Demons Like It Hot (Demons Unleashed #2)(116)

Nodding, Serah toddled into the shop. “The chest isn’t as heavy as it seems. I think it’s empty. Where can I put it?”

“I suppose here,” Lucy said, pointing to the reception desk. “Let me clear it off.” She picked up the display of hair products and set everything on the floor next to the desk.

Serah took in a deep breath and grunted as she tried to set the old chest on the desk.

Lucy rushed over and grabbed the other end.

“Let me help.” Tingles of electricity traveled from her fingers through her arms and chest down to her legs and feet. Her toes twitched. Her hand fell away, and the chest landed on the desk with a deafening thud.

Serah’s mouth fell open. “Hey, that cost me a lot of money!”

“Your box just electrocuted me!” Lucy retorted, her fingers still tingling.

“It did not.” Serah crossed her arms in front of her.

She gazed down at her fingers and gasped. What the freaking hell?

“I see, so I am supposed to be gentle with your box, while it’s allowed to send jolts of electricity through my body. Look!” Lucy thrust her hands toward her, showing Serah her singed fingertips. “Well?”

“Maybe it’s hair dye from earlier.” Serah threw her head back in laughter. “And stop calling it my box. It weirds me out.”

“Whatever. Let me see this chest so I can set sail with Captain Morgan. It’s been a long day.”

Serah shrugged. “Fine by me, if I can stow away.”

“The captain says, ‘Aye aye. The more the merrier.’” Lucy hunched over the chest and rubbed her fingers across the lid. Tingly, but not as tingly as before. Wiping two hundred years of dirt and dust from the chest, she had her first look. Along with the fading inscription, weird symbols dotted the lid. Then she discovered a title etched deep into the sturdy oaken chest. A box with a title? Strange, indeed. Almost as strange as the hieroglyphics decorated all over the lid.

“Arca Inferorum.” Lucy said. Now if that wasn’t a title to try and scare someone away, she didn’t know what was.

“Arca what?” Serah’s blank expression filled her face. “What’s that mean?”

“It means Chest of the…” Lucy thought long and hard about the last word, and then Dante’s Inferno came blazing back at her. “Damned.”

“Damned?”

Lucy nodded. “Yes, damned. It was probably designed by some over-devout monk wanting to scare mankind into repenting for their sins. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a ‘Made in Rome’ stamp on the bottom.”

Serah wasn’t amused. “Whatever. Just read the inscription.”

Lucy wiped away more grime and traced her fingertip over the words. Stronger tingles zipped through her body. “It must be equipped with a security system. Every time I touch it, I get zapped.”

“Doesn’t happen to me,” Serah replied nonchalantly.

“Guess it’s my electric personality.” She leaned over the chest and began translating the inscription.

“At the beginning of the total eclipse of the winter moon, shall this chest be opened only by one of demon blood. They shall call forth the legions of the underworld. By the power of this one demon will Earth be theirs.”

Lucy shook her head. “Yep, it’s a hoax. I hope you get your money back.”

“Oh my God!” Serah exclaimed, oblivious to Lucy’s words.

Bemusement filled Lucy. Her gaze narrowed. “Oh my God, what?”

“There’s supposed to be a total lunar eclipse tomorrow night!” Giddy laughter burst from her lips. “This will be so cool!”

It was as if they were kids again and this was their first sleepover. Only they weren’t kids. Lucy was pushing thirty and Serah wasn’t far behind.

Rolling her eyes, Lucy shook her head. Here comes another one of Serah’s harebrained ideas.

“Even if what the inscription says is real, what part of ‘Only by one of demon blood’ do you not understand?”

“There’s a demon inside me,” Serah replied.

Oh brother, Serah and her demons. “But you usually shut the bitch up with chocolate.”

“Even so, wouldn’t it be fun to at least try and open it?”

“Whatever,” Lucy replied with a shrug. “If you want to wait until tomorrow for me to translate the inscription better, that’s fine.”

“Demons in a box, how cool.”

“Yeah, cool. Too bad demons don’t exist.”



Acknowledgments


I wouldn’t have been able to complete this book if it weren’t for several special people. So thanks to the lovely ladies in the In Motion group—Carly, Sharon, Susan, Riley, and Delilah. Your encouragement kept me going when I thought I’d have a meltdown. Special thanks to my mom and my sister Brenda, who helped read and proofread my craptastic first draft. I owe you both—BIG TIME!

Another special thanks goes out to some other special people, including Sharron, Derek, Jody, and Sandra for reading through and helping me tone down Farquhar’s thick Scottish dialect. You guys rock!



About the Author

Sidney Ayers loves infusing her stories with humor. What would the world be without a little bit of laughter? She writes in a wide variety of genres, ranging from historical to paranormal to contemporary. A native of Michigan, Sidney still lives in the same town she grew up in. No matter how hard she tries, she just can’t seem to get away. Michigan is in her blood.