SIXTEEN
Belial
Mortal Earth
§§§
I walk toward the cottage and call for Lola. There’s no answer. She’s probably sleeping again. I open the door and call her name, there’s no reply. She’s gone.
“Lola!”
I put my hand on my sword as a grey cloud appears before me. “Hey brother, lost your toy?” Evan asks, laughing.
What the fuck? I glare at him. “Where is she? And how did you find me, Evan?”
He kicks the dirt with the toe of his boot. “You think I didn't know about this place? I followed you once.”
I grab him by the neck and he struggles to free himself. “Where’s the female?”
He chokes and grabs at my arm. “Dunno man, she wasn’t here. What’s with the female? You don’t even like humans.”
I push him back and walk away. “This one’s different. I need her for something. Come on.”
He catches up to me and whines, “Ah, man, I don’t feel like it.”
By the time we get to Nevermore, I wonder if Hades has taken her. If Evan can find me, he sure as hell could. Although I don’t think he’d go to the trouble of taking a half-blood he wants dead, at least not one he thinks I’m going to kill. My guess is she’s somewhere out in the bushland, lost no doubt.
With no trace of Lola in Nevermore we make our way back to the forest. I take off and fly above the trees searching for any sign she may be here. After an hour, Evan calls out. I see him crouched on the ground. I land beside him, looking over Lola’s lifeless body.
He stares down at her. “She’s been attacked by something.”
I shake my head and roll my eyes. “Nah,” I say sarcastically.
Lola’s covered in blood. There is a little of her own, mostly it’s wolf blood. I conclude they were likely fighting over her and got distracted by something, or someone else. She’s not dead, not even close, just passed out from shock or pain.
Evan sniffs the air. “She smells good for a human, even covered in blood,” he says.
I lift Lola into my arms, her head falls back and her long dark hair falls over my arm like a wave of silk. She does smell good, and she feels good too. Having her in my arms, even while she's unconscious does something to me, there's an innate need to protect her.
“Shut up and leave,” I tell Evan.
“Nah, no way. I’m coming back with you. I wanna see this human awake. Wait… is she the one you were sleeping with?”
I sigh. “Yep. I’ll meet you back there,” I tell him. I fly to the cabin with Lola in my arms.
§§§
I lay her on my bed and check her injuries. Her arms are scratched, and her elbows and knees are grazed. There are three light claw marks across her chest, and I can smell the filthy wolf scent all over her. A Saviour table will work well, they're not major injuries. She'll be back to normal in an hour.
I wave Evan away. “Go find the wolf,” I tell him.
He doesn't budge, instead her stands beside the bed. “Later. I’m waitin’ until she wakes up.” He gasps. “Belial. She’s the one you were supposed to kill. Kill her now,” Evan says.
I punch his shoulder. “Shut the fuck up,” I mutter. I cover Lola with a blanket and push her hair off her face.
Evan rubs his arm, then leans down and looks at her closely. “She’s hot.”
Lola stirs, she shakes her head and her eyes flash open. She blinks a few times, then squints at me, then Evan.
“Who are you?” Lola asks him.
He laughs and steps back. “It talks,” he grunts, as if he expected her to be a mute. Moron.
I pull a chair over and sit beside the bed. “What the hell were you doing?” I ask her.
She’s still staring at him and it’s pissing me off. I want her to look at me. Wait, no! My mind is racing, and I can only assume it's because of the information Lucien so willingly gave up.
I focus on Lola again. “I asked you a question.”
Evan cocks his head. “She’s funny. A tiny, funny human. Awesome.”
She scrunches her face and her nose wrinkles. “I am not tiny. And who are you?”
“Evan the Great,” he says, puffing out his chest.
I roll my eyes. “He’s Evan the Dick,” I mutter, and she smiles. Great, now she’s smiling and I like it. Shit!
“What happened?” I ask, “I told you to stay here.”
She puts her hand on her chest and winces in pain, then drops it by her side. “I was leaving. You always leave me. And you keep killing people—and angels.” Her eyes well with tears, she closes them for a fraction of a second before opening them again. I want to reach out and wipe them away, I want to pull her into my arms and heal her with only my touch. Instead, I swallow hard and push the thought out of my mind.
“Was it a wolf?” I ask her.
“No. A guy. He was hairy though, I think. Ugly too, an ugly ass guy with claws. Did you send him to kill me? He knew my name. There was a girl too. She told him to leave me alone. I think he was afraid of her.”
“No. I didn’t send anyone. What did the female look like?”
She rubs her eyes. “Ah, um, I dunno. I didn’t see her face. Or maybe I did. She had black hair, really curly, and she was small like me.”
Kamen. Thank god for Kamen.
Evan is still staring at her, still amused. He laughs again and I glare at him. “Shut the hell up, brother. You’ve seen her, now leave.”
“I wanna see her naked,” he says, lifting the blanket.
I stand and point to the door. “Fuck off!” I tell him.
Lola wriggles up the bed and props herself up on the pillows. “I’m not getting naked, you freak. And where are your wings?” Lola asks.
Here we go, more questions.
Evan points to his chest. “I’m no faerie, I’m a demon.”
I sigh, exasperated. “Who is leaving right now,” I warn.
Evan walks to the door and turns back to me. “You suck, brother.”
I nod and point to the door again. “Yep that’s the general consensus, now leave.”
Finally, the door slams shut and he’s gone. “You’re so rude,” Lola says.
I sit on the side of the bed. “Really? Want him to come back? Because next you’ll be fucking him, and when he’s done, you’ll be dead.”
Her eyes narrow and she crosses her arms. “No, I will not. I hate you, Belial. I hate this house, this forest, your brother, everything.” A tear falls from the corner of her eye, I watch it roll down her cheek and drip onto her arm. I shake my head hard. Focus, I must focus.
I stand and put my hand over the hilt of my sword. “Want me to kill you then?”
She shrugs. “Go ahead, I don’t care.” I pull out my sword and point it at her chest. I can't do it, I can't kill her. I can't even bring myself to hurt her, or push it further.
She huffs. “Do it already,” she dares me. I slide my sword back into its sheath, then hand her a Saviour tablet to heal the wounds.
“I’m not killing you Lola. Go and have a shower, then I’ll take you to get some more clothes.”
What the hell am I going to do now? Bond with her, no way. She’s sexy, but she’s a half-blood. I’ve got standards. My only choice is to go straight to the source of my problem, the Archangels.
SEVENTEEN
Lola
Mortal Earth
§§§
In the kitchen, Belial is leaning against the counter with his hands in his pockets. “I’m ready,” I tell him.
He looks over to me and sighs. “Okay, let’s go, and remember I’m a friend, not your boyfriend.”
I smooth my hands over my hair and smile. “Good. So, can I pick up?”
He glares at me. “What?”
I raise my eyebrow. “Pick up, find a guy, and you know… bring him back?”
Now he’s angry—again. “No, Lola, you can't find a guy, and you’re not having a boyfriend. You belong to me.”
I roll m
y eyes and walk out the door. From behind, he snakes his arms around my waist. “Turn around,” he whispers.
Oh, god, no. Not goose bumps now, not with him. I turn around, breathless, as he picks me up and takes off into the sky. I keep my eyes open, focused on the ground below. I can see the tree tops swaying in the wind. The view from the sky is breathtaking. The river weaves its way through the valley and the mountains. Closing my eyes, I imagine I have my own wings to carry me up past the clouds and into the clear blue sky. There, I can soar above the earth like an eagle—or angel—on the wind.
Belial lands on a sand dune that overlooks the ocean. I consider asking him if we can stay here a while and watch the sunset over the horizon. It probably wouldn’t be his thing, and would likely start an argument, so I keep quiet. He closes his eyes and drops his head, his wings fade away into a grey hazy cloud, and his scars disappear before my eyes. When he raises his head, his eyes are bright blue. He is gorgeous and now wearing tight blue jeans and white t-shirt.
“Ok, ready?” he asks.
I wave a hand in his direction. Not staring. “Um… what did you do?”
He sighs. “I changed to look like a mortal. Disgusting I know, but necessary.”
“Ah, Belial, you look hot. No, I mean the same. But nice. The eyes are good, I like the blue,” I say.
“Hmm. Let’s go.” Is he annoyed because of his new look? I can’t imagine why.
I have no idea where we are, or if I’m still in the same country. “What part of the world are we in.”
“Seekers Bay,” he mumbles, and keeps walking.
The shopping centre is similar to the one in Angel Bay, small, with a few boutiques and the main retail chain stores. There’s a food court and my favourite coffee shop, Coffee Heaven. I take a deep breath, letting the rich aroma of dark roast coffee fill my nose. I doubt this will be a ‘coffee and cake’ date, or anything resembling a date at all. Belial points to a store called Goddess. I head in with him close behind.
I look over my shoulder and say, “I assume you have money.”
He nods once. “Of course. Get whatever you need, nothing sexy.”
I roll my eyes and head straight for the skinny jeans and tank tops. Stuff you, demon angel hitman. I grab a few pairs of pants and tops, along with a pair of sneakers. I don't bother trying anything on. I'd rather get in and out without Belial stopping to commit murder on the way.
The middle-aged woman at the counter smiles. I suppress the urge to roll my eyes as I can’t help but notice her fake breasts almost exploding like two overfilled water balloons. They bulge out of her low-cut V-neck sweater as though she’s choking on them. She keeps her eyes fixed on Belial, and for the first time in my life, I’m slightly jealous.
Finally, she turns to me. “G’day sweetheart, how’s ya day been?” she talks down to me as if I’m a rebellious teenager. I politely say, “Hello.” And put the clothes on the counter.
She nods toward Belial as she begins folding the clothes and hastily shoving them into bags. “You and ya boyfriend doin’ some shoppin’ ay?”
I look over at Belial, he’s leaning against the shoe rack looking bored out of his mind. “We’re just friends,” I say.
She leans over the counter and whispers, “He’s a hottie, ay, love?” Her croaky voice makes me cringe, and her long-manicured fingernails do nothing to take away from the yellow nicotine stains on her fingers. She smells like a pack a day smoker, and sounds like one too. The faint scent of cheap musky perfume seems to swirl around her as she moves.
I only smile as she presses the button on the register one at a time with her index finger, it’s as though she's deliberately moving as slow as possible.
Belial comes over and hands her a credit card. She does everything she can to get his attention, even batting her long fake eyelashes and purposely touching his hand when she returns his card. He doesn’t even glance at her, in fact he acts as though she’s invisible to him, and it makes me smile a little too much.
We leave Goddess and I stop at a small discount store to buy a hair brush and some toiletries. Belial seems relieved when I tell him I’m done, and we walk out of the shopping centre. Clearly shopping’s not something he enjoys. Who knows what demons enjoy? Killing is definitely right up there at number one. I’d put teasing close behind at number two, or maybe sex. Damn hot demons.
§§§
When we arrive back at the cottage, I go straight to the bedroom and get changed into black leggings and hoodie. I sit on the bed and brush the knots out of my hair, wondering what day it is. I feel like I’ve been with Belial forever, but it can’t be more than a week.
As I sit around, wishing for something to keep me occupied, my mind wanders to Cress and Gavin. I hope they’re not too worried about me. I know what Cress is like, she probably assumes I’m off on some adventure searching for answers about my parents’ murders.
If only she knew.
I think about asking Belial if I can call her then decide against it, not wanting to get her involved in something dangerous. This is one thing I need to do by myself.
Belial walks in and sighs, distracting me once again. “I said nothing sexy.”
Apparently, he thinks leggings and a hoodie are sexy. I smirk. “This isn’t sexy, Belial.”
He cocks his head. “It’s not?” he asks, confused.
“No, it’s comfy.”
“Well, good then. Get up, we’re going.”
I huff and lie back on the bed with my knees up. “Seriously? We just got back, like ten minutes ago,” I complain.
He leans against the door frame. “Can you stop doing that?”
“What?” I ask.
“That whining.”
I sigh. “I don’t want to go again. Can we go tomorrow? I’m tired and it’s exhausting being here with you.”
He rolls his eyes. “Fine. We’re leaving before sunrise.” I nod and pull the hoodie over my head and look up at the ceiling. “What are you doing now?” Belial asks.
I turn my head to him. “Nothing. There’s nothing to do here.”
He moves the bags off the bed and sits down near my feet. “What’s your problem?”
I sit up and cross my legs. “My problem? Seriously? Do you want a list?”
His face drops and he cocks his head. Did I just upset him? Too bad demon hitman.
I shake my head. “Okay, first, you show up and try to kill me. Second, I get kidnapped from my bed and dropped from the sky.” I get up off the bed and stand in front of him with my hands on my hips. “Oh, and third, you made me watch you kill someone. And how about when you left me on my own in Nevermore, where you clearly knew what those demons were capable of? And then there’s my favourite… the one where you tell me I’m a furie—which I still don’t understand!” I grab the pillow off the bed and hit him with it. He doesn't flinch, so I huff and throw it on the floor then sit on the side of the bed with my arms and legs crossed.
Belial opens his mouth to speak. I raise my hand to stop him. “I’m not done! I’m pretty sure you’ve got some kind of split personality. I think you’re bipolar. So… my problem is you. What’s yours?” I ask.
He stares at me as though I have two heads, before pushing himself off the bed to pace the room. A few times he stops and sighs, then the pacing begins again.
I roll my eyes. Once he knows he has my attention, he finally speaks, “It’s you, Lola. You’ve ruined everything, my life, my work, me.”
I drop my feet off the bed and stand up, pushing the hoodie back off my head. “How the hell can I ruin your life? If that’s the case, then just let me go or kill me. Why are you dragging this out? I’m miserable and apparently so are you!”
He rubs his jaw and shakes his head. “I can't let you go. I need you.”
I lie on the bed and roll over so my back's to him and I close my eyes. I don’t hate him. I don’t even hate it here, not really. The cottage is warm and cosy, the bushland surrounding it is beautiful, and the fresh clean a
ir is a welcome relief to the stench of death that lingered in Nevermore.
I do miss Cress and Gavin. Sure, Belial’s an asshole, but there’s another side to him. A side I genuinely like.
“Do you want some food?” he asks, and there it is, the nice side. Bipolar demon.
I roll over to face him. “You can cook?” I mumble.
“Of course I can. Do you eat risotto?”
I nod and hope my utter surprise doesn’t show.
§§§
I wait ten minutes before I go into the kitchen. There before me, is the demon hitman, shirtless and gorgeous, standing at the stove making mushroom risotto. It smells delicious and my stomach rumbles as I realise I haven’t eaten a real meal for days.
Who would have thought demons could cook?
I stand beside the kitchen table and watch him. “Your brother, Evan, he has no wings?” I question.
He doesn't turn around. “Demon,” is all he says, still stirring the risotto.
“You’ve got wings, and so does Ryder,” I say, focusing on the scars covering his back. I’m still slightly confused as to how they manage to hide their wings, or why they would want to.
“Different mothers,” he mutters.
I pull out a chair and sit down. “Do you have more brothers?”
“Dozens. Hades can't keep it in his pants,” he says, taking a mouthful of wine straight from the bottle.
I scrunch up my nose. “Oh, that’s gross.” I shake my head not wanting to picture it. Then I wonder, the demons I’ve seen so far are all hot as hell, literally, so I imagine Hades must be too.
“Can you tell me more about the furies? Am I really supposed to be evil? Because they didn’t look evil. Piper reminded me of a child. Kind of innocent and mischievous. And Zak was well, he was kind of cute.”
He finally turns around and I bite my lip to stop myself from smiling at him. Damn he's sexy.
His lips curls into a half smile. “There’s not much else to tell, Lola. Furies are half-bloods, like I said. Born from an immortal male and mortal female, you won't feel different, not until you make the choice. And, like I said before, when you die, you’ll choose." He turns back to the stove to stir the risotto.
Untamed: Demon Soul Page 13