Page 26 of Not Today, Satan
Nathan Reynolds leans against the wall. He’s panting, bent over his knees with his eyes closed. “You really had me going there for a minute. I thought for sure you were about to turn me in.”
Rage flashes like lightning across my vision, and I stomp over to him and smack him across the chest. “Why did you do something so careless? I told you I had it. You risked both our lives coming out of hiding like that.”
“Well, excuse me.” He rubs the pink imprint I’ve left on his skin. “It sounded like you needed help.”
“I didn’t.” I shove my sword into its sheath and wipe my dirty palms on my dress. “Especially not from a shadeling.”
“I see that. Can’t believe you threw one of them off a cliff for me.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Forme, you mean. My father will kill me if he catches us. Besides, the souldier will be fine. A little banged up, but she’ll live. The only way to kill a demon is to toss them into the Ignis River. We’re nowhere near there yet.”
“Yet.” He swallows. “Can’t wait to seethatplace.”
Ignoring the pool of blood beside Diripo’s body, I drag him beside the rookie and compare their sizes to Nathan Reynolds.
It’s clear the rookie is too small, and I sigh and begin stripping the uniform off Diripo. Grimacing, I undo the buttons and zippers while trying not to take in what’s underneath. This demon’s been more of a father to me than my own dad. Seeing him naked is not something I need stored in my memory banks for eternity.
“What in the here was that?” I pry a boot off Diripo’s foot and toss it on the ground beside Nathan Reynolds. “That screeching, leg-kick thing.”
He stares at the boot, brows creased. “That was kung fu.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“You don’t have kung fu movies here? This reallyisHell.” He picks up the boot and shakes out a few stones. “Kung fu. You know, Bruce Lee? Jackie Chan? Jet Li?”
I look up at him with raised eyebrows. “Are those words supposed to mean something to me?”
Diripo’s second boot comes off with athwupsound. Souldiers sweat all day in these boots, as evidenced by the odor wafting from his sock. I wrinkle my nose, glad it’s Nathan Reynolds sticking his foot in here and not me.
“They aren’t words,” he says. “They’re people. Legends, even. What are you doing?”
I toss the uniform and second boot at him and stand. My joints ache from the climb here, and I stretch my arms over my head and pull my body up tight. “You need proper clothes. You can’t walk around in half a jumpsuit. This will help you blend in.”
“Fine.” He reaches for the waistband of his mangled jumpsuit, then stops. “Um… A little privacy?”
My face warms, and I roll my eyes before turning my back to him. “Like I really want to watch you change.”
“No one could blame you if you did.”
The heat from my face creeps down my neck. He may be good-looking, but he’s also got an ego the size of my father. I sure know how to pick travel companions. “If you keep saying things like that, I’m going to march you back to your lot. You can flirt with the demons poking you with knives.”
“I’ll have you know they used swords,” he mutters.
His jumpsuit falls beside me, and I suck in a breath before meticulously making sure my sword is in its sheath and my dress is not torn.
He clears his throat, and I turn to find him fully dressed. I’m strangely both relieved and disappointed.
“We should get going,” he says as Diripo’s body twitches between us. “Dorito here is making me nervous.”
I nod, gathering the souldiers-in-training’s weapons and handcuffs from his belt and shoving them into my bag. “Follow me.”
I shoot one last glance at the unconscious souldiers before we turn the corner and the ache returns to my chest. So far, I’ve managed to betray Attero and Diripo, the only two demons down here who truly cared about me. If finding my mom wasn’t enough of a reason to leave, I’ve just given myself a reason to never come back.
XII.
When I’m sure we’ve put enough distance between us and the two souldiers, I stop and hold out my palm. “Give me your hand. I need to fry the tracker in your arm.”
“The what?”
