8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Celeste

M y mother used to tell my sister and me stories about Hell when we were little. Cautionary tales about how the Angel of Death became corrupted and cast out of Heaven, so he took over Hell and turned his gaze on the land of the living. About how I should keep away from demons, speak no words to demons, and most importantly, don't make deals with demons.

Obviously, I should have heeded her warnings.

But now that I was in this predicament… I couldn't help but think of that time, of all those hazy memories and the precious words they contained. Of all the questions I should have asked, but didn't because my mother was there. Despite all her magic, her true power had always been her deep understanding of death and the afterlife, so I doubted there was a book or witch today that held more knowledge than she did all those centuries ago. Yet even she didn't know the answer to the one question I had asked her back then.

How do you kill a demon?

I pushed away from the cupboard I had been examining for the last few minutes. Apart from the now-empty water bowl and several books older than anything I had in my collection in Roman's house, there was nothing to indicate that a person lived in this room .

Nym's eyes kept following me, but I did my best to ignore him. I had been trying to focus on anything else but him, avoiding his gaze, his questions, and his anguish that made the air heavy and bitter.

After the initial shock had passed, a blissful numbness had spread through my body. At first, I had embraced it, wanting to feel none of the hard, gut-wrenching emotions that accompanied his betrayal. I had decided to focus all my mental energy and efforts on getting out of there, away from Beleth and… him. Surely, if I never saw him or thought about him again, this sting would disappear and the pain would lessen.

But while I calmed down and sank deeper into that numbness, his misery only seemed to grow. He didn't go anywhere, he barely moved, watching me like a man dying from thirst while I dangled a glass of water in front of his face. And then it hit me.

He was hurting, just like I was. Probably even more because now I had others who could fill the void that was left in my chest and he… had no one. Beleth didn't seem to care all that much, so there was only… me. He had spent most of his immortal life with me .

My vision blurred, and I took a deep breath, trying to restore the fragile balance inside myself. There was something else, something I hadn't allowed myself to consider because it would mean embracing those feelings instead of avoiding them.

What if what he said was true? What if Beleth forbade him from telling me the truth, even though he wanted to? That meant he was as much a victim as I was. And all this pain he was feeling right now… it was my fault.

I slowly released the breath I had been holding, opening my eyes and blinking the tears away. A few months ago, making this choice would have been easy. Lies and betrayals were unforgivable, no matter the circumstances—that's what I had always thought. But a lot had changed since then and I… I wasn't the same person anymore.

This new version of me wasn't that afraid of the pain and heartbreak, wasn't so quick to cut people out of my life to avoid dealing with complicated emotions; wasn't as willing to lose another friend just because they chose another—if Nym had any choice at all.

My mind gradually quieted, heartbeat slowing down until I was calm again.

I didn't know what to say or do to make things right again. I wasn't sure if there was anything that could undo the crack that now separated us, but I knew one thing for certain… I didn't want to make it any wider than it already was and lose all hope of ever standing on the same side.

"You're not going to find anything," Nym said. He still lay in the corner of the bed in his cat form, head resting on his paws. The tightness in my chest grew as I finally met his somber eyes, his whiskers drooping even lower when I said nothing.

‘Listen to his side of the story.' I was sure Malakai would have said if he were here. ‘Don't lock your emotions away and leave them to fester. Tell the people you care about everything. Mend what can be mended. Be fearless, my lovely rose.'

"Oh?" I said awkwardly, running my fingers over the spines of the five old books on the highest shelf. My voice sounded off, too high and unnatural, but if he noticed, he said nothing about it.

"Beleth doesn't live here, so there will be no traces of him," he elaborated. My finger stopped on the last book and I took a deep breath. ‘Talking, ' I told myself, ‘the first step was talking, even if it wasn't about the elephant in the room.' Not to mention, learning more about Beleth would definitely help me come up with a better plan to escape this place, and Nym… probably knew more about him than anything in this room could tell me.

I turned around this time, crossing my arms and giving him my full attention.

"He prefers the land of the living. He only comes down here when he… has work to do."

"And what work exactly does he do?" I asked, clearing my throat in the hope of getting the lump stuck in there to go away. "Torture the damned?"

"No, he's a lower demon," Nym replied, his tail swishing excitedly, as if just getting my attention was enough to make him happy again. "His role in Hell is to secure new souls by making deals with living creatures." I kept silent, waiting impatiently for him to continue because I knew that voice well, and I knew when he was holding back. Nym's ears twitched, and he sighed. "He's here to fight. Every time you wake and your power returns, he grows stronger. And when that happens, he comes down as often as he can to challenge the Princes of Hell."

An incredulous laughter bubbled in my throat at the nonchalant way he said that, but his grave look stopped it before it left my lips. I knew from old religious scriptures that it was believed a few other angels fell along with Lucifer and later became Princes of Hell, but considering how much nonsense humans wrote about witches and the supernatural world, I had stopped assuming they knew what they were talking about at all. It wasn't like people could waltz into Hell to gather such valuable information…

"There are Princes of Hell?" I repeated, and Nym gave me a slow nod.

I bit the inside of my lip to stop the flood of questions from pouring out. All my life, aside from Nym, my one constant companion had been knowledge. I had collected it diligently, anything and everything I could get my hands on. The one thing that always eluded me—and perhaps any other scholar in history—was the secrets of the afterlife. Even after all these centuries, Heaven and Hell remained a complete mystery.

"So they are real?" I whispered, sinking into one of the chairs since my legs suddenly felt like jelly. Nym nodded again, keeping quiet while I tried to come to terms with the idea. It was one thing speculating about the workings of Hell, and another to… know. "And Beleth comes to Hell… to fight them?" I asked hesitantly, not sure if I should laugh or be horrified. That demon might be even crazier than I thought. Nym nodded once again. "Why?"

"Because if Beleth becomes a Prince, his power would be tied to Hell itself. When you die again, he won't be affected," Nym replied, his tone carefully neutral. I ran a hand through my hair, ignoring the way my fingers tangled with the knots that had formed in it.

So that's what he was after. If his power was not tied to me, he'd have no reason to keep me around, just like he said. But he'd also have no reason to… keep me alive. Was that what he meant when he said this was my last life? Was he planning to have me killed once he secured his victory?

I looked away from Nym before he saw the panic in my gaze. He could read me even easier than Roman did, and at that moment, I wasn't sure I wanted him to. I didn't think I could bear to find out who he would listen to if told to attack.

"Can he win?" I asked quietly, staring at my hands. When I realized they were trembling, I balled them into fists. Nym didn't reply at first and I thought that maybe he didn't hear me, but then he suddenly landed on the table in front of me, wrapping his long, fluffy tail around his legs.

"He has been trying for over fifteen hundred years," he said. "He hasn't won yet, but he was close once—when you were with Roman, safe and with your power almost intact." He tilted his head, his eyes softening suddenly. "Even if he wins, he won't kill you, Celeste. "

It should have been no surprise that he saw right through me, but it still shocked me.

"How can you be sure?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Because I won't let him."

I sucked in a breath, feeling glad that I was sitting down. The overwhelming relief I felt at those words almost knocked me out of my chair. It wasn't that I was so afraid of death or that I needed him to protect me, but… he was choosing me. He was ready to fight for… me.

Nym stared with unfaltering confidence, his gaze so warm and full of adoration, for a moment I forgot where we were and why my heart was breaking. Tears started to swell, and I felt the urge to cry and scream at the goddamn universe for ruining another good thing for me.

Rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand, I dropped my gaze.

"Can a demon be killed?"

Nym's tail stopped mid-air, his fur bristling. I cursed silently when I realized what I had asked and I peeked at him through my lashes. His eyes had darkened, and he was exuding an aura I hadn't felt in a long time. Fear.

It stunned me so much that I didn't hear what he replied the first time. I couldn't remember an instance when I had seen him show fear other than when he was watching me die. I didn't think he could ever be afraid, truly afraid, of something. Until now.

"Why do you ask?" Nym repeated.

"I… I've always wondered." I shrugged quickly, trying and failing to sound casual. "Еvery creature on earth can be killed, it keeps nature in balance. But not demons. We can destroy their vessels, but what about their souls?"

"Demons are not part of nature." Nym shifted awkwardly, looking toward the door. I couldn't feel anyone approaching my wards and when it didn't open after a few seconds, I locked my attention back to my familiar. "You want to kill him?" he sighed in the end, giving me a disapproving look. I was surprised he cared, considering what he just told me, but before I could ask, he added, "You can't. Only an angel can kill a demon."

The flicker of hope that had lit up in my chest puffed out, blown out by a wind of disappointment. I wanted to cry, truly cry, and get all this frustration and helplessness out. To wash away all that desperation and rise full of determination again. But I doubted tears would help anything. They never did.

"Their souls can be shattered, though," Nym continued. "It's not permanent, just very painful. The demon can gather his soul back and be whole again." He placed a paw over my hand, moving his face almost next to mine. "This is a fate worse than death. Dying is a mercy in comparison."

I pulled away awkwardly, getting up and resuming my walk around the half-empty room. Nym's eyes followed me, but he said nothing while I collected myself.

"So if most of the princes are fallen angels and only angels can permanently kill demons, why does he fight them? Isn't he afraid they'll end him?" I asked while I ran my hand over the wall. I hadn't noticed them before, but there were deep scratches over the surface, paired with scorch marks and several layers of old blood.

"For Beleth, death is preferable to being powerless," he said, and I froze with a finger over an especially deep gouge.

"Yeah, he does seem like the guy who values power over everything else," I murmured.

A deep sigh sounded behind me. When I turned around, Nym had moved back to the bed.

"Beleth is… complicated," he said, perching on the edge. "Even before he became a demon, he wasn't… normal. He could..." His whiskers fluttered, and he winced, his sharp teeth showing over his twisted lips. "...see and hear things that others couldn't, and as often happens with humans, he was targeted for it." I raised an eyebrow, and that seemed like enough encouragement for him to continue. "One day, his torment became too much, and he… snapped. He butchered his entire village. The carnage was so gruesome, he secured his place in Hell with ease."

"Sounds to me like he was sent to the right place." I huffed a dry laugh, rubbing my wrists absentmindedly. The bruising had healed, but the sensations of being bound lingered. I had always hated getting my freedom taken away more than anything else. Even my magic.

"The man you've met, that's not the… original Beleth. Well, he is, but he wasn't born until later." Nym winced again, his tail swishing.

I leaned on the wall and crossed my arms .

"When he first became a demon, he was different. Soft and gentle and… entirely unsuited for life in Hell. He was the weakest of them all and as such, he suffered…" Nym looked down, his nails piercing the sheet and leaving small holes behind. "... a lot. It wasn't until he met you that he got any kind of power."

I had never seen him this serious before, which was something because he was pretty stoic when others were around. Even with Roman, it had taken him decades to accept him and loosen up.

"When your power grew, the others wanted to take away your contract, to steal your soul from him, but he refused to give in." Nym's eyes brightened, his back straightening. "He suffered a great deal just to keep you, and one day, they pushed him too far."

"What…" I started, but Nym hissed at me. It wasn't a threatening sound, more of one of annoyance, but I still closed my mouth. There was something oddly unsettling about being scolded by a cat, but it was a welcome change from the solemn, desperate look he had before. It seemed I wasn't the only one needing the distraction. Or the conversation.

"That's the day he heard the voice again," Nym continued, his tone turning as cold and piercing as death's blade. "So he listened to it."

I held my breath, a cold chill running down my spine.

"When a human hears voices that aren't supposed to be there, the worst thing that can happen when they start listening to them is to be labeled dangerous or crazy," Nym said. "When a supernatural creature does it, the consequences are much more… severe."

He gave me a pointed look, but I was too busy trying to connect the dots to pay him any mind. Voices, mental conditions, crazy? Was he…

My hands dropped to my sides, and a surprised gasp escaped my gaping mouth.

"He developed… a split personality?" I asked hesitantly, searching his face for confirmation.

"He didn't develop it. He gave it life ," Nym said with a somber nod. "This second persona is just as sentient as his original one. They share a body and a soul and they cannot exist without the other, but they are not…" He licked his lips, as if not sure what word to use, then added, "...split. While one does usually control the body, the other is always ‘ awake'."

I laughed, half expecting him to say he was joking, but his eyes remained dead serious.

"That is how the Beleth you've met was born," he finished, and I felt the sudden urge to sit down again. I headed toward the bed. "After massacring all the demons that were threatening them, he kept them safe. He took the demon name the original human was using."

I frowned in confusion. "What is the original human's name, then? The one I summoned?"

Nym's eyes flared red, but then, almost immediately, they settled back into their familiar golden hue. Staring at the floor, he kept silent while his nails dug into the sheets, tearing the poor cloth into ribbons this time.

I flopped onto the mattress on the other end of the bed. "You can't tell me?"

"I can, but…" He looked back at me and I couldn't help but notice his form growing several inches taller. "You must beware. A demon's true name holds immense power, especially in Hell, so you should be very careful how and when you use it." Something must have shown in my expression, because he turned to face me fully, looking even more serious. "You cannot command him. It won't work inside this room because of the wards he'd put up, but it might make him silence you so you could never use his name against him. You can still influence him, drag the original out, but you must be very, very careful." His pupils dilated, and when he spoke again, his voice was full of dire warning. "Beleth is more unpredictable and dangerous than anyone you've ever met, Mistress." He raised an eyebrow pointedly before adding, "Even Roman."

A sense of trepidation filled my stomach while we stared at each other.

"What is his name?" I insisted, making sure to keep my emotions out of my voice.

Sighing heavily, Nym stepped back.

"Cyrus," he said in a quiet, almost reverent voice. "His name is Cyrus."