Chapter 36 #2
She stumbled, throwing her other foot out to restore her balance. But it came too late. She dropped her phone, hands shooting forward to break her fall, when an invisible weight suddenly pressed against her sternum, catching her before she went down.
It lifted her and set her on her feet, and she was left standing there, looking around for the mysterious person who’d saved her from face-planting. But there was no one there.
Didn’t matter. She knew exactly who it was.
On the eighth day, Iris invited her over for drinks at Belial’s house. She said it was high time for Suyin to come and properly meet everyone.
She wanted to say no. She wasn’t in the mood for socializing right now and would’ve much preferred to stew alone in her unending misery.
But she forced herself to go anyway. She was half demon, and she figured it would be good for her to meet others of her father’s kind.
And secretly, she wanted to meet the demons who had recently become Murmur’s allies.
Knowing them would feel like being close to him again.
As close as she could allow herself to be.
She rode her Phantom up the winding streets of Mount Royal until she found the address of the swanky mansion. She rang the buzzer at the gates and announced herself, and they swung open.
Her bike climbed a steep driveway leading to a double-car garage, and she parked in the covered pullout beside a souped-up Land Rover. She followed the path up like Iris had told her to.
At the top, stone gargoyles were perched atop short pillars, their features eroded with time. Steps led to the front door, and she pressed the doorbell, feeling about as welcome as a door-to-door vacuum salesman.
The door swung open, and she found herself face to face with the enormous blue-eyed Belial she’d met under less cordial circumstances a week ago. She briefly wondered how big he was in demon form and then decided she hoped she never found out.
“Come on in.” Belial stepped back, and she entered the high-ceilinged hall. Ahead, a dark-stained wooden staircase spiraled up to a mezzanine that led to what were likely the second-floor bedrooms. High above, a chandelier hung beneath a skylight. The floors were white marble.
“Nice house.”
“Thanks. Everybody’s in the kitchen.” He passed the staircase and turned down a hall, so she ditched her boots at the door—the Canadian way—and went after him.
He led her into the nicest kitchen she’d ever seen.
Big bay windows overlooked a landscaped backyard with a pool, accessed by glass doors.
Across the island, there was a dining room with finely carved chairs.
She might have thought it was one of those dining set-ups that no one ever used, except for the fact that the table was covered in dirty dishes.
But everyone was still hanging out in the kitchen.
“Suyin, hey!” Iris announced happily, coming over from beside her extremely tattooed boyfriend to give her a hug.
Suyin hugged her back somewhat awkwardly. She’d never been a hugger, and neither had Iris, but apparently Iris in love was. The demon with red eyes and face tattoos grinned at Suyin over Iris’s shoulder.
“You’ve met Meph,” Iris said, pulling back. “Though I guess it was only briefly.”
“Yeah, back when you told me he was toxic and you weren’t going anywhere near him,” Suyin said before she could stop herself.
Laughter rang out across the room.
“I like her already,” a dark-skinned demon with brilliant gold eyes announced.
“That’s Raum,” Iris said. “He’s Meph’s partner in crime, so keep an eye on them.” Iris then pointed to a stunningly beautiful woman with shiny black hair, dark eyes, and dusky skin. “This is Sunshine.”
“Greetings,” Sunshine said and then winced. “I mean, hello.”
Suyin could only stare. She was looking at a real-life angel—Iris had told her all about Raum’s girlfriend and her demon-Earth transition program.
There was definitely an otherworldly glow to this woman.
Something about her made Suyin feel like she was safe in her presence, and her warm smile was the most inviting she’d ever seen.
“That’s Ash and Eva.” Iris pointed to another couple leaning against the counter on the far side of the room. “Ash is a demon, Eva’s not.”
“Can we not be introduced by our species?” Eva said with a laugh. “It feels awkward.”
Iris laughed, and then pointed to the other people who Suyin already knew. “Lily, human. Mist, demon. Belial, grump.”
Belial shot her a look.
Everyone was looking at Suyin expectantly, so she said, “Suyin, Cambion.”
Several sets of eyes widened. Sunshine said, “It’s so lovely to meet you,” and Suyin was sure she’d never heard a more genuine statement.
“I see it now,” Meph said. “She gives off the same don’t-fuck-with-me vibe that Murmur does. And the spooky goth look is totally—”
“Meph,” Iris hissed, elbowing him in the side. “What did I say about the M word?”
“Don’t say it. My bad.”
Great. So Iris had evidently told everyone about the catastrophe that was Suyin’s relationship with the Necromancer. Had she told them how he’d taken her stupid feelings and crushed them into tiny pieces by trying to kill her? Because that would be the cherry on top.
“So!” Lily announced, apparently sensing the tension. “Who wants a drink?”
There were several murmurs of agreement, and then Belial announced that he was making martinis, and everyone got involved, and that was the last they spoke of Murmur the entire time.
There was also no talk about Lucifer or the coming war Murmur had spoken of, and by the way everyone very carefully dodged around the topic, she figured that was on purpose. Likely Belial didn’t want to talk about it any more than Suyin wanted to talk about Murmur.
Unfortunately, not talking about him didn’t keep him from her mind. As she sat at the edge of the group, watching them interact, laughing and teasing one another, she thought about him more than ever. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get him out of her head.
She declined a second drink so she could safely ride home, watching everyone else get drunk with veiled amusement. Except Belial. He drank the most out of everyone and gave no sign of it affecting him.
When Meph started telling everyone the story of how Belial had chopped his fingers off—showing off his regenerated and freshly tattooed hand—she decided it was time to go.
Belial was grinding his teeth, and Suyin had seen firsthand what happened when he got mad and wasn’t feeling up for a repeat experience.
She signaled to Iris that she was heading out, figuring she’d slip out without disrupting the party, but of course, that wasn’t what happened at all.
“Everyone!” Iris announced. “Suyin’s taking off, so say goodbye.”
“Bye, Suyin!” several people called out.
“No, wait!” Eva said, running forward. “You can’t go until you have a cookie. Bel helped me bake them and they’re my pride and joy. Where are they, Bel?”
“On top of the fridge. I hid them from Meph.”
“I can reach the top of the fridge, you know,” Meph said.
“Yeah, but you’re like a dog. Out of sight, out of mind.”
Meph laughed, apparently not offended by the comparison.
Suyin happened to be standing right next to the fridge, so she stepped aside when Eva hurried over. Eva rose to her tiptoes, feeling around for the plate. “Jesus, Bel, why do you have a six-foot-tall fridge?”
“Have you seen him?” Ash said.
“Good point.”
“Eva, let me help you,” Bel said.
“No, I got it—Oop!”
She didn’t have it. In fact, in her effort to slide the plate closer so she could grab it, she knocked the entire thing off. Onto Suyin’s head.
Suyin flinched, bringing her hands up in preparation for the glass cracking onto her skull. Except it never came.
As if she had an invisible force field around her body, the plate bounced off, flew to the side, and hit the ground a good three feet from her. She looked around to see if anyone else had seen what happened. Judging by the way they stared with open mouths, they had.
“What the hell?” Meph said. “How did that just happen?”
“I’m so sorry,” Eva was saying. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Suyin replied distantly, catching the pointed look Iris was giving her across the kitchen.
“Was that a protection spell or something?” Eva asked. “Because that was crazy.”
She brushed it off and let everyone assume that was what it was. Conversation resumed, and shortly after, she made excuses to depart, hoping to evade the questions that would follow if anyone guessed what had really happened.
Unfortunately, Iris followed her out the door.