Slicing My Flesh

55

Everyone was distracted by Ken trying to calm down Nyx. Nyx was proving more difficult to control since the face of Lucifer seemed to aggravate her even more. Kikimora rolled her eyes and whispered something to her mother. Lilith's eyes soon found mine. Kikimora smirked before going to stand beside her father.

"I sense a big secret is being kept." Lilith gathered everyone's attention. "Something that nearly everyone knows except one." I quirked a brow at her words. "Lineage can truly be a sensitive subject." My eyes widened at what she was implying.

"I think it's time for us to begin our hunt." Ken prodded Kikimora.

"Fine." Kikimora huffed and bid goodbye to her parents. "We should use the portal to travel to the opposite end of Hel and then question the demons in the bar." She had us follow her upstairs.

Acacia was highly annoyed at Kikimora. I'm sure Ken and Nyx would've been just as annoyed, but Nyx was struggling not to attack the Devil and Queen of Demons. I wasn't surprised by the brothel type aesthetic of Kikimora's room. My eyes focused on the stripper pole in the middle of the room. Okay, then.

I passed by several pictures on the dresser. I stopped to observe the different pictures. I was shocked to see some pictures of Kikimora with a blond girl (that was scarily beautiful) and with Naomi. I also saw some photos of Kikimora with Madison and Harley. No wonder she immediately agreed to help us... she personally knows Naomi. I nudged Acacia to look at the pics. She subtly nodded at me.

"This looks like a strip club." Ken deadpanned.

"So the interior designer nailed my vision." Kikimora winked at Ken. "Would you like to try the pole..." Nyx growled a warning at Kikimora. "It's really robust." She directed the last comment at me, causing Acacia to narrow her eyes. "Tough crowd tonight." Kikimora mumbled.

"Where's the portal?" Acacia got straight to the point.

"Here." Kikimora smiled and led us to another room.

The portal encompassed an entire wall and swirled with metallic colors. It reminded me of the portal in the dark elves realm, but this one is much more beautiful. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kikimora send a raven to fly out her room. I used my enhanced vision to see a letter tied to the raven's leg. Who is she communicating with? She better not be betraying us. I decided not to tell anyone what I saw so I didn't cause a false panic.

"Where will this take us?" Nyx spoke up.

"Other side of the realm and then we'll travel to a bar that is neutral grounds for my demons and Lilitu's demons." She then narrowed her eyes at us. "Don't make a scene because that is not the vibe of the place." We nodded at her instructions. "Welp, let's go!"

Ken and Nyx were reluctant to walk through first. Acacia rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand. We then entered the portal first. We exited to see a rundown bar ahead of us. The bar resembled a trailer house and had a yellowish metallic tint. We waited for the others to arrive before walking close to the bar. Kikimora jogged in front of us and then reminded us of her rules. We rolled our eyes, but she wanted a verbal response before we went inside.

"Fine." We groaned. That seemed to satisfy her since she allowed us to pass her.

Kikimora smiled and led the group inside the dingy establishment. Well, it looked dingy on the outside but the interior was entirely different. It had an old time feel to it, but wasn't rundown. The rustic vibe actually suited the place quite well. The bartenders and staff cheered and toasted to Kikimora's arrival. Kikimora chuckled and addressed everyone before saying that a round would be on her, causing more cheers to resound inside the place. Ken and I turned to question Nyx, but she was preoccupied speaking to a few men.