Sunshine had made him promise—without a blood vow—to be completely honest during his interview, so he had deliberately spoken frankly, even if he feared it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. He’d expected her to reject him. If she had, he would’ve just gone on with his illegal Earth trips to be with Suyin.
But he’d passed.
“Your answers weren’t always the most … empathetic,” Sunshine explained, “but they were honest, and that is important. If I feel that I can trust you, then I know we can work together. Also, it’s obvious that your bond with Suyin keeps you grounded. I can easily believe that you won’t harm humans or upset the balance so long as you have her in your life.”
“If she weren’t in my life, I would have no desire to remain on the Earth plane.”
“Well, that’s perfect, then.” Sunshine rifled through a stack of papers and then pulled out a folder and slid it across the desk to him. “You’ll need to fill out these forms and sign at the bottom of each to indicate you’ve read and understand the terms.”
“Are these magically binding contracts?” he asked, eyeing the papers warily.
“No,” Sunshine replied. “That’s the whole point of forming this relationship. We start off with a strong foundation of trust and strengthen it with time. There are no unbreakable vows or forced obedience. You check in with me once a month and tell me honestly how your progress is going, and I’ll offer guidance and help you with decision-making and communication with humans. We’ll trust each other to have the other’s best interests at heart.”
Murmur cocked a brow. “So you won’t be breaking into my lair to steal from me anymore?”
Sunshine grinned unashamedly. “As long as you don’t steal Raum from me again.”
“Deal,” Murmur replied.I make no promises if I catch him sniffing around my boundary wards.But he left that unsaid.
“I have to ask you one thing.” Sunshine folded her hands atop a stack of papers. “Do you think it would be possible for me to borrowThe Book of Gamigin? The entire reason I went to Hell was to get that book for my mentor, Adriel.He’s been searching for it for a while and is quite curious to read it.”
Murmur opened his mouth to tell her he wasn’t giving Suyin’s book away to anyone, but Suyin spoke before he could. “I actually have a PDF scan that I can send to you if you want?”
Sunshine blinked. “You can?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s in my email already. I’ll just forward it to you. You can print it out if you need a physical copy.”
“Oh, wow. Thank you! How very kind of you.”
Suyin shifted in her seat. “It’s not a big deal. It’s just a PDF.”
Sunshine smiled brightly. “Adriel will be thrilled. And so will I. I never quite got over how I failed that mission.”
Murmur smiled to himself. He was pleased he had foiled the angel’s attempt to steal from him.
Sunshine handed him the folder of papers to sign, and they made plans to meet again in a week to finalize his entry into Heaven’s transition program, now officially titled DEEMON: the Dark Entity Evolution Management and Oversight Network. How like Heaven to pick the most convoluted and unnecessarily complex name possible.
Shortly after, Murmur and Suyin stepped out of the bungalow situated in the backyard of Belial’s mansion. Sunshine lived there with Raum, and her office was tucked away in the second bedroom at the back. Their entire house was packed full of gold that Murmur suspected Raum had stolen from other demons.
The sun was shining as Murmur and Suyin followed the path around the outside of Belial’s house toward the driveway. He hadn’t seen Belial since the day he’d kicked Suyin’s door in, which was fine with him.
Lucifer was amassing his legions and preparing for war. It was only a matter of time before he acted, and Murmur wouldbe drawn back into the conflict whether he liked it or not. He wanted to enjoy every moment he had with Suyin before then.
“So what do you want to do with your newfound Earth freedom?” Suyin asked as they neared where she’d parked her little car. Murmur shifted to human form when they were within sight of the vehicle. His demon form was far too big to fit inside, and there was always a risk of a human with the Sight spotting him on the road.
Suyin had declared that she was going to get him a bike and teach him how to ride because she detested using her car in spring and summer. She’d told him it was a crime to drive a car when one had a bike in the garage. He’d ridden as a passenger on the back of her bike once or twice, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that plan. It was no wonder that she was fearless, if she enjoyed such a vehicle.
He didn’t have a clue about automobiles and technology. He was still fascinated by her phone. Despite knowing of the existence of such things for a while, he’d never bothered to use them himself.
“Actually,” he said as he opened the rusted passenger door to her cramped vehicle and folded himself nearly in half to fit inside, “I wanted to take you somewhere in Hell. There’s something I want to show you.”
“Awesome,” she replied, hitting the gas and expertly reversing the car down the driveway. “We can draw a hellgate in my living room.” The gates opened, and she backed onto the road and then shot forward.
Murmur braced his hands on the dashboard. He wasn’t sure he liked cars any more than motorbikes, despite the undeniable convenience of rapid travel. “There’s a special kind of hellgate that remains locked to another,” he said. “We can draw one to minimize the risk of leaving a gate open in your home while we’re gone. It’s much safer.”
“Double awesome. Teach me when we get home?”
“Whatever you want, witchling.”
