Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“However,” Zalramon continued, lowering his voice so only Sky to hear. “I have one more stipulation.”
Shit. Here it comes…
The demon leaned in close to Sky, his hands folded in front of him. “Could you send a sandwich for me with Frank every once in a while? You humans still do those brown paper-bag things, right? Where you put the sandwiches inside with snacks or pudding? I want that.”
The King of the Underworld wanted him to pack a bag lunch for him. This night could not get any stranger.
“Yeah…um…sure. Not a problem,” Sky mumbled, because what else was he supposed to say to the king?
“Excellent!” Zalramon straightened and clapped his hands together. “Then let’s return to your place, and you can make more sandwiches.”
Chapter 2
Nolan Banks
Frank answered Sky’s front door.
For a moment, Nolan stood there, speechless, his mind trying to comprehend the black fuzzy creature with the long, spindly arms and legs. The first thought that pried itself loose was, Should Frank be out running around during the day? He couldn’t remember any time when Sky had summoned one of the underworld minions during daylight hours.
Frank must have tired of waiting for him. The tiny figure chittered irritably at him and waved his hand, beckoning him inside the house.
Not wanting to piss Frank off, Nolan stepped across the threshold, allowing Frank to close the door behind him. The minion hurried into the house, leaving Nolan behind. He followed, but he stumbled to a stop at the sight of at least half a dozen minions in Sky’s living room dusting, vacuuming, and fluffing throw pillows.
Did Sky use them as a sort of maid service?
That wasn’t a bad deal, except for the sheer number of sandwiches he’d have to make.
“Sky?” Nolan called out, nervous about going any farther into the house with so many minions present. If the necromancer was in the middle of work or a spell, he didn’t want to disturb him. That might explain some of the weird shit he’d seen on the morning news, though.
“I’m in the kitchen,” Sky replied. His voice was muffled and sleepy, as if Nolan had woken him up.
Nolan walked down the hall and stopped in the kitchen, where even more creatures like Frank filled the open space, washing dishes and putting them away. Meanwhile, Sky was slumped over on the table, his head resting on his folded arms. He was still in his pajamas, and his golden hair was standing up in every direction as if he had a severe case of bedhead.
“Sky? Are you okay?” Nolan darted past a minion moving a mop across the floor and dropped into the chair next to Sky. He ran his hand over the man’s head, trying to smooth out some of his unruly locks.
“Mn. Tired. So fucking tired,” he mumbled.
“Then why aren’t you in bed? Did something happen last night?”
Sky lifted his head enough that Nolan could see the dark circles under his eyes as he opened them. “The King of the Underworld was pissed at me for the sandwich thing, so he dragged me to the underworld last night to settle a bet. I won, and I get to keep using the minions for my work.”
“That’s…good, right?” Nolan asked because Sky’s tone didn’t make it sound like a good thing in the least.
A disgruntled sound rose from Sky’s throat. “He was so happy with the sandwich that he returned to my place with a bunch of his demon buddies. I was up all night making sandwiches and watching Japanese BL shows.”
Nolan blinked. There was too much to unpack in all of that. His brain was struggling to sort through it.
His necromancer neighbor didn’t seem to notice and continued. “Demons are a riot to watch TV with. They love to talk back to the shows and argue with the characters. It’s hilarious. But they made such a mess. I got rid of them a few hours ago and caught a little sleep, but Zal sent all these minions to clean up the mess they made last night.”
“Zal?” Brain still computing words, Nolan was trying to figure out if Sky was even using English.
“Zalramon, King of the Underworld. He’s the ruler of demons and minions. Everything and everyone that passes through that realm.” Sky laid his head on his arm and lifted his lips in a small smile. “Pretty nice demon, too. He tries to be a hardass, but you can tell he wants to be fair to everyone as much as he can.”
Nolan reached out and threaded his fingers through Sky’s messy hair, pushing it off his forehead and out of his face. “Honey, I think I’m going to need you to explain all of that to me again in far more detail, but later. You look dead on your feet. Why don’t you go to bed for a while?”