City of Demons Read Online Free Page B

apologize for it. I apologized then, after the fact.” The words came out stiffly, but I got the impression they were sincere. Demons apologized. Who knew? “Although ... not to place blame, but you were already upset when I walked in. You were in a bad mood, and it fed mine ... and made what I said far worse than it might otherwise have been. Made me angrier than I normally would have been.”
    â€œYou admit you were angry.” Margo seized on this, a mongrel with a bone in her mouth. “Angry enough to insult and talk back to your archdemoness. Angry enough—according to witnesses—to ‘exchange words’ with Anthony too.”
    I could see Clyde’s chest rise and fall as he took a few deep breaths before speaking. There was a temper there behind those dark eyes—again, not surprising for a demon—but he was working hard to stay calm.
    â€œYes. I had a few ... confrontations with Anthony. He wasn’t exactly humble about the promotion. We got into a few arguments.”
    â€œBecause you were angry,” reiterated Margo. “Angry enough to explode. Angry enough to kill him. You probably couldn’t blow him apart fast enough, could you? Or maybe you ripped him up ... tore him limb from limb or something before incinerating him. Anything to sate the bloodlust inside of you, right?”
    He narrowed his eyes. “Honestly? It’s been centuries since I had any bloodlust to sate. Funny thing, though . . .” He gave her a cold smile. “You’re inspiring me to maybe rip something apart after all.”
    Luis sighed heavily and gestured to Margo. “Do you have anything else to add?”
    The imp smiled smugly. “I think I’ve proven my point.”
    Luis glanced over at us. “Does the jury have any questions for the suspect?”
    We all sort of sat there a moment, squirming under the room’s attention. Then the demoness beside me raised her hand. Luis gave her permission to speak.
    â€œSo, did you call Noelle a bunch of names or something? What were they?”
    â€œYeah,” piped up another demon. “Did you call her a ladder-climbing, self-serving cunt? That’d be a good one.” While I admired Noelle’s professional demeanor, it was obvious that others among us did not. I had the distinct impression my fellow jurors wanted to get a rise out of her.
    Clyde’s angry face registered momentary surprise. Luis snorted.
    â€œDon’t answer that,” said Noelle, nodding to Clyde. Her face was still composed.
    â€œOoh,” said my neighboring juror. “Then he must have called you a cunt, if you don’t want us to know.”
    â€œI don’t care if you know what he said,” explained Noelle in exasperation. “But I’d rather you ask questions that are actually useful. This isn’t The Jerry Springer Show .”
    â€œI agree,” said Luis, giving my neighbor a censuring look. “Does anyone have any questions that will actually facilitate this matter?”
    Silence. I have to admit, I felt kind of appalled. Demons were demons, evil by nature. But they also tended to be very efficient and business-like. The apathy around me was disheartening, even among our ranks. Whoever had thrown together this jury had picked low-ranking demons, ones who were completely self-absorbed and would never rise up in the ranks. They weren’t shrewd like Jerome or commanding like Luis. They were bottom-feeders who’d be doing crappy jobs in Hell for the rest of eternity. They didn’t care about this case. They were probably only here for the free food.
    Tentatively, I raised my hand, needing to ask a couple of things that I honestly couldn’t believe hadn’t come up yet.
    I thought I saw amusement in Luis’ eyes when he noticed me. “Go ahead, Georgina.”
    The silence in the room grew even heavier. I don’t think many of them had noticed there was a