Chapter 21: Alone Time With Ruby, is a steamy Patreon exclusive. To follow the rules of RR, I chose to have it hidden.

If you want to read it, indulge here: Chapter 21

Other wise, it's a saucy apartment scene between Ruby and Isaac!

Now, onward to chapter 22 :)

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After Ruby and I washed up, Trista came, along with Wren. When I asked her again where she’d been, she hissed at me, telling me to mind my own. Well, you wouldn’t think with the way that she was so cold with me that we had at it a couple hours ago. I noticed her throwing out a white crumbled up piece of paper she pulled off from her jacket as soon as she walked in, and when she went for her bedroom to get ready, I went inside the trash and opened it up.

Visitor pass? St. Thomas’ Hospital?

Did she visit my mom?

I doubt Wren had any relatives or friends in that hospital, so that was the only logical explanation. Honestly, I was speechless, not expecting her to take some time out of her day to make sure my mother was all right.

I guess someone had to…

Ever since this whole expedition started, I hadn’t paid her a visit yet. Granted it’s only been a couple days but… I was avoiding her on purpose. I was afraid of what I’d find if I got back. Once Ash was dead, then I could face my mother again with the good news I’d promised her. And after Persallus was out of the picture, I could finally have my mother again.

Before we left, I texted Ava real quick. I realized I hadn’t heard from her all day so I shot her a wellness check confirmation. Debating about going back to the church shouldn’t have been a topic in my head right now. I’d be shot on sight, so I had to be patient and hope that Ava texted me back. Hopefully sooner rather than later…

“We’re ready!” Lumi beamed. My eyes did a double, noticing she didn’t have her car ears or cat tail showing.

I smiled. “So no cosplaying today?”

“I was in disguise this morning too, remember? Once the uniform is on, I try my human get-up.”

“Ah, I must not have been paying attention. I had a lot on my mind with Ava and all. So, where do they go?”

She winked. “It’s magic!”

“This might sound like a crazy question, but this human skin is my demon skin as well?”

“Yup! You don’t have a disguise because you were reincarnated into a human vessel.”

“What was the old me like? How did I look?”

The room went quiet, Lumi looking over her shoulder to the rest of my harem whistling amongst themselves.

“Umm…”

I snorted. “Okay, it’s either that good or that bad. And seeing as my harem was a few girls deep back in the day, I downgraded, right? I remember Wren calling me scrawny.”

Lumi grabbed my shoulder and flashed me a nervous smile. “All of that doesn’t matter, master! Forget the past! I bet you’re just as strong as the old you! And this is your time to shine and prove it!”

“Well shit, was I seriously that much of a beef-head?”

“Let’s say the old you could use the new you as a toothpick,” Wren mumbled as she walked right past me. Trista came over and ogled me up and down.

“I don’t know, I’d say I like the new you. Less intimidating. More approachable.”

“I need to hit the gym.”

“Nonsense!”

“Don’t listen to my sister, sexy,” Ruby cooed. “You’re beefy where it counts.”

“Now, before we go, there are a couple things you need to keep in mind,” Trista said. “The establishment might be booby trapped for demons outside of his nest. Which means the perimeter could be hot. If you start feeling any adverse effects of a spell, retreat. Or fan us down. We will be on post around the area.”

“I got my duffle bag filled with spy gear!” Lumi chirped excitedly. “We will be watching you, sugar bun!”

“Second, watch out for his demons. Like I said, I’m expecting most of his workers to be demons. Even if you take the back entrance, you need to keep your guard up. My connection confirmed he’s there already, in his office. He’s probably signing deals, which is great. His distraction is better for us. Thirdly, his shapeshifting powers. He can get very schemy about it, so remember, whatever you see isn’t real. And lastly, try to keep a low profile. His strip club is in a pretty sparsely populated area. Even so, keep the brawl itself low profile if you can. Some humans know all about angels through deals, but most don’t.”

“Got it.”

“Remember Isaac, you’re losing your nest perks in this fight. We won’t be near you, so you won’t get the benefits of increased power.”

“Yeah I know. I’m going to be alone on this one. And I’m fine with that.”

“Well, I’m not!” Lumi chimed. “I promise, the moment I see you losing, I’ll jump in and help!”

“Don’t,” I said. “Have faith in me, Lumi. I can handle it.”

“I see your bloodlust is five percent less,” she whispered, and then gave Ruby the stink eye. “Next time you want to drain master, how about waiting until after the boss fight?”

“Five percent is nothing,” I said.

“Five percent can be everything,” Trista countered. “Usually blood psychosis taps in at 5% and below, but yours triggered at 10. I’m thinking this was a one-time thing, but if not, you’ll have an even smaller buffer zone for Ash. During blood psychosis, you fall into your old self, with your bad habits. Being super cocky is one of them. Which means you won’t back down if you need to. So please, maintain your blood lust levels. It is vital for this win.”

“With my mother’s life on the line, I’m not fucking up!” I growled, curling up my fist. “Ash is as good as dead!”

“So let’s slam it,” Wren said, leaning by the door with her sword strapped to her back. “No more tips. This fight is a done deal. Let’s go already.”

++++

Portaling directly to club grounds was an obvious no-no. So we took an abandoned apartment building adjacent. It was a few meters away, a good enough distance not to tip off the bat signal. Lumi and Trista planned on setting shop on top of the same building, while Wren went west, and her sister east—coffee shop and parking lot respectively. Once my cover settled in, it was my turn to engage with the target. I kept Trista’s tips in the back of my head as I crossed the streets with my hands in my pockets, trying to act casual. I felt the street lights over my shoulders making a nice spotlight for the stripper who just walked out the back door with a potential client, a short chubby pencil pushing white-collared stiff.

He looked a bit roughed up, as if he just got finished with a private session—tousled hair, scrambled tie, dress shirt undone. Not sure how he managed to get one lens in his glasses missing…

“You were great, Misty,” he stuttered, the tall girl in red stilettos combing through his head like a little puppy. “You kept my mind off of my terrible divorce.”

“Now, now, remember what I said? You can settle the score on that cheating ex-wife of yours.” She pulled out a pact coin and stuffed it in his jacket pocket.

“Five years, right?”

“Yup. Five long years of lush living. With no sharing assets.”

“Can I watch?”

She giggled. “Of course you can. Just give me a time and a date, and it’s done.”

Wait a minute, were they talking about offing his wife?

He cackled, pushing his frames back along the bridge. “Oh, ho, ho! That bitch won’t see this coming!”

My fists were heating up. I had to control my rage. It’d be hypocritical for me to walk over there and bash that guy’s face in. Just a few hours ago, I was using the same tactic to grab deals. Then again, I wasn’t pitching murder to my clients.

Whatever the case, I couldn’t draw attention to myself. Taking the back entrance right now was out of the question, so I changed course, just so that stripper demon won’t catch on. But when I turned down the sidewalk, I saw someone across the street, walking into a dark alleyway holding a bouquet of flowers…

Sasha?

Persallus!

The sight of her boiled my blood! Every bone in my body wanted to rush at her, except those tips Trista had said began to circle around my head like a warning. Spells, demon nest protection—if I bolted now, I could be setting myself up for failure. Seeing her here had to have been some kind of an illusion.

The red-headed stripper’s client walked off with a pep in his step while she glanced at me. Somehow I just knew I tipped myself off anyway. My eyes lingered in that direction a bit too long. Even though I didn’t chase the bait, the damage was already done. Call it a gut feeling, but usually, my gut was rarely wrong. I was made, and she was going back inside to tell her boss she spotted another demon.

This was the perfect time to test out my portaling spell…

Wren said I had to trigger the spell with purpose. Before she manhandled me on that desk for a quickie, the hardest part for me was tethering my bloodlust for the jump. The process was confusing, and so very multi step. Link your destination with your mind, with your blood, and tie it all with a motive. Or, something like that.

Well this time, I had a great motivator, and after I drew out the sign with my hand, I added one for my achievement board.

I’d forgotten that the portaling process itself wasn’t quiet. The slight whooshing sound it made forced the stripper to turn around, but I caught my arm around her throat in time, sliding the both of us into an empty nearby VIP room.

I kicked the door shut and then slammed her chest against the wall, using my other hand to pull out the long dagger under my jacket. “Keep quiet,” I warned her.

“You must be a new face in town,” she whispered stoutheartedly. “I haven’t seen you around. Pretty strong, too. There’s no scent coming off of you. Even your demon energy is well hidden. But that rage, mmm, not so hard to hide when you have your most hated enemy around the corner, now, is it?”

So it was an illusion spell…

“You better reconsider what you’re planning to do here. I’m one of his wives. Killing me isn’t a good idea.”

“You were going to run back and tell your husband that I was here. I can’t have that.”

“Seriously, you don’t want to see him when he’s angry. Listen, I don’t know who you are, but you’re no challenge for my man. You don’t want to catch this smoke.”

“Oh, but I do. I have business with Ash. He has something that I want.”

“Clearly what you want is a deathwish,” she hissed, and I flipped her around, holding my blade against her neck. Up close, I got to see her hazel eyes doused with a hint of red in the center. She cocked a smirk back as she stared at me, my head suddenly feeling light the longer I kept at her enchanting gaze. “You strolled into the wrong side of the neighborhood, kid.”

My balance was waddling back and forth, but I kept my grip on my weapon firm. Using the butt of my hilt I punched across her jaw, knocking her right out.

As soon as her limp body fell on the floor, I found a corner and dry heaved. Her eyes were doing something to me, and I wasn’t about to wait and find out what. My plan of getting intel on his nest failed. I wanted to gauge more players on his field, to see if he had more establishments. If my girls and I could terminate a faction, then we’d be one step closer to conquering the Underworld.

“Shit,” I said as I coughed. Dry heaving was the worst.

Luckily, the effects wore off sooner than I thought, and I was back on my feet again.

Now, to deal with Barbie over here…

I had to kill her…

I walked over to her nervously, my fist trembling the closer I got. I held my breath and looked over her fragile state, and how that poor girl this demon was riding had no chance in defending herself from a demon. With the way things were right now, she might not have known this was her fate. Demons were off their fucking hinges, and I doubt this one was planning on standing back in the sidelines quietly until her time was up.

With a hard breath, I rolled back my shoulders, preparing to off her. I locked my jaw and squared my eyes, psyching myself up for the kill.

“She’s a demon, she’s a demon, she’s a human, she’s a demon…” I winced. “RGHH!!” I cried inside my head, chucked the blade over my head and decapitated her right there on the floor. Fuck!

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

Please, tell me this shit would get easier…

“Milly! Milly, are you in there?” A girl from behind the door called out. “I broke my heel; I need to borrow a pair. I know you’re done with Guss by now.” I pressed my back up against the wall, sensing sulfur close by. When I kicked the door shut, I hadn’t locked it.

With little time to debate what to do with her, I waited for her to open the door and walk through. But she didn’t walk through. Instead, she dashed away once she saw Milly’s body on the ground. I chased after her. Hell, I felt like a fucking serial killer on the move, rushing down that hallway to stab her from the back, my blade knotted in her guts as I turned my hilt around. When I pulled out, I decapitated her before she could scream, letting her head roll along my feet.

I’d asked for this to get easier, but after two kills? That’s way too fucking soon.

The sense of guilt died down just as it entered. I was afraid that my demon side was getting rid of my human side, feeling less and less offended by how easily I was slashing off heads.

With her down, the coast was clear. I’d memorized the blueprints Trista found of the club online and knew exactly where Ash’s office was. I kicked the door down, my eyes peeling open to the bastard having a feast inside. A teenage girl was sprawled out on his desk with her ribs cracked open and her entrails drooling off the side. The villain had her eyeball between his finger in one hand, and a glass of champagne in the other.

“Ah, just in time for dinner!” he beamed, flashing me his bloody fangs. “Please, sit. I’ve been waiting for you, Isaac.”