Page 10

The dog and Evan heaved a sigh of relief.

Misty had welcomed the new pet, so the major problem was resolved. Now, Evan just had to work harder to feed another pet. He’d been used to starving anyway, so it wouldn’t be a big deal.

“Well, if Misty says yes, then yes, it is,” Evan stood up and stepped away from the door. “Welcome home, buddy.”

A screeching woke Evan up in the middle of the night. He groaned into the pillow, murmuring an incoherent curse. Misty was curled against his chest, purring, when she suddenly leapt out of the bed, startling Evan completely awake.

“ What ? What—what happened?” He blinked around, disoriented, before reaching for the side lamp and slapping it on.

The dog—whom Evan had given a good bath and a blanket at the edge of the bed—was perched up on his hind limbs, scratching at the glass window, his now white fur glistening in the moonlight. The sound of his nails grating against the glass was creating the eerie screech.

“What is it, buddy?” Evan sat up, rubbing his eyes. “You gotta take a leak?”

Not hearing him, the dog continued scratching at the window, whining anxiously. Maybe he was feeling stuffy in the small room after roaming the open clearings for a long time.

Yawning, Evan dragged himself out of the bed. After contemplating whether to urge the dog towards the front door or let him out the window, he decided to settle for the latter. He could train the dog sometime later when he wasn’t a walking corpse.

As he unlocked the window, a cool breeze fluttered in through the crack. before something cast a shadow across his face.

Evan’s eyes flickered up—

He leapt away. “What the fuck!”

A giant silhouette stood outside the window. A black, humanoid mass with two red dots shining in place of its eyes.

Stumbling back, Evan sucked in a sharp breath, the air turning heavy with the foreign presence of the intruder, along with the scent of damp earth.

Evan’s eyes dropped, then widened when he saw his dog, jumping out through the gap in the window.

“No, no, no—” Evan reached forward, but the dog was gone in a blink, dissolving into the demon’s shadow like mist.

Evan’s hand froze mid-air, mouth gaping. Disbelief clouded his mind momentarily.

Did he just…eat my dog?

After staring at the empty space near the window and not seeing any signs of the dog’s reappearance, his frozen fingers curled into a fist, a pair of dark eyes flashing up at the demon.

“Give him back,” Evan’s voice fell an octave.

The demon cocked his head.

The next second, he slithered in through the window, glass and concrete alike, straight into Evan’s bedroom.

Long raven hair, with a single streak of red threading through it, fluttered around a pale, sharp-edged face. His once-tattered red robes were gone, replaced by a pristine replica with minute designs intricately woven into the borders.

Those scarlet eyes blazed in the dark.

Craning his neck, Evan sized up the dramatically mighty demon.

If he wasn’t fuming over the fact that he’d possibly lost the dog he’d adopted that very afternoon, maybe Evan would’ve been more cautious. More scared.

“Give. Him. Back,” Evan’s skin radiated a soft blue glow as his rising anger flamed his core of spiritual energy, the barrier around it flickering.

If that demon had eaten his dog, Evan was going to resort to some extreme methods with his spiritual powers. Methods he'd rarely used before.

“What?” A low, gravely tone echoed in the room. The demon didn’t seem to be alarmed by Evan’s potential in the slightest as he casually threw the question at him.

Evan gritted his teeth. “My dog.”

“Your dog ?” The demon stared at Evan for a moment before his lips twitched up.

Evan’s nostrils flared in response. “You crazy fuc—”

“He’ll be back,” the demon waved, dismissively, the sleeves of his robe fluttering.

Before another nasty retort could escape Evan’s mouth, the demon covered the distance between them in a split second. Swiftly and effortlessly.

Upon the sudden breach of his personal space, Evan’s limbs froze in place. The demon came dangerously close, dropping his face to Evan’s level.

“Your core.”

Evan blinked, then clenched his jaws. “What about it?”

He tucked a warm finger under Evan’s chin, lifting his face up. “Close it. Unless you’d willingly choose to be vulnerable before me.”

His tone was...different. So was his speaking style. He sounded less ancient, like talking to an upgraded version of the old demon.

What had he been doing while he was gone all this time? Surfing Duolingo?

“Close it,” the demon said.

Evan’s frown dropped.

The demon was right. Fuck , he was right.

But wasn’t this a favorable situation for him? With Evan’s core of energy exposed, the demon could easily suck all his spiritual energy out of his body within an instant. That was usually the case when creatures of the dark encountered vulnerable humans with naturally abundant spiritual energy who had no idea how to control it.

But why was this demon asking Evan to close his core of energy? Was he senile?

Evan’s eyes narrowed at the towering face, “If you’re trying to get my guard down—”

“Your guard is weaker than a wall of paper.”

“Excuse me?”

Moving impossibly close, the demon shoved his face into Evan’s. “Close it.”

The proximity made Evan hold his breath. He forced himself to concentrate. Only because his core of energy was the last thing that could protect him. And if he died with his channel closed, the demon would never be able to absorb his spiritual energy. How satisfying that would be.

A few seconds later, Evan’s eyes opened, and the glow slowly faded from his skin.

“Good,” the demon brushed his lips against Evan’s jaws, making Evan jump away from him. As clumsy as ever, he tripped against his own slippers before falling flat on his ass.

A curse broke out of him. Ignoring the sting in his backside, Evan scraped his jaws where the demon had kissed him, face scrunched. “You creep, I will fucki—”

The demon crouched near Evan, expression part amusement, part disapproval. “Why do you keep hurting yourself?”

“Why do you keep popping uninvited into my house, fucker?”

The scarlet eyes, which had dimmed, started blazing again as the demon’s brows furrowed slightly. His voice dropped an octave. “You’ve got quite a mouth on you.”

“Oh, you have no ide—”

“Stop talking.”

Evan’s lips clamped shut on their own, leaving him blinking. From this angle of the demon—all dark and incorrigibly mysterious—the suppressed fear crawled back onto the surface of Evan’s conscience.

What am I doing, arguing with a demon? If he wasn’t careful, he would be joining his dog soon.

But for something unhuman and from the depths of hell, this particular demon wasn’t really all that different from humans. Not like Evan had any previous demonic encounters to compare it to, but he was definitely different from what Evan had imagined a demon would look like.

If he looked human, maybe he could also be manipulated as one too. With a deep inhale, Evan shifted the gears in his head, then calmly said, “Look, I freed you—”

“—accidentally.”

“And you took my blood—”

“—borrowed.”

Evan gritted his teeth. “ So , shouldn’t you be a little grateful? Or did you leave your morals back in hell?”

The demon fell silent. Scarlet eyes wandered across Evan’s face, then down. A possessive glint flickered in his pupils as he stared at the fading puncture wounds on Evan’s neck.

“Grateful…” The word drawled past the demon’s lips into the dark. Evan stiffened on the floor as the demon straightened to his feet, circling around Evan before taking a seat at the edge of the bed and folding his arms across his broad chest.

Evan had no idea what to expect the demon to say next, but it definitely wasn’t—

“Thank you,” scarlet eyes zeroed on Evan, gleaming brighter as he murmured, “For setting me free.”

Evan’s pupils dilated, dumbstruck and mesmerized all at once. From what little he could recall about demons he’d read years ago, he knew they were tricksters, one of the most dangerous beings of the dark with no sense of empathy towards humans whatsoever.

But even if it was a trick or a fake skin, this demon’s aesthetic—his jaw-dropping allure and magnetic sex appeal—seemed unfair to all men in all the realms.

And the way he spoke, if Evan hadn’t known any better, he would’ve thought he was being sincere. But he was a demon . A master of the art of sweet-talk.

Despite the heat swirling in the pit of his stomach, Evan narrowed his eyes at the red-clad figure.

At this point, Evan was aware of two things. One, the demon didn’t intend on killing him. At least not anytime soon. Or Evan wouldn’t have made it out of Greene Mansion alive.

And second, Evan hated the way the demon looked at him.

Considering only the first point, Evan came to one conclusion.

“What do you want from me?” he asked.

For the first time since he’d crept into Evan’s bedroom, like a pervert on a panty hunt, the demon blinked, confused. “Whatever do you mean?”

Unable to help himself, Evan forced a laugh out, gritting his teeth to keep himself from combusting. He turned to face the demon and sat cross-legged on the floor. “Let’s not play dumb anymore. You’re here because you want something from me. What is it?”

Evan wasn’t an expert in demonology but had some basic knowledge about the species. For example, demons were manipulative and deceitful and were known to cunningly lure humans into forming a blood contract with them. They’d give an impossible task to the human bound to them, and upon failure to complete the said task, they’d lose their soul to the demon.

The weight of the realization that he could be one of those humans dropped like lead in Evan’s stomach.

Had they formed a contract when the demon had borrowed his blood? Was he here to take Evan’s soul?

Like hell , he could. There was no way Evan was dying so easily. Not before he could make sure Celie wouldn’t suffer from his absence like Evan had from their father’s. As long as he was needed by his sister, Evan was going to live. Even if for just one more day.

“What do you want?” Evan stared at the demon. He was sitting poised on the bed, relaxed, completely opposite to the man on the floor. Even though serious on the outside, Evan’s skeleton was rattling against his organs as he held those scarlet eyes.

If the demon asked for his soul, Evan planned to jump out the window and bee-line for Rhea’s shop. She would most likely help him get rid of this thing. That was the plan.

A pretty shitty plan. Dying would be so much easier and less embarrassing.

Evan mentally slapped himself. He should’ve read that book about demons when he’d gotten his hands on it. At least he would’ve had an idea how to deal with a demon on his own.

After studying Evan’s face for a good minute, the demon smirked. “You got me,” leaning forward, he perched his elbows over his knees, fangs flashing as he spoke. “There is something I want. And I want it from you.”

Evan’s face paled. “What is that?”

“Your help,” the demon said, leaning close enough that his breath fanned over Evan’s face.

With a rigid body and frozen vocal cords, Evan forced the words out, “My…help?”

“I need you to find something for me.”

It took Evan a few seconds to register those words, then his shoulders dropped with a breath of relief. Those were the most stressful ten seconds of his life.

“It’s a relic,” the demon added, eyebrows dipping slightly. “And it holds great importance to me.”

Oh . Evan’s senses perked.

Great importance could directly mean great “weakness” depending on more context. If he couldn’t keep this beast away with salt, there had to be an ingredient on Evan’s kitchen shelf that would repel him, right?

Evan feigned a look of interest. “Why is it important?”

“I’m incomplete without it,” the demon replied without hesitation, seriousness flashing across his face.

Incomplete. Meaning not as powerful.

Meaning weak .

“Ah, I see,” Evan smiled tightly, a combination of smug and irritated. “I’ll pass.”

The demon cocked his head, eyes narrowing in confusion.

“What?”

Evan straightened and dusted his ass. “I have neither the time nor the intention of helping you.”

It would be like feeding a tiger just so it could grow up and eat you.

“Why not?”

“ Why not ? Don’t you see this?” Evan motioned to the space between them. “You and I, we’re as far apart as the sky and the ground, as incompatible as fire and water. And you want us to be, what, hunting buddies? Look, I earn a living by eradicating evil from this world. And right now, that evil…is you.”

Scarlet blazed in the demon’s eyes even as his expressions remained impenetrable. Evan continued.

“So, leave. Leave this town and camp somewhere else. Before you create problems and I’m forced to eradicate you too.”

He didn’t have to know that Evan couldn ’t eradicate him right now due to the lack of…well, everything.

Unexpectedly, the demon’s head dropped. Long raven strands curtained his face. His fists clenched, shoulders trembled.

Evan’s eyes widened.

Is he…crying?

Damn, if Evan could hurt his feelings with words alone, maybe he’d overestimated the demonic race.

Evan gingerly bent to gaze into the dark abyss of hair and saw a pale face scrunched in…pure, barely contained amusement.

The demon was laughing. Or trying very hard not to.

Evan straightened, face red and anger boiling over. “What’s so fucking funny?”

Throwing his head back, the demon stared at the ceiling as he tried to stifle his laugh. “Nothing. Just…the way you were trying to threaten me,” he chuckled. “It was cute.”

Evan gasped as that arrow pierced his chest, right through the seven thick layers of his pride. He almost spit a mouthful of blood.

In all his years of existence, Evan had been called everything from hot to whore, capable to despicable, but never cute .

Cute? Me?

It was a compliment that packed more punch than any insult, and Evan felt that punch in his gut. The boiling anger exploded inside him as he pointed an angry finger in the demon’s face. “Listen here, you fucking—”

Faster than Evan could’ve anticipated, a huge hand shot forward and wrapped around his mouth, conveniently shutting him up.

The demon straightened to his feet, all traces of amusement gone. “Stop talking.”

Explicit curses left Evan’s lips and went muffled against the demon’s grip as the latter pulled him closer. Evan pushed and punched at him with both hands, but to no avail. It was evident how little effort the demon was putting into his actions, yet he was so easily able to overpower him.

Perhaps he was weaker without that relic he wanted Evan to find for him. But he was strong enough to kill Evan with a flick of his wrist.

“Little Storm, I wasn’t requesting your aid,” the demon smiled—genuinely smiled—but his voice sent a shiver creeping down Evan’s spine. “You will help me. You don’t have another option.”

Evan scowled, unable to understand what he was implying as he fought against the grip on his mouth. To his slight convenience, the demon decided to explain further.

“After all, we have a bond.”

At that, Evan’s actions froze, eyes widening.

“ Bnnd? ” he yelled against the demon’s palm. “ Wt bnnd? ”

The demon chuckled. “So, you don’t recall?”

Evan’s growl was muffled as he tried to punch the face in front of him. The demon only tilted his head to dodge that weak blow, then caught both of Evan’s wrists in his free hand.

With an inhuman speed, the demon moved, forcing Evan against the window, the glass panes rattling as his back jammed into it. To decrease any remaining advantages he might have, the demon pushed his legs against Evan’s, pinning them into the wall, effectively gluing him motionless.

“You asked me to save you from the fire. So, I did,” the demon leaned closer, lips hot against Evan’s ear. “You gave me your blood, and we sealed the bond. So, unless you are willingly going to surrender your soul to me, you have no choice but to help me.”

Evan’s whole body trembled with rage—and something else he couldn’t understand—as he tried to push the demon away.

Had Evan asked for his help at the Greene Mansion while the fire broke out? Is that why Aaron had found Evan lying near the hallway? Evan couldn’t recall. But he’d definitely not given the demon his blood. He’d taken it by force.

As if reading his mind—and Evan was pretty sure he could—the demon dragged his now elongated fangs against Evan’s jaws, making him flinch to a halt. “Even if you don’t remember doing it, the bond is still sealed. You’re bound to me. Now, what are you going to do? Help me or…give up your soul?”

Evan shut his eyes, breathing raggedly as his mind raced, limbs numb from fighting uselessly against a figure double his size.

The Doctrine of Blackwood Exorcists. Rule 27: “Forming bonds or opening channels of spiritual connection through blood contracts or similar rituals with unholy entities for any reason is strictly forbidden.”

Celie’s face flashed through Evan’s mind: her smile, her frown, her tears. Would she cry if he died? Would she curse him for leaving like Evan had cursed their father? Was he willing to find out?

For the longest span of his life, Evan had avoided being related to his father through name or reputation or personality. The obsession with isolating his image from him was so strong that he’d gone out of his way to become everything his father had once detested. Everything Evan knew his father would despise to see in his son. But even if he’d managed to avoid his father’s shadow in life, what about in death?

What if Evan died and all he left behind was a legacy of a disastrous future for his sister? Would there still be any difference between him and his father?

You’re not him.

Evan’s eyelids fluttered as a foreign voice echoed low in his conscience. Unknown yet so familiar. Like it was him but not quite…him?

Evan’s conscience faltered. Who?

Live. The voice whispered. You must live.

When Evan’s eyes fluttered open, he found himself still pressed against the window, his feet dangling just inches above the floor. A knee was wedged between his thighs, lifting him slightly off the ground. The hand that had been covering his mouth had slid to his jaw, and his arms were pinned above his head.

Evan's face was on fire.

What in the rom-com shit is this position?

“Let go of me!”

The demon studied his red face intently. “No.”

Evan opened his mouth, then snapped it shut.

For Celie. He had to live for his dear sister’s sake.

Looking away from the pale-faced pervert, Evan muttered under his breath, “Fine.”

“Mm?”

“I’ll…do it.”

“Do what?”

A vein throbbed in Evan’s temple as he turned back to the demon’s smug face. That look on his face said he’d already won, without even putting up a fight.

Which was exactly what had happened.

Once I get my hands on that relic, I’ll personally carve that smile off your face.

Evan relaxed his temper. “I’ll help you find…whatever it is you’re looking for. Fine? Now put me down.”

The demon’s eyes glowed brighter, grip loosening from Evan’s arms. As soon as his hands were freed, Evan instantly pushed them against the demon’s chest, putting some much-preferred distance between them, but there was no use. Evan was still straddling his knee like a bike.

“You will not go back on your word. Do you understand?”

Fuck you .

Evan nodded.

A hand slid around his neck and gripped his nape, pulling him close, too close. “Look at me and tell me you understand,” the demon rumbled.

Their eyes met, and—for whatever reason—Evan found himself incapable of looking away. He was pretty sure the demon was messing with his mind because being uninterested in people was probably the only thing Evan was an expert in.

But maybe because that gorgeous face wasn’t human, or because Evan was just registering how breathtaking the demon truly was from up close, or because tendrils of demonic energy seemed to reach out and caress his skin, his interest was unwittingly piqued.

“I understand,” Evan echoed, so tame that for a moment he doubted it was him who’d spoken those words.

Maybe it wasn’t. Because how many exorcists around the world had ever willingly formed a blood bond with a demon?