23)

Cassy- At the Party mart

Johanson was already waiting for me in the Party mart lot, looking a bit twitchy. I hopped out of the van before leaning back in with a wave to get Otto's attention. "I got to take care of a little something. Then me and Grimaud will catch a ride with Officer Johanson to the Estate."

The big man gave me an evil smile. "Sure you don't want us to give you a lift. It might do the old bastard some good to see us roll up on his lawn.”

I shook my head and waved my hands back and forth. "Oh, hell no. The Thibedeau Patriarch was around for both world wars and a bunch more before that, as in an active participant."

“He is the epitome of the wizard whose affairs you should not mettle with. Both for the whole subtle and quick to anger bit as well as being able to hold a grudge for generations. So thank you for all your help, I will make sure my boss hears all about all you did, but I got my ride covered.”

He pursed his lips in disappointment then nodded. “Got it.”

I headed over to Johanson as Grimuad said something about “...sauver la vie.” that made Otto laugh.

Nope, don’t want to know.

"Johanson, you smell good. Let me see the goods." He gave me an odd look as he passed over a small tablet covered with shallow etching. Not sure what the look was for, the last time I saw him he reeked of mucky swamp water.

“Looks good, and it will get us both back up top" I turned to Kinkade who had crept up close enough to read the tablet as well. "I'm not sure if will handle all three of us and the package. So I would like you to watch the camera's at Mr. Khalid's in case we need help to get back up. Going down will be easy." Kinkade tilted her head over at Johanson and widened her eyes at me imploringly.

I waved her to follow me off to the side, our backs to the clueless ork boy. “Really?”

She crossed her arms and smirked. “What can I say, I like the way he smells too, and I want to check out his goods as well.”

I took a moment to mentally review. Yes, I did say that. No, I was not going to acknowledge it.

"You can ride up front with him on the way to Rosewood, but putting you in the same level of reality with him, a succubus, and miss stab people in the face when annoyed seems to be a recipe for disaster. Stay up top and I'll give you Johanson's number if you can't get it from him yourself."

The witch pouted for a moment then shrugged. “Deal, but if things get bad enough that I have to come down there, it’s my show.”

Right, if it gets that bad, then… “Agreed, but try to keep it down to a light maiming.”

I headed back to Johanson. “We are in a hurry, but I can give you fifteen to catch up with your sister while I secure the package."

He nodded and followed along with me as I walked up to the hole and pulled up the glyphs for sight and mana. The arching lights from the hole in reality at the bottom of the pit didn’t quite reach its edges. “Looks like we’ll need to take a running jump.”

I backed up a good ten feet before taking off at a run before I leaped, a wavy unstable blue line reached up and pulled me down toward the center of an express lane to hell for the second time that day.

Martin- In his dreams

So I told her about graduating from St Jude’s and getting walked out the front gate to find myself in the backcountry of Sweden with nothing but a few bags of personal items and the money I had saved from birthdays and Christmas money from my aunt.

I told her how my aunt had showed up to pick me up and told me how she had talked my great-grandmother into putting aside a trust fund in her will that would be enough to pay my way for at least four years of college, anywhere I had wanted to go in the world. Then how I choose to go to Burgundy university for a business degree, instead of their program for magic studies in its philosophy department, right there in my family's province.

I did not mention the sister they had replaced me with, since I had not figured out how to feel about her existence well enough to want to hear anyone else’s options on the matter.

She nodded along and called me a dumbass for going back anywhere near my family. “No really Sofi, do not hold back. Give me your honest option.”

She did, it involved a lot more swear words and some pacing back and forth before she crossed her arms, huffed, and told me to continue.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

So I told her how I got my aunt to get me a job at Club Hex, the local country club for the Families. Where all the staff was made up of the Arcane people who had to follow the Families rules, the same ones the Families often didn’t bother to follow themselves, the same magic people who often could not work in the world of the norms and ended up stuck between two worlds. Not able to work within the norms system and barely tolerated by the Families that lorded above them.

I told her my plan. To use my business degree to create opportunities to not only make money but to gain influence and a reputation. All the while helping out the people who the Families had treated like garbage.

Tossed aside and forgotten.

That almost got her to come across the room, a hand lifting to reach out for me before she turned aside and began to pace once more.

Then she began to chew me out again. "You could have gone anywhere. Ty che, suka, o'khuel blya? What are you trying to prove?”

I sat down on the side of the bed. “Honestly? I’m not entirely sure. Maybe I just didn’t have anywhere else to be.”

Her eyes softened for a moment, then it was back to glares and swearing. I let her ramble for a bit before I interrupted. "Of course, it's even worse now."

She stopped to look at me.”...Tell me?”

I rubbed my arm for a moment, before I told her about being shot, send to the shifting lands, and the whole bit with my arm.

She sat by me on the bed... and I finally got my hug. “Worth it.”

She sighed and gave a short laugh before scooting to the far end of the bed, clutching at her arms again.

I twisted around to put my back against the headboard, all nonchalant. “Please tell me things are going better for you.”

She gave me a gentle smile, “Yeah, a lot better.”

Her new family, the Cartwights, lived in a little slice of hell called a Domain created by the First himself back in the 1800s as a place for newly arrived demons to learn to adapt to their new lives in a familiar setting.

Perdition was hopelessly out of date now, but she got to grow up on a ranch in a virtual wild west. Raising the devil's own herd, learning to ride something like a horse, how to shoot a six gun, and lasso a runaway doggie.

Basically, everything the cowboys from her favorite westerns did.

Everything she ever wanted.

Including a family, a real family, to replace the one that had abused her so badly that it had damaged her soul and put her on the way to becoming a demon.

A real family, parents, brothers, sisters, even aunts, and uncles. All ready to tear apart anyone who did her the slightest bit of harm, and helping her grow into a strong, confident woman ready to do some tearing apart all on her own.

"Hell has been good for you, but I still wish I could have helped you up here, and..." I waved my hands around aimlessly, now sure how to put, "Kept you in my life.” in a way that did not imply that it would have been more about me getting what I wanted over what she needed.

She smiled and gave me a nod, getting what I meant without the words, before she leaned forward with a smile to whisper.

"There's someone in your head, besides me."

Donovan- Greeting new arrivals in Hell.

Luther turned to look up at the ceiling of the store and announced "Incoming." as he made a pushing motion as if to move something out in the front of the store.

There was a shimmer of lights and the cop lady, followed by one big bastard in a black suit, dropped out of the sky out in front of the store. Then in the moment while they were still unsteady on their feet and looking around at their surrounding, the dot covered guy came running up and threw himself at the cop lady.

Right into the fist of the big guy, who then tapped at his chest and sort of emerged out all over to reveal himself to be an even bigger bastard with green skin like Clarissa, but bigger teeth sticking up from his lower jaw, as well as a full set of black tactical gear and military looking clothes. The stuff the cops tend to wear when they do the things they cover up their badges for.

His other hand pulled out a gun and pointed it down at the spotted guy. “Stay down or I will shoot magic enhanced bullets into your face and heart. One or the other usually does the job.”

The cowboy nodded and whispered at me. "That it does. If you got to shoot a third time, go for a knee cap because you're going to have to run.”

I could hear Clarice shouting from a window up above. “Holy crap Charley, did you get bigger?”

Charley, the other orc I was guessing, didn’t look away from the dot covered guy as he rolled around on the ground. Screaming and clutching at his now bleeding nose. The orc didn’t move the gun he held aimed at him away either. “It’s the boots sis, they're regulation, and they add an inch and a half.”

Clarice called out again cheerily. "Really? I never heard of any boots that did that. I hope you got a girlfriend so you aren't wasting those extra inches.”

Looks like orcs turn a brown color when they blush. “To my height, they make me taller, and you know what I meant.”

The green girl laughed as I heard her footsteps pounding along the ceiling heading for the back steps as the big guy began putting Spots in handcuffs. Since Spots wasn't putting up a fight, I think the dot guy only wanted to do his freaky hand thing to humans.

Guess it’s lucky I'm not going to be one pretty soon.

Clarice headed upfront from around the back of the store and nearly toppled over her brother throwing herself at him. While the cop said something to him about only fifteen minutes before she headed over to open the front door and stepped halfway into the store.

Only to come to a dead stop looking at Luther standing next to me. He tapped the front of his hat. “Morning miss. Sorry about Robert there. He's been trying to find his way out of Hell and that hasn't given himself any time to get civilized."

She hesitated and then gave a kinda bow to him. “I’m agent Varrow of the Magical incident bureau...Mr. Ward?"

Luther kinda waved at her, “No need to be so formal Cassandra, it’s actually Scratch, but first names are fine. Call me Luther."

She went a little pale, well paler than normal for a white girl. "...you know my name?"

The cowboy gave a gentle laugh. "My place, my laws and I decided I would know the names of everyone down here. Now could you explain to me just what all is going on with one Martin Alexander Thibedeau? Because I would like to make a complaint to your Bureau about letting an untrained high tier warlock wander around down here blowing holes in the protective barrier that keeps the whole of reality from being torn apart by raw chaos.”