

"Yeah, yeah, boss. I'll be here," he says, but I knew he would be even without saying anything. Bast is far too curious to miss his chance with a human so close.

I wonder how he'll fare once he sees this human is a woman.

A smile curves my lips as I pull the door closed behind me and head to the elevator. Kai put us in a shitty spot. But maybe this will be entertaining enough that I won't regret letting him live this time. The last time I let my anger get the best of me, I ripped Talian's spine from his throat. It felt good in the moment, but it also left us waiting for him all this time, and I refuse to wait on Kai as well.

Besides, if it all goes terribly wrong, I can always kill him later.