Lucifer Reborn by Dante King (the reader ebook .TXT) 📗

“I hate that guy,” Christina said with a giggle. “Can we please go home now?”

We could. We stepped through the portal and out of Karl’s subspace, back into the hallway of the Infernal Academy’s dormitories.

Home at last.

Chapter 28

As we stepped into the hallway outside of Karl’s suite, we found a nasty surprise waiting for us. Both of the security demons I’d dispatched on the way in had fully regenerated, their bloodied bodies reformed and waiting for us on the other side.

Normally they would have been no trouble to dispatch—but after fighting Karl any number of times inside of his subspace, my demonic powers were tapped out for the moment. Both demons advanced, their faces contorted into expressions of monstrous hunger as they caught sight of Maddie in Oni’s arms. One look at her and they ignored me entirely—they didn’t even notice Christina and Mareth as they pushed past, so intent were they on consuming an innocent young mortal. Bringing Maddie into the Academy was like dangling raw meat in front of starving dogs—and I needed to do something about that as soon as possible.

The first demon lunged for Maddie, its claws extending—only for a black shard to blossom between its eyes. Turning their backs on Christina and Mareth was a major mistake. More jet-black knives flashed from Christina’s fingers, hitting their targets with incredible accuracy. Mareth’s claws did the rest, carving the distracted demons apart before they had time to tear their gazes away from Maddie.

“Nice job,” I said, looking over the two corpses of Karl’s security demons. Neither of them had managed to lay a finger on Oni, much less on Maddie. I made a mental note to remind myself of this later—I could do a hell of a lot of damage on all my own, but relying on my team made us even more powerful.

“We need to get Maddie out of here,” Mareth said, staring at the woman in Oni’s arms. “This is just going to keep happening as long as we’re in the Academy. Right now, half the demons on this floor are going into a frenzy and don’t even know why.”

“I’ve got an idea,” I said, thinking fast. “Everybody take my hand.”

I held both fists outward, extending one to Oni and the other to Christina and Mareth. Oni took mine immediately and placed it on Maddie’s shoulder, holding his own palm over mine. Christina and Mareth stared at my other hand as if they’d never seen it before, sharing a confused look.

“You think the power of friendship is going to protect Maddie?” Christina asked, arching an eyebrow. “The only thing that’s going to shield that girl is turning her into a demon. You should pin her up against the wall right here and give her a long, hard fuck—”

I laughed. “Subspace,” I shot back, grabbing Christina’s wrist. “Now. We can talk about it there.”

Mareth’s eyes lit up. “Great idea,” the succubus purred, “but I’m not holding onto your hand to get there…”

I gasped as Mareth slipped her hand into my pants. The thing her fingers found in there was just as firm as my hand, but felt much better to have her holding it.

“We’re going to have to do something about your subspace so it doesn’t get invaded again,” Mareth purred against my ear. She didn’t realize I’d stopped thinking about anything but her fingers around my cock. “As soon as we can, we need to go visit Doris at the Subspace Commission and get some security installed. It’ll be expensive.”

“But it’ll be worth it,” I said as she squeezed my member. “I don’t want anyone fucking with me, my women, or my subspace again.”

I closed my eyes, struggling to concentrate. It was tough with Mareth feeling me up, and Christina jumping into the game, too. But after a few moments, the world dissolved around us, dumping our party back into the living room I’d created as the entrance of my subspace.

The place looked worse for wear. The cushy couch I’d made for Maddie to lay on was still torn to splinters, the kitchen counter cracked from the impacts of Mareth’s horns. At least all the steam and mist from the bathroom had cleared up—I would’ve hated for my subspace to get moldy.

As we passed through, Christina surveyed the damage with a jealous expression. “Damn, you two tore up this place,” she growled, nibbling her bottom lip. “I wish I’d been there to join in on the fun…”

I motioned for Oni to hand me Maddie. He gave her to me with a nod, passing the waitress into my arms.

I ran a hand down Maddie’s back. The poor girl trembled in my arms, squeezing me so tight it felt like one of my ribs might crack at any moment. She was terrified.

“Let me get you all somewhere to chill out,” I said as I looked up at Mareth, Christina, and Oni.

I waved a hand over the couch, and it reformed like an Ikea catalog in reverse. Pieces snapped back into place, moving like a VHS on fast-forward as that particular bit of damage was repaired. I didn’t touch the kitchen counter, fearing I might overextend my power too much. Besides, the visual reminder of how hard I’d fucked Mareth was a nice touch. I might just keep it.

Maddie’s eye opened a tiny crack, then shut back tightly. “Luke?” she whispered, as if she were afraid raising her voice might bring the monsters under her bed out to eat her. “Is that...is that you?”

Poor thing, I thought, stroking her hair. Jesus, I’ve really put you through a lot, haven’t I?

“It’s me, Maddie,” I assured her, holding her in my arms. Christina and Mareth took up places on the couch, watching me, while Oni sat cross-legged on the floor