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There was more. There was much, much more.
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Chapter 19
Agonostis strolled into his office. Earwax met him at the door.
Did I do okay, sir?
For now. Agonostis looked around what had, the night before,
been an abandoned warehouse. Rows of hastily erected cubicles
(the Hell-bound were big on cubicles) filled the center of the floor.
Computer cables snaked across the cracked concrete, running to
special terminator boxes that linked them straight to Hell s
mainframes.
The Real Estate Devil scurried up to him and said, We own the
building now in fact, we own the entire block. We ve thrown out
the winos and the drug dealers and started fixing up the building
next door. It will take some work, but I think we can make it
respectable enough to use as a front.
Agonostis nodded. Good. Continue. The Real Estate Devil
hurried off.
They fixed you up a temporary office in the back, Earwax
said. I think you ll approve. It has a great view of the hookers
working the neighborhood.
There are hookers working this neighborhood! Jezerael, who
had taken Lust and Fornication away from him with her damned
plotting, was making points with every one of those hookers.
Chase them down to the Salvation Army, he snapped. Or call
the police and have them arrested.
Jezerael was not going to get any freebies from him.
Earwax was still standing at his knee, waiting for . . . something.
Who knew what went through the microscopic minds of imps?
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What are you waiting for?
Earwax started. Er . . . orders?
He needed to have someone keep an eye on Dayne. Fine. Here
are some orders. Put a tap on Dayne Kuttner s phone. Then I want
you to personally watch her house. Find out for me everything she
does, every place she goes, every person she talks to.
Can I answer her phone?
No, you can t answer her phone! She isn t supposed to know
you re there.
He was forgetting something else . . . something important. . . .
The pets. Don t bother her cats, either. No one had better touch
those cats until I give the okay.
Earwax nodded, his expression mournful. No cats. No phones.
No fun. He trudged away, shoulders sagging.
Agonostis smiled and walked through his new domain. All his
damned were busy, Hell Phase II was opening for business, and
Dayne Kuttner was putty in his hands. The first phase of her
temptation had gone remarkably well. He d assumed he would
have to make at least two trips by her home to find a form that
would prove irresistible to the woman; to have hit his stride in one
was, he thought, simply proof of his suitability for his role as Lord
of Lust.
Jezerael would be out of a job before she knew what had hit her.
And spunky little wide-eyed Dayne would be writhing in Hell.
Agonostis smile grew bigger.
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Chapter 20
Dayne sat transfixed by the news. It preempted every local
station s regular programming, and clips from the local news
began showing up on the national news, as well generally as the
lead story.
As the reports of chaos poured in, a few themes became clear.
The Hellraised (a phrase coined early by one clever reporter, and
instantly dragged into general use) were raising Hell and upsetting
things as much as they could but they weren t killing people. The
two men who died at the Ashboro Fan Faire were the only reported
deaths in what news stations across the state were claiming were
thousands of reported incidents and their deaths were the result
not of the actions of the Hellraised, but of their human fans.
So where do you think they came from? Paige asked.
Hell.
Don t be obtuse. How do you think they got here?
Oh. Dayne sat on the edge of the couch and stared at the TV
screen at the camera shots of devils and demons and imps and
gargoyles; of incubi and succubi and gremlins. Bemused, she said,
I think God has given them a second chance.
Paige turned sideways on the couch and gave Dayne a half
smile. Come again?
I d rather not say anything until I know for sure. . . . She
wrinkled her nose and made a face at Paige. I ll be very interested
to know why they re here.
Me too. Paige fished the last of the buttery kernels of popcorn
from the bottom of the bowl and shook her head. Mike said
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everyone thought the devils on the football field were a Duke
prank at first. They ran out from the locker rooms and started
doing cheers with the Tarheel cheerleaders. Then they started
goosing the cheerleaders with their pitchforks. Security tried to run
them off, they turned and charged the security officers, and Mike
said all of a sudden they grew like three or four feet taller and got
these huge claws and bat wings. Mike said it was the scariest thing
he ever saw. The people in the stands had been laughing, but then
they stopped, and a lot of them tried to run for the exits.
What did Mike do?
He and his clients stayed put, and they were fine. A few people
were hurt, nobody seriously.
I m surprised he didn t want you to come home.
Paige shook her head. He and his clients decided to discuss
business at the house. Less excitement. I m sure he d love to have
me there, but I hate discussions of LANs and RISCs and RAM and
such. She wrinkled her nose. About as much as he hates to hear
me talk about FHA and HUD and points and features.
I ll bet. You two make a strange couple.
Paige nodded. We have fun. The things we have in common
make up for the fact that we can t really talk about work.
Things in common? Like
We re both horny little devils. . . . Paige pulled her knees up to
her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. The smile
vanished from her face. That isn t actually funny anymore, she
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