But it was just a bunch of mostly useless shit he’d jacked from humans. What was the big deal?
The humans probably had a shitty rest of their day when they realized they’d been robbed, but their lives went on. People who could afford Rolexes and diamond rings weren’t exactly impoverished. They could buy new shit.
So why was he so haunted about it? So he had an itch. Oh well. Could be worse. After countless centuries of being a bloodthirsty fiend, a little kleptomania was practically harmless.
With a shrug, he turned his back on the pile and threw open his bedroom door, leaving it right there on the floor for all to see.
As soon as he stepped into the hall, Mist appeared in front of him. Literally: he reformed from black mist.
Raum blinked in surprise, but then, he was used to Mist being weird.
“Hello,” the Hunter said.
“Hi…”
The Hunter cocked his head, and his nostrils flared. He drew in a long inhale, and Raum had a sudden suspicion, remembering his warning to Sunshine at the Blood Market about the importance of covering her scent.
Could Mist scent her on him now?
Nape prickling, he waited, but the Hunter gave no further reaction. “You good?” Raum asked, narrowing his eyes. Yeah, Mist was weird, but he wasn’t usuallythisweird.
“I am,” Mist replied evenly.
“Alright.”
When it appeared neither of them had anything else to say, Raum sidestepped him and headed toward the kitchen.
Unsurprisingly, Bel was there with a big knife in one hand, chopping through a pile of onions like he was competing in the Ultimate Chef Race or some other lame cooking show he watched when he thought no one was around.
Bel glanced up when Raum entered and paused his rapid dicing. “Where the fuck have you been?”
Ah, it was good to be home. “Around.”
Bel’s eyes narrowed—blue for now, thankfully. “Where?”
Why had Raum thought it a good idea to come by? All he was doing was opening himself to be interrogated. “Around,” he repeated, firmer.
“Around where.”
“Just around.”
They stared at each other. Bel’s stance with the knife started to seem more threatening.
And then he surprised the hell out of Raum by saying, “Is everything…okay?”
Raum frowned warily at his brother.
Bel rolled his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m just asking. Jesus.”
“I’m fine.”
Raum sensed a presence at his back and glanced over his shoulder. Mist was standing there, looming in all his dark intensity, fixing him with a yellow-eyed stare.
Raum looked back at Bel and narrowed his eyes. There was a vibe in the air that was beyond weird. Glancing between the two demons who were staring way too directly at him, he asked, “What’s going on?”
“Just making sure my brother is okay,” Bel said calmly.Toocalmly.
Raum’s heart sped up. Something was way off.
