Eva POV #2
I opened my mouth to argue again just as the apartment door shook hard enough to rattle the picture frames beside it. I stepped back in shock. Then another heavy knock hit the door after, louder this time. The lights flickered twice.
The demon was already standing before me while my brain took a moment to catch up with the horrifying scene in front of me. One second he’d been stretched comfortably across the couch reading my book, and the next he was near the apartment door with his shoulders tense slightly beneath my hoodie.
The amused expression he'd worn all night had disappeared completely. Every trace of humor vanished, replaced by a focus that made the apartment feel too small.
That scared me more than the glowing eyes.
Nina opened the bathroom door while still wrapped in a towel. “…Okay no. I officially hate this.”
Another knock rattled the apartment door before a calm voice spoke from the hallway outside.
“You summoned one of ours.”
The apartment stayed completely still after the voice echoed through the hallway outside.
Then Nina moved towards me while tightening the towel around herself like she was preparing to face even death now. “I would just like it officially written down somewhere that this is your fault.”
“My fault?” I whispered back. “Why is this still my fault?”
“You bought ritual candles from a store with a goat skull wearing sunglasses.”
“That feels unrelated right now.”
Another knock hit the door, calmer this time, almost patient.
My demon stayed near the entrance without opening the door. The shift in him unsettled me more than the presence of the demon near me. The sarcastic amusement from earlier was gone now, replaced by something colder that felt very real.
The hallway voice spoke again. “We know the bond formed.”
I looked at my demon. “The WHAT formed?”
His jaw tightened. “They are being dramatic.”
“That is not a denial.”
“It is close enough.”
“No it is absolutely not.”
Another voice answered from outside the apartment, sounding irritated now. “You are wearing her clothing. We can literally feel it from the hallway.”
Nina made a strangled noise beside me.
I pointed accusingly at my demon. “Take the hoodie off.”
He stiffened. “Absolutely not.”
“THAT IS MY HOODIE.”
“And it was offered sincerely.”
“I threw it at your face!”
“That does not lessen it’s significance.”
I turned toward the ceiling for strength.
“This is why humans drink.”
From outside, somebody sighed heavily. “Can we come in before the neighbors start praying?”
Fair concern. The elderly woman downstairs had already threatened to call the police on me nine separate times, and I really didn’t want the tenth complaint to involve an actual demon standing in my apartment.
I walked carefully toward the door before my demon moved in front of me fast enough to make me stumble backward slightly.
“You should stay behind me.”
I blinked up at him. “Excuse me?”
“The situation may become unpleasant.”
“That is the least comforting thing you’ve said tonight.”
His eyes shifted toward me briefly, still glowing faintly. “I am serious.”
And I hated how quickly that scared me.
The apartment went quiet again for a second before Nina peeked around my shoulder carefully. “Okay but like… are they dangerous dangerous or weird dangerous?”
“Yes,” my demon answered calmly.
“That answer was medically unhelpful.”
Another knock interrupted us, followed by an exhausted voice from the hallway. “Please open the door. We have been standing beside apartment 4B for ten minutes and that woman keeps blessing us.”
Despite everything, weariness had settled over my demon, which confused me more than the threats had. Then, with the expression of someone questioning every decision that had led to this moment, he reached for the door handle and pulled it open.
Three people stood in the hallway, and something about them was deeply wrong. Not in the obvious supernatural way either. Worse. They had the unmistakable air of people who probably had office jobs, paid taxes on time, and still participated in illegal rituals for fun on weekends.
The woman in the front wore an expensive black coat over ceremonial robes or something suspiciously close to them.
Gold rings covered almost every finger, and her eyeliner was sharp enough to file paperwork with.
Beside her stood a tall guy holding two wine bottles and what I was fairly sure was a bakery box.
The third person was aggressively praying under his breath while staring at my demon's hoodie.
The woman’s attention shifted from me to the candles still scattered around the apartment before finally settling on the demon standing directly in front of me. Her expression became horrified.
“…Oh,” she whispered. “The rumors were true.”
I blinked. “What rumors.”
I didn't get an answer. Instead, the tall guy's gaze drifted past me to the hoodie before returning to the demon. “He accepted the clothing offering?”
“Yes,” the praying guy muttered weakly. “We can SEE that.”
“That should not have worked that fast!”
“I am aware!”
I stared at all three of them in disbelief while now completely dressed Nina appeared beside me clutching a kitchen knife she absolutely did not know how to use.
“Why,” she whispered to me, “are all demon people like theater kids.”
“That is an incredibly offensive stereotype,” the woman replied offended deeply.
“…You heard that?”
“Yes.”
“Okay wow. I Hate that.”
My demon still hadn’t moved from in front of me. The hallway light cast strange shadows across his face while the others carefully avoided looking directly at him for too long.
The woman finally toward to him. “You bonded already?”
“We are discussing it,” he answered, looking towards me.
“I AM not discussing anything,” I cut in. “I am surviving a home invasion.”
The tall guy frowned, still holding the wine bottles. “But you summoned him.”
“By accident!”
“You used gold chalk.”
“It was a gift from the store!”
The praying guy covered his face with one hand. “That makes this even worse.”
Nina pointed toward them with the kitchen knife. “Okay.. now somebody explain why everybody keeps reacting to office supplies like this.”
The woman finally stepped inside carefully while keeping her attention mostly on me now. “Because humans normally cannot form stable demonic bonds.”
I hated every word in that sentence.
“…Define stable.”
I didn’t get an answer fast enough to feel comfortable about it.
My demon sighed quietly beside me. “That is usually not a good sign in human conversation.”
“STOP BEING CALM.” I shrieked, pointing at all of them.
Chapter 7
Eva POV
Others didn’t look particularly concerned about my mental breakdown, which was deeply unfair considering I was the object of their discussion.
The woman in the black coat adjusted one of the gold rings on her fingers while studying my demon carefully. “You should return with us voluntarily before this becomes complicated.”
Nina elbowed me, “Yeah actually you can have him.”
“HEY.”
My demon ignored both of us. He was still standing near the apartment door with my hoodie stretched across his shoulders, his attention fixed on me like the rest of them barely existed anymore.
Another heavy knock rattled the apartment before the voice outside spoke again, colder this time.
“You do not belong here.”
For the first time since I’d summoned him, my demon answered without any teasing in his voice at all.
“I wasn’t aware I needed permission.”
The apartment fell still instantly, and even those three stopped moving.
Beside me, Nina leaned closer cautiously. “Why does he sound terrifying?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered back. “And I hate it.”
A low laugh echoed from somewhere farther down the hallway outside.
“Human attachments already?” the voice mocked. “That was fast.”
My demon’s expression shifted slightly, not enough for a human to notice, but enough to make everyone else in the apartment tense instantly.
The lazy amusement disappeared from his face so fast it almost seemed unnatural, and when he looked back toward the hallway again, something colder settled into his expression that made even the cult members step away from the door slightly.
Then very quietly, he said, “Watch your tone.”
My stomach did something medically embarrassing .
Beside me, Nina made a strangled noise. “Okay wow. I need to sit down.”
“THIS IS NOT THE TIME.”
The apartment door cracked straight down the middle. I jumped backward so fast I nearly slammed into the kitchen counter.
Before I could react, my demon caught my wrist and pulled me behind him in one smooth movement. The speed of it startled me, but the careful way he positioned me there unsettled me even more.
The hallway outside stayed silent for a moment before the voice spoke again.
“Is she the reason you refuse to return?”
My demon didn’t hesitate.
“She is the reason you’re still outside.”
The silence after that physically hurt. Even those three members were stunned. Nina turned toward me with the expression of somebody witnessing relationship drama at supernatural levels.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “He’s in love with you.”
I stared at my demon’s back while his hand still wrapped firmly around my wrist beneath the sleeve of my sweater. Then, against all common sense and survival instinct, one horrible thought crossed my mind.
…Okay maybe the flirting had gotten a little attractive. And I hated myself for thinking about it.
The apartment door groaned loudly as another crack spread through the wood. One of the candles near the entrance flickered violently before going out completely, then the whole apartment was colder than before.
Nina had fully retreated behind the couch now while clutching the kitchen knife with absolutely no confidence. “I would just like everybody to know,” she announced shakily, “that I am unprepared for demon violence.”
The woman in the black coat stepped away from the doorway while keeping her eyes fixed on the crack splitting down the center of the door. “This is becoming excessive.”
“That’s YOUR people outside,” I hissed.