Page 10 of Knotty Bargain (Monster Holidays #3)
CHAPTER 10
LEVIATHAN
T he cool morning air nips at my face as I pluck a shiny red apple from a branch. Sunlight dapples through the leaves. Apple trees stretch out in all directions, rustling to the breeze. It’s so damn peaceful it catches my breath.
That. Or the woman next to me.
Cordelia stands beside me, her wavy blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, freckled cheeks flushed from the chill. She stretches for an apple, the fabric of her cozy sweater clinging to her curves in all the right places. Effortlessly alluring.
I don’t know how she managed to summon me. Me , of all demons. But I’m glad she did. She glances at me, those blue eyes sparkling. I find myself quite lost for words anytime she looks at me like this.
I clear my throat and look away. “Still can’t believe humans pay to do manual labor on someone else’s farm,” I muse, tossing the apple into the large bag slung over my shoulder.
Cordelia chuckles, the sound like wind chimes. Surely you have some concept of fun in Hell?"
I arch an eyebrow. “Of course. Demons love a party. Personally, I work so much I’d rather just be left in peace here and there.”
“You keep saying you’re important and work a lot,” she says as Sylvia chucks an apple into my bag. “What do you do in Hell? Exactly?”
“I told you. Management.”
Cordelia props her hands onto her hips and arches an eyebrow back. “You’re expecting me to believe there’s such a title as manager in Hell?”
I shrug. “Not exactly. The title is King of Demons. King of Hell works, too. It doesn’t change the job description.” And I move ahead to the next section of apples. These have a sign that says “Mackintosh.” “You have some weird names for apples. Does Miranda want some of these?” She had a whole list of types of apples she wanted, though they all look the same to me.
When Cordelia doesn’t answer, I glance over my shoulder at them.
Both stare at me with wide eyes, their jaws hanging. They exchange a glance, say nothing, and then stare back at me.
Sylvia scoffs, then frowns. “You’re shitting me.” Her gaze darts to Cordelia. “Your handwriting is so atrocious, you accidentally summoned Satan?!” Her voice rises in the end.
“Shh!” Cordelia flaps her hands, glancing around in a panic as if the other apple pickers might overhear. Lowering her voice, she fixes me withpleading eyes. “You said your name was Levi! How come you forgot to mention this?”
“I told you I have many names.”
Cordelia stomps toward me, lowering her voice. “Does Satan happen to be one of them?”
“Technically yes and no, at the same time. That’s not how it works.”
Cordelia pinches the bridge of her nose and huffs. “Please. Be specific.”
“I’m King of the Underworld. When I say Hell, it’s not the Christian Hell; it’s just Hell. The Underworld. The place where dead mortals go after their bodies die. I preside over the spirits, that’s all.”
Cordelia frowns. “You’re a demon.”
“Yes.”
“And you expect me to believe you’re not evil?”
“It depends on what your present culture classifies as evil.”
“Oh, I get it!” says Sylvia, rushing closer. “Remember how left-handed people used to be considered evil? And black cats?”
Left-handed people were evil? That’s random. “Yes,” I tell them. “The definition of evil can change depending on the culture.” I shake my head as I turn back toward the Mackintosh apples. “I don’t torture souls out of pleasure if that’s what you’re asking. I’m just the manager. And it’s a lot of work. The more humans exist, the more humans die. And that’s only on this plane. Other planes have other sentient creatures, like Orcs, and they also go into the Underworld. You can imagine the level of bureaucracy I’m left with.”
“But...” Cordelia comes after me. “You look like a demon. And you said some demons make deals.”
“Any creature with an inkling of magic will make deals. Nothing is born evil, Cordelia. There are evil demons, of course, as much as there are evil humans and orcs and whatnot. King of the Underworld doesn’t mean King of Evil.”
Cordelia lowers her eyes. She seems taken by her thoughts for a few minutes. Sylvia tags along, glancing up at me.
“So, what does the King of Hell do, if not make deals and collect souls?” Sylvia asks.
I shrug nonchalantly. “Mostly bureaucratic nonsense. Keeping track of the dead, making sure everyone’s where they belong. The numbers are astronomically large, so it takes a while, even with helpers.”
Sylvia snorts. “A devilish spreadsheet enthusiast. Maybe Lia can give you some data engineering tips.”
Cordelia flushes deeper, snapping her gaze up at me. “I doubt the King of the Underworld needs help to optimize his database.”
“What do you do besides summoning demons?” I ask her.
She elbows me and I sidestep with a half-smile. “I’m a data engineer. I wrangle information and build systems to make sense of it all.”
“Sounds thrilling,” I deadpan, holding open the sack for Sylvia to dump in another armful of apples.
“Oh, like being Hell’s Manager is a barrel of laughs?” Cordelia retorts.
I grin. “Fuck no. Our jobs are both boring as shit. I’m sorry.”
Cordelia chuckles and the sound goes straight to my chest. She’s gotgentle charms and hidden depths, equal parts sexy and adorable, whip-smart and endearingly awkward. And I’m painfully aware of having to be very careful around her.
There’s something about Cordelia. Something that draws me in, bespells me. And it’ll make it extra hard to leave.