Page 77 of Demon Dating Service
“Yes. How much birdseed did you get?”
“Fifty pounds. Do you think that will be enough?”
Luke didn’t hear Matteo’s answer as they continued to walk down the hall, but he was sure fifty pounds would be more than enough to terrorize all the squirrels in the neighborhood throughout spring and into the summer.
Smiling to himself, Luke finished getting dressed and strolled to the first floor. He waved to Ogos in the library, where the demon was working on a crossword puzzle and slowly dissolving the pen he was “chewing” on in thought.
“Luke, fourteen-letter word for window ejection,” Ogos called.
“Defenestration,” Luke replied as he continued on to the kitchen.
He passed through the living room, where Tog and Annod were playing a driving video game that gave points for causing destruction. In the kitchen, Azroth was in his human form, sipping a mug of coffee while looking over a set of plans spread out across the large marble island.
“I just made a fresh pot,” Azroth murmured.
“You’re an angel,” Luke sighed, earning a nasty glare from the demon.
“I thought Matteo was supposed to have a talk with you about your painful wordplay.”
“You mean my painful puns?”
Azroth glared harder. “This is what happens when humans get too much sex. Their brains get starved of blood, and they rely too much on lazy wordplay as a form of wit.”
Luke huffed and pulled a mug from the cabinet. “I’m sorry. Too much sex? I don’t understand this phrase. Is there such a thing as too much sex?”
“So very droll.”
Luke made himself a cup of coffee and joined Azroth at the island. “I’m sorry. Really. You are the scariest, most powerful demon I have ever seen. With you here, I can only imagine that Hell is a pretty tame place now.”
Azroth snorted and rolled his eyes, but Luke could still see the tiny smile peeking out. “You’re forgiven for your sass.”
Luke felt certain the demon loved his sass. He sipped his coffee to hide his smirk and looked at the blueprints for the massive house he and Azroth had designed for the crows. It was a huge Gothic manor with lots of small apartments for the crows to build nests in and stay safe during the cold winter nights.
“I was thinking this morning that with the amount of roof space we have, we could put little solar panels on the top. That power could support a heating system within the house. We wouldn’t need the heating system to be all that powerful. Just enough to keep the house comfortably above freezing. With some nice straw and insulation, the crows would be quite cozy.”
Azroth hummed and nodded. “The only problem with that plan would be the heavy snowfall this region gets during winter. Snow would cover the solar panels. If we fail to go out to clear it, the batteries for the heater won’t charge.”
“Damn. You’re right.” Luke rested his elbows on the counter and glared at the plans. They had thought of placing the crow roost on the flat part of the house’s roof. It wouldn’t be a problem for the demons to climb up there, but it would be out of sight. If they were to forget, the crows would get rather cold. Of course, Atticus or one of the other crows would seek them out to bitch if they didn’t have heat.
“It’s not a bad idea, though. I had thought to extend the electricity from the main house to the crow roost to power whatever heating system we planned for them,” Azroth admitted.
“Really?”
“Mn. Atticus has been getting pushy about improving his living accommodations. I kept him very busy this fall with you and made a lot of promises that he’s demanding I deliver on.”
Luke grinned and stared at the ridiculously large house for the crows. This was a pleasant distraction for Azroth, but it was very temporary. “You know, I’ve noticed that you and the other demons haven’t thought up a new game to keep you entertained since Matteo and I started dating.”
Azroth shrugged and took another sip of his coffee. “True, but it wasn’t long afterward that Matteo came to live with us. He is proving to be quite entertaining all on his own, and we’re in norush to come up with a new game. When it’s necessary, an idea will present itself.”
“True. I was thinking…the semester will end soon. It’s expensive to go back and forth between school and my parents, so I thought I might stay over the summer. If that would be okay with you and the others…”
“I don’t see a problem with it,” Azroth replied, sounding a littletoononchalant.
Luke’s heart skipped a beat. “Next fall, would it be possible to continue renting here? I wasn’t sure if you wanted to locate a new college student tenant to torment.”
Azroth rolled his shoulders in such a way that Luke could imagine him resettling his wings about him. “It would be best if you and Matteo remained here. Finding a new apartment would be troublesome, and I would hate for it to interrupt your important studies.”
A grin tried to break free on Luke’s lips, but he held it in. “And after next year, I should graduate with my master’s, but I thought I would stick around Rookborough while Matteo completed his degree since he’ll need more time.”