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DANTE

Dante and Ash knocked on Ren’s door.

“I see Onyx slipped out of helping,” Ash muttered.

“He said we didn’t need him for this, and he’s right.”

“But he always says that.”

Dante willed himself to be patient. Ash and Onyx’s animosity was exhausting at the best of times. “I’d rather let him out of helping today and focus on getting him on board with going to the Realm of the Damned. Or are you okay to venture down there and hunt Luc without him?”

Ash rumbled something unintelligible.

“That’s what I thought.”

Mercifully, the door opened, revealing Ren. “Oh hey. I guess I should invite you up.” She turned and walked up the stairs to her apartment without waiting for a reply.

“It’s like she’s not glad to see us.”

“Is anyone other than Harper ever happy to see you, Ash?”

“You are. Or do I need to be offended?”

Dante chuckled.

Ren turned to face them as they entered the living room. “I haven’t had any luck. ”

“Shocking.” Ash crossed his arms. “What have you done to look for these supposed other demons?”

“Not supposed . Someone else has to be here. I didn’t hurt your birds.” She turned to Dante. “I’ve been leaving my magic around the city. Trying to tempt them into tracking me down. Either they’re not in Shearwater Landing anymore, or they aren’t interested in me.”

“What if a witch or vampire picks up on your magic?” Ash asked. “We don’t need the wider community knowing demons are all over the place.”

“Yes, because me in the city equals demons everywhere.” Ren rolled her eyes.

“They’ll think I’m a powerful witch. No one’s jumping straight to demon.

But if you’re that worried, why’d you ask me to help?

What else am I supposed to do, look them up in the super-secret directory of escaped demons and give them a call? ”

“We appreciate you trying,” Dante said before Ash could respond. “It’s good to know they aren’t interested in contacting you. My flock has been fine, so perhaps they’ve moved on.” Or maybe the measures Dante had taken to protect his birds were the only difference.

“That’s certainly possible.” Ren glanced at the door like she hoped they might be ready to leave.

Dante didn’t budge. “I actually wanted to ask you what’s been going on in the Realm of the Damned?”

Ren’s expression darkened. “What do you care?”

Ash growled and Dante shot him a glare.

Ren turned away and grabbed a bag of chips from the kitchen. “All I mean is, you’ve been gone, you aren’t going back, what does it matter?”

“If demons are escaping when Lucifer travels between realms, it’d be good to know what’s going on down there.” Dante wasn’t revealing his plan to go to the Realm of the Damned. He doubted Ren was working against him but wasn’t trusting her completely.

She ate a chip, studying him closely. “So you’ll take my word for it if I tell you and not continue doubting everything I say? Does that mean I’ve passed your trustworthiness test? Can I have your protection if it comes to getting dragged back?”

Dante briefly caught Ash’s eye. “If you’re going to help us, we’ll help you, but there’s no blanket protection. If you turn on us, all bets are off.”

Ren ate another chip. “Obviously. I’m not na?ve.”

Dante and Ash waited for Ren to finish her snack. Was she choosing her words carefully or stalling, perhaps crafting a lie?

“Things have been rocky,” she said at last. “Demons are getting restless.”

Ash’s expression darkened. “Like they weren’t before.”

Ren glared. “It’s gotten worse. And the witches aren’t super pleased either. Lucifer’s been hiding and people are acting out the more he stays away.”

If Luc was losing control of his masses, that must be why he’d finally come for his Hounds. Dragging the three of them back would have been a strong display of power. Maybe enough to get people to fall in line and kill any hope of escape.

Once his, Ash, and Onyx’s escape had become widely known, Dante was sure hope of getting out of the Realm of the Damned started to brew. Maybe it took two hundred years for it to reach boiling.

Then why wasn’t Luc trying harder to get them back? Why mess around stalking Ash and Harper, then attack Ollie?

Not that this changed anything. Dante was still going to hunt Luc down. The Devil wanted them back. Learning he might be getting desperate was important but not a surprise.

Ren pulled out a phone, apparently bored of their conversation .

Dante eyed the device. “You seem to have taken to technology well.”

He’d hated adapting after nine hundred years away from Earth. How was Ren coping? At least two hundred years ago, there’d been no internet.

“Lucifer’s done a better job keeping us up to date.

” Ren smiled at something on the phone. “Modern witch souls have helped make the Realm of the Damned more reflective of Earth. Though, I suspect a lot of this”—she shook the phone—“isn’t run on magic up here.

I couldn’t tell you how this thing works.

And the internet here has completely different sites. Can’t figure out which I prefer.”

Ash’s brows shot up, seemingly as surprised as Dante.

Unrest in the Realm of the Damned had always been inevitable. Luc trying to make the place more like Earth was strange.

Why would it matter? None of the demons trapped in the Realm of the Damned would ever have to adjust to life in the modern world, and witch souls—like human souls—prioritized different things after death. It wasn’t like they showed up in the afterlife demanding what they’d left behind.

Ren knowing about smartphones before she even escaped the Realm of the Damned didn’t sit right.