Page 9 of My Demon Hunter (Hell Bent #2)

8

DE N IAL AI N ’T JUST A RIVER I N EGYPT

L ily had not recovered from her shock by the next morning, nor had Iris stopped fuming. They loitered in the kitchen with iced coffees and bagels, Iris pacing and mumbling, Lily sitting and staring at the wall. Just like last night.

After Mist’s friend left, Iris had spent a good hour trying to convince Lily to stay at her place. Lily had obstinately refused. If the demons had wanted to hurt her, they’d had ample opportunity. And if they wanted to find her again, they would, whether she was in her home or running scared.

Of course, Iris had then declared that if Lily was staying, so was she. After making a series of mysterious, hushed phone calls and drawing wards over all the walls, her sister ended up crashing on her sofa. Lily had tried to sleep but just stared at the ceiling all night instead, trying to process everything that had happened.

Now, morning had arrived, and she didn’t feel better. She didn’t have closure. If anything, she felt worse.

“We need to double the strength of the cloaking,” Iris was muttering as she paced. “We’ll need to bring in outside manpower. Maybe I’ll call the Toronto coven for support.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What I can’t figure out is why he was stalling. Why play human and bother with the fake date charade? Why not just snatch you up the minute he got close? Why walk off when he had us both within his grasp? It’s not like he would’ve needed reinforcements to overpower us.”

“What if he wasn’t after anything at all?” Lily dared to ask, though she knew better than to reason with her stubborn sister.

“What?”

“What if his friend was telling the truth? What if he really just wanted to go on a date with me?” Why are you even trying to get through to her?

“Lil...” Iris got that pitying-the-sad-sister look on her face that Lily hated. “He’s a demon.”

“Yeah, but what do we really know about demons? I mean, who says they can’t go on dates?”

“I know a lot about them. And believe me, they are just as evil and soulless as the legends say. There is no such thing as a good demon.”

“But how do you know for sure? I mean, they’re conscious beings with thoughts and emotions, so they must have some free will like humans. Therefore, it’s theoretically possible that they could choose not to be evil.”

“Listen to yourself.” Iris shook her head. “Demons are demons. They’re evil. They tempt you to do evil to claim your soul for Hell. That is their one purpose, their only reason for existence. There is no gray area. There are no good demons.”

“But how do you know for sure?”

“Because I’ve seen it with my own eyes! I’ve seen what those monsters are capable of.”

“What are you talking about?” Lily frowned at the anguish suddenly flashing in her twin’s eyes. “What have you seen?”

A shadow passed over Iris’s face before she turned to face the window. “Nothing.”

“Ris, what aren’t you telling me?”

“It’s nothing, seriously. Just trust me when I say they’re evil. All of them.”

“Hmph.” Lily slumped back in her chair. She knew her sister well enough to know when she wasn’t going to say more. “Something’s not adding up.”

“You could say that again.”

Except they were saying it for different reasons.

Iris thought it wasn’t adding up because she couldn’t pinpoint the demon’s evil motives. Lily wasn’t convinced Mist had an evil motive at all.

What if the tattooed demon hadn’t been lying? We were trying to help Mist get out of a bad situation, but it seems he’s gone right back to the lion’s den. What bad situation? And what did he mean by the “lion’s den?” Was he referring to Hell?

She was more confused than ever. Worst of all, her annoying witchy instincts were screaming at her again, so much it was making it hard to breathe.

Sorry you had to find out your date was a demon, but he’s really not a bad guy.

Her heart squeezed. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Mist was in trouble and needed help. It was absurd, but she felt it nonetheless.

“Iris,” she said suddenly, sitting upright again. Her sister was mid-rant about the evilness of demons, but Lily hadn’t heard a word.

“What?”

“Do you ever feel certain... instincts? Like a really strong urge to do something you might not have done otherwise?”

To her surprise, Iris flopped into the chair opposite her. “Honestly? No, I don’t.”

“Oh. Never mind, I’m probably just—”

“You’re not imagining it. Mam told me about it. She said it’s a manifestation of our gift. She said all the greatest witches in history have written about having a guiding instinct along with an individual manifestation of their abilities. Like a special power, kind of. She told me that if I ever felt the instinct, I should listen to it unfailingly.” She breathed a bitter laugh. “She never told me how to feel it in the first place, though.”

“So you don’t... feel anything ever?”

She shook her head. “I think I used to. Before they died. But I was young, and I didn’t pay enough attention to it, and now it’s gone. Probably a stress response to the trauma or whatever. But I can’t figure out how to get it back.” She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll never get it back.”

Lily stared at her sister. Though they were close, it was rare for Iris to open up this much.

“I think that’s partly why I study and practice so hard. I don’t have any of the abilities that the greatest of our kind have, so I guess I’m hoping if I work hard enough, I’ll make up for it with book knowledge. Which is stupid, I know. But I don’t know what else to do.”

Shame crept up the back of Lily’s neck. While Self-Doubt Lily ran rampant in her thoughts, she’d been busy pushing aside those empowering instincts. She’d spent years ignoring them, while Iris had spent years wishing she had them.

Iris looked up suddenly. “Why? Are you feeling something now?”

She hesitated. Iris was hotheaded and opinionated, and she’d made up her mind about demons. Would it make a difference? “Yes. At least, I think so.”

“What are you feeling?”

“Last night, I should have been afraid, but I wasn’t. Because I knew I wasn’t in danger somehow. And now, with everything, I just... I can’t shake the feeling that he’s in trouble. And that I need to help him.”

“That who’s in trouble? The demon?” Iris looked incredulous. “He’s a bloody demon , Lil. When are you going to get that? If he’s in trouble, good. He probably deserves it for all the terrible stuff he’s done. That creature belongs in Hell, and you need to get any ideas of him being some wounded puppy out of your head right now.”

“Yeah.” Lily sighed. “Okay.”

Except hadn’t Iris just told her of their mother’s counsel? To listen to her instincts?

If she abandoned this right now, she would never get another full night’s sleep because that damn intuition would keep her up, urging her to act. She’d probably spend the rest of her life chugging whiskey to keep her night-light magic battery from reaching full charge.

Or... it might finally go away like it had for her sister.

A day ago, she would’ve been glad. Now, something had shifted, something she wasn’t sure how to name yet. But she wasn’t ready to let go of that part of herself anymore.

What she needed was more information.

An hour later, after triple-checking the wards all over the apartment, Iris left for work at the occult shop that was a front for her coven’s meeting place. She spent most of that hour trying to convince Lily to go with her, but again, Lily refused.

She wasn’t in danger. She knew that because when she tuned in with those instincts, they told her everything she needed to know.

As soon as Iris left, she snatched her phone up and made a call. Did she feel bad going behind her sister’s back? Absolutely. Was that going to stop her from doing it? Apparently not.

Unsurprisingly, the phone rang through to voicemail. She hung up and called again. The second call did the same, so she made a third. And a fourth. And a fifth. She made so many calls, she ate breakfast, finished her coffee, and washed all the dishes with it ringing on speaker the entire time.

Finally, she gave up. Either Mist really had gone back to Hell, or he just really didn’t want to talk to her. Whatever the reason, it was time to move on to plan B: taking matters into her own hands.

The air was thick with tension.

Belial ground his teeth and glared at the Grigori standing across the room. The Grigori glared right back at him.

The last time he’d seen the guy, he’d tried to murder his brother, so Bel had flown into a rage and nearly burned down the building he’d been trapped in by angelic prison wards.

He still hadn’t quite let that go.

Nor had he forgotten how he’d been so busy having a tantrum that he’d nearly gotten Meph killed. Raum had melted his hands off trying to pull the consecrated blade out of Meph’s chest, but Belial hadn’t even noticed, too busy tossing fireballs to help. Too lost in the rage to be aware of anything else.

Worse, he could have pulled it out with no ill effect. Since he was technically a fallen angel—a very fallen angel—he could withstand the Empyrean magic of a consecrated weapon. As far as he knew, he and Lucifer were the only demons who could.

Nearly two months later, his stomach still churned whenever he thought about it. His guilt was partly responsible for why he hadn’t gone into a rage in weeks, but he wasn’t sure it was an improvement.

He was so strung out from repressing his temper, he couldn’t think straight. He drank obscene amounts of coffee and alcohol, and he rarely slept. The only thing that kept him from killing people was avoiding them.

Meph hadn’t gotten over the whole fiasco either. He’d started disappearing for hours without telling anyone where he was going, even Raum. He’d been jumpy and even more unstable than he normally was.

For that reason, Bel had sent him and Raum on a bullshit grocery mission with the most convoluted shopping list he could think of. The last thing he needed was Meph deciding he wanted revenge on Eva’s dad and starting shit. Not that Bel would blame him.

To call the truce they had formed with Dan “uneasy” was an understatement. There was only one thing holding that flimsy alliance together. Or one person, rather.

“Dad!” Eva burst through the front door, and Bel exhaled in relief.

The Grigori scooped his daughter up into a tight hug, joy suffusing his face. Two months ago, his wife had kicked him out for lying about what he was for twenty-seven years, and he clearly wasn’t coping well. There were shadows under his eyes, his face was drawn and tired, and his hair was a mess.

Bel had overheard Eva and Ash talking about how Jacqui still refused to see him or talk to him, but that was all he knew. He made a point to stay out of other people’s drama. He had enough of his own.

While father and daughter reunited with cringe-worthy sentiment, Bel dropped into the sofa and tried not to puke. Then he snorted as Asmodeus slipped in through the front door and slunk around Eva and Dan to sit beside Bel.

Ash slumped into the cushions and crossed his arms, long hair all in his face as he watched Dan through narrowed eyes like he expected him to attack at any moment.

Bel elbowed his sullen brother. “Aren’t you gonna greet your father-in-law with a hug?”

Ash transferred the glare to him. “He’s not my father-in-law.”

“He could be.”

He probably would be at some point. Bel could totally see Eva convincing Ash to enter into holy matrimony, which would be infinitely hilarious.

Asmodeus, former Prince of Hell, former Prince of Lust, a married man. Bel was liable to bust a gut laughing at the thought.

The saccharine greetings eventually concluded, and Dan sat on the sofa opposite the demons, Eva beside him. No one spoke for several moments.

“Asmodeus,” Dan finally said. He didn’t even bother greeting Belial.

Ash grunted.

“I hope you’ve been treating my daughter well.”

“Really, Dad?” Eva groaned. “Can we not do this?”

“I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

Ash huffed indignantly as if he’d been dealt the highest of insults. “Our apartment is heavily warded, and I protect her with my life every moment of every day. A fact you would know if you visited more often.”

“Ash,” Eva warned.

Dan blinked. “You... want me to visit more often?”

Ash’s lip curled. “Obviously I don’t. But Eva does.”

“Ash!”

“She’s remarked that since she knows about your teleportation ability, you should be able to come to more of her gigs. But you don’t.”

“Ash, stop it.”

Dan looked stricken. “I didn’t know you felt that way, Eva.”

“It’s fine, Dad, really. Ash is just—”

“I stayed away because I thought you didn’t want me around, not because I didn’t want to be here.”

“Why wouldn’t I want you around?”

“Well, because of... everything that happened. And because you’re dating him , and we’re not exactly friendly, and your mom always said I have a tendency to smother you, so...”

Eva chuckled. “You guys will learn to get along—”

All three of them scoffed.

“You will! So don’t stay away because of that, okay?”

“All right, I won’t.” Dan smiled at his daughter. “I’ll be at your next gig for sure, honey.”

She smiled back. “Thanks, Da—”

Bel coughed loudly. “Now that that’s done, can we get to the matter at hand?”

“Mishetsumephtai’s brands.” Dan looked around. “Where is he?”

Eva had filled him in on the purpose of Belial wanting to meet, but obviously hadn’t mentioned Mishetsu’s disappearance. “He went back to Hell.”

Or so they had concluded last night after receiving his vague text message. Meph had returned shortly after and filled them in on the unfortunate coincidence that Mishetsu’s date was a witch. Poor bastard couldn’t catch a break.

Dan frowned. “So he’s where he wants to be. What’s the problem?”

“He didn’t go voluntarily. He’s controlled by the brands, and he wants them gone. I want to help him.”

Dan narrowed his eyes. “Why? What’s in it for you?”

Bel said nothing. He’d already explained his reasons to Mishetsu, and they were for him alone. He wasn’t justifying himself to some angelic prick.

“Mist is my friend too,” Eva cut in, interrupting the staring contest. “We’ve been hanging out a lot the last month, and he’s really sweet. I want to help him.”

“Of course you do.” Dan shook his head. “When you were a kid, you always rooted for the monster in the story. I should have known you’d be trouble.”

“What can I say? I love a good antihero.” She smiled at Ash.

Bel rolled his eyes.

She turned to Dan. “Mist is a good guy. He deserves a chance. Please help us?”

“All this ‘good demon’ stuff is new to me, so I’m choosing to trust your judgment. Tell me about the brands.”

Belial explained everything he knew about how they worked. Thankfully, he’d forced Mishetsu to let him snap a few pictures after their conversation, and he passed his phone over to Dan now to let him study them.

“Hmm.” The Grigori stared at the pictures for a time. “It looks familiar. I must have read about it at some point, possibly in something on Sheolic magic in the Empyrean library, but it’s hard to remember now.”

“What do you remember?” Belial asked.

Dan studied him. “What do you remember? I think you’d have more knowledge on this than I do.”

“I remember something,” Bel admitted, “but it was from a very long time ago. I wanted to hear your thoughts to verify if my memory was accurate or not.”

Dan nodded. “The memories tend to blur together over the ages, don’t they?”

“Often to be lost completely.”

A moment of understanding passed between them.

They both grimaced and looked away. Belial was not getting friendly with an angel. He’d rather have Dan’s knife stuck in his chest.

“My best guess?” Dan said. “The design of the brands looks like something from the Shehanva.”

Belial cursed.

“You thought that too?”

He nodded.

“What’s the Shehanva?” Eva asked.

“The Shehanva were a race of nomadic demons,” Bel explained. “Savage little shits. They were skilled with magic and big on magical branding. They were wiped out of existence ages ago. They pissed off one too many territory rulers in their many attempts to take more land, and it was one of the rare instances where demons banded together to defeat a common enemy.”

“So how were they responsible for Mist’s brands if they’re extinct?”

“Mishetsu has been around a long time. He would have gotten them before then. Paimon probably hired someone to perform the magic for her.”

“Either way, it’s a dead end,” Asmodeus said. “The Shehanva are gone, and so is all knowledge of their magic practices.”

“So there’s no way to help Mist?” Eva looked devastated. “He’s doomed forever to serve a horrible demon queen?”

“There has to be something.” Bel stroked his chin and tried to remember.

It was hard to dig up memories from thousands of years ago, however. His mind had once been a very dark place, and after a certain point, he’d just deleted some of what was in there so he didn’t go crazy from all the disturbing shit lurking around.

“There is someone I could ask,” Dan said, though he didn’t look happy about it. “But it’s against the rules, and I don’t feel right asking her to break them on behalf of a demon.”

“Please, Dad?” Eva made doe eyes, and he caved instantly.

“Fine, fine. I have a friend. Well, more of an acquaintance. We were friends before I fell, and we’ve kept in touch over the ages. I could ask Sunshine to have a look in the Empyrean library for me.”

“Her name is Sunshine? That doesn’t sound like your typical angelic name.”

“Her real name is Shamsiel, but she goes by Sunshine now. Long story. There’s bound to be something there, but it’ll take time since I’ll be asking her to go behind her superiors’ backs. She’s not technically allowed to associate with the likes of me.”

“But she’ll do it?”

“Like I said, we’ve known each other a long time. But it could take a week or more.”

“You could reach out to your sources too, Bel,” Ash suggested. “You’ve always gotten what we need through all the idiots who owe you favors. Remember how quickly you got that Nephilim blood?”

Bel scowled. “It’s not happening.”

Because the source Ash was referring to was Naiamah, whom he hated with a burning passion. She was his best, most well-connected contact, and thanks to his negotiation skills and Naiamah’s desperation at the time, he’d bound her with a contract owing him one thousand unspecified favors.

He’d used up most of them over the years and was down to his last hundred, but as a succubus, Naiamah would often make an exception to do the job in exchange for sex. Belial was an ancient, powerful demon, and the sexual energy she got from him was potent, to say the least.

Except he was sick of whoring himself out for favors, and he was sick of how easily Naiamah could convince him to give her what she wanted. Every time he saw her, he caved, and he hated himself for it.

One month and eighteen days ago—but who was counting, really—he’d made a pact with Eva’s friend to remain celibate for six months. It would be the longest he’d ever gone without fornication since he’d fallen from Heaven at the dawn of creation. So, basically, since forever.

He’d already made it this far, damn it. He wasn’t going to break now.

“We need to get Mishetsu back before we do anything else,” he decided. “Who knows what Paimon will do to him for disappearing.”

“But he’s in Hell,” Eva said. “How do we get him back?”

“We’ll summon him.”

“You can do that?”

“Demons can’t summon other demons. But a human can.”

“Who? Me?”

“No. You don’t know the first thing about Temporal magic, and you’re not technically human either.”

“Then who?”

“A witch.”

Eva’s eyes widened. “But—”

“Well.” Dan jumped up. “On that note, I’m out of here.”

“What? Why?”

“Hon, it’s already so against the rules for me to even be in the presence of rogue demons without trying to kill them. I can’t knowingly sit around and listen to you plotting to summon one, and I certainly can’t participate in it. Call me later, and we’ll have dinner, okay? In the meantime, I’ll talk to Sunshine and see if she can help us out.”

As Eva bid her father farewell, Ash turned to Belial. “Meph said the witches were terrified of Mist and wanted to kill him. How are you going to convince them to help us summon him?”

“Easy.” Bel smiled like the devil he was. “I won’t give them a choice.”