Revealing the Monster (Playing with Monsters #4) by Amelia Hutchins

Chapter One




And so it has begun. The beginning of the end. ~LB



Lucian

I peered out over the piles of burning bodies, left as a warning to the mortals. Most humans had hidden from the destruction unleashed on this world, slinking into the shadows. It was a total shit-show here, with demons and monsters that had no business running unchecked. There were more corpses than breathing people in this once-bustling town on the Idaho/Washington border.

The acrid scent of sulfur and death fought for dominance in the air, the tang of blood a soothing undertone. Another smell loomed just beyond what human senses could pick up—dark, wicked magic that clung to the city. Something was here, something that wasn’t supposed to be in this world.

Turning toward my men, I watched as they dispatched the few demons in our vicinity. Lucifer had gone to ground, hiding beyond the veil between here and Hell. He’d relentlessly started hunting Lena, pulling her to him the moment her mind slipped into stasis to rest. I intended to find the prick and rip his spine out through his mouth.

Spyder swung his blade wide, severing a giant demon into three chunks with the speed that the fuck head hadn’t seen coming. Snorting, I grinned as Spyder tilted his head at the horde of demons moving closer. It was an endless task, dispatching these sorry pricks back to hell. Lifting my hand, I closed my fist and watched with satisfaction as they imploded. Pieces of their bodies sprayed into the air, becoming red mist, painting the ground beneath our feet, but the five seconds of pleasure it took to slaughter them were short-lived. This was the fifth horde we’d removed from the streets of Spokane today.

“You know, when you do that shit, it’s no fun. They die without feeling a damn thing,” Spyder complained, frowning like he’d been denied a good fuck.

“We’re wasting time here. I promised Lena we’d find Makenna, and there’s been no sight of her for weeks. Lucifer is hiding, and I want to know where. I want to end this problem and the issue he poses for Lena. For fuck’s sake, Erie had the Prince of Lust in her fucking freezer, and she let his ass out to steal Lucifer’s army. I want scouts out looking for the prick and his brothers. If anyone knows where to find Lucifer, it’s his generals and the minions he’s kept on a tight leash over the centuries. Lucifer’s a creature of habit, and he couldn’t be too far away if he’s able to pull Lena to him when she enters stasis.”

“You told Lena what we are?” Spyder asked, wiping his blade down, even though the flames burned the blood, cleaning the dagger of the filth left from the demons.

“I did.” Eyeing Spyder, I cracked my neck, exhaling, remembering Lena’s shock at learning exactly with whom she’d fallen in love.

I didn’t doubt how she felt about me, because Lena had proven it to me. She’d sacrificed her life and that of our child to protect me and her world. Lena was a storm that I hadn’t even sensed coming until I’d been standing in the eye, unable to escape. That little witch had knocked me on my ass and shown me what true love was without ever having to say the words. I both resented and respected her for it, which sat like a boulder in my chest.

“How’d she take it?” Spyder cocked his head to the side, studying my expression. The smirk playing on his mouth pissed me off. But I let it go because he’d been beside me since the forging of this world through the blood of the gods.

“First, there was screaming and then denial. After that, Lena wouldn’t stop staring at me, and she babbled incoherently for a while. I’m certain she’s reconsidering whose dick she’s been riding. Lena is a rare breed though, we both know that. She is coming around and hasn’t tried to remove herself from my dick yet, so that’s a good sign. Not that I’d allow her to get off of it.”

“So, she took it well,” Spyder laughed sinisterly, noticing Vlad, who moved out of the shadows, heading straight for us. “Vampire, good to see you’re not dead yet.”

“Here’s the information you requested, Lucian. It isn’t much, but we got a few demons to admit that Lucifer is in the veil, just no specifics on where he is hiding. I’m not sure even they know where he actually is anymore.” Vlad’s swirling silver eyes moved faster than normal as he folded his arms over his broad chest, tilting his head to the side. “I’m not confident it’s enough details to help you find Makenna, though.”

“There’s been no confirmation that the child lives,” I muttered, glancing down at the ramblings of notes containing information that Vlad’s girls had got from their clientele by fucking them. Sex clubs had perks, and most of them came from the mouths of men or creatures not thinking anything of a woman riding a cock, asking questions. It was one reason I’d opened up several sex clubs from coast to coast, collecting intelligence on my enemies. My clubs allowed me to enjoy the best of both worlds, making it easier to slip my world into this one. “I hope Lucifer has some fucking heart left. If not, Makenna might already be dead. It would destroy Lena if that were the case.”

I’d forced the furies to return the full function of Magdalena’s emotions, even though Nyx and the other soulless beings told her she didn’t have them. Lena hadn’t completely lost all of her emotions, probably because she had managed to keep a sliver of her soul, which Hades had ensured upon her death. The rest of that soul was in my possession now, but with the seal still within Lena, she wouldn’t be able to hold any more than a tangible piece of it.