“Would you let a lady through?” I asked.
He stepped aside.
I walked through the double doors and down the small hallway to a large open room.
“Well, well, well. Kassandra, I take it.”
“The demon pretending to be my father.”
“Your father is a joke. He couldn’t even handle being here in Hell for more than a decade. Instead, he fell in love with a witch.” he spat.
“Yeah, true, but that produced me. And you know I’m quite sure this throne isn’t meant for you.”
“You think you could do a better a job? A witch who doesn’t know the first thing about demons?”
“I think I have a better chance than you. See, I have something you don’t. I have the power that you don’t have. You can’t do anything without Roderick giving you the power to do it. Me? I don’t need anyone’s approval.”
I held my hand out. Everything I felt inside of me at that moment was rage.
“Kass! Please don’t!” Lela’s voice echoed through the room.
I stared at the demon in front of me.
“Kass!” she yelled.
I slowly lowered my hand and turned around. Lela stood there with Colt, Theo, and Roderick.
“Sir,” the demon said kneeling before him.
“Get your ass up!” Roderick demanded.
I turned just as the demon was rising back to his feet.
“Who the hell gave you the authority to go after my daughter?” Roderick spat.
“Sir...”
“Don’t sir me! Answer my question!”
“I didn’t feel that she could handle this position.”
“And you think you of all people could?”
“I’ve been doing this for years!”
“Wrong!” Roderick yelled causing the ground to shake.
“I’ve been doing it for years. Centuries even! You have been a stand-in so I could focus on other things. And what the hell happened to you. You used to be my right-hand man.”
The demon stood up straight.
“You’re right, I used to be. But you’ve done nothing good for me. Yeah sure you let me sit here and pretend to be king, but you still pulled all the strings. You used to value my opinions.”
“Now, I value my daughter.”
The demon shot a bolt at Roderick.
I don’t know what possessed me in that moment, but I yelled and shot some weird barrier from my hand protecting Roderick and everyone behind him. With my other hand, I shot fire at the demon.
He dodged but was still hit by a little.
I pulled both my hands together and aimed at him with everything I had.
As I fell to the ground, I heard his screams as he burned.
“Kass!” Lela’s arms were around me squeezing me tight.
I leaned my head into hers.
“I’m so sorry for lying to you,” she cried.
“It’s okay,” I whispered back.
I pulled what energy I had and stood up.
“You saved me,” Roderick said walking over to us.
“You are family. It’s what I do.” I wrapped my arm around Lela.
“Does this mean you’ll be taking my spot?”
“Well I guess I don’t have much of a choice now. I just killed the only other person who could do the job.”
Theo coughed.
“Yes. I’m taking the spot. But things down here will change.”
Roderick nodded. “I expected them to.”
“So, do I have to stay down here?” I asked.
“No. As long as you have someone who can watch things for you, you aren’t bound to Hell.”
I nodded and held up my finger. I rushed back to the gate where the guard stood.
“Come with me.” I demanded.
The demon followed me inside.
“You will sit there and do exactly with Roderick or I say. Understood?”
The demon nodded.
“Good.” I turned to face Roderick.
“There we go.”
He laughed. “Wow. I underestimated you. You are going to thrive in this position.”
“Well I still have some things on Earth to worry about first.”
Roderick nodded. “Understood.”
Chapter Ten
Kassandra
Days had passed and things were working out. Lela and I rented a house in New Orleans. Everything down there felt easier. We connected more with ourselves as witches there than we did anywhere else.
“I got it!” Lela said bouncing off to the door.
I turned to Theo. “You sure things are okay?”
He nodded.
I smiled and pulled him into a kiss.
“Lela! Who is it?” I asked out loud.
“Probably Colt.”
“What about me?” Colt questioned from the back door.
I rushed to the front of the rental house to nothing. The front door was open, and Lela was gone.
I ran outside and looked in both directions.
“Lela!” I cried.
I felt Theo and Colt right behind me. My body felt like mush, and I was furious.
“Call Roderick. Now!” I demanded. I wanted to run down the street, but I was lost. I had no idea which way to go.
Roderick appeared a moment later.
“What happened?” he questioned.
“Someone took her. Which one of those shitty demons down there took her?” I hissed.
“Whoa.” Roderick held up his hands to me. “I don’t think this was a demon.”
“Why not? They’ve gone rogue before!”
“Because right now all of Hell is under strict orders to not go near you or your sister.”
“Then who the hell would take her!” I yelled.
“Come inside. Let’s figure it out.” Roderick led me inside the house.
“I refuse to just sit here.”
“Do you think it’s her father?” Colt whispered to Theo.
“Does he what?” I questioned turning to face him.
Colt stared at me like a deer in headlights.
“Her father.”
“What does her father have anything to do with this?”
“Well he came into town a few days ago. He was at her hotel room, but she didn’t talk to him. We got out of there.”
My blood boiled. “And no one thought to mention this to me.”
“Well it was when you went on your killing spree in Hell and all. So, it wasn’t really a big deal at the time,” Theo said.
“Find him. Now.” I turned to Roderick. “Put demons on this, I don’t care. But someone is going to find my sister. She is the only family I have left on Earth.”
He nodded and disappeared.
I pushed past Theo and Colt and walked toward the front door.
“Where are you going?” Theo asked.
“To find my sister.” I slammed the door behind me.
The house we were renting wasn’t far from where the witch that I met a few days ago was.
“Kass, you’re back. And troubled.” She waved me up to her porch.
“Lela was taken.”
She nodded. “Come with me.” She led me back down the stairs on the porch and around to the side of the house. There was a single set of steps that led down.
I followed her into what looked like a small apartment, but it wasn’t the normal apartment I would expect.