Briony hummed. “She was kind of fun. She never did explain what Excess really was though. Just explained it with the word.” Or if she had explained it then she didn’t remember and the end result of the little demon not knowing what it meant was still the same. So she had not dwelled at all on the idea of excessive fear, if there even was such a thing. “I told her aaall about the church and the demonics and holies too.” She was very good about spreading word about Amazing Grace, and not just to demons because she thought the place was awesome. She had told the holies about it quite a few times. The idea of fresh meat was far, far too appealing. Even Rachel and Paul were more than enamoured with it, but that was because of Daniel. The pipes, the pipes are calling… She decided that maybe she could steal someone else’s dog for Bubbles. Did it make a difference? “Why do I need them if you didn’t?” That was so unfair. The way Briony saw it, she had lived just fine on her own before she was ever even at the orphanage. Why did she need parents? Stupid. And how long did ‘eventually’ take?
“Oh.” That sort of made sense. Otherwise wouldn’t Daniel just had gotten rid of him if the horse kept bugging him and he didn’t want him to? Apart from that part where you died if your familiar did. She knew about that bit. “Cool.” And then, because she couldn’t quite leave well enough alone, “So why’re you all bossy?”
Briony pulled a face. “I don’t want all that time being nine.” Even if it somehow suited Bubbles. She was a Shepherd, though. Briony still had to grow into her Fear. It almost made her want to deliberately get lost in Hell just so it would take her forever to get back out again and she’d be all grown up when she reappeared. “I like that,” she answered after a moment’s thought regarding the pros and cons of screwing with a shrink. “Bet I learn more from it than they do.” She had not quite heard the part about winning, she was more interested in how she’d win. Half distracted by thoughts of talking her way underneath someone’s skin, Briony tilted her head at Daniel. “Noooo; holding back means waiting until Rachel snaps and tries to take Hayden and Airla away with her. But that can’t happen, they can’t all leave. So Rachel will kill herself and then so will Paul. But not until he’s killed his brats.” She smiled up at him, sweet as could be. “I’d’ve been locked in the basement, bashed on the head and left for dead. Or locked away. Or been hiding. I watch movies, y’know.” The little demon wriggled in her seat excitedly. “Best part is waiting to see how much I can get them to do themselves.” Because she had been planning this since she turned seven and three quarters. “Yeah. It smells of spices and—and yeah. Magic.” She loved the smells that came with black magic. Smelled like power. Her skirt looked so much more interesting from this angle though. “Wouldn’t putting blood on the fence bring angels over?” Like how too much white magic called to her and begged a hundred times over to be reversed. Didn’t matter what Daniel said though, she was healing herself. A spell she knew better than any nursery rhyme and it confused her siblings no end. And she didn’t care if licking her own blood off of her palm was gross.