27. Demon on Campus
Demon on Campus
AZROTH
A zroth stepped into the library and fought down his revulsion.
It was too bright and airy. He preferred the library at home with all its dark corners, old wood, and that rich decaying book smell.
The furniture was large and unwieldy. The carpet was thick and the same color as dried blood.
And then there was always the chance that the library would break into weeping at the most random thing.
All bonuses that made being in the library at home even more enjoyable.
But here at Ravenwood, the library was filled with college students studying for their exams. No one was making mischief or plotting evil. So boring.
Or as Luke’s generation would say: Zero stars. Would not recommend.
Azroth rolled his eyes at the thought and again at Luke’s entire generation.
At least Luke had some redeeming qualities. Besides, he was their Luke, and nothing else mattered.
Which was why he was standing in the middle of Ravenwood University library in the first place. Their Luke was depressed, and this needed to be fixed now.
It had been a week since those bastards had dared to attack Luke and Matteo.
That also meant it had been a week since Matteo and Luke had last talked.
Luke said that he respected Matteo’s need to think things through, but all the demons knew they were perfect for each other. Matteo just needed a little nudge.
Ignoring the annoying brilliance of the library, Azroth wandered until he found his prey. After Matteo left the house, Azroth had ordered the crows to keep an eye on the young man. He’d had a feeling he would need to stage an intervention.
It took Azroth only a moment to locate Matteo seated at a table in the middle of the third floor, piles of books surrounding him.
A sliver of happiness shot through Azroth to see that Matteo didn’t appear to be handling his separation from Luke any better.
The man’s face was sallow, and dark circles underlined his eyes as if he’d not had a good night’s sleep in a week.
The demon marched over to the table, pulled out one of the empty chairs across from Matteo, and elegantly draped his long, slender body across it.
Matteo’s head snapped up, and he just gawked at Azroth for several seconds. It was as if someone had blown out the pilot light of his brain.
“Do you remember me?” Azroth inquired.
Matteo jerked, eyes blinking rapidly. Yes, the fire was lit again. “Yes. You’re Luke’s landlord. Azzzzz…” The Z sound stretched as his now-working brain likely put two pieces of information together. He was Luke’s landlord, and he was a demon.
“Azroth, actually,” the demon corrected with a tight smile.
Matteo stopped breathing, but Azroth could hear his heart racing. The poor human was going to give himself a heart attack, which would not make Luke happy.
With a sigh, Azroth lifted his right hand and snapped his fingers. In a flash, everything and everyone in the library froze. He put the world around them in a bubble so that no one could hear them or disturb them.
“There. Now you can panic and not worry about anyone else,” Azroth said.
“Are you here to kill me?” Matteo demanded, his voice cracking.
Azroth glared at him. So tedious. “Tell me, how would killing you make Luke happy? That’s pure nonsense.”
“Oh.”
The human appeared disappointed. Azroth suppressed the urge to shake the man. Humans were so confusing. How in the hell had they gotten so lucky when it came to locating Luke?
Not that Matteo was normally this dense, and he did make Luke happy. Those were powerful arguments in his favor. Maybe it was all this studying and the threat of exams. Were they rotting his brain?
“How is Luke?” Matteo inquired softly, his eyes dropping to his notebook where he’d had almost nothing written.
“He is terrible.”
Matteo’s head popped up, worry digging deep lines into his face. “Really? What’s wrong? Is he sick? Does he need to see a doctor?”
It was so very tempting to tell Matteo just the tiniest white lie that Luke was sick with…oh, what could he give Luke? The plague! Humans still got the plague, right?
But no, Luke wasn’t the type to maintain such a lie just to keep Matteo close to him. He was too honest. He would instantly tell Matteo he wasn’t sick, undoing all Azroth’s hard work.
“No, he’s not ill, but he is very sad. He misses you.”
“I miss him too,” he mumbled. His shoulders slumped, and the pathetic human looked as if he’d shrunk several inches under the weight of his misery.
“But you’ve chosen to stay away from him, making you both sick, because you have an issue with demons,” Azroth stated.
Matteo raised his eyes again. “Well, it is a lot to take in. First, there’s the magic aspect.”
Azroth waved a hand in the air, motioning to the frozen students around them. “You mean this magic?”
The student huffed. “Yes, that magic.”
“Still not believe in it?”
“Well, obviously I do now.” Matteo squinted at the people, his brow furrowing. “Are they okay? Do they know they’re frozen?”
“They’re all fine. They have no idea anything has happened to them. Next?”
Matteo shot him a disgruntled look that secretly pleased Azroth. There was some of the spunk and sass that Luke was so fond of. It hadn’t been scared out of him yet. “There’s the whole demon thing.”
“As in you don’t believe in demons?” Matteo opened his mouth to say something, but Azroth didn’t allow it. In the blink of an eye, he lost his human exterior and turned into his true form. Horns, wings, and blood-red eyes.
“Shit!” Matteo lurched to his feet, knocking over his chair. He backpedaled until he banged into another table, but Azroth ignored him.
The demon waved his hand again, and this time, a teacup and saucer with a delicate rosebud pattern appeared before him with a steaming pot of tea. He poured himself a cup and held up the pot toward Matteo. “Would you like a cup?”
Matteo panted, his eyes wide, but he at least had enough presence of mind to shake his head. Azroth nodded and set aside the pot. He picked up his teacup and enjoyed a careful sip.
“You really are a demon. I-I-I can’t believe it.”
Azroth lifted an eyebrow and held his teacup in front of his mouth. “Do you need a demonstration?”
“No! No!” Matteo waved both hands at him. “I believe you. I…I’m just confused.”
“About which part?”
“All of it! Like, like…all of it!”
Damn, he’d broken him. Azroth had been sure that if he just revealed himself, Matteo would adjust and they could work on getting Matteo back with Luke where he belonged. He wasn’t adapting to this new development nearly as fast as Luke had.
Azroth placed his cup on the saucer with a little click and tried to keep the irritation out of his tone as he said, “I will need you to be more specific.”
“Demons are supposed to be evil!”
“We are.”
“But you saved Luke! You saved me. How can you be evil and save people?”
“If it helps, we did have lots of fun tormenting those monsters who attacked you and Luke. That did help to temper the saving part,” Azroth argued.
The fear seemed to wash out of Matteo’s face, and he became very still. “Did you kill them?” Matteo mumbled.
Azroth paused and gazed at Matteo for a long time. That was surprising. He’d not expected such a tone or look from the young man. Maybe he was more interesting than he’d initially given him credit for.
“We did not kill them, at Luke’s request,” Azroth replied, watching the human closely. “However, we have fixed it so that they will never bother you, Luke, or anyone else again.”
Matteo grunted, his eyes lowered to stare at the floor. “I’m not sure I agree with Luke.”
Azroth sat up and scooted to the edge of his chair. Matteo was very interesting. “You think we should have devoured their souls and sent them to Hell.”
“I think even Hell is too good for them,” Matteo snapped.
His eyes blazed with anger as he looked at Azroth.
“I had to hear Luke’s panicked voice and his pain.
I heard him pleading for them to leave me alone.
Luke is the sweetest, gentlest person in the world.
How could anyone mistreat him like that?
He didn’t do anything to them, but they still attacked him. They probably meant to kill him.”
“They did.”
“See! Why should they be allowed to live?”
Azroth smiled. “Because Luke is a kind and gentle soul. He wants to give everyone a chance, whether they deserve it or not.”
Matteo sighed, and the heat of anger seemed to leave him. “Then maybe Luke is better off without me. I’m not good enough for him. I think you should have tortured them until their hearts exploded.”
Oh, sweet, bloodthirsty human.
Now Azroth wanted to keep this one as well.
“I believe you are perfect for Luke because you are not like him.” Matteo shook his head, clearly not understanding.
“Think of all the trouble Luke will get into on his own because of his gentle, forgiving nature. He needs someone who will help protect his fragile heart and body. On the other hand, you need someone to temper that tiny little black spot inside you. The perfect match.”
Matteo’s expression softened, and it looked as if he wanted to grasp the lifeline that Azroth was extending. The only problem was that it was a demon who was tempting him.
The interesting human took a couple of steps closer and gripped the back of the chair he’d been sitting in just minutes ago. “But, you’re demons. You’re supposed to be evil. I’ve been taught my entire life to avoid all evil things.”
Azroth groaned and threw up his hands. “It’s a job.”
“Huh?”
“Being a demon. Serving the dark prince of Hell. It’s a job. We answered summons and collected souls, but right now, think of it as—we’re on an extended vacation. We’re not collecting souls because we don’t have to.”
Matteo stared openmouthed at Azroth and then jerked his head as if to shake loose a thought. “Seriously? You’re not out sowing discord and trying to bring about the apocalypse?”
“Satan, no,” Azroth gasped. He leaned across the table toward Matteo.
“First, that’s just too much work, and second, do you think there’s any good tea in Hell?
Squid Game ? Taylor Swift? Stray Kids? Let alone all the trashy reality TV?
Humans are horrible and interesting without our intervention.
Bringing about the apocalypse just gets rid of all the fun things we get to enjoy while we’re vacationing here.
The worst we do now is torment our neighbors and stir up trouble at the local shopping mall. ”
“Oh, so you’re only evil for your job.”
Azroth shrugged one shoulder. “And sometimes for fun, but not too much because it would upset Luke.”
Matteo pulled out his chair and dropped into it again. “You all really like Luke.”
“Luke is ours. He’s not scared of us, and we have fun with him. After eons of boredom, that is important. We will do anything to keep him safe and happy.”
A small smile spread across Matteo’s lips. “I’m glad. I have a lot of fun with him too, and I don’t want to lose him.”
“Then don’t. Come back to the house with me.”
“And all the other demons are as scary as you?”
Azroth shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m the scariest by far.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “But just know that even if you’re scared, Luke will always keep you safe.”