Chapter Two
Atlas
Ever since he was a young boy, Atlas’s grandmother had told him that his curiosity and smart mouth were going to get him into trouble. The words were ringing true as Atlas settled on a chair in front of the roaring fireplace while the monst…demon sat across from him.
“First let me assure you that you are not dead. You are very much still alive.”
That assurance had Atlas relaxing just a little. Atlas really didn’t want to be dead. Not that there would be anyone to mourn him. Not any longer. And he didn’t feel dead. Or at least he expected being dead would feel different. Maybe not.
The demon Belphegor cleared his throat. “The last that I remember is leaving you at the concession stand. Can you tell me what happened after that?”
Atlas swallowed hard. “Oh.” He squirmed. This might be more his fault than Atlas wanted to admit. How mad was this demon going to be?
“It’s okay,” Bel said with a small smile. “Just tell me what happened so I can fix it.”
“Fix it?” Atlas cocked his head as he continued to stare up at the demon. And yes, Bel was still so huge that even though they were both sitting in chairs across from each other, Atlas had to tilt his head back.
“Get you back to the human realm.”
Oh! Could he go back? Atlas wasn’t stuck in hell. That was good, right? Although maybe he didn’t have to go back quite yet. It wasn’t so bad talking to the demon and he was attractive and nice. “I have so many questions.”
“As do I.” Bel nodded his head. “Please tell me what happened.”
“Oh!” Atlas slumped back on his chair. Guess it was confession time. “I might have followed you outside.”
“Followed me? Why?”
Atlas waved his hand. “Because you…you know.” Did he really have to remind Belphegor that he was not human?
How could Atlas not follow him? Atlas had only seen animals before.
He sort of felt bad that he’d been calling Belphegor a monster.
But demon? That was kind of a monster, right?
Although Belphegor was very polite. Didn’t seem to want to tear Atlas’s throat out.
“I really don’t,” Belphegor admitted.
“Because of what you are,” Atlas told him.
“But how could you have known? I was glamoured.”
“I get these flickers,” Atlas explained.
It was never easy to share his secret. Mostly people didn’t believe him.
Well, his grandma had but she’d also told him to never say a word about what he could see.
Looking back, Atlas now wondered if maybe his grandma had seen them too?
“Flashes when I see someone that is…not human.” He’d almost said monster again.
“You can see through glamour?” Belphegor seemed very upset about this.
Atlas shrugged. “Kind of.”
“That is very interesting,” Belphegor told him. “Please continue.”
“I’ve never seen something like you though. Mostly I just see flashes of animals.”
Belphegor nodded.
“I followed you and you sent the popcorn bag and drinks off. Then you were on your phone.”
“Okay.”
“Then you sort of just popped out of existence,” Atlas said.
“I transported myself back here,” Belphegor filled in.
Atlas had already suspected that. “I ran and there was red mist in the air. I just grabbed at it.” He ended with a shrug. “It was weird at first. My body felt like it was being torn apart. Then I was sort of flying. Falling maybe? And bam, here I was!”
“It shouldn’t be possible,” Belphegor whispered. “How is it possible?”
Sitting back, Atlas grinned. It was nice that he wasn’t the only one that appeared out of their element. And if this wasn’t a common occurrence, that made Atlas feel better that random humans weren’t just dropping into Belphegor’s life.
For some reason Atlas didn’t like the thought of Belphegor being surrounded by other humans. Of course, in his mind it was okay that he’d dropped in on the demon, but he was a special case. At least he thought so. There must be a reason why he’d been able to follow Belphegor.
Lifting his head, Belphegor gave him a small smile. “I assure you that I will find answers to this. It shouldn’t happen again.”
“But you don’t know why it happened?” he pushed.
“I’ve never heard of it. And this isn’t something that would be easily kept a secret. Demons do love their gossip,” Bel explained. “And I’ve never heard of this flicker thing.”
Huh, Atlas was disappointed. He’d love to know why he could get flashes when he’d never met anyone else who did. Ever.
“There are a few researchers that I can contact. They’ll probably find this very interesting,” Belphegor said.
“In the meantime, can I ask some questions?” Atlas was not going to let this opportunity pass him by.
Plus, if there was a way to protect him better than running every few months, then Atlas wanted to know.
He hated not having a real home. Missed sleeping in his own bed instead of a motel he could rent by the week.
And working a minimum wage job truly sucked.
Belphegor looked thoughtful before he slowly nodded.
“Cool.” Atlas wiggled in the chair. He just wasn’t sure where to start.
“Would you like something to drink? Eat?” Belphegor offered suddenly.
“Uh, whatcha got?” Atlas wasn’t sure about trying a hell dish or whatever demons ate.
“All you have to do is tell me what you want,” Belphegor informed him.
That didn’t make sense. “Like a cold glass of Coca-Cola with extra ice?”
Belphegor waved his hand. A small table appeared beside Atlas’s chair before a glass popped up.
Reaching over, Atlas picked up the drink and sipped. Ice-cold and crisp. Nice. What else could he… “Burger and fries?” he tested.
Belphegor snapped his fingers and a plate of food appeared.
Oh! Hell yeah! Atlas cackled. That was amazing. “So, you can basically magic up whatever I want?”
“Yes.” Belphegor nodded. “Technically you could do it yourself. This is a magical private plane in the realm. Even without magic of your own there is enough that you could borrow. Although I must wonder if you don’t have a touch of magic because of your flickers.”
“I don’t think I do.” He couldn’t resist the plate on the table and set it in his lap. The fries were hot and fresh. Salty. And taking a big bite of the burger had him moaning. So good.
Belphegor’s warm chuckles filled the space.
Atlas glanced up. “Sorry,” he said after swallowing. “I skipped breakfast.”
“It’s fine. Enjoy,” Belphegor told him.
He would. There was just one thing missing. “Ketchup.”
Amusement filled those dark eyes before a big glob of ketchup appeared next to his fries.
“So fucking cool!” Atlas gave a little butt shimmy. Magic. How awesome would it be to just magic up whatever he needed?
“Humans are easily amused,” Belphegor commented.
“Humans, huh?” Atlas dipped a fry into the ketchup before shoving the whole thing in his mouth.
“You are human,” Belphegor said rather formally.
Atlas shrugged. “True. You said human realm earlier too. Why did you come to get popcorn and Slurpees if you can just wave your hand?”
Belphegor rolled his eyes. Seriously, the massive demon rolled his eyes like a teenager. It was totally the cutest thing that Atlas had ever seen. “I was sent on a mission because I’m a sucker.”
This sounded like a wonderful story. “Go on.”
“One of the human mates of…a friend and another demon declared that using magic wasn’t the same and only real popcorn with butter from the human realm would do for their movie night.”
So many questions. Another human. Mate. And movie night. If Atlas wasn’t literally sitting in hell eating a burger and fries, this conversation could be happening anywhere back home. “Um, okay.”
“It’s…” Belphegor sighed and a clear glass filled halfway with a brown liquid appeared in his hand. “I can’t even explain it. They ask and we all jump to do their bidding.”
Maybe Belphegor really was a sucker like he’d claimed. “If I had magic, I would use it all the time.” His life would be so much simpler. Maybe he’d even been able to save the people he loved.
Belphegor sipped from his glass before looking at him intently. “I would have suspected a human to show more fear. Other than the yelling, you’ve been taking this very well.”
The yelling. That seemed to have upset the demon. How to explain? Atlas didn’t quite trust Bel, but the demon hadn’t tried to harm him. Along with the flickers, Atlas also had a very accurate gut instinct. It had kept him alive and helped him stay ahead of trouble. “It’s been a rough two years.”
Setting the glass on his knee, Bel leaned forward. “What happened?”
Atlas finished off the burger as he considered his options. He was sitting in hell eating the best meal that he’d had in ages. There was a huge demon sitting casually across from him. How was this his life?
His stomach full, Atlas set the plate aside. There was one burning question that he needed to ask. Bel’s answer would be everything.
“Can I trust you, Belphegor?”
Instead of rushing to answer or becoming offended, Bel watched him closely.
Atlas didn’t break the contact of their gazes.
No, he wasn’t afraid. Atlas might be smaller, even smaller than most other humans, but life was already hard enough.
Living on the run sucked. His fear button broke a long time ago.
“Please call me Bel,” he answered. The glass disappeared from his hand. “And yes, you can trust me. I vow to never allow harm to come to you ever again. I sense a sad story inside you. I would be honored to hear it.”
That was what Atlas had needed to hear. He was taking a big chance here but what else could he do? None of the other non-monsters had given Atlas the opportunity to ask questions. Atlas wasn’t stupid. This was his chance. “Then I’ll tell you my story.”
* * * * *
Bel
Instinct told Bel that he would not like what his mate would have to say. It took everything in him to remain sitting calmly as he waited. Mostly calm. His tail twitched, so Bel wrapped the appendage around his ankle to not show his mate a reaction that might turn him off.