Elliot released his legs, which had been wrapped around my waist, and slid down until his feet hit the floor. Then he did something that pissed me off but made me proud at the same time. He put himself between Ezul and me, with the clear, misguided intention of protecting me from a demon. I didn’t mean to say he couldn’t protect me or that his humanness made him less than. Elliot was a very capable person in many ways, but Ezul was one of the strongest demons in the entire Bureau. That was why the higher-up admins put him in Human Resources.
He smiled at Elliot and would probably have patted him on the head if I had allowed him to touch Elliot at all. I’d break his fingers if he tried, and he damn well knew it. That was why he didn’t dare.
“I won’t hurt you or any beloveds.”
Elliot crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Ezul. He clearly didn’t believe him.
Joel chose that moment to enter the room. This time, he carried a bowl of what looked like macaroni and cheese, but hestopped in his tracks when he saw Ezul. His spoon was halfway to his mouth, and he blinked as if trying to decide whether Ezul was real or something his imagination had conjured.
Joel stood beside Elliot and leaned into him. “What the hell is that thing?”
“I am not a thing, little human. But a demon. I’m working with the reapers to keep you safe.” Ezul met my gaze when he spoke of me and my brothers. “I’m with you, Grym. Donn knows about the beloveds.” Ezul shook his head and drew his eyebrows together. “I’m not the only sympathizer, but there are too few of us. You must abandon everything to gather the beloveds. I’ll hold Donn off for as long as I can, but...”
Morgana entered the room. She must have been listening to the conversation from her office, which was right off the living room.
She didn’t speak, but she met my gaze first and then Ossy’s before addressing Ezul. “Are you on our side, Ezul? Truly?”
“Yes. I swear it.”
“What of Phineas?” she asked. She’d sort of abandoned her assistant when they’d found Elliot. Not that she had much of a choice, but leaving him at the Bureau was essentially throwing him to the demons.
Ossy’s gaze pierced Ezul. “Is he in danger?”
“He’s not on Donn’s radar.”
“Who the hell is Donn?” Joel asked as he ate. For such a little thing, his eating habits were pretty nonstop.
“He’s the head of the Bureau,” Morgana explained.
But Ezul spoke at the same time. “The god of death.”
Elliot stepped back until his back hit my chest, then grabbed my hand and pulled it around him. I got the message and hugged him from behind.
“If you’re truly with us, you’ll get Phineas out of there,” Morgana said. It was a bold move, challenging a demon as formidable as Ezul.
But Ezul nodded. “It will be my first act of good faith, so you’ll trust me.”
“Why wouldn’t the reapers trust him?” Joel whispered the question to me, but of course Ezul heard.
Ezul turned to him. “Because I am Donn’s right-hand demon.”
Joel’s wheels were turning. “And Donn is the god of death, right?”
“Yes, little human.”
“Do you order anchovies on your pizza?” The sudden topic switch even surprised Ezul.
He drew his eyebrows together. “Uh, yes.”
“Like all the time or just sometimes?”
“Most of the time.”
Joel nodded and took a bite of his mac and cheese. He had barely finished chewing when he spoke again. “You seem the type.”
“A type of what, human?”
“Person. My name is Joel, and you haven’t once asked me what it is. Instead, you call melittle human, as if being small and human makes me less than. You’re a control freak, but not drunk on power.” Joel met Morgana’s gaze. “He’s here because he’s losing control of something. Most likely, it’s the god he works for. How can you control a god? Am I right? Saving the beloveds’ lives is completely secondary.”
