Nearly as big as his forearm, the thing squirmed and hissed, silver teeth gnashing in the gaping maw that split the tip. Tiny black eyes dotted the serpentine length like a bad case of the clap. They blinked in alternating order, but kept their gaze on me the whole time. It made me more uncomfortable than watching an episode of Glee.

I tore my eyes away and followed the swirling trail of puckered scars that covered Hasstor’s flesh. They stood out, just a shade lighter than the rest of his skin. There were too many, and they were too intricate in design, to be anything but ritualistic. I didn’t have a clue what they meant, but I spied some similar to the ones I’d seen on the containment case in Lucifer’s chambers. There was a subtle difference to them that made me think it was a different language, but it gave me the idea that whoever-whatever-had been locked up inside it wasn’t from Earth.

Finally back at Hasstor’s hairless face, pug-nosed and square-jawed, I found my voice. “Uncle Lou sent you, huh?” My cheeks warmed as I thought about my uncle. Had Hasstor shown up a couple of months back, I’d have thrown a party to hear from Lucifer, but now? Not so much. There were too many questions.

Hasstor nodded, his upper lip pulled into an amused sneer.

“You’d think if this was so important he would have come himself.” No clue who Hasstor was, I wanted to be sure he was legitimately delivering a message from my uncle before I decided how I would deal with it.

The low rumble of a chuckle slipped from him. “Lucifer told me you would be difficult, Triggaltheron, so he provided me with the means to convince you.”

I cringed a little at the use of my full name, but given all the folks who’d been spitting it out lately, I was kind of getting used to it. Shrugging it off, I watched as he held out his upper right arm, his clawed fingers spreading open before me. Bright against his dark skin was a red dot of liquid that could only be blood. My senses fluttered against it expecting the residual feedback of my uncle’s power, but that wasn’t what I found.