Chapter 266

"You called me a Queen. But your Chosen were animated by the demons that you handpicked. I was created by the bite of a Neratomay. How can I be one of your Chosen?"

"Hold up," she said, "This is just another layer of the world, remember? Not heaven or hell. Let's think in terms of spirits and not demons. True demons exist, but they are not what animate the un-living. All kinds of spirits live here. Some are like the one you call Oni, a strong Succubus, and some have speed, strength, or cunning. Others are bad—ones that you don't want walking around in the world—the way you don't want Hitler or Charles Manson walking around."

I looked over at Oni, who was still kneeling. I wondered if she could understand what we were talking about. I was happy that my friend wasn't considered a demon. It had been hard to think of her in those terms, anyway.

"When my Chosen procreated, they created living children, and when those children procreated with humans, they created Golden humans—like you."