Page 70 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species
He shrugged. “All afternoon, I was fucking a red-haired witch. She was so insatiable, she didn’t let me out of bed for a second.”
Diana’s frown deepened. “Must you be so descriptive?”
“You asked…”
She clutched her small leather bag and hissed, “Are we going somewhere or not?”
“After you, Diana.” Constantine gestured towards the lift, following her down the hall and enjoying the delicate floral scent she trailed behind. Had she put in more effort than usual tonight?
In the underground parking lot, he earned another hiss when he opened the car door for her, but in the end, he won over her reluctance to endure his chivalry.
While he drove, he stuck to safer topics. “Do you know the history of the mirror you’ll be fighting for?”
“Of course.” Diana stared out the window. It was a warm March evening, and every star was visible in the night sky. “The mirror was stolen from Hekate one night while she roamed the skies with her fire dogs and Hell demons. Her own guards – demons cursed to serve her – stole it. They used it to break free of her control and then threw it into the Pacific Ocean because theycouldn’t take it with them to the Beyond. No one knows how it ended up with Al-Hatib.”
“You know your history. Good.” Constantine tapped the steering wheel. “Can you imagine how powerful Hekate was? Her demons were literally dragged from Hell and forced to serve her. I’ve seen demons, and believe me, they aren’t harmless, nor are they easy to enslave.”
Diana faced him. “You’ve seen real demons?”
“Believe it or not.”
“You’ve been to Hell?”
“Once.”
The silence that followed stretched on too long, a clear sign she had no desire to continue the conversation. No desire for anything.
Was that what drew him to Diana, despite how different she was from everything he was used to? Because she didn’t want a damn thing from him?
Constantine was a consumer, but he’d also been consumed by others his whole life. His inability to connect with Diana on any level was driving him mad. He rarely had to work to charm women – most were ready for him before he even introduced himself, and sometimes he never even got to say his name. But he’d met Diana months ago, and she still didn’t seem the least bit impressed by him.
Not that he was doing anything to impress her… So why was her indifference making him grip the steering wheel tighter than usual?
“What will you see in the mirror when you look at it, Diana?” he asked.
She shifted in her seat, filling the car with that floral scent again. Constantine yearned to run his fingers through her hair.
“You do realise you can’t see your reflection in Hekate’s mirror, right? All you see is magic. At least, that’s what they say. I’venever seen it, of course.”
“Me, neither. Still, I’m curious. What magic are you fighting against? What magic do you imagine you’ll see?”
“The mirror isn’t for me.”
Taking his eyes off the road, Constantine glanced over at her. “Who is it for?”
She crossed her legs and leaned her forehead against the window, clearly signalling she didn’t want to discuss it.
Yes, she’s definitely not into me… Alas, that thought didn’t dampen his desire to reach out to her. The only thing separating them was the centre console. What would she do if he touched her? Break his fingers one by one?
And if he managed to pierce through her defences, what would be left when her secrets were laid bare and her clothes were a mess on the floor?
Probably nothing, he thought with bitterness. Nothing, like every other time.
Maybe it was best she kept him at a distance.
“What would you see in the mirror, Constantine?”
Her question caught him off guard. What would he see, indeed, now that Mada’s dark magic had corrupted his soul?
