As if reading my mind, my cell phone suddenly buzzed on the countertop. I glanced at the read-out, my back stiff and straight. It was my boss.
Fuck!
I’d forgotten all about work, too wrapped up in this whirlwind of supernatural insanity. I was supposed to be getting answers for Alana. She wanted a story. And I wasn’t giving it to her.
“You going to answer that?” Caim asked with an arched brow.
“No,” I grumbled.
“You should.” He nodded at the phone. “See what she has to say. I know you want to work for her, Eva. You love writing stories.”
He was right. But it wasn’t as simple as that. Working for her meant chasing down stories that would expose the Legion, and I wouldn’t do that. Despite what he’d just said, the Legion was better off staying hidden.
But Caim was staring at me, his fingers inching closer to the phone. If I didn’t answer, I had a sneaking suspicion he would.
With a roll of my eyes, I snatched up the phone. “Hello, this is Eva.”
“Eva,” Alana’s familiar voice rang clear through the line. She sounded perky. No doubt she’d seen the same news report I had. “I was worried you weren’t going to answer. Did you see the news this morning?”
I closed my eyes. It was just as I’d thought. “Yep. Pretty crazy, isn’t it? People will do anything for fifteen minutes of fame.”
A beat passed in silence. Clearly, she didn’t like my response. “I thought you of all people wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss her story.”
“Me?” I let out a light laugh. “I don’t believe in supernaturals.”
The lie felt like ash on my tongue. Especially becauseIwas a supernatural now. Not a full one, but that didn’t matter. I was enough of one for it to count.
A long pause followed before my boss replied. With every second that passed, my heart beat a little faster. “I thought you said the Cult of Lilith is full of a bunch of demon worshippers.”
Yeah, I had told her that. But I’d also never insinuated that I believed them.
“Just because they’re demon worshippers doesn’t mean that demons are real. There are a lot of people who believe in UFOs, too. Do you think we have aliens swarming down from the skies?” My words came out a little harsher than I’d intended. I was just so on edge these days. Always two seconds away from losing control over the darkness lurking inside of me.
She tsked. “Eva, please don’t make me regret giving you a promotion. You haven’t been into the office since your trip to the hospital. I haven’t said a thing about it because I knew you were feeling unwell, and I thought you would be at home doing research. Have you found anything at all for me?”
My lips pressed together. How could I say I’d mostly forgotten about the damn story? One might say I had other things on my mind. Like trying not to become a bloodthirsty demon that roamed the streets murdering people. You know, the usual stuff twenty-somethings in Manhattan had to deal with.
I lifted my eyes to meet Caim’s. He leaned against his marble countertop, his arms folded. What the hell could I tell her? It needed to be enough to satisfy her curiosity without giving the game away.
So, I blurted out the first thing I could think of.
“I have managed to get in contact with someone who might have some answers. About witches and spells. I don’t know if she has anything on demons, but I figure witches are still extremely interesting.” I bit my lip, rolling my eyes at myself. This was stupid. “I’m supposed to meet up with her tonight for a drink. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
A relieved sigh whispered through the phone. “Good. For a second there, I really was worried you hadn’t been doing a damn thing. Go to that meeting. Let me know what you learn first thing in the morning. And come into the office, Eva. Writers have more freedom than our other staff, but I need you here more often than you’re not. I trust your health has improved?”
Not really. Well, kind of. Ever since my last visit to the hospital, I hadn’t even come close to having an episode. I felt...good. At least in that regard. It was the longest stint I’d gone in a very long time without feeling like every move I made might be my last.
It wasalmostenough to make me want to remain a demon forever. Why take a cure when I could say goodbye to my lifelong illness? Another reason why Caim needed to give up the hunt and focus on the cult instead.
At least, that was what I had to tell myself. Did I truly want to be a demon forever?
No.I’d seen what newborn demons could do. The kind of monsters they became. They weren’t in control like Caim and the others, and I could never let myself turn into something like that. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to fight it forever.
My boss said goodbye, and I hung up the phone. Caim arched his brows and waited for me to explain what the call had been about, though he’d likely heard every word with his pesky enhanced hearing. Hard to keep phone calls private around demons.
I sighed and hopped off the stool. After that conversation, I was done with my breakfast. “It was my boss. As I’m sure you heard. She still wants me to chase the Cult of Lilith story, but how the hell do I give her anything when it would lead her straight back to you? I thought maybe I could find something interesting for her about witches instead. Sarah and Anya were helping me research...before things got really crazy.”
He nodded, his face strangely expressionless. “Are you sure you don’t want to give her anything on the cult?”
