Page 17

Max couldn’t get us the reservation until next weekend, but that’s okay with me.

I’m too depressed to enjoy anything right now anyway.

I never realized that emotion can have such a strong physical effect on the human body.

All the energy and excitement I had before Shax showed up last night is gone.

I just want to lie in bed and cry all day.

Thankfully, Max isn’t having it. He says if we are going to find a way out of this mess, we have to dig deep and get to work. Despite us both tossing and turning last night, he was up early, making us breakfast and coffee that we enjoyed together in bed. But now it’s time to get to work.

Pages of the Book of Arcainia are strewn about the living room. Page by page, we double-check everything to ensure nothing has been missed. After three hours, I can’t take much more.

“There is nothing in here,” I growl. “I’ve read every page three times by now.”

He releases a deep sigh as his body visibly deflates. “I guess we need to find another angle.”

I shake my head, as my chest grows tight. “This is hopeless. We should give up now, and that way we can spend the little bit of time I have left, enjoying things together.”

His brow furrows. “How can you give up so easily?”

“Easily?” I snap. Nothing about any of this is easy. It’s not his humanity on the line. “Do you even realize how slim the possibility is that we can outsmart the devil twice? Nothing is easy here.”

My body is trembling slightly, and my face burns, and to make matters worse, Max is staring at me with a bewildered expression.

“What?” I bark, louder than warranted.

“It’s just that…” his voice trails off.

“Just that what?”

He shifts uncomfortably and looks down at the floor. “Your…um…eyes…”

“What about ‘em?”

“Well,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “They are black.”

Confused, it takes a moment to register what he’s said. Once I collect my thoughts, I focus my energy on calming down, closing my eyes until I feel the change back to human eyes take place. I don’t know why, but something is happening inside me. It’s like my humanity is starting to fade away.

“That’s better,” he says, chuckling nervously. “What was that about?”

I shrug, not wanting to tell him what I suspect is happening. “I think my emotions got the better of me. I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t scare you.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he says with a comforting smile. “As long as you’re okay.”

I smile back and nod, grateful to have him by my side through this chaos.

He clears his throat. “So, like I was saying. We need to try to find another angle. You're right about the Book of Arcainia. There’s nothing here.”

“I think it may take God himself to get me out of this shit,” I groan, pointing at a stack of the pages. “Too bad there is nothing in there about divine intervention.”

“That’s it!” he shouts.

“What?”

“Don’t you see?” He gets up and starts pacing behind the couch. “We’ve been looking in the wrong book. I think we need to go biblical on this.”

“I don’t get it.” Why does he think some holy book would contain any information that would help a demon out of a contract with the devil? “I think you are reaching here.”

“Maybe,” he says, shrugging. “But it’s worth a try. I have my grandfather’s old King James Bible in a box in my closet. We can start there.”

“If you say so, but…” My words trail off as I watch him sprint off to the bedroom to find the book.

This feels like a giant waste of time to me. I don’t know what makes him think God would want to help me. After all, I was a demon for a reason...even if I can’t remember what that reason was.

After six hours of scouring the old and new testaments for anything at all that may help us, I’m ready to jump off the building.

“There’s nothing in there,” I whine as I storm off toward the kitchen.

“Where are you going? There are still a few more books in the New Testament to check through.”

“We need to eat,” I say, rolling my eyes with my back to him. “I’m making us some dinner.”

I hear him snap the book shut. “I’ll give you a hand. I could use a break. Let’s pick this back up tomorrow.”

“Or let’s not,” I say, looking him fiercely in his eyes as he approaches me at the kitchen island. “I don’t want to do this anymore. Can we just enjoy the little time I have left? There is nowhere left to look.”

His face flushes. “I’m not just giving up. I really think we can find a way…

“Enough!” I growl, my voice unnaturally deep and gravelly, and his eyes widen. I take a deep breath to calm myself, not wanting to morph into a full demon. “I don’t want to look anymore.”

His shoulders drop, and he slowly nods. “Fine,” he says. “But I’m not giving up. You can’t stop me from trying to help you.”

“Do whatever you want,” I say, turning to get some pasta from the cupboard. “But I’m going out tomorrow. With or without you. I want to have some kind of a life before I go.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose and nods again. “Fine. I’ll take you to Central Park tomorrow.”

“Promise?” I ask, turning to smile at him.

“I promise.”