Devils Inc.

by Lauren Palphreyman

  ***

  After Crow’s bath, we haphazardly tidy the kitchen, wiping the blood from the laminate floor and sweeping the broken plates into a trash bag. Then Crow insists the next step in his self-care plan is watching a movie together because I don’t have class until the afternoon. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need looking after, but I’m having fun, so I go along with it.

  Like me, it turns out Crow is a fan of movies. He has a huge collection of DVDs and even some VHS. Apparently, when you’re a perpetually bored immortal, watching movies is a favored pastime.

  “So what’s your favorite movie, then?” says Crow, getting ready to select one from his tall tower.

  “What have you got?”

  We have similar tastes. Both of us like superheroes and old cheesy slasher movies. But he hates the paranormal horror stuff I love, saying it reminds him too much of work, and likes James Bond movies, which I think are terrible. Privately, I think it’s because he views himself as something of a James Bond. He also loves monster movies, reacting in horror when I reveal I haven’t seen many. This prompts him to produce the original black-and-white Godzilla made in the fifties.

  After he slips the DVD into the player, we snuggle up on the leather couch. Crow’s all warm and smelling like shower gel, with one arm around me, the other absently stroking the black cat curled up on his lap.

  The movie is super cheesy, and the effects are shit, but it’s fun all the same. It takes my mind off Jonathon and where he might be in the race to find Adam too. It’s not until the end, when Crow suggests we move on to King Kong, that I realize the time with a groan.

  “It’s almost eleven,” I say, rubbing my eyes. “I have a lecture this afternoon. Plus, I want to go check in with Josie, make sure she’s okay with the Horsemen situation, and tell her what’s going on.”

  Crow looks a little disappointed. “Okay,” he says. He yawns dramatically and stretches, causing the cat on his lap to give him a disgruntled look. “I should probably check in with Gabe anyway—see if Adalind’s submitted the document yet to call for the retrial. Want a ride to campus?”

  “Nah, it’s okay,” I say. “It’s not far, and I need a walk. It’s been a weird twenty-four hours. Kind of need to clear my head.”

  “Okay.”

  I detach my limbs from his and head into his bedroom, reluctantly swapping his big, comfy sweatpants for my crumpled skinny jeans and slipping on my boots. When I come back into the living room, I go over to the couch and brush my lips against his without thinking.

  When I pull back abruptly, there’s an awkward pause as we both realize we’ve spent the whole morning together—snuggling on the couch and watching movies, joking, talking, and sharing personal things—all with no sex involved. And now I’ve just kissed him goodbye like that’s a completely normal thing.

  Like he’s my boyfriend.

  Oh, God.

  I rock back on my feet. “See you later, I guess.”

  “Aye,” says Crow, nodding a little too forcefully. “Have a nice day, little Demon.”

  “Right. Well . . . here I go.”

  Cringing, I head to the door. It’s only Crow’s low chuckle as I put my hand on the door handle that makes me pause.

  “Little Demon?”

  I don’t turn around—my face feels too hot. “Yeah?”

  “Come over again tonight after class. I can let you know if Gabe’s found anything, and you can tell me about Josie. With any luck, maybe you’ll have heard from Jonathon by then.”

  “Yeah. Okay. Cool. We can talk, um, business.” I glance over my shoulder, meeting his eye. “And maybe we can come up with a plan B for if Adalind gets her powers back.”

  “Aye,” says Crow with a smile. Then he presses the play button on his remote control and yawns again, slumping back into the couch. “I’ll pencil you into my very busy schedule.”

  I laugh, rolling my eyes. “See you tonight.”

  His block of apartments isn’t too far from Trinity Falls’ main street, and when I pass Apocalypse, I notice an abundance of brightly-colored posters pasted around the door. “PARTY LIKE IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD BECAUSE IT JUST MIGHT BE!”

  My worries flood back then. Worry about Jonathon and the Serpent; worry about Josie and the Horsemen; worry for Gabriel searching for confidential documents over at Halo Corp.; worry for the potential end of humanity . . .

  . . . And worry about whatever the hell is going on with me and Crow.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  I spend the rest of the day checking my phone every five minutes, hoping for a message from Jonathon even though I know he’s probably on a plane to Cambodia.

  After an excruciating hour learning about negotiations, I meet Josie for lunch. Because Lucas tags along, we can’t talk until he’s strutted off to the drama studio to hang out with people he claims aren’t weirdos.

  As soon as he does, Josie leans over the table, not caring that her floaty chiffon top is dragging through a splatter of ketchup.

  “Babe,” she says in a lowered tone. “What the hell?”

  “I know,” I say. “God, I’m so glad I can talk to you about this. Are you okay? What happened after I left?”

  “I’m fine. I mean, as fine as I can be.” She shakes her head, causing her beaded earrings to jingle. “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? I always said they were weirdly committed to their aesthetic, but this is something else! I would have thought they were messing with me, but I saw what happened in that club . . . the mirror cracking, the fire, and, well . . . you!” Her brow furrows with concern. “Your soul, babe. Why didn’t you tell me? “

  “I know. I have someone trying to help me get it back,” I say. “And I wanted to tell you. But they said if I told anyone, I’d end up in Hell.” Josie makes a low, strangled sound that she tries to pass off as a cough. “That was why we decided to show you instead. It was a way around the contract I signed.”

  She pauses to worry her lower lip, rubbing off some of her red lipstick. “Babe, I’m not supposed to talk about this, but there’s something you really need to know.”

  “The Apocalypse,” I say quietly.

  Her eyes widen. “Oh, so you know. Darius told me my soul would be fine, but yours . . .” She puts a hand on my wrist and squeezes. “The third scroll was delivered not long after you left last night. Some girl with a snake tattoo gave it to Felix. One more scroll and Lucifer returns, there’s a War between good and evil, and the world ends. We need to get you out of that contract before it does.”

  “We need to stop the end of the world,” I say.

  She bites her lip again, fingers automatically reaching for her silver crucifix. “We can’t go against God’s will, babe.”

  “This isn’t . . .” I start. “Look, something else is going on.”

  I tell her about Adalind and the Apple of Knowledge, and how the scrolls being delivered are all part of a plan to distract everyone. She squeezes my wrist again as I tell her about Jonathon and his part in all this.

  When I’ve finished, there’s a beat of silence.

  “So the fourth scroll isn’t actually going to be delivered?” says Josie.

  “No. The last thing Adalind would want is Lucifer returning,” I say. “According to Jonathon, he’d be pissed to have been summoned when he knows he can’t win the Revelation War.”

  Josie’s eyes darken. “I don’t think Darius will be happy when he finds out he and his brothers are being used.” She pauses. “But enough of that. It must have been weird to see your brother. How are you feeling?”

  “Good. Strange. Happy. Scared,” I admit. “I wish we could have met under normal circumstances and spent some time together. But I guess nothing about this situation is normal. And I can’t even tell my parents he’s okay. It’s messed up. I’m glad he’s back though.” I smile and turn her words back around on her. “But enough of that. What’s going on between you and Darius?”

  She leans back and takes a sip of her iced tea. “Oh,
nothing, really. I thought there was something there, but I mean . . . he’s Death!” She shakes her head. “I don’t know if I want to go there. Although, is it weird I thought he was totally hot with his scythe?”

  I laugh. “Crow said the Four Horsemen are good guys, if that helps.”

  “Crow said, did he?” She raises a dark eyebrow, and I avert my gaze. She takes another slurp of her tea, eyes bright. “It’s time to tell me everything.”

  ***

  I walk Josie to work, where an excited line is already building outside Apocalypse. It’s as though they can sense something big is coming. By contrast, Evie’s Garden Bar is empty and dark, a sign taped against the glass front announcing its temporary closure. Gabriel must have her in custody already.

  Jonathon hasn’t messaged me yet.

  When I get to Crow’s, he’s sitting on the sofa watching a boxing game, legs spread, cat on his lap. To my surprise, a couple of plates rest on the draining board, the trash bag full of broken dishware has vanished, and a hint of citrusy cleaning product wafts through the air. And that isn’t the only scent. There’s a horrible sickly-sweet cinnamon note as well. To my even greater surprise, it’s coming from the cheap-looking red candle flickering on the coffee table. “Christmas Spice,” the label says, despite the fact it’s March.

  “It was on sale at the gas station,” says Crow, taking in my alarmed expression. “Smells horrible, but I know you girls like this sort of thing. Thought I’d buy it for the romance.”

  I pull a face as I walk to the couch, dropping down beside Crow.

  “What?” he says, grinning.

  “Please don’t try to romance me,” I say.

  He chuckles, then leans forward and blows out the candle, causing the cat to angrily jump off his lap and strut to the kitchenette.

  “Glad you said that, little Demon,” he says. “The smell was giving me a headache.”

  “That or you actually do have a concussion. Exhibit A—have you cleaned in here?”

  He shrugs, leaning back on the couch. “Want to get a takeout? I’m starving.”

  “There’s a good place around the corner if you like Chinese food.”

  “Aye,” he says, pulling out his phone. “I know the one.”

  We spend the evening watching movies and eating sweet-and-sour chicken and egg fried rice. And we spend the night using each other’s bodies to distract ourselves from the fact neither of us has had any news from Jonathon or Gabriel.

  The next day passes in a similar fashion: lectures, lunch, Lucas getting moody because he knows we’re not telling him something, hushed chatter about the Horsemen, no messages from Jonathon, then takeout with Crow at his apartment.

  That night, in his bed, our time together feels more tender than usual—our movements slower, our kisses deeper, our eye contact more prolonged—until I cry out, and he grunts against my skin. Afterward, I wonder if the gentleness of it has disturbed him as much as me. We lie on our backs staring up at the ceiling.

  Shit. Am I actually starting to develop feelings for him? Is this a good idea? Is he as bad and untrustworthy as I’ve made him out to be? Should I give this a chance? I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, noting his clenched jaw.

  “You okay?” I ask.

  At first, he doesn’t say anything, looking troubled. Then he smiles, lightness flooding back in.

  “Aye. Come here, little Demon.”

  Turning me around, he pulls my body into his, one hand flat on my stomach. After a tense moment, I relax. His breath is hot on the back of my neck as we drift off to sleep.

  When I wake sometime later, I feel his absence instantly. I hear his voice, a low murmur, coming from the living room. I pull one of his big T-shirts over my head and slip out of bed, wondering if he’s gotten some news from Gabriel.

  When I open the bedroom door, he’s fully dressed and facing away from me, phone pushed against his ear.

  “Okay, sweetheart,” he says, low voice gentle. “No. Calm down . . . Come on, Maddie, love. I’ll come over now . . . Nothing important . . . I’m just home alone . . . Maddie, sweetheart?” He exhales. “Love you.”

  Afterward, he slips the phone into his pocket. Shadows swirl around him, but I can’t tell if it’s his powers or if it’s how I’m seeing him now dread yawns in my stomach.

  Then he turns and catches me standing in the doorway. His eyes widen before they harden.

  “Who was that?” I say.

  “Doesn’t matter. I have to go.” His tone lacks his usual warmth as he walks to wrench open the door.

  “Crow,” I say. “Who was that?”

  He stops in the doorway, the darkness twisting around him, his shoulders tense.

  “What do you want me to say, little Demon?” he says. “You caught me. I’m married.”

  I suck in a sharp breath, feeling like I’ve been punched in the gut. I expect to feel a lick of angry fire, but all that comes is ice—ice flooding my entire body.

  “What?” I say.

  “I have to go.”

  “Crow. Do not walk out of that door.” As the ice in my veins starts to heat, I feel a telltale crackle at my fingertips. “Not without talking to me first.”

  “It was fun while it lasted,” he says, looking at the doorjamb instead of me. “But it’s probably best you’re not here when I get back.”

  Then he walks out, closing the door softly behind him.

  Blue flames dance in my palms. I’m burning from the inside out, and I can’t control it. I need to let it out. With a cry, I hurl it against the wall. The plaster cracks, bits of white paint fluttering down to coat the stack of mail on the table. The cat on the couch startles, jumping down and hissing.

  Then I hurry into his bedroom, pull on my clothes, and head out into the night, slamming the door behind me. My eyes burn as I head back to my dorm, but I refuse to cry. Not for him.

  He’s married—a fact he deliberately kept from me. But worst of all . . . he made me feel something for him. He made me open up to him. I cried in front of him. And for what? So he could get something from my brother?

  I feel like screaming. I feel like an idiot.

  Gabriel told me exactly who he was from the start. He said he was only trying to hook me so he could reel me in and get what he wanted. Gabriel knew what I was all along.

  A fucking haddock.

  I decide not to go back to my room. Instead, I break into the gym, remembering how Crow picked the lock last time. I want to pummel a punching bag. But when I arrive in the training room, the dark gym mats with their tree-shaped shadows only remind me of what happened last time I broke in here. With him.

  So I head back to my room and sleep restlessly.

  I feel terrible the next day, like I’m hungover, but with no accompanying memory of fun from the night before. My head aches, I’m tired, and I can’t focus. I sit at my desk in my scruffy shorts and a tank top, hair wild, trying to get assignments done, which—surprise, surprise—turns out to be a shitty form of distraction. I check my phone every five minutes.

  Jonathon doesn’t get in touch.

  Neither does Crow.

  Finally, I give up on studying. What’s the point? The world might be ending soon anyway.

  I decide to go for a jog. I debate leaving my phone behind—I want to leave my phone behind—but what if Jonathon needs me?

  As it happens, I miss my brother’s call anyway. I only see I have a message when I’m back in my dorm room, sweat running down my face.

  It’s Jonathon.

  My heart skips as I check my message. Then I slump back against the wall. As if things weren’t bad enough.

  Rach, I failed. Adalind has Adam and the apple. I’m so sorry. J.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  “You shouldn’t call me on this line,” Gabriel snaps as soon as he picks up. “I’ve told—”

  “Gabriel. Shut up,” I snap back. “She has the apple.”

  Silence.

  “Oh,” he says. “Righ
t.”

  There’s another silence on the other end of the line as I lean against my bedroom wall and stare out the window. The sky is blue, barely a cloud in sight, yet there’s a storm raging in my chest. And an Apocalypse coming.

  “What do we do?” I say.

  “I’ve been looking for a document from Adalind in our upcoming court cases, but I can’t find an appeal letter. I thought she would have sent it here given the initial punishment was inflicted by Halo Corp. Perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps she intends to file it at Devils Inc. But I can’t get in there.” He exhales. “Rachel, I hate to ask—”

  “You want me to see if I can find something?” I say.

  “If we can intercept it, we can at least give ourselves some more time.” He pauses. “But you don’t have to. If you—”

  “It’s fine. I can do it.”

  He pauses. “I’ll get Crow to accompany—”

  “No,” I say a little too loudly, then I make myself take a deep breath. “No. It’s fine. I can do it myself. No need to trouble him.”

  Gabriel doesn’t say anything for a moment. “Is everything okay, Rachel?” he asks. “I mean, apart from the obvious.”

  “Yeah,” I say a little too brightly. “All good. I’ll go head to Devils Inc. now and see what I can dig up.”

  “Sure you don’t want—?”

  “Yep. Sure.” I pause. “Just . . . well, you better be working on getting my soul back.”

  “Of course,” he says. “Good luck, Rachel.”

  ***

  When I walk through the revolving glass doors of Devils Inc., I knock shoulders with a couple of scowling Demons ranting about the short notice of the Apocalypse. Looping on the nine monitors behind reception are the words “THE END IS NIGH” in bold red letters. The whole atrium is filled with chaos and confusion, people piling up at the elevators as they attempt to get to their departments.

  I head over to Adalind’s abandoned reception desk. No one notices as I slip behind it and sift through the piles of papers on her desk. There’s a memo from Soul Defense noting they won Richard Livingstone’s case, a request that the Soul Investments fridge be stocked with almond milk for lactose-intolerant Dave, and apparently, Frank from Soul Recruitment needs help rotating a PDF again. I scatter aside a bunch of birthday cards Adalind has clearly failed to pass on and switch on her computer screen.