Page 14 of Demons of Eden

“I don’t hide from demons, Eli,” Torrin replies bluntly, narrowed eyes staring at his friend with an odd look, one I don’t know him well enough yet to read.

“You should make an exception for her safety, if not your own,” the demon responds unhappily, gesturing impatiently to the back of the store. “Stay quiet and try not to draw any attention to yourselves at least. Hopefully this will be quick.”

Torrin nods, grabbing my upper arm and gently tugging me away just as the door to the shop swings open. I go to peek over my shoulder at the demon stepping inside, but the hand on my arm squeezes in warning. I meet his hazel eyes instead, and he shakes his head ever so slightly before redirecting my attention to a creepy black orb at the rear of the store.

While we pretend to be deeply interested in the orb, the prickling feeling of being watched that I tried to bury returns, only with the intensity ratcheted up tenfold. It’s unsettlinglyquiet behind us for a few long moments as we all but hold our breaths waiting forsomethingto happen.

“Lord Paimon,” Eli’s voice finally breaks the silence. The awkward friendliness I’d detected in his tone is completely gone now, replaced by formality and…fear?

What kind of demon scares other demons so badly?

“Eligos. Do you have the item I requested?” a cold voice demands.

“I wasn’t expecting you so soon?—”

“So, you do not?” Lord Piehole, or whatever his name is, cuts Eli off rudely, followed by an aggrieved sigh. “How disappointing.”

“It should arrive before the end of the week, as I said when you initially requested I source it for you,” Eli replies primly, ruffled feathers apparently somewhat overriding his terror.

I take a step to the side to look at another object without really seeing it, trying not to make it entirely obvious that all of our attention is on their conversation. Torrin sticks to my side so closely we’re practically pressed together. The tension in his frame is obvious, despite forcing himself to relax his hands at his sides. Great, so even the demon hunter is nervous about this Lord Piehole guy, then.

“Perhaps if you spent less time serving lesser beings, it wouldn’t take you so long to complete a simple task.”

Lesser beings?

I tune out their conversation as I bite my tongue in order to keep myself quiet, already deciding I really don’t like this particular demon at all. Spotting a large antique mirror and quietly creeping over to it, I use the reflection to get my first look at him, Torrin right at my heels the entire time. I’m distracted for a second from my goal by the odd double reflection of myself in the mirror, but I blink, and my second reflection is gone. Of course the mirror has some kind of odd magic to it. I rollmy eyes, then refocus on my task of getting a good look at the arrogant demon.

The demon has a face I would describe more as pretty than handsome, or I would, if it wasn’t for the ugly expression on it. The sour twist to his oddly delicate features radiates disdain and contempt as he talks with Eli, quite literally looking down on him from his much taller height. He’s made no effort at disguising his true nature, not even hiding his large black wings with magic. His horns, while thin, are twisted and long as they curl back from the top of his forehead and over his shiny mane of black hair. And his eyes—fuck.His black and yellow slitted eyes are looking right at my reflection in the mirror. I’ve been caught blatantly staring, like a kid with a hand in the cookie jar.

Well, shit.

“It’s considered respectful to introduce yourself if you’re going to stare, witch. Though, I suppose your kind do tend to lack respect for your betters.”

“And how you talk to people is respectful?” I snap as I turn around, Torrin grabbing my shoulder roughly before I can take a step forward. I’m about to shrug him off and complain at the harsh grip when I realise what I’ve just done.Oh no.Foot, why must you put yourself in my mouth like this? Especially to a demon who scares the shit out of anyone with a modicum of sense, which apparently doesn’t include me today.

“Again, I apologise for the wait,” Eli says loudly, a blatant attempt to distract Lord Piehole. “I will deliver the item directly to you once it arrives, to save you another trip here. I know how you dislike having to come to this realm.”

“Unnecessary,” Paimon replies disinterestedly, before snapping his fingers. He points at me and then in front of him, a clear order. “You. Witch. Come here.”

Torrin moves forward, placing himself partially in front of my body without fully blocking me off. The bulk of his leftshoulder in front of my right side is enough to keep me in place, unless I purposefully step around him. “I don’t think my friend wants to talk to you.”

“She appeared quite opinionated a moment ago,” the demon counters. He’s oozing with contempt in a way where it comes across as something he enjoys, like there’s pleasure to be found for him in his easy hatred. Something about it ticks me off, pushing a button I never realised I possessed.

“You know,” I begin to say, side-stepping around the hunter and walking forward, much to Torrin’s obvious horror as I pass him. “Iamopinionated. And in my opinion, you should leave. You’ve been nothing but rude since you walked in here.”

“Goddess, fucking spare us,” Torrin mutters under his breath behind me. A quick glance to Lord Piehole’s left shows Eli is similarly concerned for all of our fates, lips pressed tightly together as he shifts his weight between his feet.

Just who the hell is this fucking demon?

After a moment that stretches too long for comfort, the demonic asshole throws back his head and laughs. It’s a deep, amused noise, one that’s oddly genuine in its sound. Apparently the prissy demon thinks I’m hilarious. Who’d have thought someone so terrible could have good taste about this one thing? Still a totally rude asshole, though.

“Well, aren’t you a brave one?” he says questioningly once he’s done laughing. The yellow slits of his eyes narrow further as he scans over me slowly, deliberately making a show of what he’s doing. “Surprisingly powerful too, I’d wager.”

“I’d argue I’m pretty average,” I reply with a shrug, trying to seem nonchalant. “Maybe you just underestimate witches.”

I’m not interesting at all. Nothing special to see here…

I think it over in my head like a mantra, suddenly realising the danger I’ve thrust myself into should he realise my currentcondition, but for a second I’d forgotten. Demons are knownto have stolen some of the children of the rare unions between demons and witches before. Either syphoning the child’s power or raising them as their own, typically for nefarious reasons. Between searching for Ash and throwing up, I've been brushing up on my history of the topic with what little information is easily available. It’s been a depressing experience considering the majority of texts refer to the children as abominations, as a mistake of the past not to be repeated.

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