Demon Breathing Down My Neck

Chapter Nineteen: Cops and Hellhounds

I stand stiff and still, holding my middle finger up in her face.

"Okay, I'll give you five minutes to change your attitude! If not, then that closet door will blow open!"

I stare at the carpet, my middle finger rigid.

"Strip for me right now and I promise I'll let you go! I'll even throw in the Smiths!"

I ignore her.

"How about just your boobs?"

My face is impassive, blank.

"One boob?"

I put my hands on my hips and meet her eyes. "Now, you're just getting stupid!"

Athanasia's cheeks are blooming roses. "Stupid?!"

"I've played this little game before with demons!"

"What do you mean?"

I look away, but then force myself to stare straight into her big, blue eyes. "Guess what happened when I trusted the demons?"

Her eyes widen. "Ooh! I think I know what you mean." She giggles. "Maybe you care more about your little humans than I thought." She waves her fingers. "Go on. This is getting interesting."

"I'm not telling you this for your entertainment!"

"Hee-hee, but it is entertaining."

"All you'll do is laugh at me and try to kill the humans! Just like them!"

"But what if I don't?"

"My point is very simple."

"Hee-hee, you think you can make a point! How cute!"

"You're ugly."

"What?!"

"You're so ugly I want nothing to do with you!"

Athanasia's flushed face flickers dead and gray. "Say that again! I dare you!"

"You're so, so ugly."

Her laughing blue eyes are stripped away, revealing the black holes underneath. "Oh, really?"

"You're beneath me."

Her face shifts back to beautiful, but her mouth is a hard line where a flirty grin had been moments before. "Very well."

Athanasia disappears. An explosive bang hits my ears from inside the demons' bedroom. Even the sound of my breathing is drowned out by the distorted roars of monsters busting out of the closet. An engine pulls up and idles in front of the house. The pads of soft feet and stomping of boots up to the porch. The jingle of metal leashes and loud barking ripping out of thick throats. Another explosive bang slams into my ears from the direction of the living room.

The ceiling flickers, transparent blood vessels interwoven among the white plaster. They open up and spew out icy flames. The ceiling flickers again, and the blood vessels vanish. A crushing heaviness slams my spirit to the ground. Whispers eat at the back of my mind. Dark knives dig into my deepest being. The atmosphere in the hallway doesn't darken at all, but is somehow blacker than black.

My energy armor surges out of my skin, my burning face shield heating up my cheeks even more. Why in the hell do demons have to be so perverted?! I sigh. Well, I guess that's why they're demons.

I unzip my purse, fumble around in it, and drag out my MMC. I spin the rainbow wheel around and it transforms into a black iPhone. I swipe a cross pattern to unlock it and dial: (666)-666-6666. No one answers. Hmm. I stuff my MMC back into my purse and zip it tight. I don't know if he'll help me or not, but he did help Liya! The real question is, why is even messing with a couple of house cleaners?