5. Were not killing this one!

"Brim, no!"Lucian shouts behind me.

The lynx stops walking, but it yowls at me, burning holes in the back of my head with its red eyes.

"F-friend of yours?"

The lynx jumps at me, and I close my eyes, waiting for the inevitable end. Better a cat than Kevin, I suppose.

"I said no!" A shadow casts in front of me.

Lucian and his wings cover me entirely, which I confirm when I open my eyes and find him standing with his back to me.

"We're not killing this one!" he says, and I freeze.

Wh-what does he mean, "We're not killing this one?"

Shit. I knew I shouldn't have believed anything he said to me. But even if I didn't believe it, it's not like I can do anything to escape him. If we were on the ground, maybe. But even then, he's still a demon and I'm still me. A weak human who can't save himself.

"You wanted to kill me?"

Lucian turns and glances at me. When he sees my face, his wings retract leaving feathers behind that disperse in the wind and he faces me completely.

"What? No. I never—that's not what I meant." He takes a step forward, but I take one back because I don't want him. I don't want to believe another thing that comes out of his mouth.

"You just said?—"

"That's not…let me…allow me to explain."

I don't think I've heard him fumble with his words in all the time I've known him, which can't be longer than a couple of hours so it doesn't say much, but still. The fact that he does makes me pause. Maybe…maybe there is an explanation.

"Okay," I say, and Lucian takes a deep breath, his features softening with what looks like relief.

"Thank you. You…I told you how summoning works." I nod. "And I told you, you're not the first to summon me. Humans have been doing it for centuries. But you see, most don't care to ever exorcise me. They get drunk on the power of having a demon do their bidding."

"That sounds horrible. I'm sorry."

"I know you are."

He smiles so sadly that I want to smooth his face back into a happy smile, but I can't. Not until I know the truth.

"That's what makes you so different. That's why I like you, Yu-jin. That's why my soul chose you."

I shake my head.

"What does that have to do with killing me?"

Lucian steps to the side, and the lynx sidles up next to him.

"This is Brimfang. She took me under her wing when I was still a young hellhound. Because she chose me, she's not affected by the summoning principles. Which means she helps free me whenever I'm enslaved by a new human."

Brimfang nuzzles against his hip, and he gives her a good scratch behind the ears. Like that, she looks harmless. Gigantic but harmless.

"I promise I'm going to release you. I won't keep you h?—"

"I know you won't."

He takes one more step and puts a hand on my shoulder. I let him. When I don't react negatively to his touch, he moves it up to my neck.

"I believe you, darling boy. And most importantly, my soul believes you. You are my soulmate. Whether you release me or not, I'm yours. And that's something I wouldn't ever want to change."

It's hard to breathe when a literal demon, standing so much taller than you, declares his undying devotion to you. It's even harder to regulate your temperature. It doesn't matter that we're standing miles above the city where the air is chilly, no matter the time or season. My entire body is bursting at the seams with the heat of a million suns.

"Thank you."

I tilt my head a little, not enough to be too forward but enough to be suggestive.

I don't know if his declaration means he wants to kiss me, wants to do more to me, with me, but I certainly do.

"Are you begging for a kiss, darling boy?" he whispers, and his words threaten to make me combust.

I'm like a magnet, being pulled to another, and I can't fight it, nor do I want to.

"Is…is that okay?"

His answer is his lips.

He steals a kiss from me. A deep, passionate kiss that's also tender and soft and so heartwarming it's unbearable. Everything he causes inside me is a constant escalation of emotions I've never felt before. I just hope I can take them and they won't utterly overwhelm or destroy me.

His taste lingers long after he puts an end to the kiss, and like any good drunken man, I follow his mouth.

What am I doing?

I pull back and apologize.

"You're so sweet, Yu-jin. You're the sweetest boy I've ever met. Don't ever apologize for being you."

I know it's cheesy, sappy, or cliché even, but…I haven't heard anyone tell me these kinds of things in so long. Since my mom died. Even longer, actually. Kevin broke her spirit long before he broke her body and soul.

So I don't care that his words are cheesy, sappy, or cliché. They're everything I've longed to hear.

"So…that's Brimfang?" I turn away from his gaze because how do you even reply to such things.

"Yeah. Brim for short."

Brim cuts the distance between us, and I have half a mind to step back, but A: that would mean jumping to my death, and B: she's not going to hurt me. He promised.

"Hi, Brimfa—" I start when Brim butts her head against my stomach and knocks the wind out of me.

She hates me. She fucking hates me, doesn't she?

But then, why is she rubbing herself against me?

"Sorry. She can be a little rough with her affection sometimes."

At that, Brim looks at Lucian, and when she returns her attention to me, she headbutts me once more, then continues rubbing her cheeks all over me as if it's the most normal thing in the world.

"That-that's sweet. Nice to meet you, Brimfang."

She does it again. This time, she does knock me. Not my wind, but off my feet. I lose my balance, and a quick look confirms that, yeah, I'm about to fall to my death.

But then Brim paws at me, and her claws hook on my shirt, pulling me back to safety like nothing happened.

"Careful, silly girl. You know he can't fly." Lucian pats her back, and when she headbutts me again, she's much gentler, as if she's apologizing for almost killing me.

I raise my hand and, with some hesitation, scratch behind her ear, and that about does it. It seals our friendship as Brim melts under me, her purr so loud I bet they can hear it all the way down the bridge and across the city.

"She's very sweet," I tell Lucian. "She must be the best company."

Lucian nods. We're sitting, gazing at the business center of Amethyst City with all its skyscrapers and lights and the sun coming up behind them all like it's a live performance.

"She's my best friend. My only friend. Demons are…not easy people. That's why most of us bond with animals or humans."

"I thought humans entrapped demons."

"They haven't always. It used to be that we could walk amongst you whenever we wanted. But…things changed. At least for us."

"What do you mean us?"

Lucian gives me a soft smile and lifts his hand. It immediately catches on fire.

"Hell-demons are different from other demons. We've always been abused or taken advantage of. Especially since mortals started believing in heaven and hell. Although, in all fairness, my kind has always been a tad mischievous or downright evil." He twirls his fingers, playing with the fire. I can't look away.

"That doesn't justify enslavement."

He shakes his head.

"No. It doesn't." He pinches my cheek, and I feel its warmth travel to my core.

"Wait. Did you say other demons? Does that mean there are other kinds of demons?"

"Oh, for sure. We're just like witches. For example, what kind of witch was your mom?"

I look out to the city, feeling Lucian's and Brim's eyes on me.

"She was an eldritch witch."

Lucian whistles. "Eldritch? That's one hell of a power."

"You know what it is?" I turn to him.

"Of course. My knowledge of the human world is vast. Just like blood bonders, eldritch witches are rare. And usually hereditary."

I laugh. "But not in my case."

"Ah yes. That again."

"If you're about to convince me there's magic within me, don't bother. My mom was a powerful witch. She could summon all sorts of eldritch creatures to help people in need. She was like…like a superhero and a doctor, all rolled into one. If I had inherited her powers, they would have manifested the moment we performed my ignition ritual."

My mom had been the best witch in the world. I know most people associate the eldritch dimension, full of inhuman creatures, with evil, but when my mom opened herself up to eldritch creatures, when she befriended them and bonded with them, she looked regal. Like a true Korean queen.

"Magic can hold back from manifesting for all sorts of reasons, darling boy. Just because the ritual didn't seem to work doesn't mean it didn't. Demons can sense magic in everything. And yours is…"

"Nonexistent? Yeah. I know."

Lucian shook his head.

"No. Yours is decadent and strong. But it's dormant."

I sigh and roll my eyes.

"I don't know how demon powers work, but witch powers are only dormant before ignition."

"And witch powers can stay dormant if during ignition the witch is stressed, imbalanced?—"

"Even then?—"

"Abused."

I shut up.

I've studied ignition rituals closely. I've done all the homework, and while all those are true, eventually, the power manifests.

But abuse…that's new.

Nowhere in my research does it reference that, but then again, abuse is not normal. And it's a taboo subject. So maybe…

Is that why I didn't manifest?

And if that's true, why hasn't my power come to me in the years since my ignition?

"If you still don't believe me… Do you think any mortal human can summon a demon with a spell?"

My jaw drops, and I gaze into his eyes.

Is it true? Am I really a witch?

"Then why—" I start, but my newfound hope and excitement are replaced by dread and pain.

I fall back and grasp at my neck, fighting for control over my lungs.

"Yu-jin? What's going on? Are you all right? What happened?"

"I…he…" I choke.

I'm all too familiar with the agony coursing through me.

"He's…calling…me…home."