Personal Demons 2 - Original Sin Read Online Free PDF Page A

door. When he sees me, his eyes narrow and a sneer spreads across his large round face. The girls in the booth next to me go suddenly quiet as he strides over and folds his stocky frame into the seat across from me.
    â€œLucifer. What a pleasant surprise.”
    I fight the urge to grab Frannie and run. It’s too late for that. Security roams in packs. I’m sure Rhenorian has some of his lackeys stationed outside. And I need to know what he knows—why he’s here.
    â€œRhenorian.” I nod at him. “I hardly think this was a surprise.”
    An enormous grin spreads slowly across the big demon’s face. “So, how is this going to go?”
    â€œWell, first, you take a look at the menu,” I say, sliding one across the table, “and when you’ve made your decision, the waitress will come take your order.” I glance up at Frannie and Dana, who are staring from behind the counter.
    All the humor leaves his face, but the grin doesn’t. “You’ve always been quite the comedian, Lucifer, but you can’t joke your way out of this.”
    â€œOkay, then. You tell me: How is this going to go?”
    â€œWell, it depends. Easy: You get up and walk outside with me, where we phase back to Hell for your trial. Hard: I pick you up and drag you outside, where we phase back to Hell for your trial.”
    â€œHmm. I see only one flaw in your masterfully devised plan.”
    He leans toward me. “Such as…?”
    â€œWhat am I thinking?”
    His face darkens to a brood. “I don’t know. You’ve got some Hell-forsaken field or something.”
    â€œThink bigger, Rhen.”
    I glance up and see Frannie behind the counter across the room, straining against some unseen force. Matt. I breathe easier knowing she’s in his field. Even still, her eyes are trained on Rhenorian, her jaw set and muscles tense. I know that look. She’s working out how she’s going to take him down. I catch her eye and shake my head almost imperceptibly. Rhenorian’s focus is on me, and I want to keep it that way. He seems totally unaware Frannie is the bigger target.
    Frannie glares at me, and when I turn back to Rhenorian, a frustrated scowl has passed over his features. “I can’t read anything. It’s almost as if you were human or something.”
    I tip my head toward him slightly and raise an eyebrow.
    He stares at me for a second with a quizzical look; then his eyes widen as he bounds to his feet, knocking the table into me and sending the menus flying. “What the Hell?”
    I glance at the girls in the booth behind Rhenorian, who’ve been watching cautiously.
    â€œDown, boy,” I say quietly.
    He slides tentatively back into the booth, straightening the table. For a long time, he doesn’t say anything. He just stares, as if trying to see through me. “How did you do it?” he finally manages.
    â€œI didn’t. It was done to me.”
    â€œSomeone else turned you human? You found a…what? A conjurer?”
    I realize that I’ve probably said too much. To bring the conversation back to me, I say, “So, you get that I’m not phasing anywhere. You could just kill me and take my soul back to Hell, if it weren’t for the other thing.”
    He tents his fingers on the table in front of him, and his eyes narrow. “What other thing?”
    I fix him in a hard stare, and can’t stop my lips from curling into a smile when understanding dawns on his face.
    â€œUnholy Hell! You’re tagged for Heaven!” he says, leaping from the booth again.
    â€œSo, you see, Rhen, if He wants me back in Hell, it’s going to take a little more planning and forethought on your part to figure out how to get me there.”
    â€œWhy the Hell wouldn’t He tell me?”
    â€œI don’t know. Maybe He thought, with your limited intellectual capacity—”
    He shoves the table up