Sorren
Eva must have heard the crash when the spider dropped down in front of my face, and I slammed into the work bench.
She definitely heard the second crash when I saw another spider.
The seconds ticked by slowly while I waited.
Eventually, the boredom, silence, and fear of a third monster became too much, so I poked my head out of the door and crept my way through the back yard.
Confident the coast was clear, I went inside and paced through the little house.
Wherever Eva went, I’m sure she’s fine. Maybe I’m paranoid, but growing up in Hell will do that to a guy. I try to distract myself by reading the old scrying text book, but I can’t concentrate. Who was at the door?
My mind wanders to Malachi. I wonder how he’s doing down there. It’s time we had a conversation, I’ve dumped this mess in his lap, and I haven’t even asked how he’s doing. I go back to the shed and light the candles with a snap.
He appears, his relaxed demeanor tells me he isn’t at work.
“I think everything is okay. For now.” He rubs his hands over his horns and yawns.
“I’m not calling about Mephisto. I wanted to check on you, see how you are doing.”
His expression changes and a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. In all of this craziness, I have totally neglected my role as his brother. Malachi seems like a tough demon, but I know he’s a big softie on the inside.
“It’s been a crazy few days. I haven’t even been able to wreak any havoc or stir up any debauchery!”
We both laugh. Our father was always accusing him of those two things.
“Isn’t that what demons are supposed to do?” I answer, repeating Kai’s usual response.
“Apparently not anymore. Now it’s just Memorandums of Understanding, which I’ll never understand,” he laments.
“You’re doing great. Don’t sell yourself short.” I mean it. He’s stepped up, and I’ve been able to rely on him while this all gets figured out.
“Thanks, Sor. Do you think our moms would be pissed if they saw us working together?”
“Probably.” We both chuckle. It’s taken a while, but we can laugh about it now. Growing up, the two demonesses were always trying to pit us against each other. They both had ambitions for us to take over Mephisto.
“They would be so disappointed in us,” Kai says. “Hold on, let me grab my dinner.” He reappears in a few seconds holding a square piece of pizza.
“Kai. You would never believe how good pizza is up here.” My mouth waters at the memory.
“Bring some back with you. I’ve been dying to try it.” He laughs at his own corny joke.
“It’s also wildly colorful up here. Everything is so intensely bright, and there are so many new smells.” I don’t want to make it all sound great, but it is. The poor demon is stuck down there, while I’m practically on vacation.
“What’s it like to smell something other than sulfur?" he asks, taking a bite of the offensive imitation of the best food ever.
“Incredible. Flowers. Cut grass has the strongest smell so far. Hey, did you know the coffee is good up here? And rain has a smell?”
“What? I wondered if that was true. You never know with these demons down here. They like to bullshit us.” Kai takes another bite.
It’s physically painful to watch him eat the terrible pizza.
He and I shared a bond that most didn’t understand.
As the two Princes of Hell, we were some of the only demons born in the underworld, who never experienced a life above.
When other demons our age were lamenting the loss of their life, we were trying to not fixate on everything we were missing out on.
“Do you miss it down here?” he asks.
I wonder if he wants the truth. We’ve never lied to each other, and I don’t want to start now.
“Honestly? No. It’s pretty damn cool up here.”
“Damn. I was hoping you would say ‘yes’, and that you couldn’t wait to get back.”
“Maybe after all this is fixed we could come up and visit?” I suggest.
“I don’t know. Things down here are tense.”
Wow. Malachi being the one to think of work first. Things have changed so much in a short period of time.
“Remember that guy who wouldn't shut up about the forests his company would bulldoze?” he asks.
“How could I forget? I hated that guy.”
Kai shakes his head and huffs. We would play this game and rank the truly awful and depraved people that would show up down there. Some were totally unrepentant, like deforestation dude, while others talked a lot about regrets.
“Where I’m at, there are trees everywhere. Giant tall ones that smell amazing. I can’t believe he would destroy something like this.”
Listening to demons lament their mistakes and all the things they’d do differently made us different from others. Something about being surrounded by people after their lives are done and the way they felt about their time alive gave us a unique perspective growing up.
“Well, that fucking sucks.” He lowers his eyes and takes a deep breath. “We know our moms would be disappointed. Think Dad would be as well?” Kai wonders.
Now, this question is more difficult. Typhon, who insisted we call him that, was a distant father. His focus was always on work. Kai and I were just future assets. While our moms constantly made us compete, Typhon just ignored us.
“Nah. He’d be proud of you.” I say with absolute certainty. How could he not be proud of the way Malachai has stepped up?
Truck lights scroll across the far wall through the windows, and the sound of crunching gravel alerts me to Eva’s return, finally. The slamming door followed by quick steps up the porch sends my heart into a frantic pace.
“Sorren?” Eva calls when she opens the front door.
“There you are. What happened?”
“It was Riley. I needed to get her out of here after you made all that racket in the shed. Everything okay?” she asks.
I inwardly groan, embarrassed to tell her what happened.
“There was a spider.”
She bursts out laughing, a hysterical, exhausted, and contagious kind of laugh.
“A… spider,” she says between gasps for air.
“Two, actually.” The second wasn’t as scary, or as close to me, but I was on edge after that first encounter.
Eva strips off her coat and tosses it haphazardly in the closet next to the front door, still chuckling at my trauma.
“We found the coven’s historical records at my mom’s house. I sent it home with Riley to look over,” Eva says with a yawn. She kicks off her black boots then drops down on the couch in a tired, but cute, heap.
“It’s been a long day. You should go to bed,” I suggest.
“No, I’m okay. I want to see if I can find more information on summoning.” Eva reaches for her laptop.
I snap my fingers and stoke the fire in the fireplace, warming it up in here. Eva looks over at me with a grateful smile. Her lips pull up at the corners, and the freckles scattered across her nose pop in the bright light from the fireplace.
“Hungry?” I ask, hoping she is and it’ll give me something to do. I need to keep my hands busy, so I don’t think about where they would like to wander.
“No, Riley and I grabbed a burger on the way back. Oh, shoot! I should have brought one home for you.” She winces.
“That’s okay. Next time.” I smile broadly at her, because when she used the word ‘home’ in relation to where I am, I got a giddy feeling in my body. It probably doesn’t mean anything, but I still like it.
“Sorren, you’re still not used to the cold up here, are you?
” she asks and pulls her bulky sweater off, and drops it on the couch.
My jaw falls along with the item of clothing.
Her T-Shirt under the sweater is just barely long enough to touch the top of her jeans, a thin strip of skin showing every time she moves.
“Too hot?” My voice cracks. “Want me to turn it down?” I offer feebly, although I’d hate to see that sweater go back on.
“I’m good,” she says with a smile and opens her laptop.
I clear my throat and sit in the arm chair on the opposite side of the room, putting a little distance between us.
I grab the nearest book and hold it up, blocking her from view. I’m totally oblivious to what book I’ve got. My eyes wander over the pages back to Eva, who is concentrating on her screen and typing away. Her eyebrows are drawn together in the cutest way while she chews on her bottom lip.
I train my gaze back to the book in my hands. It only takes a second for me to realize I’m holding a steamy romance novel and heat creeps up my neck to my cheeks. Words like ‘heaving’ and ‘writhing’ pop off the page. My throat goes dry when breasts are grasped and buttons fly open.
“Enjoying the book?” Eva breaks the silence with a knowing look.
I clear my throat. “It’s very,” I pause to find the right word, educational.”
She laughs and goes back to her laptop, freeing me to get back to the book.
I actually end up getting sucked into the story. When I finally look up, Eva is asleep. A heavy exhale slips between her lips, the sound summoning images of what her mouth would feel like on mine.
“Eva?” I say her name softly, not wanting to jar her awake.
She doesn’t move, she must be so tired.
“Eva,” I say it again and wait.
Satisfied that she is asleep, I pull her into my arms and carry her up the narrow staircase.
She stirs as I climb the creaking stairs.
“I got you,” I whisper.
Eva responds by nuzzling into my neck.
I push open her door with my foot and gently lay her on the unmade bed. She rolls over to her side instinctively, and I pull the blankets up around her.
For a split second I imagine what it would feel like to climb into the bed next to her and pull her against me.
In my cold bed, I lie still and listen to the steady rhythm of the rain hitting the roof.
A few minutes go by, the steady rain is oddly comforting.
I get back up out of bed and brave the cold floor.
Thick drops of water race down the glass, I pull it up—just enough to let the fresh smell of rain fill the room.