“He won’t hurt me.” As she said it, a wave of conviction rose, that inner whisper assuring her she was speaking the truth.
His brow lifted. “Won’t he?”
“He won’t.”
They exchanged another staring contest, and then out of nowhere, the demon smiled. It was such a change from his terrifying scowl that she blinked in amazement. He went from looking like an avenging angel to a supermodel.
“Well, well. Seems the Hunter found himself a human after all.” He waved a hand, and the smile vanished. “It’s not up to me what he does. If he wants to see you, he’ll come back.”
“Can you just tell him I want to see him if you find him? He won’t come otherwise. He thinks I’m scared of him.”
“Aren’t you?”
“I’mnot.” She said it for her benefit as much as his. “I just needed a bit of time to adjust to seeing his demon form, but I’m over it now. I don’t care what he looks like.”
The demon looked briefly skyward. “Why am I always in the middle of this soap opera shit? Fine. If I see him, I’ll tell him you still love him despite his monstrous appearance, and you’re the key to his redemption or whatever the fuck.”
“I didn’t say I—”
“Take it or leave it, witch. I’m not your counselor, and this isn’t a goddamn fairytale. Now, goodbye. I hope I never see you again, but something tells me that’s too much to ask.”
He turned and started walking, muttering, “The shit I put up with. No wonder I can’t control my fucking temper, for fuck’s sake.”
* * *
The cloudof mist wedged itself tighter into the corner of the flat roof’s ledge, but it didn’t make a difference. The crow perched beside him just cocked its head, unimpressed.
With an inward groan, Mist gave up the pretense of hiding and took physical form. His skin and hair were still wet from the shower, but at least his pants were dry.
A moment later, the golden-eyed crow beside him shifted into a golden-eyed man.
Mist crouched on the ledge and picked at the brick with his claws. His companion sat on the ledge and faced the opposite way. Neither of them spoke.
After a time, Raum broke the silence. “Why don’t you go talk to her?”
They had both overheard the conversation between Lily and Belial. The only reason Mist hadn’t flown down and growled at Belial when he threatened Lily was because he didn’t want her to know he was there.
“It’s pointless,” Mist said. “Already Paimon summons me again.”
“The brand is burning?”
He nodded.
“How long do you have?”
“Less than two weeks.”
“So that’s it? You’re just going to give up without even trying?”
“I’m not giving up,” Mist growled. He didn’t appreciate the insinuation that he was weak.
“Bel’s helping you. Lily’s helping you. Hell, even Eva’s dad is helping you. And you’ve got a bit of time before you have to go back. A lot can happen in two weeks.”
His digging claws managed to break a piece off the brick, and he watched it topple over the balcony rooftop onto the sidewalk below. He didn’t correct Raum’s assumption that he’d return to Hell when the time came.
He wasn’t going back. If it meant his death, so be it.
“And even if we don’t find a solution in that time, Lily can just summon you again, right?”
