I glance down at her finger still buried in my chest, wishing I wouldn’t have worn a shirt. “It’s Dimitri.”
She throws her hands up and paces away. I strain to make out her mutterings, but she’s too upset to speak clearly. Plus, I’m pretty sure my hearing is wonky from the blast. I don’t know what she felt when I tumbled out of the closet. Based on the redness splashed across her cheeks, now would be a bad time to ask.
“So, where’s your circle? Is itinthe closet? Because it was too dark in there every time I got summoned.” I wander closer to my temporary prison, still worried about being sucked back in.
“I never summoned you. I don’t have a circle.” Her voice breaks at the last word.
I raise an eyebrow as she avoids my gaze. All the fight seems to have gone out of her. It’s then that I notice the dark rings under her eyes and the slight tremble in her hands. I may have thought this was a fun little banter session, but she’s clearly going through something.
I clear my throat, and she glances at me, then away. “Are you okay?”
She scoffs. “As if you care. You’re a demon.”
“Don’t know much about demons, do you?”
“I know you’re…” She frowns as she scans me from head to toe. “You’re grey. And from Hell. And a demon.”
I fight off a smile. “So almost nothing. Got it. Well, in order for us to come topside, we need a conduit. From what I understand, the only one left is a summoning circle, which canbe found in certain witchy texts. I suppose it’s probably passed down from generation to generation, but it’s been a bit since I last spoke with a coven leader.”
“Witchy texts?”
“Oh yeah. There used to be more of them, obviously. Then that whole burning thing happened. Add in the Alexandria debacle and you lost a lot. That was about the time we started keeping records. Actually, that was Karma’s idea. It was a pretty good one, but don’t tell her that. I’ll never hear the end of it.” I sigh heavily. “An-y-ways…you don’t have a circle? You a coven leader?”
“A coven—wait. You think I’m…no.” Her hand slashes through the air. “No, no, no. This isn’t a meeting of the minds. We’re not bridging the gap between witches and demons. We’re not going to try to bring our…species together in some grand gesture to save humankind or some bullshit.”
I tilt my head as my mind fixates on her calling us different species. Sure, she’s closer to humans than demons are, but we’re largely the same. Mostly. Kind of. We have the same parts even if they don’t work the same way all the time. Plus, we both have magic.
I shake my head and smile ruefully. “Wasn’t asking you to bridge a gap or save humanity, spitfire. Just wondered how I got here.”
“Well, I can’t answer your questions. I have enough problems on my own.”
“Like the douche canoe who was cheating on his girlfriend and she rightly dumped his ass? Seems like you handled that problem perfectly fine.”
Her eyes grow wide. “You heard that?”
I nod, fighting another smile. “And that weird breathy thing you did with your voice that’s notably absent now. It’s a nice touch, I gotta say.”
Her nostrils flare and her eyes narrow. “I don’t have to explain myself to you, demon.”
“Again with the demon? I’m beginning to think you’re not listening to me. It’s Dimitri. Not even a hard name to pronounce, really. Also, you’re going to need it soon.”
“Why on the great mother’s green earth would I need your name?” she spits out.
“To send me back to Hell. Or if you needed to summon me for something.”
An expressionless mask slips over her face. “What could I possibly need from you?”
“My best friend was summoned to open a jar of spaghetti sauce, so honestly it could be anything.” I shrug when her mask slips into incredulity. “I don’t make the rules, honey. I just break ’em when needed.”
She worries her bottom lip, and I can’t help but fixate on it. Whatever she needs, it won’t be easy to get it out of her. I shouldn’t care. I’ve got enough on my plate without taking on someone else’s issues. Especially a cantankerous witch’s issues. Except there’s a heaviness in her eyes that’s hard to ignore. With Omen dealing with Clara and Triton up my ass about taking on more responsibilities, I really could use the distraction. Besides, I like being topside.
When the veil between our dimensions thins, I happily bounce between the two. Never enough to put me down like these little sojourns have lately. I like discovering new food and watching humans interact. They’re fascinating, really. I used to feel the same way in Hell. There was always something new to find down there. Getting away to explore new dimensions now isn’t as easy. I don’t mind training the new demons coming up the ranks or tracking down rogue dragons. It just gets monotonous after a while. Add in Ludovic never giving me a fucking day off and I just want to get away.
“I don’t need your help. How do I send you away?” she says, pulling me back to reality.
“Um, I’m not entirely sure.” I grimace as she scowls at me.
“You said I needed to know your name to send you to Hell, yet you don’t know how I can accomplish that?”
