Ramiel: Archangel for Patience. Counterbalances Satanus
Rapace: Avarice Demon. Second to Avarice.
Raphael: Archangel for Humility. Counterbalances Lucifer
Rodney Sykes: Member Paradise Players. Human
Rosabella Ward: Eddie’s mother. Human
Satanus aka Wrath: Hell Prince for Wrath. Counterbalances Ramiel
Torpidius: Sloth Demon. Higher Order.
Uriel aka Sophia: Archangel for Chastity. . Counterbalances Asmodeus
Vexia: Wrath Demon. Second To Wrath.
Xerxes & Cronus: Lust Demons. Hellhounds
Yesterday: Wrath Demon. Imp
Zephon: Patience Angel. Seraph
Chapter One
If Christen circled the hell gate one more time, Bianca might give in to temptation and push him through. They were all nervous and on edge, so his constant pacing and intoning were gnawing away at her already frayed nerves.
She should have done this alone, like she had the other time. However, her last summoning hadn’t panned out so well for her. It had worked great for Eddie, but for Bianca—not so much.
Christen tossed another sprinkling of earth between the tall, white pillar candles circling the hell gate. “We invoke the power of midnight, by this the new moon, and call upon earth…”
Bianca tuned him out. His earth offering carried the ammonia tang of Scotts Turf Builder. If the constant circling didn’t buy him a one-way ticket through the hell gate—courtesy of her—the overblown, portentous prose would do it for certain.
“Christ on a cracker.” Patty rolled her eyes and looked longingly at her knitting bag at her feet. “How much longer?”
“Patty.” Carmen gave the older woman a reproachful look. “Christen needs us to all give him positive energy.”
“Christen needs to hurry the fuck up,” Patty replied, and Bianca half expected her to pull out the baby blanket she was working on. Patty had six children, all of whom were similarly prolific with their offspring, and there didn’t seem to be an end to the number of baby blankets and tiny beanies and jerseys Patty was working on.
Bianca found Patty’s knitting oddly soothing and almost reached for the bag herself. Then again, there were needles in that bag and there was never any telling what Patty would do.
Ever the peacemaker, Lynn stepped between Patty and Carmen. “I think Patty is concerned about somebody discovering us before we’ve completed the summoning.”
She sent a tentative smile to Carmen and then Patty.
Not shifting from her position as the hard sell, Patty snorted and said, “What Patty is concerned about is how the concrete floor is irritating her plantar fasciitis.”
“Did you buy those Sketchers I told you about?” Lynn’s earnest, sweet face crumpled in concern. “They provide wonderful arch support.” She looked at Patty’s shoes and sighed like a soul broken. “Can I get you something to sit on? I’m sure I saw a crate in the other section of the basement.”
Christen cleared his throat and flicked a wave of lustrous strawberry-blond hair out of his face.
He may be an asshole, but Christen had the wavy, shiny locks of a Pantene commercial. Bianca had fallen for his hair first, and then those soulful brown eyes.
“Christen.” Bianca kept her tone pleasant. No easy feat when she was dealing with an on and off again ex who had now started making eyes at her sister. With that new development, Bianca and he were definitely going to stay off. She wished she could call Carmen on her stupidity, but as Bianca had been there and made the same mistake, her objection reeked of hypocrisy. Pushing him through the hell gate was looking more and more attractive, but there were laws against that sort of thing, and it would upset Carmen. “We really need to speed this up. The longer we’re down here, the more chance someone will find us.” She managed to tack on a smile.
Christen caressed his hair behind his ear and gave her a lofty look. “Bianca, I understand the risks as clearly as you do.” His brown eyes radiated sympathy. “And I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that we wouldn’t be in this position if any of the…er…previous attempts had met with success.”
“So true,” Carmen murmured.
Christen meant her. Bianca’s previous attempt to summon a hell prince. The summoning that had brought Shade to this plane, and everyone knew how that had turned out. Eddie had surprised her before she could complete the binding, and Bianca had been forced to hide and watch as Eddie shoved Shade, or as the world knew him Asmodeus, back through the hell gate. Of course, he’d come back, and was now head over heels in love with Eddie. And Bianca’s coven still didn’t have a hell prince.
Carmen gave her a reproachful look, as if Bianca hadn’t gotten the memo on her failure loud and clear.
“To be fair.” Lynn fiddled with the zipper on her teal gym top. “Bianca did manage to summon Asmodeus.”
“Hot as fuck, that one,” Patty said.
Christen sniffed and stared disdainfully at Patty. “Judging someone by their physical appearance is shallow and objectifying.”
“I’d like to objectify dat ass.” Patty cackled.
A blushing Lynn giggled.
Bianca kept her heartfelt agreement with Patty silent. Asmodeus—or Shade as he preferred to be called—was sex incarnate. And as he was the hell prince of lust, that probably meant he was literally sex incarnate. And all that was 100% Eddie’s.
As much as she liked Eddie, Bianca knew the feeling wasn’t mutual. Eddie didn’t trust her, and with good reason as it turned out. She had manipulated the board into staging Macbeth at the Paradise Players so she could use the ancient witch’s curse to kickstart the summoning. And dammit! Lynn was right. The summoning had worked. Too well as it turned out because right after Eddie threw Shade back, Bianca had managed to haul the hell hounds through the hell gate. Only to stay hidden behind the propane tanks as the hounds had bonded with Eddie. Eddie two, Bianca zero.
