No longer were they merely relying on thedhirato keep them hidden. Now the demons, should they get the address, would have to work to get past their barriers, and unless they had some crazy skills, that wasn’t happening.
“You doing okay?” Malak prompted. “I mean, since Winnie left?”
Reidar exhaled heavily, kept moving forward, past one empty warehouse after another. “Yep. All good.”
The last person he wanted to talk about was Winnie. Though he’d missed her for the first couple of weeks after she left, Reidar had realized it had been her physical presence he’d grown accustomed to. Having to listen to her rip him a new one every time they attempted to have a conversation was not something he missed. And while he couldn’t interact with the female he’d once believed was hisamsouelot, Reidar had checked up on her via Facebook. She’d wasted no time integrating back into the human world, even started dating someone, according to her relationship status update. Who, Reidar didn’t know. Nor did he really care. He’d simply wanted to make sure she was doing fine and it appeared she was.
“Well, if you ever want to talk about it…”
Reidar glanced over at Malak as they ventured off the beaten path and into the trees. The path grew rocky as it ventured up the mountain. “Yeah? Maybe we could share a latte, too. Better yet, you could tell me about you and Raksa while we paint our nails.”
The glare he received was the equivalent ofhell no. In fact, Reidar figured Malak would be more inclined to get mani/pedis than to talk about the male who was giving him trouble.
Reidar couldn’t help but smile to himself. Malak and Raksa thought no one realized they were … well, honestly, Reidar didn’t know what they were. In a relationship? Fucking? Whatever it was, they seemed to be at odds right now. But try as they might, the two males weren’t keeping it a secret. To their credit, they weren’t trashing one another aloud the way Winnie had done to him, so everyone was respecting their privacy. As much as they could, anyway. Hard sometimes when the males were constantly having their heated conversations in public spaces. Almost as though they were avoiding being alone together.
“So no on the latte?” he taunted, continuing his trek, ducking under a thick evergreen branch.
A grunt was all he received in return.
“It’s cool, you know,” Reidar told him. “Only thing I’d watch for is fighting alongside him. Not sure that’s the best idea.”
“There’s nothing going on between me and Raksa.”
Yeah, sure, okay. “Your biz, man.”
And that was the real problem, Reidar figured. He was stuck in the mansion watching everyone as they kept going like nothing had happened lately. Despite his best efforts to keep his nose out of everyone’s business, it was hard not to notice all the happy-happy that was going on. Obsidian and Penelope, Eclipse and Orianna, Bijou and Oliver, Kaj and Acadia, and yes, even Malak and Raksa… Everywhere he turned, there were more couples pairing up, laughing, smiling, joking. All while Reidar was trying to figure out when someone had planted a bomb in his life and who’d pressed the detonator, the explosion ripping his seemingly content universe into fragments.
Of course, the others were likely trying to move past the literal explosion that had rocked the mansion, seeking solace in an effort to comfort themselves. Reidar’s explosion was figurative, the demise of a relationship that never should’ve come to fruition in the first place.
Reidar held up a hand when he heard voices. Malak went stone still, his eyes scanning the darkness.
Their efforts to search the mountain rarely resulted in anything other than stumbling on some unsuspecting humans out for a leisurely stroll or stealing a few minutes beneath the stars. But as the saying went: there was a first time for everything.
Letting his senses expand, Reidar took in the scents on the air first. Animals, mostly small ones, had moved through recently. Humans, too. But there was no scent of evil or death like he’d been hoping for.
Shame.
They’d started searching the mountain in an attempt to see if Perfidious was hiding out there. It only made sense that he would stick around. It was exactly like the narcissistic demon to remain right under their noses and just out of sight. But one day, that demon’s luck was going to run out and they would find Asmia. And when they did, Reidar hoped he was the one who got to send Perfidious back to his maker, the bastard.
Humans, Malak said in his head.
Reidar nodded. Two males, one female. Probably sneaking off to get down and dirty where they thought no one was watching.
Unfortunately, Reidar had no choice but to move closer. Bothimpietansand shadow beasts were drawn to humans, which meant it was possible they were loitering nearby, gearing up to go in for the kill.
Without making a sound, Reidar moved forward, Malak on his six. They stuck to the trees, keeping out of sight while searching the night for evil.
Unfortunately for him, there was no evil lurking. Nope. Only stupid humans.
He saw the bright red tent first. As he moved around to the opposite side, he noticed the flames from what appeared to be a campfire. The humans came into view next, the three of them on a blanket near the fire, all still dressed, head to toe in winter wear, though specific parts of their bodies were unveiled. The two males were bookending the female, filling her from both ends and seemingly enjoying themselves as much as she was, if her urgent, muffled cries were anything to go by.
Reidar glanced at Malak, signaled for him to go around.
It was too late for the image of the fornicating humans not to be burned into his brain, but Reidar managed to avoid looking in their direction as he and Malak circled the pornographic campsite, moving in an outward motion until they were convinced there were no demons lingering nearby.
Though he wished no harm to the humans, he’d hoped they had attracted something. It would’ve given Reidar an outlet for this restless energy that was building inside him. At least when Winnie had been around, he’d had a way of unleashing it. At the very least, the sex between them had been good. Perhaps great, even. Not quite as kinky as Reidar preferred, but he had no complaints.
He could not say the same for the status of this night.
