Page 49 of I Accidentally Summoned A Demon
Every muscle he had tensed at the sight inside when he returned home.
Sitting at the kitchen table was Lilith with a terrified Kat in her lap. Lilith was much bigger than Kat, closer to Nex’s size, with black hair and eyes. Lilith smiled and dragged her sharp claw down Kat’s shoulder, pushing the cardigan and strap of her tank top down her arm, leaving Kat pale and frigid.
“Lilith,” Nex greeted coolly, putting down the grocery bags.
Lilith’s smile grew. “Nex, look how domesticated you are.”
He stepped forward. “Let her go. It’s me you’re pissed at. Take it out on me.”
“Oh, I am taking it out on you.” Lilith pushed her claw into Kat’s shoulder. Blood beaded, and Kat winced. “I’m just using a catalyst.”
Nex growled and crept closer. “That’s enough.”
“Ah, ah, ah.” Lilith lifted her claw to Kat’s neck. Nex froze, and Kat stiffened. “I’d keep that temper in check. You’ve lost your temper quite enough recently, don’t you think?”
Nex balled his fists. “I’m sorry for the mess I left.”
“You’re sorry.” Lilith laughed. “Hear that, sweetness?” she cooed at Kat, lips grazing Kat’s ear and making her lean away. “He’ssorry. That makes it better.”
“Dammit, Lilith! Leave her out of this.”
“I don’t think I can. I’m afraid you’ve grown too attached to this human. So attached you’ve put us in danger with your behavior.” Lilith narrowed her eyes. “I agree, those humans were at fault, and after seeing her and,” Lilith dug her nose into Kat’s hair and inhaled, “smelling her,” Lilith moaned, “I do get it. If we’re being honest, I’m having a hard time restraining myself. She is a sweet little thing, isn’t she?”
Kat jerked as Lilith’s claw brought the cardigan below her elbow. Lilith held her tighter, claws digging in and bruising Kat.
Nex’s eyes flashed red. “Last warning.”
“You threatening me?” Lilith laughed. “That’s adorable, Nex. She’s got a hold on you, doesn’t she? What’s your secret, sweetness?” Lilith scraped her claw up to Kat’s chin and directed her to face Lilith. “It can’t just be physical. There must be something else that has him so riled up he rips apart an entire house and leaves two souls traumatized, causing hunters to pop up all over the place, tracking down my soldiers. There was more than attraction and jealousy behind that. He knew it was stupid.”
“What?” Kat’s gaze shot to Nex.
“Oh, you didn’t know? Nex went and taught a lesson to those humans who hurt you. So much so they’ve been muttering about demons and raising uncomfortable questions.” Lilith’s gaze shifted to Nex and turned murderous. “I’ve been cleaning that mess up for the last two weeks, and I’m not even done yet.”
“I’ll help with whatever needs cleaning up. Let her go.”
“Hmm,” Lilith hummed. “Not good enough. I think you need to be taught a proper lesson. The others think I should let you off with a warning, but why should I? Shall I kill both of you? I’d rather kill her first, but if I did that, you’d be able to go home, and then I’d have to go through the whole process of officially removing your rank, which seems rather tedious.” She wrinkled her nose. “So, unfortunately, I’ll have to kill you first and send you to the torture chambers, cleaning up messes. Rest assured, her death won’t be painless.”
“You’re so concerned about me causing problems, but what do you think will happen if you kill her?” Nex challenged. “She goes to church and talked about demons. Imagine the outrage if a good woman who goes to church and has demons removed from her house is violently killed, having gone to the same university as the other two. You think that won’t create more problems?”
Lilith snarled, digging her claws into Kat’s arm and producing a whimper. The talons stopped shy of breaking the skin, leaving more marks. Several purple and red spots already marred Kat’s skin. She’d fought until she realized how easily Lilith could snap her neck.
Lilith bared her teeth at Nex. “You’re clever. It’s why I’ve always liked you. You can find your way out of almost anything, can’t you?” Lilith stood, shoved Kat to the floor, and stalked toward Nex. “But you can’t talk your way out of a punishment. Maybe I can’t use the girl, but I can send you home with your tail between your legs.”
“If you kill him, I’ll tell them about you.” Kat pushed herself to sit up despite her shakiness.
“Katherine,” Nex scolded.
“Did the human threaten me?” Lilith turned to Kat, raising her eyebrows. “Did you?”
Kat almost cowered when Lilith fixed her eyes on her, but she swallowed and stayed strong. “It’s not a threat; it’s a promise. If you hurt him, I’ll go to my church. My church has a lot of influence. If you think it’s hard now, just wait.”
It was a lie. Her church was small. Because the pastor did things so differently, it isolated them from other churches. But Lilith didn’t know that.
Kat felt like she’d break under Lilith’s glare. When she thought she couldn’t take anymore, Lilith grinned. Kat frowned as Lilith laughed, claws retracting.
“I see why you like her,” Lilith said. “Few humans would dare stand up to me.” She walked to Kat and crouched. “I like you, sweetness.” She hooked a claw under Kat’s chin and forced her to look up. “I like your boldness. Because I like you so much, and this was his first mistake, I’ll let you off with a warning. But keep in mind, I’ll be watching.” Lilith vanished and reappeared in front of Nex, her face inches from his. “I’ll be watchingclosely,and if there’s one slip-up, I don’t care what consequences I face, I will kill you both.”
Lilith vanished, and Nex rushed to Kat, checking the place where Lilith’s claw drew blood. He cupped her cheek, raging at the marks on her. “Are you okay?”
