Page 57 of Demon Hunger
Without thinking, I stepped forward, wrapped my arms around his waist, and rested my head on his chest. At first, he just stood there, surprised, then slowly returned the hug, pressed his cheek to the top of my head, and seemed to go limp with relief against me.
“I’m sorry, Drevan.”
“You don’t have to—”
I pulled away and met his gaze. “But I do. It’s my fault you went through all that pain. I’ve been fickle and dramatic. I’ve let my emotions get the best of me.”
He shook his head. “None of this is your fault. If anything is unfair, it’s this entire situation. This game is so far beyond us, so out of our control. And you’ve done excellent, regardless. I can only say that I’m glad you’rethe one.”
He could have easily been referring to the prophecy, but I suspected he was not.
A crooked smile grazed his lips. Then he took my hand and led me to the table in the back of the room. Placing both hands around my waist, he easily hoisted me onto the table, where I sat looking down at him with a frown.
Rubbing his chin, he looked pensive for a moment, then began to explain.
“It is true that Khargon was the first to help in my mission to redeem the world, and it is true that… I attempted to extend our relationship beyond that duty. However, she never had an interest in me, and it didn’t take me long to discover that… I was trying to force something that wasn’t there.” He blew air through his nose, amused. “Khargon and I, we’re more like siblings. We care for each other. She has been with me for a long time, but there’s never been anything between us. I swear that to you.”
I lowered my head, feeling shameful. “You don’t have to swear. You don’t have to justify anything. We both have a past, and it is not relevant.”
“Not even that Connor guy you went out with in your last year of high school?” he asked with a glint in his eye.
“Shut up.”
The air around us grew lighter, but only until he resumed his explanation.
“When Khargon and I finished redeeming the last subject, she wasn’t a young girl anymore. She was fifty-nine years old. She never married or had children. The nature of what we were doing didn’t allow it. She also grew apart from her family and was left utterly alone.”
Drevan struggled through that last part, clearly saddened by the fate of his friend’s human life. Even though I tried not to, I couldn’t help the fear that seeped into my heart. Would I share the same fate?
“This might sound horrible,” he continued, “but Khargon took her life.”
I gasped.
“She felt her life had lost meaning. She dedicated most of it to helping others and felt she had nothing left to live for.”
A lump tightened inside my throat. I struggled to swallow.
“People who take their lives don’t go to heaven,” Drevan said. “When she came to my realm, she told me not to feel sad for her. She said she hadn’t taken her life in distress. She did it because she wanted to be with me, her only family.”
A tear escaped out of the corner of my eye and cut across my cheek.
“I couldn’t allow her to suffer as she was meant to, so I asked my father for permission to turn her into a demon.”
So Jophiel had lied about Drevan changing her without consulting his father. What else had the angel invented?
“I have the power to do so,” Drevan went on. “My father does too, as well as a few of my siblings. Souls can be repurposed. Those who have concluded their sentences can be turned into demons if they wish, and my father permits it. Though he only agrees when there’s a need and under special circumstances. Most demons are crafted from fire, shadow, and agony—something we have plenty of in my realm. That task falls exclusively on my father.”
Another lie from Jophiel then. Not all demons used to be humans.
I shook my head, wiping off my tears.
“It’s a lot. I know.” Drevan took my hand and squeezed it. “And it’s not pretty. I’ve tried to guard you against the awful truth of my world, but I guess it was inevitable that you should learn about it.”
We were quiet for a few moments as he held my hand in support, and I processed everything he’d said.
“I understand what Khargon did.” I broke the silence, surprising even myself with the words that came out of my mouth. “Jophiel is a monster. God is a monster.” I waited for thunder to break through the layers of rock above me to smite me, but nothing happened. “I would not want to live anywhere near them.”
Drevan smiled gently and patted my hand. In one swift motion, he jumped onto the table. Sitting next to me, he swung his feet like a child.
