Page 8 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse
He watched my fingers caress his skin, then glanced at me sideways as if afraid to face me completely and answer my question. “They will. Don’t worry about it.”
It felt horribly mean to ask him to move after the agony he’d just been through, but we had to leave, so I hooked a hand under his arm and pulled him up.
“C’mon, we have to go. Phenog is waiting. She’ll get us out of here.”
He winced as I jostled him up but didn’t complain. He managed to stand, if a bit shakily, and with his arm wrapped around my shoulder, we started out of the room and back toward the closet. Before we had made it two steps, however, Drevan froze. Slowly, he pulled away from me and straightened to his full height.
”What a lovely sight,” Jophiel said behind us.
Shit, shit, shit!
Now what?
4
DrevanandIslowlyturned to face Jophiel.
At the sight of the man, I had to do a double-take. He wasn’t as handsome as Drevan, but he came close. He had smooth white skin, angular features, and eyes as green as emeralds. His hair was the color of warm honey and lay around his face in perfect curls. He was tall, at least 6’4”. His slender figure was elegant, with wide shoulders that tapered down to a narrow waist. He wore a black shirt rolled up to his elbows and black pants with legs that seemed to go for miles. A delicate hand lifted in my direction.
“Who do we have here?” he asked in his perfectly melodic voice.
I blinked in confusion. He looked nothing like I imagined a torturing maniac would. He seemed gentle and polished. I’d nearly convinced myself this wasn’t Jophiel until Drevan spoke.
“Hello again, Jophiel. She’s just someone a friend of mine thought might be able to help me.”
Jophiel’s gaze fell to the Queller in my hand, then rose back up.
“Yep,” Drevan said in a chipper tone, “that’s a Queller, the precise one you’re thinking of.”
The baby-smooth skin around Jophiel’s eyes crinkled a little as he squinted. It was a quick involuntary gesture, but it was enough to let me know he was afraid of the weapon. Did that mean he was also a demon?
Whatever the case, I got the hint from Drevan, raised the sword, and held it in front of me with both hands. “Stay away from us.”
Jophiel blew air through his nose as if to say he wasn’t scared of me or my Queller.
I hated when people underestimated me. I always had. Many times, it had led me to show off like an idiot. The trait still worried me since it went along with pride so well, and I didn’t want to repeat my past mistakes. I tightened my grip on the sword and prevailed over my desire to mouth off. Playing dark horse seemed like a better option, especially since I didn’t know anything about Mr. Jophiel. I needed to be careful. Very possibly, this wasn’t even his true form, and that gentle figure was hiding a three-headed Cerberus with teeth as tall as me.
My hands trembled slightly as I wondered how fast Drevan would be able to run. All we had to do was reach Phenog, and she would take us out of here.
“Be careful, little girl. You might hurt yourself with that.” The way he said it and the gentleness in his expression made me feel like he was truly worried about my well-being. In fact, I found myself feeling grateful for his concern and had to force myself to remember he’d used a firelash—whatever that was—on Drevan.
“Let’s get out of here, Drevan.” I jerked my head toward the back, urging him to retreat.
I was equal measures relieved and terrified when he actually took a shaky step backward. Admittedly, he was in no shape to fight, but his retreat was still an indication this man was someone to fear.
Jophiel matched Drevan’s step with one of his own, ensuring we remained equidistant.
I brandished the Queller from side to side.
He put both hands up and in his reasonable voice said, “Whoever you are, you’re making a big mistake. These are matters that are beyond your comprehension. The best thing you can do is stay out of it.”
Drevan and I took three more steps back. I could feel an aura of anger radiating from Jophiel. Still, his face remained calm, kind even. And something about that made me fear him more.
“Get back here, you demon,” Jophiel commanded.
“I’m not a demon,” Drevan said. “I’m Nephilim.”
Jophiel lifted a hand and moved it from side to side as if to say there was no distinction between being a demon and a Nephilim. “It’s all the same.”
