Cass was actually flattered that it pissed Kushiel off to think of Levi having sex with either of them. They did need answers, though. Although Cass somehow didn’t picture this emo-looking demon who seemed to have perfected the art of sneering and looking bored to be responsible for all the lost souls.
Levi sighed dramatically, then made a go-ahead gesture with his handsandhis tentacles.
It was kind of freaky.
“Erebus,” Kushiel stated.
Levi waited, still looking bored. Cass sharpened his vision, looking closer. Levi was a bright light, and he didn’t sense a shroud of darkness around him that such an act would probably have created. Demons weren’t really evil, after all—they were still souls filled with light. Most of the ones he saw were pretty bright, including Leviathan.
“Souls who were on their way to redemption,” Kushiel added.
“I still don’t hear an actual question,” Levi huffed.
“What has happened to them?” Kushiel asked.
Leviathan sighed dramatically. “I have no clue what you’re going on about. Nothing has happened to them. They’re on Erebus, where they always are. They’re totally not my department, and I am not taking responsibility for one more thing. I’mon vacation. I just want to float in the ocean, maybe destroy a few pirate ships, and possibly play with some humans.”
“They were stolen by someone who was full of greed and envy,” Kushiel declared.
Levi actually looked surprised at that. “Why the fuck would someone steal souls from Erebus? All that work, and for what purpose? It wouldn’t accomplish anything,” he reasoned.
Cass didn’t think Levi was their guy. First, he seemed like a loner who was more content to hang about topside than someone who had any followers in the underworld. Second, Cass really didn’t sense evil or malice from him.
“I don’t think he’s our guy,” Cass murmured to Kushiel.
“Of course I’m not the demon you’re looking for,” Levi snapped out. “I can sense envy, but it’s so prevalent I spend more time punishing it than causing it. Humans are envious creatures. But then angels and demons are as well, I suppose,” he added.
“So do you know who our guy would be? Someone who has been topside recently, has followers in the underworld, and is full of greed and envy?” Cass asked.
Levi actually seemed to think about this for a minute before speaking. “I suppose it could be him. He has been more envious lately, and he’s always been full of greed. He really takes himself way too seriously, too.”
“Who?” Kushiel asked.
“Mammon. I sensed him by the marina a few weeks ago. He was taking a whole lot of sea water for some reason. I didn’t ask. He’s such a know-it-all, and he grates on me,” Levi stated.
With that, Levi turned and vaulted over the deck into the water. Cass rushed over, and yep, there was a giant sea monster next to the boat now. Leviathan looked sort of like an octopus, yet his facial features seemed human.
“Do you know where we can find him?” Kushiel called down.
Cass was a little surprised to see the mouth—beak?—form words just like a human mouth would.
“Nope. No clue. And not my job. I have ships to sink and sailors to ravish,” Levi called out, and then he looked at Bob,who was coming out of the galley, calling out, “Unless you’d like a repeat?”
Bob chuckled. “Oh, I am tempted, but Patrick would want to be here. Perhaps we’ll come back and call on you again.”
A tentacle waved from the ocean, and then Leviathan sank below the surface, eventually fading from sight. When he was gone, Bob headed back to the bridge, mumbling about heading back to land to get home to his husband.
“Well, I think we can rule him out, and he seems to think it’s Mammon as well. I think we know which demon we’re looking for. Do you know anything about him?” Cass asked.
“No, I don’t. Unfortunately, no one seems to know where to find him, either,” Kushiel admitted.
“We’ll figure it out together,” Cass reassured him, leaning over and pulling Kushiel into his side.
Kushiel snuggled close. Yes, they had a suspect, but somehow Cass didn’t feel like they were much closer to an answer on finding the lost souls. For now, however, they were looking out across the ocean, the afternoon was beautiful, and Cass was happy to enjoy a few more stolen moments with soulmate.
Chapter 24
Kushiel
