Six
Jerry
T he next week was hectic, exhausting, and so very worth it.
I wouldn't have survived it without Eshim's support, and I was going to include a bonus in his paycheck because he deserved it. He'd kept my schedule straight, dealt with the minor issues that cropped up in the other teams' projects, and diverted everything non-urgent to a later date so I could put my focus into the project.
We'd submitted the final campaign to the client yesterday, and the wait until we heard back from them was excruciating. Kat was sure they'd take the weekend to make a decision, and she'd warned me not to waste mine worrying about it, but how couldn't I? This was a big deal.
The project wasn't the only thing on my mind, though.
There was also a certain blond-haired, blue-eyed assistant I couldn't put out of my mind. Eshim was...well, he checked all my boxes, and that was a problem.
Despite what Martin had said to him, I would never try to start something inappropriate with an employee, much less someone I worked as closely with as I did Eshim.
Yes, he was handsome, and competent, and just the right amount of adorable. He made great cookies, and I found his mashed-up phrases and idioms adorable. I liked how he couldn't quite seem to figure out what the right amount of eye contact was, or how he always awkwardly lingered for a few seconds when I called him into my office.
But I knew how to be professional. Eshim was my assistant, and there was no way I would ever initiate something between us. Not unless...
I shook my head. No way. Even if he were to ask me out, I couldn't say yes. I wouldn't say yes. He was my employee, and it would be wrong no matter who initiated it.
Fuck, I needed to get out of my house before I drove myself crazy with my spiraling thoughts.
Picking up my phone, I dialed the first number on my speed dial.
"Hey, ex-husband," Kat greeted, and I grinned, running my fingers through Tom's soft fur as I lounged back into the couch.
"Hey, ex-wife. What are you up to?"
"You want the honest answer or the PG-13 one?"
"Never mind," I said with a laugh. While before I might've asked for an honest answer—there wasn't much Kat and I didn't share with each other—Fressia scared me a little. She was a nice woman, and I could tell she worshipped the ground Kat walked on, but she was intimidating as fuck, and that only dialed up when she turned her attention on me.
She didn't hate me or anything, but I was pretty sure she hated the fact that Kat and I were married at one point.
"Are we just shooting the shit, or did you want to talk about something? No work talk, though. You know the rule."
When Kat, Archer, and I started a business together, we'd set some ground rules, one of which was 'No work talk during the weekends unless it's an absolute emergency.'
"It's not about work, but it might be work-adjacent?" I said, frowning at the ceiling as Tom climbed up onto my chest and started licking my chin, apparently enjoying the texture of my stubble.
"Hmmm..."
"It's about someone at work," I explained, and the change in her was instant.
"Oh! The handsome new assistant, perhaps?" I stayed silent, and she let out a squeal. "Wait, really? I mean I was hoping, but..."
"Why were you hoping I'd want to talk about Eshim?"
"Not that, dick. I was hoping you would like him."
I sputtered. "Who said anything about like?"
"I've been your ex-wife, your wife, and your best friend. You don't think I know when you like someone?"
"Kat..."
"Come over for dinner."
It didn't sound like a request or an invitation because it wasn't one.
"I'm fine, thank you," I valiantly tried anyway.
"Be here at six or I'll come over myself."
"Fine."
At six on the dot, I stood at Kat and Fressia's doorstep, regretting it already. If Kat thought I liked Eshim—which I didn't—she wasn't going to let it go.
The door opened, and Fressia stared at me, her expression blank. Her brown, almost yellow eyes, though, watched me like a hawk, and I smiled hesitantly.
"Hello, Fressia."
"Jeremiah," she said with a nod, and I bit back a cringe. She was one of the few people who insisted on using my full name. I'd told her to call me Jerry the first few times, but then I gave up when I realized she wouldn't be changing her mind anytime soon.
"Fres? Is that Jerry?"
"Yeah!" she called back, her voice distinctly warmer, and I bit back a smile. As long as Fressia treated Kat well, I didn't care how curt she was toward me. Hell, I could understand her in a way too.
I walked into the house, and Fressia closed the door behind me as Kat walked out of the kitchen, a wide smile on her face. Her strawberry blond hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, and she was dressed in her usual weekend-at-home getup of an oversized T-shirt—that she'd stolen from me or Archer at some point—and sweatpants.
"Hey, Jerry. Want something to drink?" she asked, linking her arm with mine and tugging me toward the kitchen. I was very aware of Fressia following close at our heels, but I ignored her, keeping my focus on Kat.
"Yes, please."
"Beer?"
I nodded, and she dropped my arm to grab three from the fridge, offering one to me and another to Fressia.
We chatted inanely as we drank, and then Kat plated up the food and we took our plates to the living room. Kat hated eating at the dining table, so I was used to eating on the couch. Even now that she'd moved out, I still did the same.
We'd just settled into our meal when loud barking made me jump, and I turned around to see a large, black dog standing in the hallway that led deeper into the house. Had the dog been in their bedroom?
Fressia jumped to her feet with an, "Excuse me," and I watched as she led the dog deeper into the house, murmuring softly to it. She glanced back, and shared a look with Kat that I couldn't quite read, before disappearing into a room.
Kat watched her go, silent for a long moment, before turning to me with hints of worry in her eyes that she shook off with a smile.
"Tell me about Eshim."
So much for hoping she'd forgotten all about him.
Eshim
"Thank you for coming with me, Hella," I said, and the big, black demonhound peered up at me, panting happily.
Since it was the weekend, I'd decided to spend some time walking around the city. King Damien's words about the evil souls and Mammon planning something had been stuck in the back of my mind, and I figured it wouldn't hurt to be extra careful. Especially when my mate lived in this city. There was also Lux, and his new family. I would never forgive myself if something happened to that beautiful baby of his.
There had been no trace of Mammon and the souls in the last month, which told me they had to be hiding. No matter how careful they were in their movements, they would always leave a trace. The only way they could've avoided detection was by hiding.
So here I was, walking through the most downtrodden and derelict areas of the city in the hopes of finding some clues. This wasn't the first time I'd done it, but last week, I hadn't had enough time for a deep search.
It'd been hours since I started doing this, and Hella had joined me of her own accord halfway through. The demonhound—the only one of her kind, since animal souls were usually reincarnated straightaway, as far as I knew—spent her time flitting between all the demons currently living in the human realm, though I knew she preferred staying with Azazel and his human partner, Elijah.
"Wait," I murmured as something tickled my senses. Glancing around to make sure there were no humans around, I shifted into my incorporeal form. This form allowed me to pass through walls, and humans or supes wouldn't be able to see me. Mammon and the dark souls would still spot me, since they were dead themselves, but that was okay. I'd mostly shifted so I could move around without scaring some innocent human.
Hella, following my lead, did the same, and I moved closer to the strange awareness. As a demon, I could sense other demons and dark souls, which was why the king and his mates had decided to station us in the human realm in the first place.
Once I was close enough to confirm that yes, there was a demon close by, and at least one dark soul, I decided it would be risky to go in alone. While I was confident in my powers, Mammon was much older than me, and I'd be an idiot to think I could take him.
Lowering my head so I could whisper into Hella's ear, I said, "Could you please get Fressia for me?"
Fressia was the closest demon—no way was I dragging Lux into this unless I absolutely had to—and she was the scariest one I knew, other than Korrigan.
Hella rubbed her head against my side, then disappeared, and I exhaled in relief before sneaking closer. I took a minute to use my magic to make myself less noticeable, to keep Mammon—because what other demon could it be?—from sensing me, before moving deeper into the abandoned building that had caught my attention.
There. Like me, Mammon was in his incorporeal form, but unlike me, he hadn't bothered with a human form. Instead, he was in his true form, all eight feet of him. Before the latest 'batch' of demons, most of them seemed to have the same basic structure. Like Star, Mammon looked like he was made of stone, a big, hulking boulder of a demon. But unlike Star, there was no fire seeping out of the cracks. Instead, there was darkness. Smoky, inky black darkness that filled every crack and line between the boulders that made up Mammon's form. Shit, he really was too far gone, wasn't he?
Poor Mammon.
I remembered a time when he'd been just like us, even after Underworld was closed down. How had none of us noticed the darkness clinging to him? When had the dark souls managed to drag him to their side? Was it when the souls first made their escape, when they couldn't even get out of Otherworld before they were recaptured? Or was it when Meredith, the ex-queen of Underworld, tried to take over?
Shaking my head, I snuck closer, burying all my feelings about Mammon. It didn't matter what he'd been before because for now, he was an enemy, and I needed to remember that.
Mammon jerked upright, and I froze. I checked my magic, and my shield was strong as ever, but it was clear Mammon had somehow sensed me anyway.
"Someone's here," Mammon growled, his voice grating on my nerves. Fuck, where the hell was Fressia?
The dark soul standing beside him, a woman in her twenties with drawn features and dead—no pun intended—eyes, turned to look around, her brows pinched.
"Don't see anything."
Mammon grunted, and I sucked in a breath as I felt his magic clamp around me. Shit, shit, shit.
"There!"
He jerked me close, his magic tight around me, so tight I couldn't even shift into my true form, my stronger form.
"Eshim," he said, and I winced.
"Hey, Mammon. How are things? Kill any more vampires lately?"
Mammon scowled, his dark eyes seeming to swallow up all the light around his face. "You're alone. Did you really think you could take me alone?"
"Ah, not really. I'm probably at level ten while you've already finished the game," I said, and the confusion on his face almost made me laugh. Until his magic started squeezing tighter.
I blinked as I realized I was corporeal again, and the dark soul walked closer to me. "It's almost like the universe is on our side. We needed blood, and how lucky that we found a sacrifice without even trying?"
Oh hell no. I had work tomorrow. Jerry needed me. I was not going to be their damned blood sacrifice.
"You know I'm already dead, right? This body, the blood in it, it's all magic."
The dark soul squinted at me, then shrugged as her nails grew longer. Fuck, I didn't even know dark souls could do that.
"Well, maybe I just want to see you all bloody."
My eyes flickered to Mammon, but he'd already turned his attention back to the tome he'd been reading before I showed up, though his magic was still tightly clamped around mine.
I tried to wriggle free as the dark soul stepped closer, but Mammon was strong. Too strong.
"Bye-bye, little demon," the dark soul said as she raised her clawed hand, and I sucked in a breath.
Fressia needed to get here quick because I did not want to be apart from Jerry for however many more years he'd live.