Gripping the exit door handle, Kevin stepped into the stairwell, pulled it shut behind him, and fell back against the wall.
Working to slow his breathing and get his emotions back in check, he pursed his lips and reminded himself that, while he was back with Charlie, this wasn’t Earth, and it certainly wasn’t Heaven where he would now be spending the rest of his existence.
He was an angel, banished from Heaven, and even though he still had all of his powers, down here he was—just as Alastor had warned—a potential target.
Even Lucifer’s influence was limited, and he could not rely on the King or Charlie to shield him all the time.
The fact is, it was his duty to protect them, and to do his job, he had to keep his emotions in check and remember that—as the story goes—he wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
Though he wanted to see this crew as friends, even family, Niffty had just proven that he had to bury his preconceived notions that most of those currently living in the hotel were natural allies.
His research on them while planning the execution had focused on their fighting skills, but he’d just learned—from Niffty’s shift into her full demonic form—that he’d missed a great deal.
Kevin pressed his back harder into the wall and pushed through it.
Charlie would sometimes lose her temper, and when she did, her demon side would flare out, and it brought up a tense memory of that night in the hotel room when they’d almost made love.
He’d stopped her when she’d made a move on him, telling her it wasn’t a good idea because she wasn’t human, and her change had been instantaneous—explosive, primal.
If she’d wanted to, she could have gutted him on the spot.
Luckily, their bond had grown strong enough that they worked past that, and now, when she changed, not only was he not frightened, but in truth, he was a little turned on.
His girlfriend was the literal Princess of Hell, and her demon form was absolutely stunning in its own demonic way.
Another positive was that when he had questions about how her powers worked, she would shift into her demon form so he could better understand the mechanics of the change.
It wasn’t something he could ask anyone else.
It helped a bit, but he didn’t understand enough about this world—its politics, power struggles, and the monsters that stayed in the shadows or in his face like Alastor—to feel as ready as he’d thought, and he admitted that this was a major weakness, and it frightened him.
His thoughts drifted to his sister, Cassie.
As a witch, she had been a huge part of their success on Earth, tracking down and rescuing the children Bible had kidnapped and sold overseas, and largely stepping into Charlie’s role after she’d returned to Hell.
She had saved his team—Brute, Shrapnel, Snapshot, Spiderbite, and himself—on a few occasions, her powers growing each time significantly.
She had told him what Lucifer revealed to her: that with her connection to Charlie, she’d absorbed a fraction of her demonic power and could tap into the Frequencies and ley lines in ways no other Earth Wiccans could.
‘I’m glad you’re still alive, sis, but oh, how I could use your wisdom and guidance right now.’
All his life, he’d been a leader—strong, resilient, capable in the face of every challenge.
Dying, he’d reached Heaven and shed every fear and worry, despite later realizing just how hollow that peace really was.
Yet now, here in Hell, he was the small fish in an acidic ocean, and he was still wearing floaties.
Once he felt calm enough, he looked up.
The staircase would lead to the foyer outside Charlie’s suite and the hallways leading to Lucifer and Alastor’s suites at the far end of each side of the hotel.
A final staircase would lead to the roof.
Deciding to start from the top and work his way down, he grabbed the railing and took the stairs up, skipping the suite level and continuing to the door that opened onto the roof.
At the top, he paused, a flash of his sister’s rooftop dojo crossing his mind, and let a small smile ghost his lips.
He gripped the handle, gave it a firm twist, and was surprised when it dropped and the door swung open without a sound.
It should have been locked.
Defensively, he summoned his halo and formed a shield—energy snapping into place inside the rim, a handle shaping itself around his grip.
Stepping through with his weight low, he swept the rooftop.
Kevin’s defenses dropped the moment he saw who was on the roof, and the shield fizzled out.
He clipped the halo back onto his head and walked toward the lean figure of Angel Dust leaning against the ledge, staring out over the city.
As Kevin crossed the roof, Charlie’s words about Angel Dust drifted through his mind.
She and Vaggie had offered him free room and board in exchange for being a test subject for the Happy Hotel.
Charlie admitted that at the start, the only reason he’d accepted was that Vaggie had challenged his ego, quoting something he’d said on another occasion: that he was only there because “Crack is expensive.”
One of the first things Kevin had told himself upon hearing Angel Dust’s story was that he wasn’t going to judge him.
Living down here, he was going to be doing a great deal of retrospection about good and evil.
He knew Hell required a strong spine or a strong leash, and he could already see the porn demon had both.
The latter, he was already wondering if there was a way to sever.
Charlie had been clear about how she felt about the Spider Demon and about everyone at the hotel.
For her sake, he would do everything he could to help and support each of her friends on their journey toward redemption—a journey he’d spent a long time on himself.
Well, for most of them anyway.
Close enough to be heard, he cleared his throat.
Angel Dust turned around, pulled his cigarette from his mouth, and gave him a slow, appreciative once-over.
“Hey there, handsome, what brings ya to the top of the world?”
He recalled Charlie’s warning that Angel Dust was a saucy flirt with everyone and wasn’t shy about hitting on staff.
The way she talked about him also told him that this sinner carried a big heart under many masks—masks he wasn’t going to try to remove.The Spider Demon would have to drop them on their own.
Instead, Kevin saw this as a good opportunity to set the tone between them.
“The staircase.” He quipped, leaning against the ledge.
“Like your legs, they go all the way up.” New chapters come out on g.com first.
Angel Dust let out a genuine, warm laugh that rang across the rooftop.
“Okay, you got me, sugar!
Nice one!
I usually do all the flirtin’ round here!”
“So I’ve been told.” Kevin grinned back.
“I figured I’d let you know I’m comfortable with people and who they are.” He winked.
“Just don’t get any ideas or make any passes.
I’m spoken for.”
Faking a pout, the Spider Demon replied, “Just have to be a good boy for the princess, huh, babe?”
“It does seem that being the good boy around here disappoints.” A light laugh followed, the Niffty memory surfacing, leaving him feeling a little less shaky.
“Takes some of the fun out of it, that’s for sure.” Angel Dust took a drag and blew the smoke out as his eyes drifted toward the cityscape.
Noticing him drift, Kevin asked, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m always okay.” Another drag, then he pulled a pack from somewhere between his rather ample top and cast his eyes at Kevin.
“You smoke?”
“Nope.” He shook his head.
“And I’m obligated to give you the lecture.” A half-second pause.
“And the lecture’s over.”
“Well, down here it’s not like it’s gonna make me double-dead.” Shrugging, Angel Dust slipped the pack back in…wherever it came from.
“I know.”
Kevin turned to look out over the city.
Despite everything Hell meant to sinners, it was actually beautiful in how it was built.
Pentagram City wasn’t much in terms of aesthetics, but while researching the hotel for the battle, he’d taken the time to review all the rings and what they meant.
For demon kind, at least, it was nothing like the scriptures.
But for the figure to his right, from what Charlie had told him, Hell had a far darker meaning.
“Ya know?” The words came with what sounded like a lump in Angel Dust’s throat.
“Hmm?” Kevin gave him his full attention and an encouraging look.
“Eva’ since I met Charlie, I’ve been hard on her.” Angel Dust sighed.
“Teasing her, telling her this whole redemption idea is a joke.” His frown deepened.
“But when this place was in danger?
When Heaven threatened the ones I’d come to love?
I didn’t think it was a joke anymore.” He took a long drag and, nearly spent, dropped the butt and crushed it under his heel.
“Then Sir Pentious got killed and…” He sniffed, voice roughening.
“The damned fool.
He didn’t need to be no hero.”
“Yes.
He did.” Kevin countered firmly.
“For Charlie, for the hotel, but most importantly, for himself.” Softening a bit, he explained.
“As Charlie shared with me all that had happened since she returned from Earth and started the hotel, she gushed over Sir Pentious and his heroism.
All of you gave him purpose and a desire to change, and it worked.
He found love here, thanks to Charlie and all of you, and that love meant having no limits when it came to protecting his people.” Kevin placed his hand on Angel Dust’s shoulder.
“I wish I could have met him, but it’s because of his sacrifice that I had the time I needed to face Adam and help save Charlie.”
“And I can’t tell you how much we all appreciate that.
I’m sorry we were such assholes to you.”
Shaking his head, Kevin laughed.
“Are you kidding me?
I was ready to be skewered by half a dozen sinners and a tiny demon on a stabbing rampage for kissing Charlie like that.
I know we’re cool now, but at the time, I deserved every death stare I got.”
“Yeah.” A smirk pulled at Angel Dust’s mouth.
It means a lot.”
“I’m grateful all of you gave us a chance to explain.”
“I trust Charlie.” Angel Dust shrugged.
“And that’s all that mattered at the time.”
“And I appreciate that.”
“And I appreciate that Angel’s not your real name.” Angel Dust stuck his tongue out.
Another easy laugh made Kevin feel even more at ease than before.
“I said my friends get to call me Kevin.
But out there?” He thumbed toward the city.
“I’m using my old call sign.
Only my friends and family get to see me with my walls down.”
“Walls down.” Angel Dust went quiet, his eyes glazing somewhere distant and painful.
Kevin recognized that look.
He’d seen it on countless faces over the years.
The mask was firming up before it would fall.
He rested his arms on the ledge and looked out over the city, giving the silence room to breathe.
“When I died—”
A sharp ringtone from somewhere on the demon’s body cut him off.
Angel Dust dug the phone from the same spot he’d tucked his cigarette pack, looking perturbed.
“Hold that thought.” He lifted the phone to his ear.
“Hey, Val.”
Valentino’s voice hit the speaker like a slap.
“Get your ass down here right now!
Stupid Fritz fucked up his lines.
It’s going to take him a day to put himself back together after what I did, and we’re going to start on the first ten scenes of the big picture.
So hurry the fuck up!”
“Yes, Val.
Right away.” The solemn tone betrayed the promise.
He clicked the phone off.
“Sorry, sugar, wish I had more time to gab, but you heard Val—gotta get to the studio for a shoot.
New feature film parody we’re aiming to have ready for the ‘Sex-x-x-i Awards’ season.
Talk later?”
“Anytime.” Kevin agreed, knowing this wasn’t the moment to say more.
Angel Dust headed for the door.
Kevin looked back over the city for a beat before calling after him.
“About anything.”
Hand on the handle, those two words stopped Angel Dust.
“Gonna double up as security and resident therapist?”
“I’m no therapist.” He shook his head.
“But I’d like to be a friend.”
“Except for Cherri, I didn’t have friends before Charlie dragged me into this hotel.” His voice went thick.
“But that bitch showed me I deserve more than I eva’ thought I did, and now I have a home.” His throat caught.
“So no, I don’t needya as a friend.” Eyes softening like melting ice, he finished, “But I welcome you as family.”
The door closed softly.
Kevin let out a slow breath.
Charlie had told him a great deal about the people here, but so much was still a mystery, and Angel Dust was no exception.
He wasn’t a therapist and never would be, but he recognized certain signs in the spider demon and hoped he had someone special to confide in.
He certainly deserved it.
Taking a few moments to collect his thoughts, he decided it was time to check the suite level.
He would have tonight to go over Charlie and Vaggie’s room—and his, to a degree—when he and Charlie would finally have their first date night, so it was the two other suites he needed to secure.
Lucifer would be a joy; he looked forward to time with the King of Hell, who had blown every preconceived notion of his Catholic upbringing to bits.
He would need that levity before moving on to the part of the hotel he dreaded most: the suite of the Radio Demon himself.