Where the Home was I? I’d never been this turned around in the Pit before. Then again, I’d never come down here actively seeking a prisoner, either.

“Well, well, if it ain’t the princeling, descending from his castle to mingle wiv us commoners!”

I glanced up … and up at the hideous Pit Demon. His skin was maroon, his body round and grotesquely flabby.

“Must be a banner day to be blessed wiv the presence of both the Lucifer spawn in one afternoon!”

“Where did she go?” I demanded, stepping closer, dwarfed by the hulking brute but not caring, if it set me on the right path to Jemma. “Did she have anyone with her?”

The demon guffawed, his fat rolls wobbling. “Oh, did she ever! She was shoving along a feisty little meat sack! She seemed very attached to it.”

“Where did Hellen take her?” I demanded. “Answer your prince, now!”

The brute shrugged. “No idea. She was heading along the tunnel down on level seven.” He whistled appreciatively. “I ‘ope I get a chance at that meat sack when your sister’s finished wiv it. Never seen tits like⁠—”

I leapt at him with an anguished roar. My feet connected with his chest, and despite his monstrous size, I caught him by surprise enough that he lost balance, crashing to his back with a tremor that shook the tunnel and had pieces of lava stone raining down on both of us.

“Bit protective of your sister, are you?” He reached for my throat. I scrambled to my feet, stomping on one of his horns. His roar of pain reverberated around the tunnel. “Or … is it the meat sack you’re after?”

He gripped me by the ankle and threw me to the floor. “You and your sister are too big for your boots. Us Pit demons do all your dirty work,” he said, trying to get to his feet and failing. I scrambled backwards, using the wall to push to my feet. My body ached all over from that fall … from everything that had happened in Heaven.

“Maybe you can wait your turn wiv the feisty little thing. I’ve got plans for ‘er! Bet she’ll be a fun one to brea⁠—”

The wet gurgle of a throatless demon trying to speak ended the conversation. Wide-eyed, he gaped at me, at the lump of bleeding flesh in my fist. One meaty, shaking hand reached up, fluttering at the hole in his neck.

“You will never break her,” I whispered, giving him a gentle shove. He tumbled backwards, hitting the floor with a boom. I didn’t wait to watch him die, just tossed the chunk of his throat onto his body and raced to the end of the tunnel.

“Hold on, Mouse,” I muttered. “I’m coming.”

Level seven, he’d said. I threw myself down the stairs three at a time.

50. My Heroic Devil

Chapter 50

My Heroic Devil

Jemma