Page 48 of A Hail From Hell: Vol 1

“I need you to find something for me.”

It took Evan a few seconds to register those words, then his shoulders dropped with a breath of relief. Those were the most stressful ten seconds of his life.

“It’s a relic,” the demon added, eyebrows dipping slightly. “And it holds great importance to me.”

Oh. Evan’s senses perked.

Great importancecoulddirectly mean great “weakness” depending on more context. If he couldn’t keep this beast away with salt, there had to be an ingredient on Evan’s kitchen shelf that would repel him, right?

Evan feigned a look of interest. “Why is it important?”

“I’m incomplete without it,” the demon replied without hesitation, seriousness flashing across his face.

Incomplete. Meaning not as powerful.

Meaningweak.

“Ah, I see,” Evan smiled tightly, a combination of smug and irritated. “I’ll pass.”

The demon cocked his head, eyes narrowing in confusion.

“What?”

Evan straightened and dusted his ass. “I have neither the time nor the intention of helping you.”

It would be like feeding a tiger just so it could grow up and eat you.

“Why not?”

“Why not? Don’t you see this?” Evan motioned to the space between them. “You and I, we’re as far apart as the sky and the ground, as incompatible as fire and water. And you want us to be, what, hunting buddies? Look, I earn a living by eradicating evil from this world. And right now, that evil…is you.”

Scarlet blazed in the demon’s eyes even as his expressions remained impenetrable. Evan continued.

“So, leave. Leave this town and camp somewhere else. Before you create problems and I’m forced to eradicate you too.”

He didn’t have to know that Evancouldn’t eradicate him right now due to the lack of…well, everything.

Unexpectedly, the demon’s head dropped. Long raven strands curtained his face. His fists clenched, shoulders trembled.

Evan’s eyes widened.

Is he…crying?

Damn, if Evan could hurt his feelings with words alone, maybe he’d overestimated the demonic race.

Evan gingerly bent to gaze into the dark abyss of hair and saw a pale face scrunched in…pure, barely contained amusement.

The demon was laughing. Or trying very hard not to.

Evan straightened, face red and anger boiling over. “What’s so fucking funny?”

Throwing his head back, the demon stared at the ceiling as he tried to stifle his laugh. “Nothing. Just…the way you were trying to threaten me,” he chuckled. “It was cute.”

Evan gasped as that arrow pierced his chest, right through the seven thick layers of his pride. He almost spit a mouthful of blood.

In all his years of existence, Evan had been called everything from hot to whore, capable to despicable, but nevercute.

Cute? Me?

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