pawn.” Zoe reached across the table and squeezed Madison’s hand.
Nix snorted. “Queen, Zo, not a pawn.”
Zoe scratched her nose and shot him the bird. He returned it with a wink.
Narrow-eyed, Madison’s gaze fixed on him. He guessed his sense of humor rubbed her wrong…again. Big surprise. It took a unique person to enjoy his particular dose of dry sarcasm, especially in the face of apocalyptic scenarios.
“Being a queen can’t be all bad, right?” Madison failed to look anyone in the eye.
Dead silence rang in his ears. How could any of them respond to such naïve bullshit?
“Demon Queen.” He emphasized the demonic status because nothing could be graver than a demon with designs on her future.
“What could he possibly have planned for me as Queen?”
“Well, you can bet your pretty ass it won’t be like planting poppies.”
Madison’s blue glare shot to him and narrowed sharply. “I don’t need your sarcasm! This is serious!”
“No shit. As soon as you stop pretending being a Queen of Hell is nothing more harmless than a Friday night horror flick, I’ll can the sarcasm.”
Nostrils flaring and mouth compressing into an annoyed line, she pointed at the door and in a low, chilling voice said, “Out!”
“Madison—” Zoe spoke as she and Gage rose to their feet in an attempt to soothe her temper.
“I mean it.” She swept them with a glower. “All of you. Right now. Out!” On the final word, her voice elevated to an octave normally only heard by the canine species.
Nix flinched and sent his uncle an apologetic glance. Sometimes he pushed when he needed to shut up. Now could be counted as one of those times.
James nodded for them all to leave. Nix waited outside the kitchen to eavesdrop on Madison and his uncle’s conversation.
“I realize Nix can be a tad prickly—”
“A tad?” Nix could picture her arching a questioning eyebrow and giving James the aloof stare he had already become accustomed to receiving.
James cleared his throat. “He means well.”
“Thanks for attempting to help me, Mr. Birmingham.”
“Phoenix will whimper and scream in Hell,” Amos chimed in with his high-pitched, child’s voice. Shivers scattered across Nix’s flesh, and he popped his head through the door to get a look at the boy. The child’s eyes were orange.
Gone demonic again.
“The damned will parade through the streets of Hell when Phoenix falls.” Amos smiled, his eyes alight with mischief. A chilling sight from an innocent-looking child. “A new Phoenix spawned persecutes mankind, souls suffer, and all of Hell will sing their glee.”
James and Madison stared at the boy in horror, but Madison drew herself together quicker than his uncle. She rubbed her arms with her palms. “His prophecies are always accurate.” His uncle’s head whipped about to stare at her, his mouth hanging open. Nix shuddered, wishing he’d missed this particular divination. “He told me a neighbor would have a vehicle accident the day before it happened. He predicted a fire at the theater a week before the blaze started. Those are two out of more than a dozen visions. Take your family and leave; maybe you can still save your nephew.”
Her expression told him she thought it an iffy outcome at best. Nix had survived more ominous predictions, and he wouldn’t sweat this one. He’d cheated death too many times to run from one wee prophecy, even if Amos was always accurate.
Madison turned back to her son, and in a voice reserved for acceptance of grave consequences, she said, “Go now. Before it’s too late.”
To Nix’s surprise, his uncle nodded and executed a perfect military about-face. Walking out of the kitchen, he nabbed Nix’s upper arm and dragged him out of the house. Gage and Zoe followed without objection.
“We’re not seriously abandoning them to the demon’s sadistic plot, are we?” Nix demanded the moment her front door slammed behind them. “We never abandon anyone.”
In
Nix snorted. “Queen, Zo, not a pawn.”
Zoe scratched her nose and shot him the bird. He returned it with a wink.
Narrow-eyed, Madison’s gaze fixed on him. He guessed his sense of humor rubbed her wrong…again. Big surprise. It took a unique person to enjoy his particular dose of dry sarcasm, especially in the face of apocalyptic scenarios.
“Being a queen can’t be all bad, right?” Madison failed to look anyone in the eye.
Dead silence rang in his ears. How could any of them respond to such naïve bullshit?
“Demon Queen.” He emphasized the demonic status because nothing could be graver than a demon with designs on her future.
“What could he possibly have planned for me as Queen?”
“Well, you can bet your pretty ass it won’t be like planting poppies.”
Madison’s blue glare shot to him and narrowed sharply. “I don’t need your sarcasm! This is serious!”
“No shit. As soon as you stop pretending being a Queen of Hell is nothing more harmless than a Friday night horror flick, I’ll can the sarcasm.”
Nostrils flaring and mouth compressing into an annoyed line, she pointed at the door and in a low, chilling voice said, “Out!”
“Madison—” Zoe spoke as she and Gage rose to their feet in an attempt to soothe her temper.
“I mean it.” She swept them with a glower. “All of you. Right now. Out!” On the final word, her voice elevated to an octave normally only heard by the canine species.
Nix flinched and sent his uncle an apologetic glance. Sometimes he pushed when he needed to shut up. Now could be counted as one of those times.
James nodded for them all to leave. Nix waited outside the kitchen to eavesdrop on Madison and his uncle’s conversation.
“I realize Nix can be a tad prickly—”
“A tad?” Nix could picture her arching a questioning eyebrow and giving James the aloof stare he had already become accustomed to receiving.
James cleared his throat. “He means well.”
“Thanks for attempting to help me, Mr. Birmingham.”
“Phoenix will whimper and scream in Hell,” Amos chimed in with his high-pitched, child’s voice. Shivers scattered across Nix’s flesh, and he popped his head through the door to get a look at the boy. The child’s eyes were orange.
Gone demonic again.
“The damned will parade through the streets of Hell when Phoenix falls.” Amos smiled, his eyes alight with mischief. A chilling sight from an innocent-looking child. “A new Phoenix spawned persecutes mankind, souls suffer, and all of Hell will sing their glee.”
James and Madison stared at the boy in horror, but Madison drew herself together quicker than his uncle. She rubbed her arms with her palms. “His prophecies are always accurate.” His uncle’s head whipped about to stare at her, his mouth hanging open. Nix shuddered, wishing he’d missed this particular divination. “He told me a neighbor would have a vehicle accident the day before it happened. He predicted a fire at the theater a week before the blaze started. Those are two out of more than a dozen visions. Take your family and leave; maybe you can still save your nephew.”
Her expression told him she thought it an iffy outcome at best. Nix had survived more ominous predictions, and he wouldn’t sweat this one. He’d cheated death too many times to run from one wee prophecy, even if Amos was always accurate.
Madison turned back to her son, and in a voice reserved for acceptance of grave consequences, she said, “Go now. Before it’s too late.”
To Nix’s surprise, his uncle nodded and executed a perfect military about-face. Walking out of the kitchen, he nabbed Nix’s upper arm and dragged him out of the house. Gage and Zoe followed without objection.
“We’re not seriously abandoning them to the demon’s sadistic plot, are we?” Nix demanded the moment her front door slammed behind them. “We never abandon anyone.”
In
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