CHAPTER FIVE #2
The fact that she fled on foot only caused another twinge in my chest. Lyari had either used whatever energy she’d had left to sift to me, or she’d lost the ability entirely.
It probably meant she was weaker, too. I gazed into the darkness and thought about going after her.
There could be more than one of these things out here.
But I could barely stay upright, and I couldn’t leave while there was a dead monster on the road.
Even if it was glamoured, someone might hit the body with their car and get hurt.
I would need help getting rid of it—this thing was huge.
I looked down at the headless corpse to guess its weight.
From the moment I’d laid eyes on the creature, I’d been in survival mode.
Now I actually had a chance to think about what it was and why it was here.
It could only have come from one place, I realized as I studied its anatomy in the moonlight.
This was a demon.
Now I just had more questions with no answers. Did Lucifer send it after me? And if so, why?
I told myself I’d have to think about that later.
Swallowing a groan, I turned toward the van.
My head swam as I struggled to consider my options.
Option one, call Adam. He could help with the demon and tow the van.
That would still leave me standing on a dark road by myself while I waited, though. And I really didn’t want to wait here.
Option two, I could just start walking and call Adam on the way, telling him where to find the van on his own.
Home was only a few miles down the road.
If I left now, I’d be back sooner than it would take for someone to get here.
That didn’t leave me standing in the open like a target, during the Witching Hour, while more demons potentially prowled the hills.
But if I went home, someone could still hit the one we’d killed.
I let out a soft curse, staring down at the corpse again as if another solution would magically come to me.
I really, really didn’t want to touch this thing.
I glanced around the empty road, making a frustrated, helpless gesture.
There were no houses around—only thin trees and shifting shadows.
Seeing no hope for it, I bent and reached for the demon, grimacing when my bare fingers made contact with its smooth skin.
I leaned back, making sure to brace myself, and put all my weight into pulling the creature away.
It didn’t budge.
I swore again, louder this time. Okay, so I wasn’t moving it. I couldn’t chop it up into pieces, either, because it would take an hour to cut off a single arm with the little knives I’d brought. My panic mounted.
Focus, Fortuna. I winced as I turned away. I wasn’t thinking clearly. It didn’t matter what option I chose until I got a hold of Adam—that was the first step.
Every part of my body shrieked in pain as I went back to the van and searched for my phone again.
Within a minute I found it in the backseat, miraculously intact.
I scrolled through my contacts list and returned to the road.
When the line began to ring, a relieved sigh slipped past my lips.
I held the phone to my ear and wrapped my other arm around myself, tapping my foot in agitation.
Adam didn’t pick up. I tried Gil next and he didn’t answer, either. Neither did Collith.
Everyone else I know will be asleep, I thought, flicking my thumb up the screen. But … there was one person who might be awake. One person who always answered, day or night. I bit my lip as I scrolled to a name.
It rang three times, then his silken voice filled my ear. “If you’re hoping to make use of my cleaning team again, I’m afraid I really do need to start charging you, Fortuna. Or I at least deserve a couple nudes, since you’d probably object to the other forms of payment I have in mind.”
For a moment, I was silent, my insides suddenly warm from a flash of crackling memory. I struggled to sound unaffected as I said, “Do you send people nudes, Laurie? That’s not really the smartest thing to do if you’re trying to lie low. Nothing is secret on the internet.”
“Those pictures are my gift to the internet, and to humanity. You’re welcome.”
A tiny sound escaped me, a slight huff from my nostrils. Not quite laughter, but something very close to it. “Tell me, were you born with a big head, or did your skull change to adapt to that fancy crown of yours?” I asked.
Laurie didn’t respond this time, and I knew he was probably wondering why I’d called. It’s what I would be wondering. But after few seconds, all Laurie said was, “It’s true, I do have a rather large brain. But its size is proportionate to my other vital organs.”
This time the laugh started in my chest, but the feeling quickly faded. Talking to Laurie had made me almost forget the reason I needed help. I didn’t want to tell him why I’d called; I wanted to keep joking and laughing. I wanted to ask him how his day had been, like normal people did.
We weren’t normal people, though. Every moment I spent avoiding reality with Laurie was a moment I was putting someone else at risk.
A small, sad sigh caught in my chest, but all that escaped me was the slightest breath.
I turned my head and looked in the direction of home. The pavement gleamed with dew.
“I was just attacked by a demon,” I said.
Laurie’s voice sharpened. “At the loft? Is—”
“Everyone is okay,” I cut in. “I was on my way home, and it came out onto the road. It’s dead now, so I actually could use your help with clean up, sorry. It’s way too heavy for me to move.”
“I’ll get it taken care of,” Laurie said instantly, dismissing my apology. “Just share your location with me. Are you hurt?”
“I got away with some scrapes and bruises. Lyari saved my life.” I finished sending Laurie a pin, and as I lifted my head, a sound echoed through the stillness.
It made me think of a stick snapping under something’s foot.
Fear gripped my throat, and my grip involuntarily tightened on the phone.
I turned in a circle to make sure nothing was trying to creep up on me from behind.
“Hey, how long would you say it’ll be until your people show up? ”
“The Door isn’t far from you. They’ll be there in ten minutes, probably less. Why?”
Laurie had definitely picked up on something, I could hear it in his voice.
I swallowed, wondering if I’d heard that snapping sound again or if I was still shaken from the encounter with the demon.
Nothing stirred in the trees. I wanted to ask Laurie to sift here and stay with me until the rest of his team arrived.
To pass the time with his jokes and his flirting. Maybe I’d even flirt back.
When I began to say the words, the conversation with Mab jabbed at my mind like a hot poker. When will enough be enough?
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” I said casually. “I’m almost home. I’m just worried about someone hitting that giant corpse.”
To avoid making a complete liar out of myself, I finally left the demon and started walking.
I could hear Laurie reassuring me, but I was too distracted to respond, my eyes still roaming the darkness in search of any hint of movement.
I kept looking over my shoulder, too, half-expecting another demon to come up from behind, or for the one on the road to sit up and start running toward me.
But it stayed where it was, a pale streak on the pavement, its long limbs splayed like broken tree branches, its blood gleaming like a distant mirage.
My footsteps felt overly loud in the mist-filled night. “I’ve seen that species of demon before, Laurie. In Hell,” I said under my breath.
Laurie swore, and there was a faint rustling sound on the other end, as if he’d gotten out of bed or was rummaging through a drawer. “At least now we know what snake boy has been doing in West Bengal. He must be getting them through somehow.”
Hearing it out loud made knots form in my stomach. I relived every moment of my battle with the demon, and I knew the only reason I was alive was because I’d gotten lucky. No human stood a chance against the creatures of the underworld. If Lucifer was creating openings to Hell …
Thinking of the fight made me remember those final moments on the road, too. I fell silent for a moment, and then I said, “Lyari’s eyes were yellow, Laurie.”
He paused. “So she’s begun the transition.”
“Is that what you call it? Transitioning?” I repeated tightly.
“What do you call it?” Laurie asked, and I imagined him tilting his head.
My first instinct was to say something disparaging. I thought of the goblins that had held me hostage for days, then tried to sell me on the black market. I remembered the sound of their laughter while I’d huddled in that small, rusted cage.
My mind went further back. During her lessons, my mother had spoken of goblins with the same neutrality she’d used for every other species.
It was only when I met more Fallen, like Sorcha, that I learned of how our world actually viewed their kind.
Then I’d encountered goblins on my own, and those interactions only seemed to prove the stigma.
Goblins were the worst of my customers at Bea’s.
They were obnoxious. Rude. Messy. They were also incredibly shitty tippers.
I hadn’t known they could be different until I’d met Seth.
I thought of him next, and the goblin’s earnestness.
He’d been forced out of his Court for daring to want a better life.
He’d endured my rejections again and again.
Most people would’ve gotten angry. Most people would’ve given up.
If Seth had, I would have missed out on a true friend, and knowing an incredible person.
“I’d call it change,” I said finally.
Laurie made a thoughtful sound and replied, “I believe there’s a saying or two about change.”