Page 14 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse

“We wait.”

I hugged myself, grateful for my hoodie.

Only ten minutes later, a black sedan appeared at the curb, and Giuseppe stepped out of the driver’s seat.

“Mr. Morningstar, I’m at your service,” he said, his black cheesy mustache wiggling as he spoke. He opened the door to the backseat and we got in. “Good to see you again, Ms. Sunder.”

“Same here.”

A fancy shopping bag with a golden logo in the middle rested on the seat. Drevan opened it, pulled out a white shirt, and slipped it on. Next, he pulled out a pristine set of gray pants. Without a second thought, he removed the pair he was wearing, revealing a pair of muscular legs lightly dusted with dark hair. A searing blush of desire rose to my cheeks. My head snapped toward the window, and I pretended that the buildings rushing past were the most interesting thing in the world. Fat chance. When I glanced back again, he was slipping his feet into a pair of stylish black Oxfords.

He ran stiff fingers through his black hair. “I can’t wait to take a hot shower.”

“Couldn’t you just like… magically clean yourself?”

“I have already done that, but I still know how to enjoy the finer things your realm has to offer.”

“What? There are no showers in hell?”

He gave me a look that seemed to say,are you dense?

After a few minutes of driving, the surrounding streets began to seem familiar. “Wait, where are we going?”

“Striker Hall. I’m sure Grant can find someone to help you get back to St. Louis. Really, I think your best option is to catch a plane.”

“Catch a plane?! No way. I gotta get back tonight. If Phenog was able to teleport me here, you can very well teleport me back.”

“There’s no such thing as teleportation. Really, for a Skew, you don’t quite know how things work.”

“Why are you being so irritating?!”

Giuseppe’s dark eyes flashed in the rearview mirror, looking amused. When he caught me watching him, his gaze flicked back to the road and he started whistling a tune.

“I’m not acting any differently than I normally do.” He inspected his fingernails, which now looked perfectly human.

“Yes, you are.”

“Perhaps your memories deceive you.”

I looked him up and down, wondering if I truly knew him. The time I’d spent with him before had been under special circumstances. I’d been possessed by him, manipulated. Everything he did was in the interest of redeeming me, of cleansing me of the Sin of Pride. Each of his moves was calculated to accomplish this goal, so why not the persona he’d presented to me?

“Yeah,” I murmured, “perhaps they do.”

An expression flashed across his features that I couldn’t quite name. Disappointment? I sighed.

“We’re here,” Drevan announced, opening the door before the car came to a full stop. As we halted, he got out.

I scooted toward the opened door. “Thank you,” I told Giuseppe.

“You’re welcome, ma’am.”

“How’s your wife? Did you find a house yet?”

“You remember?”

“Of course.” The first time I’d met him, he’d told me he and his wife wanted to buy a little house in Queens and start a family.

He smiled broadly. “Actually, we just made an offer yesterday and are waiting to hear back.”