“So? You two are capable of preserving a couple of souls. It’s not a big deal. I needed a place to stay.”
“Ever hear of a hotel?”
I pouted. “They’re allhaunted.It’s fucking annoying. I wanted to be alone. Which, might I add, is kind of hard to do with you two here.”
Ramel and Lilith exchanged a glance, both of them softening slightly as I shot back my drink in one swallow.
Staring down at my empty glass, I sighed.
Summoning the bottle to me, I took another big swig in lieu of refilling my cup.
Why was human booze so weak?
“Shem, want to tell us what’s going on? It’s not like you to drink like this. Where’s Gabe?” Lilith asked gently, coming to sit next to me on the ancient couch. Ramel flopped elegantly down on my other side, tossing his arm over the back of the sofa and turning to look at me with a concerned frown on his face.
“Probably back at the other house. He hasn’t bothered to come find me, so I don’t really know where he is. Not that I care.”
Ramel snorted, the corner of his mouth cocking up.
“What?” I snapped at him, and he affectionately pinched my cheek, causing me to squirm away from him, which only put me closer to Lilith.
“You’ve always been a shitty liar, Hazai.” He laughed.
I scowled at him, then shivered as Lilith ran her long, ink-soaked fingers through my hair. My skin sheeted with gooseflesh, and I purred, nuzzling deeper into her head scritches.
“Spill it, Hazai. What’s going on?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, too fucking bad, Shem,” Lilith snapped, and I turned to look at her, feeling appropriately chastised at the irritated look on her beautiful face. “If you’re going to keep killing innocent souls, you’re going to need to tell me why, or I’ll have to ask you to return to Hell, where we can keep an eye on you.”
“Ican’tcome back yet!” I protested. “Hec has hidden herself in a human body like a fucking dumbass, and she’s being hunted by Ares… I think there’s someone even worse hunting her, too, but I haven’t figured out who yet.”
Though I had an idea, and if it was who I thought it was, we were all in deep, deep shit.
“Do you need us to stay and help? This is taking longer than you said it would.”
I bristled.
“No.I don’t need your fuckinghelp.Don’t be ridiculous.”
This wasmygame.Iwanted to be the one to bring Hecate back. I’d been playing this game with her for thousands of years; I wasn’t about to bitch out now and ask forhelp.
Ramel took the bottle of scotch out of my hand and examined the label, smirking to himself before taking a swig.
“I want to hear more about why you’re running away from Gabe,” he said wryly, and I narrowed my eyes on him.
“I’m notrunningfrom Gabe, dickwad.”
“Liar, liar, whiskers on fire.” He chuckled, his hazel eyes twinkling with amusement.
I snatched my bottle of scotch back from him and swallowed another large, burning mouthful.
“He’s just annoying. That’s all.”
“How so?” Lilith asked, scritching me again right behind my ear. I groaned, relaxing into her. I rested my head on her shoulder and nuzzled into her soft neck, leaving little kisses on her throat to encourage her to continue.
“He just… He keeps trying to make everything so… emotional.He can’t just let me torture him. He always has to say dumb shit like‘I care about you, Shemhazai. You deserve to be loved, Shemhazai.’”I made a gagging sound and wrinkled my nose.“He’s so clingy, and I hate it. He’s giving seriousArtvibes. I needed some space.”
