Human (16 page)

"Yes. He's around all the time. You might run into him."

"Does he come to see Devin?" My skin went cold at the thought of seeing Devin's father in person. He was scary enough in my visions, and the last thing I needed was to actually meet him.

"If you've seen something in your vision, it might just be a part of what really happened," Leonard said, startling me. How did he know what I'd been thinking? I stared at him wide-eyed, and he smiled again, picking up a pen and twisting it in his fingers.

"You wouldn't be asking all of this if you hadn't seen something," he said. "It looks like I got it right."

"Has Devin killed someone?" I asked hesitantly. Leonard could as well lie to me about anything he wanted, but what would be the point of it? It wasn't like I was going somewhere any time soon.

"No. He wouldn't be able to go to the human world then."

"What?"

"Magic forbids the demons who killed someone to enter the human world. It's been like this for centuries." Leonard sighed. "It makes things difficult for demons."

An idea immediately came to my mind, but I couldn't ask Leonard anything to confirm it. I'd seen all the things demons had from the human world, so the ability to go there was very important to them. And some of the demons who could actually go through the gate probably didn't want to come back, so open passage would make it all easier. Devin had liked it a lot in my world, so why wouldn't other demons? It was better than being a slave to demon kings in Hell. Speaking of kings of Hell, they'd probably killed someone, so they couldn't go to the human world and didn't quite trust their servants.

If magic was the only thing that stopped the demon kings from going to the human world when they pleased, wouldn't a full-blooded angel be a perfect ingredient to break the spell? Maybe the spell had been put by an angel in the first place, so it took one to remove it. Maybe it was all part of the peace agreement between angels and demons. My mind was reeling from all the possibilities.

"Why did Maliadedes say Devin hated this room as much as he loved it?" I said, and Leonard shot me an annoyed glare. He didn't look like a person who would easily get annoyed, so I must have asked one question too many.

"Is that your last question?" He started writing something down in a black notebook. I couldn't even read the language he was using.

"Yeah." I gave him an apologetic smile, and his face softened a bit.

"It's quite simple actually. Devin loves it here when he can be alone and read whatever he wants, but when he has to study and do what Maliadades wants him to, then he hates it."

Well, that was understandable, because I hated it too when I had to do my homework or study things I didn't care about. Still, I felt like there was more to it than just that, but I didn't want to piss off the only demon other than Devin who didn't want to harm me.

"Umm, I'll better go now. Don't want to bother you anymore," I said and went for the door, hoping no one was waiting for me outside.

I was sitting on the hard wooden chair in Devin's room, trying to keep my eyes open and not fall to the ground. Hours seemed to drag like years. The worst thing was that my cell phone's battery had died pretty quickly, and I wasn't even sure what time it was, or how long I'd been staring at the empty space. I should have grabbed a book before I left Leonard, but I wasn't sure he'd allow me to bring it here. I didn't remember getting a demon library membership.

My stomach rumbled and reminded me of the fact that I hadn't eaten nor drunk anything for a long time. There was plenty of tap water in the bathroom, but what if it was poisonous or something? Suddenly the door opened and a red-haired demon I'd never seen before walked inside with a tray of food. He put it on the table in front of me and left without a word. I stared at the tray, my mouth watering. There was a plate full of fries, a steak of some kind, salad and a large glass of orange juice. It didn't smell weird, but that didn't mean it wasn't drugged or not exactly what I thought it was. The steak could be from some demonic creature, unless there were animals in Hell too.

I stared at the juice for a second, trying to decide was it worth dying for. My dry throat desperately longed for it. Oh, well, maybe I wouldn't die. I took two big gulps of it and sighed in relief, feeling the sweet orange taste on my tongue. If this wasn't from the human world, then I was a fairy. Obviously demons were first-class smugglers, and I was glad for it. Devin shifted on the bed just as I popped a fry into my mouth to see if it was as good as it looked. He gingerly tried to get up, and I was on my feet almost instantly, trying to stop him. I wasn't a doctor, let alone a demon doctor, but if he was so close to dying not a long ago, he shouldn't be trying to move at all.

"What are you doing?" I caught his arm, but it looked like he could stand on his own two feet just fine. His dark eyes focused on me, his face and shirt still covered in dried blood. I let go of him, and took a step back.

"Are you ok? Did they do something to you?" He looked at me up and down, making me feel uncomfortable.

"I'm fine," I said. He should be worrying about himself, not me. It seemed wrong he'd think of me first. I saw him look around the room, and then he sat down on the bed.

"You should eat. Then you can take a shower," he said. "I can find some clean clothes for you. It won't fit, but..."

"Wait," I interrupted, "shouldn't you be the one to take a shower first? There's blood all over you."

"No. There's enough of hot water only for one of us, and it takes a day to get it warm again. You go first, whenever you're ready."

I gaped at him.

"Go eat before it gets cold," he said, staring at his hands in his lap. I saw him flexing his fingers nervously like something was bothering him. He licked his dry and cracked lips, and I noticed the bruises on his face had faded to a pale yellow shade. Sighing, I went over to the table and picked up the tray with the food. Devin gave me an angry, irritated glare as I placed the tray on the bed next to him and sat down on the floor. His nostrils flared at the rich scent of the food, and he visibly swallowed, pressing his lips together.

"I'm not going to eat anything unless you join me," I said, picking up another fry. Devin frowned, sliding off the bed and sitting down on the floor next to me.

"Ariel, it's not poisonous." He sighed. "They can't kill you just like that. I promise."

"It's not that," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "Why would you even think I'm using you as a food taster?"

"Whatever." The indifference in his voice told me he didn't believe me. I wondered had anyone done that to him before.

"Open your mouth," I said, bringing the fry to his lips. The look he gave me was of pure rage, but he did what I asked him to, and I put the fry into his mouth. I immediately took another fry and smiled as I chewed it. We both lived through it, so I decided the rest of the food was fine too. I cut the stake in two and gave the bigger half to Devin. He complained about it, but I didn't usually eat that much, so why start now?

When the plates were clean and the glass empty, Devin got up and carried the tray back to the table. I stifled a yawn, feeling so tired that I could barely stand on my feet.

"You should take a shower now. I'll change the sheets so you can sleep," he said, and I shook my head at him.

"I can't. I keep thinking someone will come and..."

"I'll stay with you then," he said, taking the sheets off the bed and folding them into a neat pile. Relief washed over me. I might have dared to walk around, but I wasn't brave enough to sleep or shower because then I would be truly defenseless. Devin went for the door, and I followed him to a small room just down the hall where he dumped the sheets into a white washing machine. When we were in the bathroom, he went through his closet and found a black T-shirt and shorts, which he gave to me.

"I won't be long," I said, determined not to use up all the warm water. He just nodded at me, leaning against the sink. I closed the door, wondering how he could stand to have all that blood still clinging to his skin, hair and clothes. I probably didn't want to know.

Devin's eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly when he saw me after I'd finished my shower. My long hair was wet and clung to my face, and I was wearing his shirt, which came all the way to my thighs. I was glad there wasn't a mirror because I really didn't want to see myself looking like a murdering ghost from a horror movie. Judging by the look of surprise on Devin's face, my make-up had probably gotten smeared.

"I know. I look horrible. You don't have to stare," I said, putting the dress I'd been wearing in the sink.

"No, you don't look horrible." He frowned, but looked away from me. "You don't have to wash your dress. I can take it to the washing machine."

"It's ok. I need something to do while you shower or I'm going to fall asleep." I let the water run and soak the dress, which still smelled like smoke and alcohol.

"So you could fall asleep here?" He grinned at me.

"Ok, maybe not fall asleep, but faint and hit my head, yeah." I got some soap on the dress and started rubbing it in. Devin went to the shower, leaving me alone with my thoughts, which wasn't good at all. I kept thinking of my sister and my parents. Had Amadeo told them already what was going on? Had they believed him or thought he was insane? I hoped Christina had cooperated with him, but the questions were still there. Were they already far from our home? Did they miss me? Would I ever see them again? I felt the familiar sting of tears in my eyes and brushed them off angrily. I wasn't going to cry. Not now.

My thoughts went back to Devin. He was being so nice to me, and I didn't know why. As far as I knew, everyone who was nice to you had ulterior motives. I'd seen too many betrayals, friends turned into enemies,... And I wasn't even an adult yet. Surely, there were some people who were honest and loyal, but could a demon be any of that? I still wasn't sure what the whole deal with his father was. Could Devin have fooled Leonard too?

I heard the door open and looked up. I shouldn't have. Devin was wearing nothing but a towel. There were quite a few faint bruises on his chest, but he had an insanely nice-shaped body. His eyes regarded me curiously through the wet strands of black hair as he made his way to the closet. I wanted to look away, but I didn't. He turned his back to me, and I gasped. Faint reddish scars crisscrossed his pale skin, but he stood there like he didn't feel that at all. Taking some clothes from the closet, he turned his obsidian eyes at me and frowned.

"Would you mind turning around?" he said.

"Oh, right." I spun around so fast that I had to support myself on the sink, or I would have fallen to the ground. Now where were mirrors when you needed them? Devin could have changed in the other room, so why was he doing it here with me so near? Did he want me to take a peek? Oh. I slowly turned my head, biting on my lip, and looked over my shoulder. Yep, he was impossibly hot.

Focusing my attention back on my dress in the sink, I wondered did Devin fancy some demon girl here in Hell. It was possible that he wasn't allowed to have a girlfriend, but that didn't mean he couldn't like someone. I took a deep breath, wondering how Devin managed to live like this. All this time I hadn't even thought that I had the freedom to do whatever I wanted and that having to go to school and things like that wasn't exactly a big thing. I couldn't imagine how I would feel if someone threatened me with death if I didn't do what they told me to.

"You can look now," Devin said, smoothing his black T-shirt, identical to the one I was wearing. Of course, I'd turned around even before he could finish the sentence. My eyes were practically closing now, but I was still sure I'd keep waking up if he wasn't around. Funny, not long ago I'd have been pissed if someone tried to watch me sleep, but now I wouldn't mind Devin staring at me as long as he kept the other demons away from me.

"Put the dress here so it can dry," he said, taking a hanger out of the closet and putting it on the closet handle. I squeezed the dress as hard as I could to get the water out, not even caring about getting it wrinkled. Would I ever need that dress again? I had no idea. Devin took the dress from me and hung it up.

"I wish I had a toothbrush," I said wearily.

"Let me show you something," Devin said, placing his hands gently on my face, his finger brushing softly against my lips. My breath got caught in my chest as I stared at his gorgeous black eyes, my skin tingling under his touch. Suddenly I could taste the mint on my tongue. He let go of me, smiling.

"Wait, you can use magic to brush your teeth?" I couldn't hide the surprise and shock in my voice. I ran my tongue across my teeth, feeling exactly like I had just brushed them. Now that was awesome.

"Yeah, but we're kind of not supposed to use magic for things we can do ourselves. Our life shortens every time we use it." Devin took my hand and led me back to his room.

"That doesn't make sense," I mumbled. "Don't demons live longer than humans?"

"Yes, but if you keep using magic, you can make your life shorter than that of a human," he said. "Of course, that is if someone doesn't kill you first."

"So can't you just..." I bit the insides of my mouth to stop myself from talking. Lack of sleep was messing with my head. I had not just tried to suggest him to use up all his magic to kill himself to escape Maliadades. Now seriously, where did the dead demons go if they already lived in Hell? To Earth? Yeah, that would be awesome.