She frowned, trying to understand.
“The voices are quiet.”
“What voices?”
“Where are the voices?”
“What voices are you talking about?”
“Where are the voices?! They’re always there, screaming. They never stop.”
He shook his head roughly and then released her throat and sat up, gripping his hair tightly and hunching forward. “Can never have a moment’s peace. Can never be alone. Can never sleep. Can never rest.”
Suyin sat up, looking over at Iris and Lily, who were still frozen. She shook her head in response to their unspoken question. She didn’t have a clue what to do.
Looking back at Murmur and feeling some nurturing instinct she hadn’t known she possessed, she reached out and placed a hand on his back. His skin was cold, but not as cold as she’d expected. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “You’re okay.”
He shivered at her touch but didn’t throw her off or erupt into violence like she’d feared. He appeared to be cognizant enough and didn’t seem to be turning into a flesh-eating zombie or whatever could’ve happened if the spell had gone wrong.
“I’m so tired,” he whispered.
“It’s okay. You can rest now.”
“I’ve been tired for centuries. Can never sleep. The voices are always screaming. Now they’re quiet. Can’t tell what’s worse.”
She stroked his cool skin, wishing there was some way to comfort him. But he seemed lost to his thoughts, to the turmoil inside his head.
“It was so dark there. Never-ending darkness. Darker than black. And so cold. I’m always so cold.”
He was obviously in shock. He’d been dead and stuck in Lucifer’s horrible prison. He’d told her of the screams he heard in his visions, so whatever that place was like, it was obviously torture. He would need time and rest to get back to himself, and he probably wouldn’t be able to relax with Lily and Iris here.
She looked up at the twins. “You guys should go.”
Their expressions indicated reluctance to leave her alone with the unstable, freshly resurrected demon.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured them, speaking softly lest she upset Murmur. “He just needs to sleep it off, I think.”
“He’s actually alive,” Iris whispered, eyes wide. “We did it.”
Suyin nodded, and the three of them exchanged glances. Despite everything, they couldn’t help but share pride in what they had accomplished. She was sure they were one of a very limited number of witches who had ever succeeded at magic of this level.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t stay?” Lily asked.
Suyin nodded again. “I think he’ll come out of it quicker if we’re alone.”
“Just … keep your phone handy,” Iris said. “Call me if he does anything weird.”
“If he decides to get stabby,” Lily muttered, “she may not have time to call.”
Murmur stiffened. And then he slowly lowered his hands and looked up. His hair hung forward, shadowing his face. With his eyes pure black and those dark veins spidering beneath them, he looked terrifying. And he was looking at Lily and Iris with pure murder in his expression.
Suyin needed to get them out of here for their own safety.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured them, sincerely hoping that was true. “I’ll call if I need help, okay?”
The twins were briefly petrified by the sinister glare Murmur was giving them. He looked like something straight out of a horror movie.
“I don’t think he’ll relax until you’re gone,” Suyin said.
