Kyle pulled out his phone and waved it. "The girls are done shopping. I texted them a while ago to tell them that we'd be here."

Liam checked his watch and shook his head. "Well, I guess we'll have to get Kye some clothes next time. The mall is about to close."

Kyle shook his head. "No need. They got him some shirts and shorts and a pair of shoes. He needed shoes anyway for the diner."

"The diner?" I asked. I shrugged at Ember, but he seemed half interested in the conversation.

"I forgot we were doing that." Xavier walked to the door, and Donna and Nicole stepped inside. He held the door open for them as an army of bright yellow bags with black lettering was stuffed under their arms. Donna reached in the bag and pulled out some black sneakers with Velcro straps. She passed them to Liam, and he walked over to me with the shoes in hand.

He knelt on the ground and lifted my feet up as Ember held my arm to keep me steady. Liam dusted the dirt off my feet and put my shoes on them. It felt weird having something constrict my feet, but my soul welcomed the comfort and embrace of the shoe.

40. I'm grateful for comfortable shoes.

Liam stood up, and he gestured to the two ladies at the door. "Donna and Nicole- this is Ember. It's complicated, but he's a Hellhound."

They stared at Ember. At the sound of his name, he looked at the ladies and winked.

"He's so cute!" Nicole swooned. She looked at me and added, "But no one can beat your cuteness, Kye."

I smiled at her compliment and watched Donna wave to Ember. She gave him a gentle smile to which he returned.

"I would ask how this happened, but our dinner reservation is coming up. So, if y'all still want to keep it, I suggest we all hurry along." Donna pulled Nicole to pick up some bags. Xavier and Kyle went to help her while Liam held a handout for me. I ran to it but not before grabbing Ember's hand and tugging it along with me.

We all filed out of the hallway and walked briskly to the diner. The mall was empty, and shops were closing down, but sounds of laughter and light music were coming closer to us.

Soon, I saw a white restaurant with red tables and booths lined the outside while a colorful box sat in the corner. People were filling out as they were getting ready to close. Only a handful of people were left in the restaurant when our party walked in.

A lady with red hair greeted us. "Hi! My name is Amanda. Table for seven?" Xavier nodded, and Amanda smiled. "I'll show you to your table."

She turned away from us and led us to a table with four chairs on each side. I sat down at the end, and Ember sat next to Liam. In front of me sat Donna, and to her right was Kyle. Next to them was Xavier and Nicole- Nicole sitting next to Kyle. I was facing Donna, but over her shoulder, I saw a sign that said 'bathroom' and to the right was the entrance.

Amanda put these paper sheets in front of us, but Xavier waved his hands, and she took them back. A list of food items fell out of his mouth, and I wasn't able to catch it. I blinked as he said them without stuttering while Amanda wrote everything down with ease.

"All right! You all sit tight, and I'll put your order in!" She went behind a door leading to the sounds of dishware clinking, and someone with ebony skin and braided hair gave everyone at the table water. Silent nods of acknowledgment and some scattered 'thank you' were heard as they tipped her with kindness.

Once she left, things got straight to business.

Liam told Nicole and Donna how I met Ember, and Ember explained how he had no intention of hurting me. He talked calmly, but I could tell how slightly nervous he was because he grabbed my hand under the table. I squeezed it for reassurance a few times.

Once he was done, Nicole spoke up.

"Wait, is it just me, or was I the only one who thought that demons came from Lucifer and not Hades?" She put a finger to her chin and tapped it.

Ember answered her. "I wouldn't be surprised- it's common confusion. Demons actually do come from Lucifer, but to be one, you obviously have to die, but he has to take a liking to you once you first come to Hell. If he does, he reincarnates you as a demon- any kind of demon- and you go to work under Hades' masters. How they got those positions? I don't know- I'm still somewhat young, and this is what I've experienced."

Nicole nodded, but she still looked a bit confused. "And you don't have a master because he died? Why not go to work for Hades?"

Ember shrugged. "Hades already has a hellhound- a great one at that. He also has more than just one hellhound. I'd have to compete for attention, and homie don't like that." Ember shook his head. "Hades did tell us that we could go to the Earthly plane and make masters there- so I took advantage of that."

"Isn't there some kind of rule with that, though?" Liam asked.

Ember shook his head. "Not really, just not to make pacts with humans. Well, a demon can. Still, the lifespan is fickle because literally anything a demon does with the human can make them die, and you'd either be sent back to Lucifer for failing or be banned from even going back down to Hades or Lucifer."

"How often down that happen?" Donna asked.

"Very often. Demons often look for weak subjects, and humans are the weakest. When it does happen, a demon will choose to stay in the Earthly world. The eternal punishment Lucifer has in store for failed demons are agony. You can hear their screams everywhere down there. Some say that they make Lucifer crazy- which in turn makes the punishments he gives them even more vile."

"Is that why I heard screaming when you entered through the door?" I asked.

Ember snapped his head to look back at me. His sudden attention to me with his burning eyes make me flinch. "Screaming? You heard screaming?"

I slowly nodded. "They were loud and piercing. It started when the door opened and stopped when it closed."

"What are you talking about? I heard no screaming." Kyle said.

"All I saw was a fire in a door- and this brat showed up" Liam patted Ember's head, but he waved it off.

"Why did you hear screaming? An angel shouldn't be able to hear the noises of torment." He moved his mouth to the side of his face as he tried figuring out what was going on.

Xavier folded his arms. "That's because Kye is a Harpy."

Ember looked at Xavier and blinked. "A Harpy? We all thought those were gone. The last Harpy violated the laws and was sent back to Lucifer."

"What laws were violated?" Nicole pondered.

Ember waved his hand in the air. "A whole list of things. The biggest thing is that he had a child, and no one knew about it until someone followed him into the Earthly plane." He sighed. "Hades and Lucifer had a meltdown. He was Hades' adviser, and Lucifer treasured him so much because he was the first demon he ever made."

"Why did he do all that?" Nicole asked. "Sounds like he had the sweet life."

Ember shrugged. "I knew of him, but I never really talked to him. Rumor had it that he possessed a girl, and things took off from there. He was the only Harpy I knew, but there were many Harpies when he was around. When he was exiled, they all just disappeared."

"And the child?" Donna asked. "What happened to the child?"

"My master and a bunch of other masters at the time gave their hellhounds the mission of finding the child. It is the only demon made that Lucifer doesn't have some kind of control over, and he wanted it, dead or alive. We looked everywhere, but we couldn't find it. Then it turned into a massive man-hunt, and no one could find the child. So, Lucifer gave up."

Xavier sat back in his seat. "Wow. I wonder what he was going to do with the child."

Ember gave a small shrug. "Who knows?"

He then turned to me. "What I'm more curious about is why a Harpy is on Earth."