“Why are we talking about this?” She compressed her lips and looked weary.
Had he wounded her? Even worse, had Weaz-adj wounded her? That made him want to rip the fucker apart even more. He studied her face out of the corner of his eye. “We are talking about this because I find it unbelievable that a strong, determined, clever, and beautiful woman such as yourself would ever deign to let that piece of human waste anywhere near her.”
Her head whipped around, and she blinked at him. “Is that a fucked-up kind of compliment?”
“Perish the thought.” He would neither confirm nor deny her accusation. “And although I intend to make you pay for summoning me and binding my powers, that does not make me blind to what you are.”
She took a deep breath. “Thanks?”
“You’re welcome.” He cleared the sudden tightness in his throat.
The remainder of the drive to Bianca’s house took place in silence.
Judging by the number of cars in her driveway, the coven had already gathered. Just what he’d always wanted—a room full of fucking witches.
Bianca suppressed her surge of irritation as Christen threw open her front door. “You made it,” he declared. “At last.”
Walking beside her, Lucifer growled. “I can make him disappear.”
“That would upset Carmen.” But it was a tempting offer.
He glanced at her. “It wouldn’t upset you?”
She snorted. As much as it chewed her ass, she agreed with Lucifer. Although, she had no idea what to make of the complimentary things he’d said about her. Lucifer growling threats, she could handle. Lucifer saying nice things made her go squishy inside. And that scared her far more than any of his promises of retribution.
“Everyone’s already here. Except you.” Christen brought her right back down to earth with a bump.
Lucifer loomed behind her like the world’s meanest bouncer. “Move.” He glowered at Christen. “Before I make you.”
Christen sniffed. “You’re very rude.”
“I’m fucking Lucifer.”
So true, and even more satisfying, and Bianca couldn’t hide her smirk. Not that she tried.
Stepping into the house, she was hit by a barrage of questions about Leona, Emma, and Ethan.
Lucifer let the chatter continue for a while before he cleared his throat. His sheer presence brought silence to the room.
He turned to her. “Bianca, if you would?”
It was the politest kick up the ass she’d ever received. “Right.” She raised her voice to make sure everyone heard her. Everyone being her and the remaining witches. “First things first. Emma and Ethan are safe, and that’s all I can say about that.”
Christen opened his mouth.
Lucifer scowled.
Christen snapped his mouth shut.
“I asked everyone here because we need to track the amulets,” Bianca said.
Patty fist pumped. “Taking action! I’m all about it.”
Christen whispered in Carmen’s ear, and Carmen raised her hand. “Um…Bee, how are we going to do that?”
“Magical signatures,” Lynn said, and when everyone turned her way, she blushed.
Bianca gave her an encouraging smile.
“Each amulet will carry the magical signature of the witch who made it.” Lynn’s voice gained strength as she slipped into her comfort zone. “We can track our witches by the amulets they made.”
“And then what?” Christen ducked behind Carmen.
Lucifer smiled. “And then I step in.”
Lucifer looked around the burnt-out shell of the house in an Ottawa neighborhood and cursed his brother. Wrath had no fucking finesse. In trying to extract Eddie from the demon meeting Wrath had attended with Shade, Dee, Daniel, Sophia, and Eddie, Wrath had gone nuclear and destroyed the building. Sophia’s host had done a good job of the cleanup, and from the outside, the house looked fine. But Wrath’s power surge had wiped out the inside and incinerated any trace of the demons that had attended the meeting.
Along with fixing Wrath’s mess, Sophia’s host had wiped any memory from witnessing humans, so that avenue of investigation was shut as well. He was reliant on Bianca, who was busy laying crystals around the debris littered floor. Inactivity chafed him.
Her coven had done some of their hocus-pocus crap and imbued the crystals with tracking spells. He kicked an empty soda can and sent it clattering against the wall.
Starting, Bianca glared at him. “Do you mind? I’m trying to concentrate.”
“Light some candles. Burn some fucking herbs.” They’d already wasted hours at Bianca’s house getting the crystals spelled. Through the window, the sky pearled with the oncoming dawn. “How do these crystals work again?”
“Each crystal has been imbued with the energy of a missing witch.” She cleared away trash and placed another crystal. “They will pick up on that witch’s energy and act like a homing signal.”
If that even worked. Witches, in his experience, weren’t good for much. Other than rudely summoning unsuspecting hell princes. He’d like to go back in time and wipe from creation the first witch who’d figured out how to summon.
Bianca sat cross-legged in the circle of crystals and closed her eyes.
Since that first witch had stumbled on how to summon hell princes, every few decades another witch gave it a whirl.
I want to stay young and beautiful. Poof! Summon a hell prince.
I want more power. Poof! Summon a hell prince.
I want to live forever. Poof! Summon a hell prince.
All except Bianca. Yes, she’d summoned him, but not for herself. Still, she had stopped him from getting his first solid piece of information on Ashe, and he owed her for that bit of impertinence.
They always summoned him. He hadn’t considered that little ball-kicker when he’d allowed humans to consider him the king of hell.
Bianca’s magic stroked over his senses like a gentle breeze.
