Chapter 12

CHAPTER12

One day later, I received a Taylorgram.

The thing about Tay was, she did nothing by half-measures. She always went all in with everything she did, and often enough pushed boundaries of what was possible or proper, as long as it served her or piqued her interest. She seemingly had no fear. It was uncanny. Where I was plagued by constant worry about all the things, she lived her life in an enviable absence of concern. Her idea of a fun time was bungee jumping or skydiving. She’d tumble headfirst into the next challenge or adventure.

I, on the other hand, used to fret about having to make an official phone call and would rehearse what I’d say ahead of time. And then I still got it wrong, like that one time I wanted to order a pizza, repeating the right phrase over and over, only to end up saying “I’m a pizza” as soon as the dude on the other end picked up.

One might wonder how Tay and I got to be friends in the first place, but it went the way most introverts find friends—an extrovert sees them, likes them, and adopts them. Way back in elementary school, Taylor noticed me despite my awkward shyness and decided we should be best friends. And we had been ever since.

Even my going to live in Hell hadn’t broken the bond we had, even though communication was so severely restricted. Being able to visit her once a month and spend hours chatting with her and catching up helped a lot, but even for the times in between, when I could only send letters, Tay had found a way to push those limits, quite precariously so.

I was sitting in the library, lost in a book—a paranormal romance featuring demons, a fact that made me snicker—when Hekesha, one of the half-bloods in Azazel’s service, knocked and entered.

“You have a visitor.” Instead of bowing deep, she only inclined her head, and she didn’t address me with my title—something I’d successfully convinced her to stop doing, seeing as she’d become more of a friend than servant in the past few months.

I tensed and put down my book. It couldn’t be Azmodea or Mammon, because those two always just waltzed in without announcing their presence, being family and all. So whoever it was had to be someone I’d have to be a bit more presentable and alert to greet.

I jumped up from the chair and fidgeted with my clothes and hair for a second. “All right, send them in.”

Hekesha inclined her head again and waved the visitor inside.

I pressed my lips together when I beheld Belial’s sour face. He was a giant of a demon, standing easily close to seven feet tall, with the shoulders and broad frame to match. And still, in spite of his size, he held himself with the same kind of predatory grace as all his brethren did. While his features were not as finely hewn as some of the other demons’, he was still strikingly beautiful, in an arresting, more roughly masculine way, his face all harsh angles and strong lines, framed by unruly, dark curls.

“Shall I stay, my lady?” Hekesha asked, now using my title…for the benefit of our visitor. Appearances had to be upheld in front of others.

“No, no, it’s fine.” I rubbed my nose. “I’ve got this.”

She cast a last look at the full-blood demon decidedly not in Azazel’s employ, and then left with another bow.

“Lady Zoe,” Belial said and bowed his head, his deep voice just shy of a homicidal grumble.

I tried not to grimace while I bowed my head in turn. I really did. “Lord Belial.”

Oh, God, this was so awkward. Why, Tay, why? Of all the demons to keep summoning to deliver her messages, she had to pick a high-ranking dude with murder in his dark eyes. It would have already been bad enough had she only commanded Belial to hand over a written message. He was a cherub, same rank as Azazel, though from a different archdemonacy. He had vast lands and resources at his disposal, commanded thousands of lower-ranking demons.

Being summoned to deliver a letter from a human on Earth to another human in Hell was beyond humiliating for a demon of his rank.

And yet, Taylor kept calling him, with arcane methods she wouldn’t explain to me, and was able to order him to do her bidding. She commanded a cherub demon from Hell with enough power in his pinky finger to turn her into human dust.

Sometimes, I feared for my friend’s sanity.

She could have simply waited for me to send another one of our demons to pick up her response letter a few days after receiving mine. That’s how we did it in the beginning, and it went well enough for a few months.

But then, one day, Belial had shown up here. Pissed as fuck, barely staying respectful, and clearly fighting against some invisible hold that forced him to act out Taylor’s will.

And I really mean, act out.

Because Tay being Tay, she’d found a way to make the whole situation worse for shits and giggles.

Belial, commander of demon armies, crusher of souls and scourge of sinners, did not just simply have to hand me a letter. No, he had to recite Taylor’s message verbatim, and not just that—but in her voice, her inflection, her intonation, as if playing back a recording.

The first time he’d done that, I’d almost had a heart attack. His rendition of Taylor’s voice was perfect, and the combination of hearing my best friend talk, but seeing it coming from the mouth of a giant-sized, surly demon was enough to make my brain malfunction. Not to mention that the humongous demon looked like he was one second away from committing a murder spree, in large parts thanks to the fact he was forced to do this farce.

And now here he stood again, glowering at me as if it was somehow my fault that my BFF was into kinky shit like turning powerful demons into her own personal voice actors.

“I have a message for you,” he now said through gritted teeth.

“I gathered that,” I mumbled with a grimace. “Look,” I added and held up my hands, “you really don’t need to do that voice thing for my benefit. Honestly, I don’t care for it. Just give me the message in a normal manner. I won’t tell on you, promise. Taylor will never know, and we’ll be spared some extra embarrassment. Win-win!”

His eyes glowed so hot I involuntarily took a step back in fear of being cut through as with a laser. The muscles in his face seemed to rearrange themselves with the force it apparently took him to keep the bulk of his wrath at bay. “I am compelled,” he ground out. “I must adhere to the letter of the summoner’s command.”

Ugh, Tay.I closed my eyes and rubbed the spot between my brows. “All right, let’s hear it.”

I settled back into the chair for the performance because, knowing Tay, this was going to take more than a few minutes. That girl liked to talk.

“Z!” Belial began in Taylor’s enthusiastic tone.

I’d need snacks for this. With a thought, I summoned my favorite chocolate that the kitchen staff kept on standby for me. As I bit into the sweet goodness of the nut-sprinkled bar, Belial began to act out Tay’s message, which first covered her reaction to my lament about the wing-chopping-vomit incident, complete with a lot of commiserating and “Girl, same.”

Tay had assured me that Belial was bound not to divulge or use any of the information revealed in these messages, but it was still hella awkward to have a third party be privy to the convos between me and my best friend. I mostly saved political details and more sensitive information for those times I saw Tay in person, so Belial mainly learned a whole lot about Taylor’s dating life and the clubbing scene in Sydney, sprinkled with the latest celebrity gossip and her ranting and raving about shows and movies and books.

Tay was my lifeline to contemporary Earth life. Without her, I’d slide into complete obliviousness about what was going on, the most recent developments in pop culture, what was the hottest new thing in music or TV…

I’d already switched to popcorn halfway through Belial’s magnificent rendition of Taylor’s summary of the latest beef between a hugely popular singer and the wife of this other hugely popular singer, when the door to the library opened and in strolled Azazel.

My darling demon husband paused at the sight of Belial.

Belial paused at the sight of Azazel.

An awkward few seconds passed with both demons standing predatory still and eyeing each other with the kind of suspicion that thickened the air.

Clearing my throat, I gestured at Belial. “I’m just having a message delivered. From Taylor.”

Azazel’s eyebrows crept up to his hairline.

“Um, maybe you could…wait outside?” I ventured. I could only imagine how embarrassing it must be for Belial to have to act out Tay’s message like this while Azazel looked on.

Azazel fixedly stared at the other demon as he prowled over to me and took up position behind my chair.

“No, I don’t think I will.” He leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and a menacing smolder on his face.

“Azazel,” I spoke quietly through gritted teeth.

His eyes flicked to me. “My love.”

“Would you please give us some privacy?”

He managed the feat of appearing to settle in more comfortably against the wall. “Belial,” he said, completely ignoring my request. “Please continue. Pretend I’m not here.”

I could virtually see the amount of effort it took Belial to switch back to imitating the quirky voice of a human female in front of one of his peers.

“Okay,” Taylor said from Belial’s mouth. “So, remember how I told you about that guy I met at the bridge walk?”

I cringed and tried to sink lower in my chair. Second-hand embarrassment made my entire body flame with scorching heat.

“So we went out for drinks the other week,” Belial-Taylor said, “and we really clicked, you know? I mean, he’s super hot, like, the dude’s a swimmer, so his body’s ripped, right? Muscles, Z, muscles all over!” Belial did a fantastic job acting out Taylor’s hand gestures. There were a lot of them. Tay was a handsy talker.

“And he’s funny! Gotta love a man with a sense of humor. So, anyway, the chemistry was good, and we made out, and it was all great. We met up again and that’s when we hooked up. And girrrrrrl.” Belial paused, gathered what appeared to be the last shreds of his dignity, and then gave a perfect imitation of Taylor’s groan. “That was the best lay of my life. I had trouble walking the next day.” Belial, commander of demon armies, giggled in Taylor’s voice.

I closed my eyes for a second and breathed through the mental pain. I would not look at Azazel. I would not look at Azazel. Feeling the sizzling heat of him behind me was enough.

“So, anyway,” Belial continued, “we kept meeting up, it was still great, fantastic chemistry, he’s affectionate with me, treats me well, no complaints, right? But then I casually mention something about ‘now that we’re together,’ and he’s all like, ‘Whoa! What?’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, what do you think this is?’ And he’s like—get this—he’s like, ‘A situationship.’ Excuse me, what? What the fuck is a situationship?”

If I could choose only one memory to keep that would make me laugh for the rest of my life, it would be the sight of Belial’s face imitating Taylor’s face as she made air quotes in a perfect mix of disgust and bewilderment.

“Like, Zoe, I swear, I can’t even with this modern dating shit. I mean, you know me, I don’t mind a casual thing here or there, no-strings easy sex. But that’s like…you say that going in, you know? It’s all about setting expectations. When I want something without commitment, I say that upfront. But having to jump through hoops and doing weeks and months of casual fucking in an undefined ‘situationship’ where the dude still fucks around with other girls while I wait for him to make up his mind and sort his feelings and maybe one day agree that what we have should be a real, exclusive relationship…I’m gonna cut a bitch, you know?”

I’d covered my face with both hands, but through the slits between my fingers, I could clearly see how Belial had put his hands on his hips and gave me an Oscar-worthy imitation of Taylor’s death glare.

“I mean, I’d never thought I’d say this, but—what happened to good, old-fashioned dating? Where have romantic manners gone? Oh my God, Z, am I getting old?” Belial slapped one hand on his chest. “I feel like that principal from The Simpsons, like, ‘Is it me? Am I getting old? No, no, it’s the kids these days.’ Ugh.” Belial rolled his eyes. “Anyway, so that’s where I’m at right now. I told swimmer dude to take his situationship and shove it where the sun don’t shine. Like, sure, he’s a demon in the sack”—there was only the slightest twitch to Belial’s eye when he said that—“but I already started catching feelings for him, you know? So I can’t use him for casual sex. That’d only hurt me.” Belial uttered a sad sigh, then perked up again. “Anywho, be glad you’ve got your stud demon husband who adores the fuck out of you. That shit is rare these days. Honestly, at this point, I’m this close to making my own demon marriage contract.” Belial held his thumb and index finger half an inch apart. “Okay, that’s it for now. See you on your birthday, babe!” Belial, crusher of souls, blew me a kiss.

A beat of oppressive silence, then Belial inclined his head. “I’ll take my leave.”

“Thank you, Lord Belial,” I choked out.

“Yes,” Azazel said from his position behind me, his voice devoid of any teasing. “Thank you. May I offer you an escort back to your territory?”

Belial flashed a smile that was too much teeth. “No, thank you.”

He turned on his heels and stormed out of the room.

When the door fell shut with a resounding thunk, a moment of silence wrapped around us, punctuated only by Vengeance’s snoring. My trusty hellhound had slept through the entire performance.

“What in the nine circles of Hell,” Azazel began in a lethally quiet voice from behind me, “did I just watch?”

I scrunched up my face. “A Taylorgram.”

He was still outside my field of vision, but I could honest-to-Hell hear the puzzled expression he made. “Come again?”

I twisted around in my seat and finally looked at him. Peeking over the high back of the chair, I grimaced at the mix of utter bewilderment and discomposure on his face. “A Taylorgram,” I repeated in a small voice. “Like, a message from Taylor, but not written down. She, uh, she summons Belial to ‘record’ her message and then perform it for me down here.”

He stared at me unblinking for a few heartbeats, then he raised one hand, the other arm still crossed over his chest, and said, “There is so much wrong with what you just said, I don’t even know where to start.”

I was pretty sure if I grimaced any more, my face would get permanently stuck with my undoubtedly painful expression. “I know,” I began, but he stopped me.

“She summons him?”

“Yeah.”

“How?”

“I don’t know.” I chewed my lip. “She won’t tell me.”

“She’s your best friend.”

I threw my hands up. “Yeah, but she’s super stubborn about this! I’ve asked her several times, and she just won’t budge. And I told her to please stop making Belial act out her messages, but she won’t listen.”

He narrowed his eyes. “How would she even know how to summon a demon? Much less make them do her bidding?”

“I have no idea!” I wailed. “It wasn’t me who told her, that’s for sure. I mean, I can’t even make you do my bidding, so it’s not like I’m a great source of information on how to handle demons.”

“Oh, you bend me to your will well enough,” he purred, a gleam of heat in his eyes.

“Beside the point,” I muttered while my cheeks blazed hot.

“True.” All humor left his expression and tone. “Your friend is playing a dangerous game.”

I closed my eyes and thunked my head against the chair back. “Ugh, I know.”

“She must have gotten the information from someone,” he mused, his voice a dark murmur. “Even with all of humanity’s many writings on the occult, it is rare to stumble upon real, authentic knowledge about our world and how to interact with us. We like to keep it that way.”

There was a sinister sort of warning in that last sentence, and I gulped. “I have no idea where she got the information, let alone what it is she’s actually doing. I mean, like I said, I haven’t told her squat because I didn’t even know about this.”

He regarded me silently for a moment. “I’m wondering,” he then said softly, “if it might be one of us.”

“What do you mean? A demon?”

He inclined his head.

“But who? You’re the only demon Taylor has met. I mean, other than—” I shut my mouth with an audible click, my eyes widening.

With a fluid motion speaking of leashed power, Azazel rose from his leaning position against the wall. “Who?”

I shook my head. “He wouldn’t.”

Azazel’s energy vibrated darkly around his impressive frame, and the shadow outline of wings appeared behind his back. “Let’s find out.”