Page 33 of How to Trust a Hellhound (Hellhounds of Paradise Falls #4)
Eventually he nodded, and we got up to get ready for bed, cleaning up from the evening, washing up, and getting changed.
It didn’t take more than half an hour, and Josh got into bed first while I finished in the bathroom.
When I crawled into bed beside him, he was scrunched up on one side of the bed, looking stiff and uncomfortable.
Without words, I hauled him over and pulled him into my arms, turning him so he was facing me and tangling my legs with his. He gave a soft sigh and melted into me, and I smiled as I kissed the top of his head.
His breathing evened out, and I let my eyes close, enjoying his warmth next to me.
“Can you sense what’s inside?” I asked Thea.
We were standing outside an old house, and there were three demons inside and one human.
We’d been walking around town most of the morning, discussing what different smells meant to hellhounds.
She understood humans very well—she was exceptional at reading their souls.
She still wasn’t quite sure what to make of afterlifers, though.
“Three demons? And one human, a very bright soul,” she answered.
I nodded in approval.
“Should we do something? To get the human out of there?” she asked.
I looked at her, raising my eyebrows. “Why would we do that?”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Demons, Wilder. You gonna leave a nice, bright person with a bunch of demons?”
Ah. I don’t suppose I’d explained afterlife politics to her very well. I looked up at the building thoughtfully. She followed my gaze.
“Focus on them,” I told her. “You can’t smell or sense them the same as humans, but focus on what you can sense. How do you feel about them?”
She frowned, looking at the building and breathing in. Then she looked at me and shrugged.
“Do you feel nervous? Disgusted? Any of the things you feel around rotten souls or people on their way to being rotten?” I asked.
“No… They smell… I don’t know, kind of like camping in the fall.”
I laughed at that, and Thea shot me a dirty look.
“So, what, you’re saying they’re not evil? But they’re demons,” she answered.
“And just like angels, they have a job to do. Everyone in the afterlife has a job, and they’re created to do that job. That doesn’t make them good or evil. Hellhounds originated in hell, and our job is to rid the earth of hellbound souls. I wouldn’t call us evil. Would you? ”
She started walking, and I followed her. I explained, as best I could, what I remembered of afterlifers and the politics of it all. I was so far removed from it that I remembered very little.
“So afterlifers are just like people in some ways. How will I know if an afterlifer is evil?” she asked.
Huh. I’d never thought of afterlifers being evil.
“I suppose they won’t smell right, just like humans.
Dexter did talk about an afterlifer gone wrong in town, and he did smell a rot from it.
Although I believe that sort of thing is very rare.
On the whole, we avoid afterlifers. They tend to be a pain in the ass, and they have their own agendas that do not coincide with ours.
The afterlifers in this town seem to be a genuinely good bunch, though. ”
“Do they typically all gather in one place?” she asked.
“No, not at all. That’s another thing that makes Paradise Falls rather unique. We have quite a collection of beings here, and you don’t usually see that.”
We walked on, and Thea was able to identify demons as we traversed the town. There were a few around. By noon, I figured it was time to take her to the coffee shop. Hopefully, the angel would be there, and she’d get to sense the other side of the afterlife.
When we walked in, I grabbed us a table before we went up to order.
Thea was looking toward the front of the shop, frowning.
Quinton was looking grumpy behind the counter, as usual, but I figured it was Kushiel that was puzzling her.
He was sitting at a table right next to the counter, drinking coffee.
“Sort of a demon, but not?” she asked.
“That’s an angel. He’s a good sort. Usually they’re rather insufferable. You sense the slight difference between them?” I asked.
She nodded, then turned her attention to Cassius. “He’s human. But… he’s something else, too. I can see his soul, but there’s… I don’t know how to explain it. There’s something extra there.”
“Very good,” I praised her. “Cassius is human, but he’s an oracle and can speak to ghosts.
There are a variety of humans out there that have a little something extra, as you call it.
It doesn’t make them good or evil—you’ll be able to sense that in their souls—but if you ever go up against one who has something extra and is evil, take care. ”
She nodded, and we chatted for a few minutes about the people in the shop and what she sensed from them. I was once again impressed with her ability to read people—she was exceptional.
She was in the middle of a sentence when I felt it—that vague itch under my skin. Thea trailed off, perhaps sensing my distraction. The itch quickly turned to a burn, and I had only one thought in my head.
Josh.