“Not particularly. Some have more grievous reputations than others,” Shadrach said. “Who’s the one who supposedly tortured that serial killer for fifty years straight?”
“Ashmedai,” Talon said, and shook his head dismissively. “He wouldn’t come to the surface.”
“You don’t think? I’d like to meet him.” Shadrach looked gleeful.
“He spends too much time in the Pit with the damned. I doubt he’d drag himself away just to help us, no matter how intriguing it might be to come and eat fresh from the surface.”
“This is a very unnerving conversation,” Julian muttered.
“The humans don’t want the bloodthirstiest one, anyway,” Talon added.
“Don’t we?” Zachary asked doubtfully. “I mean, we want them to go after the paladins. Bloodthirsty is good, in this case.”
“Ah, from the mouths of babes,” Malachi drawled.
“I’m eighteen, remember?” Zachary said.
Angela laughed. “‘Eighteen whole years,’ he says to the hundred-year-old demon.”
Zachary sneered at her, and she stuck her tongue out at him.
“Are we sure we’re the right ones to bring down the guild?” Julian asked lightly. “I’m not sure we’re collectively mature enough.”
“Speak for yourself,” Wolf added from the snack bar.
“This whole conversation is taking place under a disco ball,” Julian said. “I think our maturity is compromised.”
“Don’t hate on the disco ball,” Ira joked.
Julian laughed.
True to their word,none of them left Julian alone. Someone was usually in his apartment when he fell asleep, and someone else was there when he woke. Most of the time, they were already cooking breakfast or had ordered something for the group. Julian had a feeling they were spending even more time together than usual for his sake. They were effortlessly kind. Julian might have expected that from the humans—some of these guys were people he’d looked up to and admired in the guild, so their kindness didn’t surprise him, even if he sometimes felt unworthy of it.
What really surprised him were the demons. They rallied around him just like the humans did. Shadrach liked to cookand even had his own food preferences delivered to Julian and Valac’s apartment. The fridge was stocked with complicated recipes Julian could barely pronounce, each one more savory and filling than the last. Isaac liked to bookmark Wikipedia pages on the laptop for Valac to read when he returned. They were often pages about prominent battles in history. Julian and Nathan had taken to looking at real estate listings together. Since Nathan also owned his own house—though he currently lived in an apartment with Storm, because the paladins had his old address—Julian liked getting his opinion on some of the listings that interested him. He didn’t know when he and Valac would be able to move, but the prospect warmed him. Storm usually accompanied him, quiet but stalwart. He was a little like Valac in that way.
At night, they spent a lot of time downstairs in the bar. Talon sometimes had to hold court in the private office that overlooked the dance floor, and when he did, Julian kept Alex company in their booth. They were often joined by a rotating list of sentinels and demons.
Every waking moment, Julian was with friends.Family. Just like Valac promised.
And at night, he saw Valac.
“I amon my way back to you, my jewel,” Valac said. His arms were a strong, solid weight around Julian’s middle, holding them together.
Everything around them was hazy, but Julian thought it looked faintly like their apartment. The softness beneath them felt like their bed, but neither of them focused enough to bringit solid form. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was that they were together.
“You found a sin eater?”
“I did. Ashmedai needed surprisingly little convincing.”
Julian raised his head to look down at Valac’s violet eyes. “Ashmedai? Really?”
Valac blinked at him. “You know of him?”
“Talon and Shadrach mentioned him in particular. They said he’s the worst one. They wanted to meet him, but they didn’t think he’d be willing to come to the surface.”
“I was surprised, as well. He seemed curious about humans and the surface.”
“What’s he like?”
