Page 19 of My Demon Hunter (Hell Bent #2)

18

MAD H OUSE

A fter finally eating breakfast together, Lily allowed Mist to talk her into going to his apartment, mostly because she was curious to see where he’d been living. While she didn’t fully believe she was in grave danger, and definitely not that she was part of a prophesied witch power duo, Mist was genuinely concerned, so she agreed for his peace of mind.

Should she have been worried about walking into a flat full of powerful demons? Maybe. But she was with Mist, and she hadn’t lied when she told him she trusted him.

Iris would have sworn this was all part of some elaborate ruse, but Lily had always trusted her gut. And when she looked into his eyes, she saw their connection. She felt it in her bones. She knew it was real, and she was going to fight for it. She was going to do whatever it took to help him.

It was another reason she’d agreed to his plan. She was hoping she could ask the other demons if they knew anything about the brands. She hadn’t forgotten that Mist had said Belial’s apartment, but surely she’d misheard. Still, whoever the tall blond guy was, he had to be powerful. Maybe he knew a way to get rid of them.

Mist took human form to accompany her on the walk, but he still drew a lot of attention since he had no shirt to wear. But he walked with purpose, as if he had every right to be doing what he was doing, and as a result, people seemed to accept him at face value.

When they finally reached his building—an old, brick warehouse that had been rebuilt into trendy businesses and elegant apartments—he stopped outside the buzzer and stared at it.

“Don’t you have a key?” As soon as she asked, she knew the answer. Of course he didn’t. He had nothing except a single pair of pants.

“I usually go in the window.”

“Well, you can ring the bell, right?”

“Yes.” He scratched his chin. “I think it’s this one.”

Her heart melted a little at his puzzled expression. He pushed the button, and a bell sounded. A moment later, a female voice said, “Hello?”

“Eva?”

“Yes...?”

“I have pushed the wrong apartment number.”

There was a pause. “Mist? Is that you?”

He shifted on his feet. “Yes.”

“Mist!” The door buzzed as it was unlocked, and the phone disconnected. He hesitated and then opened the door, gesturing for her to go inside. Lily stepped past him, fighting back an irrational surge of jealousy.

The second she heard that female voice, she remembered how she’d met Mist in the first place. He’d been at the dep buying ice cream for his friend on her period. A friend that is a girl, a girl friend, but not a girlfriend.

How close was he with this friend? Did she know what he was? Did she have a different definition of their relationship?

“Is that the friend you live with?”

“No. She lives on the floor below.”

Yet he remembered her flat number and not his own. Her stomach lurched. You’re being silly , she told herself. Yes, I know, but I can’t help it.

“Will we go to her place to ask for the number?”

He shook his head. “I’ll know which one when we reach the floor.”

They rode up the lift in silence, but it didn’t escape Lily’s notice that he seemed tense. She reached out and took his hand, and he stared down at it like he’d never seen such a thing before. Their gazes met, and she offered a smile. He didn’t smile back, but his fingers tightened around hers.

When the elevator doors opened, he led her down the hall and knocked on a door at the far end. It opened a moment later, revealing the demon with the gratuitous tattoos and piercings. When he saw them, he grinned. His red eyes were slightly unfocused, and it was immediately obvious he was drunk.

“You don’t have to knock, bro. You live here.”

“I have no key.”

“Oh. ’Sup, human? Come in. Bel made martinis. Like, a lot of ’em.” He stepped back and then scanned Mist up and down. “Where’s your shirt, dude?”

Without releasing her hand or responding, Mist went inside, so Lily followed. Closing the door behind her, she looked around and blinked. The apartment was... not what she expected.

Floor-to-ceiling windows framed an open-concept room with a modern kitchen featuring stainless appliances. The center wall of bare brick was adorned with a gorgeous painting of a stormy oceanfront with orca fins rising from the choppy waves. Leather sofas were positioned below it beside the big windows, and a collection of succulents on a shelf against the glass added a splash of green to the monochrome palette. It was all very chic and modern.

Her gaze didn’t linger on the apartment furnishings for long, however. The other two demons were standing in the kitchen staring at her, and she stared back.

“H-hi.” She attempted a feeble wave when the awkward silence became too much to bear.

The one with the golden eyes that had turned into a crow jerked his chin in greeting.

The blond just stared her down, which made her remember their earlier conversation in which he’d threatened to kill her slowly and painfully.

Mist seemed to remember that too because he stood in front of her and started to growl.

“Told you not to be a dick, Bel,” the tattooed guy said, sliding onto one of the bar stools and taking a sip of his cocktail. “You made Mist mad.”

The blond glared at him, and she saw flames flicker in his eyes.

Then, he tipped his head back and groaned like the weight of the world rested solely on his shoulders. He straightened and fixed a penetrating stare on Mist. “I wasn’t actually going to kill your witch. I just needed to scare her a bit and make sure she was for real. Now stop with the growling before you piss me off.”

The first guy twisted around on the stool and held up his palms. His tattooed palms. Lily winced. How much had that hurt? “Still not after your girl. You can chill. Now be a nice demon and introduce us.”

Mist hesitated, still eyeing them warily.

“Mist.” Lily patted his arm. “Thank you for protecting me, but the polite thing to do is to introduce me to your friends.”

He stepped to the side and opened his mouth to speak, but the other demon beat him to it.

“Meet my dysfunctional family, Lily.” His grin was lopsided and too wide. “The big, baby-faced bastard is Belial. Grumpy over there’s Raum. He likes to scowl, but he’s pretty harmless.”

“Come over here and I’ll show you harmless,” Raum said.

“And the pincushion is Mephistopheles,” Belial said. “But we call him Meph.”

“Or ‘idiot,’” Raum added.

“‘Dumbass’ works too.”

“At your service.” Meph grinned and bowed his head with a flourish, wobbling on the stool precariously. “My other bro is Asmodeus. He’ll be here in a sec with Eva.”

Introductions concluded, everyone stared at her again, probably expecting her to speak, which would be the normal, socially acceptable thing to do. But she had frozen.

Raum. Mephistopheles. Asmodeus. Belial , for god’s sake. She had heard correctly.

She’d deliberately stuck her head in the sand in regard to all things supernatural, yet even she knew who these demons were.

“Okay...” Meph said when it became obvious she wasn’t going to speak. He looked at the others and shrugged. “She’s a little starstruck, I guess.”

“Oh my god, you must be Lily!” a female voice exclaimed from the front entrance. “Mist, you can’t just ring my bell and not come say hello. I’m so glad you’re back!”

Lily spun around, coming face to face with a gorgeous woman with a wild mane of ringlets and unusual pale-gray eyes. Was she a demon too? How many demons were there?

“She’s not a demon,” Meph said, reading her thoughts.

“Can confirm,” the woman added, offering an encouraging smile to Lily. “Not a demon.”

She looked at the actual demons with a scowl. “You guys need to give her some space. Remember how freaked out I was when I learned about all this? And you made it so much worse. Mist showing up with his freaky eyes, and Ash shifting right in front of me and smashing out my apartment window. And then we got back to your place, and Bel lost his temper and burst into flames! It’s amazing I didn’t die of fright.”

He did what? Lily didn’t even want to ask.

Meph was grinning again. “Those are good memories.”

“How is that a good memory?”

“It was funny!”

“It wasn’t funny! I was terrified.”

“That’s what made it funny!”

“Whatever.” She glared at Meph and then smiled brightly at Lily. “I’m Eva, by the way. And this is...” She turned around. “Ash?”

“Coming,” said a voice from the entranceway.

The apartment door was closed, and a moment later, yet another incredibly attractive man came into the kitchen. This one had a hard, angular face, and the most incredible length of straight black hair Lily had ever seen. It fell like a shimmering curtain of silk to his hips.

“This is Ash,” Eva said, reaching out and linking hands with him.

Lily gawked. They were a couple? Guess she didn’t need to be jealous after all. It seemed Eva had already found herself a demon boyfriend. A boyfriend, not a boy friend , she thought with a smile.

“Can you see him right now?” Eva asked.

“See him?” What kind of question was that?

“Like, does he look like a super-boring nobody or a super gorgeous sex god to you?”

“Um...”

Meph snorted. “Now who’s making the human uncomfortable?”

“I’m just trying to determine if the curse is active!” Eva looked at Lily. “Ash was cursed to be invisible, but he’s mostly broken it now. I was curious to know if you could see him.”

“I can see him,” she confirmed, head spinning. “He doesn’t look like a super-boring nobody.”

Ash himself remained silent and seemingly uninterested throughout the entire exchange.

“Oh, good. Mist, I’m so glad you’re back.” Eva smiled, but her eyes were sad. “I was really worried about you.”

The roles reversed as Mist inched behind Lily as if seeking protection.

Eva’s smile widened as she looked between them. “Oh my god, you two are adorable. I can’t even— I need a picture. Where’s my phone?” She felt her pockets, looking for it.

Before Lily could come up with a polite excuse, Mist scooped her up, angled their bodies away, and growled, “No.”

She smiled. So he had to work on his manners a little, but at times like these, she found she didn’t mind.

“Come on, it would be so cute!”

“No.”

“Fine, fine.” Eva held up her hands. “No photo.”

Mist set Lily back down, and she patted his arm in thanks.

“As fascinating as this is,” Belial grunted, obviously not one for small talk, “I’m guessing you came here for an update on the brands, Mishetsu. We met with Dan, who—”

“That’s not why I came. Lily is in danger.”

“Lily? What’s she got to do with this?”

Before she could interrupt and say she was fine, Mist explained the prophecy of the fabled witch twins and how Paimon was now hunting them.

“I need her to be protected,” he finished.

Belial looked unconcerned. “She’s safe as long as she’s with you. I don’t deny the possibility of the prophecy. It’s unprecedented for an inexperienced witch to be capable of a summoning of that caliber. But she’ll be fine.”

“I may not always be here,” Mist said, giving Belial a pointed look. “I need to know she’s safe even if I’m not.”

She hated when he spoke about the future like he had no hope. “Mist—”

“We’ll find a way out of the brands,” Belial said before she could.

Mist’s jaw shifted. “I need to plan anyway.”

“I told you—”

“Of course we’ll help keep Lily safe,” Eva interrupted loudly. “No matter what happens, we’ve got your back. Even though she’s a strong woman who can take care of herself, we’ll look out for her because we’re all friends. Right, guys?”

The demons stared blankly at her. Belial’s lip curled.

“Never mind.” She rolled her eyes. “This lot can be dumber than a bag of hammers, but when push comes to shove, they’ll back you up.”

Lily’s irrational jealousy had morphed into abject fascination. She decided to befriend the other woman immediately so she could pick her brain.

How had Eva and Ash met? How did Eva navigate the complexities of a relationship with a supernatural being who looked repulsed at the mere mention of friendship? Lily needed all the help she could get, especially if Eva was already friends with Mist.

But first...

“Is there somewhere private I could make a call?” Lily asked. “I need to talk to my sister.”

First things first, she had to find out if there was any truth to Paimon’s story about what happened to her parents. Then she would know how much weight to put behind the whole prophecy thing.

Mist threaded their fingers together. “I will show you my room.”

“Thanks.” She smiled at Eva. “I’ll be right back.”

Her new friend waved. “Take your time.”

Mist led Lily down the hall to his bedroom and closed the door behind them, muffling the sounds of the others’ bickering.

There, he finally allowed himself to shift back into demon form. He was starting to believe this form truly didn’t bother Lily, and with the pain from his summoning brand clouding his mind, it was hard to concentrate on holding a human shape.

“This is your room?” Lily asked, looking around. Her only reaction to his shift was a smile. Almost as if she preferred this side of him.

He nodded. “I have my own bed. And a window.” It was the most luxurious space he’d ever inhabited, and he was proud of it.

“It’s lovely.” Lily perched on the edge of the mattress. “Very... minimalist.”

He supposed she might think that. Compared to her, he had nothing.

There was one mattress and one dresser. He kept the single sheet on the bed folded in a neat square, no pillow or duvet, and there was nothing on the surface of the dresser. In the drawers, he had only the clothes Eva and Meph had helped him acquire and the chalk he’d stolen from Belial for drawing hellgates. The closet doors were closed because there was nothing inside.

“You make me feel like a hoarder,” she said with a weak smile.

He looked around the room, seeing the place through her eyes. “I don’t have many possessions.” Did she find it inadequate?

“Maybe we could hang a picture on the wall. I’m sure there’s something at my place you could have.”

He nodded, though it didn’t really matter to him. He wouldn’t be spending much longer here, after all.

Everything had changed. His desire to live had been swept aside by his need to protect.

The burning in his neck had increased to the point that it was taking everything he had to keep his pain masked. Even now as he talked to Lily, he dug his claws into his palms behind his back, stopping just short of drawing blood lest it drip onto the floor and alert her. His thoughts were clouded from the pain, and the magnet in his chest drawing him to Hell pulled with almighty force.

His estimation of two days needed revising. He would give himself another twenty-four hours at most. Time was running out, which meant he needed to put his plans into action as soon as possible.

“I’ll leave you to make your call,” he said, inching toward the door.

She frowned. “Can you come here first?”

He could deny her nothing, not when she’d given him more than he would ever have dreamed of asking. Reluctantly, he sat on the edge of the bed, flaring one wing out to wrap around her like a human might do with their arm.

She reached out to stroke the leathery membrane. “Are they sensitive?”

“It feels nice when you touch them.”

She tilted her head to meet his gaze, and he feared she saw more than he wanted her to. “Are you okay? You’ve been so quiet since we left my house.”

He chose his words carefully. “I’ve been mentally formulating a plan to keep you safe.”

“And? Did you come up with anything?” He could tell she was humoring him and didn’t yet believe the danger was real.

Lily had said she trusted him. While he wasn’t sure how to trust her back, he did know he wanted to be worthy of it. And since trust meant honesty, he supposed that was why he was reluctant to lie. But if he told her the truth, she would insist he change his plan, and he didn’t want that either.

So all he said was, “I need to speak to Belial first.”

She still looked doubtful, but she nodded. “And then you’ll tell me?”

He nodded back. One way or another, she would find out the truth soon enough. “Will you ask your sister to come here behind the wards where it’s safe?”

“I’ll try, but she’s not going to like it.”

“Say whatever you need to get her here.”

She studied him. “You’re really concerned about this, aren’t you?”

“And you don’t believe me.”

“No, of course I do.” She reached out and grasped his hand. His other remained clenched into a fist where she couldn’t see it. “I told you I trust you, and I meant it. I just don’t know if I believe Paimon. I think she’s lying to you to make you return to her.”

He had thought so too at first. But the fact remained that Lily was too powerful not to consider it, and he was not foolish enough to risk her by being careless. And he was out of time anyway. He couldn’t afford lengthy research into the history of his brands. He needed to act now, and he was out of options.

“Lily...” He wanted to put his feelings into words, but he didn’t know how. He wanted her to understand what she meant to him, but his throat constricted when he tried to speak, and he was afraid she would guess his plan if he betrayed too much of his emotions.

So he went with the same words he had the first time he’d tried, and failed, to express himself to those he cared about. “Thank you.”

She reached up to cup his cheek. “For what?”

He didn’t know how to answer that, so he leaned down and kissed her. She melted beneath him with a soft sigh that made his gut clench. She was everything to him. Everything. She meant more than life itself, and that was how he knew he was making the right decision.

He broke the kiss and stood. “Call your sister and get her to come here.”

“I will. You’re sure everything’s okay?”

He nodded, though the lie cut deep. Everything was not okay. Not even close.

But it was damn well going to be.