The Devil is in the Details

by Maya Daniels

  “You guys are evil. You use, abuse, and kill humans for nothing but your own amusement. We’re the opposite of you and we protect humanity. It’s how life works, monster boy. Don’t shoot the messenger!” Crossing my arms over my chest, I look at him sternly like he is some disobedient child.

  “You’re good?” He laughs humorlessly, shaking his head. “I never said demons are good. I said I did the right thing. Demons are not all bad, just like not all of you are good. Sorry to burst your bubble. We hunt the rogues as much as you do. The only difference is that we don’t kill everything that’s not part of our order. You know…” Waving his hand at me, his lips stretch into a sinister smile. “Like what you do. If it’s not part of the order or human, kill it first, ask questions later. Right? Because that doesn’t make you as much of a monster as I am, cupcake.”

  “Stop calling me cupcake!” I snap, turning away from his penetrating stare. His words were like a punch to the gut. “My name is Helena—but you can call me Hel.”

  “Eric.” At the sound of his name, I turn to look at him over my shoulder.

  “Eric.” I test the sound of his name on my lips, and his eyes turn hot and feel like they’ll burn me to ashes where I stand. “It suits you.” Unable to look away from his eyes, I try to remember how to breathe while butterflies are wreaking chaos in my stomach. “Why did you help me, Eric?”

  “Because from the moment I saw you, there was nothing else I could do but help you, Helena. I tried to stay away, but I ended up following you to your home. There’s something about you.” Shaking his head as if to clear it, a frown pulls his eyebrows together over his eyes. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s almost as if I was compelled to protect you. Not that I mind; I just don’t like to get involved with the Order. But you’re different.”

  Still looking at his confused and handsome face, a deep sigh passes my lips, making his frown deepen. “Different? You have no idea, monster boy.”

  Sitting on a stool, leaning over the kitchen counter, I’m watching Eric cook breakfast. My mind is in shambles and I have a pounding headache, making my temples throb with their own heartbeat. My best friend’s unseeing eyes keep flashing behind my eyelids almost every time I blink and the pain in my chest feels like someone has hit me with a sledgehammer when I remember that Hector had something to do with it. Persistently, I keep pinching my thigh in hopes that all this is a horrible nightmare and I’ll finally wake up to Amanda telling me I’m having bad dreams because I’m suppressing my emotions. Everything feels surreal, especially remembering Archangel Michael standing in front of me with his outspread wings. I’m not really sure why I find that specific detail to be so unbelievable. I mean, I hunt demons, for goodness sake. Why on earth do I find angels shocking?

  “Stop biting your nails.” Eric’s deep voice jolts me out of my thoughts, and I realize that I’m biting my nail so hard I’ll start bleeding soon.

  He doesn’t even turn around when he speaks. It is like he has eyes in the back of his head. He’s still flipping eggs and thick pieces of bacon on the gas-burning stove that looks like it belongs to a restaurant, not a home kitchen, the delicious aroma filling the air around me and making my stomach twist in knots. Just like the bedroom, the kitchen is in dark colors. It’s a modern setup that’s sleek and elegant with marble countertops and glossy black cabinets reflected on the dark silver appliances, which I find surprising for a single guy. My mind stops with a screech. Is he single? And what the hell do I care whether he is or isn’t? My eyes flick towards him, and a tingle in my belly makes me clench my teeth when I can’t seem to look away. The bastard refused to put a shirt on, and there he stands, barefoot and clad only in sweatpants. His bare back has no right to look as sexy and tempting as it does. With each movement, I discover new muscles that I didn’t know existed on someone’s back. He’s not bulky like some bodybuilder, but he has enough definition that it’s almost like watching a piece of art when he moves. My eyes trace the exposed skin all the way to his narrow waist with low-slung sweatpants, and my mouth dries up the longer I keep looking at him. The full sleeve of tattoos etched on his right arm just adds to the enigma that he is. The clearing of a throat makes my eyes jerk up, and I groan at his smirk and the amusement in his eyes. Busted!

  “What?” Snapping, I glare at him as if it’s his fault that I can’t control my hormones around him.

  “How do you like your eggs?” Chuckling, he looks back to what he’s doing, and it takes me a second for the words to register in my brain. The muscles on his arm bunch up, drawing my eyes to them as he moves his hair out of his face. I’m wondering if he’s doing it on purpose to mess with my head. I don’t know him at all, but I’m almost ready to bet my life that he is.

  “Sunny side up, please.” My voice comes out a little too breathless for my liking, but I cover it up by clearing my throat. “You don’t have to cook for me. I’ll be happier if you give me information I need more than I’ll appreciate food at the moment.”

  “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Plus, you can use some food after everything you went through yesterday. First we eat, then we talk.”

  “Okay, Mother!” At my bitchy comment, he only chuckles, shaking his head as he starts piling food on plates.

  Setting the plate in front of me, he takes the seat next to me and starts eating without saying another word. After glaring and feeling uncomfortable for a few moments, I follow his lead and dive in. I didn’t feel hungry, but after the first bite, it feels like I haven’t eaten in a month, and an embarrassing moan passes my lips as I chew on the bacon. Eric doesn’t say anything, but pauses for a second, looking at me out of the corner of his eye and his nostrils flare as if he is scenting the air. My stomach flipflops at that and I swallow my food fast, gulping half the glass of orange juice he placed in front of me.

  “The bacon is delicious.” Breaking the silence, I’m hoping I’ll stop feeling like I want to jump out of my skin from his nearness. His lips twitch at my words, but he keeps his face stoic as he pretends that I’m not staring daggers at him.

  Not looking away from his plate, he prods the eggs. “That’s because it’s not bacon. It’s human meat.” His face is emotionless, not giving anything away. He doesn’t blink an eye about what he just said and takes another bite of his food.

  “WHAT?” My voice echoes around the kitchen as I jump off the stool and start turning around in a panic, looking for somewhere to empty my stomach.

  A burst of booming laughter startles me out of my panic, and I freeze, looking at him wide-eyed. “You should’ve seen your face!” He’s pounding his fist on the counter and tears glisten at the corners of his eyes. “Really, Helena. You don’t believe a word I say, but you believe that I actually cooked you a human? I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry at that.”

  “Well, you are a…”

  “A monster? Yeah, I know,” he cuts me off dryly.” Or…no! An abomination. That’s right!”

  “I was going to say a demon!” With a sigh, I press the heels of my hands to my forehead. “This whole thing is so fucked up,” I mumble as I reclaim my seat.

  “Not really. You’re only now finally looking past the blinders and the brainwashing they like to give you in the Order. You say demon like it’s an insult.” Lifting an eyebrow, he looks at me for a second. “It’s like me calling you human in hopes of hurting your feelings.”

  “It’s not the same!” Pushing the plate away, I glare at him.

  “No? What’s the difference?”

  “Abominations are evil! They kill, abuse, and eat humans, for fuck's sake! A demon is not the same as a human!”

  “Humans do worse things to each other. I’m a demon, and I haven’t yet sampled a human. So according to you, I should try one, huh?”

  “So, you say!” At my response, he looks at me for long moments before shaking his head.

  “No matter what I tell you, you won’t believe me.” With a deep sigh, he pulls my plate closer to my seat.
“Eat!”

  “No!” Stubbornly, I cross my arms over my chest.

  “Do you don’t want to see and hear for yourself what the reality really is?”

  “What do you mean, hear and see?” Forgetting all about my anger, I watch him closely.

  “I’ll show you instead of telling you. That way you won’t need to believe my words. You can believe your own eyes.”

  “Okay, let’s go!” Jumping off the stool, I start turning, but the clicking of his tongue stops me.

  “Nope!” Tapping the plate with his fork, he looks at me pointedly. “First you eat! Then we go!” Without another word, he turns to his food and ignores me while I’m gaping at him open-mouthed.

  Seeing that I won’t win this argument, grumpily I sit back on the stool and start shoveling food in my mouth. It’s amazingly delicious, but I’ll be damned if I’ll tell Eric that. For whatever reason, he affects me more than any other attractive man I’ve seen in my life, and there are plenty of those at the sanctuary. Something is going on, and I’d better find out what before I do something stupid. Like start touching him the way I really want to right now, when he is sitting so close that I can feel his body heat through my clothing.

  I’m not the least bit surprised when we step out of the skyscraper that Eric lives in and walk up to a sleek black Porsche that a valet is standing next to, holding the door open for us. I don’t know Eric at all, but even without seeing his ride, I’d assumed it’d be either something fast or a motorcycle. He definitely doesn’t look like someone that drives a sedan or a minivan. Snorting at my own thoughts, I see him turn his head slightly my way with a raised eyebrow, but I ignore him. Watching him parade half-naked for over an hour and then walking around with his leather pants unbuttoned, his boxers peeking out from under them, and abs to die for while he was pulling a shirt on, a procedure that looked more like undressing then dressing up, was enough to mess me up for a lifetime. So, I decided to ignore him, like he wasn’t even there, and thought of Solomon or Samuel instead every time my mind went back to his body. That was enough to snap me out of my lusty thoughts.

  The day is beautiful but the warm breeze rustling my hair and tickling my face like a gentle touch does nothing to calm my anxiety. I have no idea where he’s taking me, but I know deep in my gut that it’ll only confirm all the shit that happened last night. The kid standing next to the car looks about sixteen or seventeen, and his eyes widen comically when he sees me walking next to monster boy. I can only imagine what he’s thinking, looking at the cargo pants, buckled knee-high boots, and the dozen belts looped around my waist and thighs with my two guns attached to them. My taste in clothing has always been more peculiar then anyone else’s in the sanctuary, but I’ve never felt self-conscious about it until now. I’ve never roamed around the city in the morning or during the day, either, so there is that, too. Self-consciously, I smooth my hands over my hair and wipe my palms on my thighs.

  “How are you, sir?” the valet kid smiles broadly at Eric while his eyes keep flicking in my direction.

  “Good, Jim. How are you? School almost over for the year?” Eric smiles at the kid, and the conversation is so ordinary that I almost stop walking from the absurdity of it. The guy is a demon, for fuck's sake.

  “Yeah…umm…just about,” Jim stutters, his cheeks turning pink as if he’s embarrassed that Eric remembers details about him.

  “Thank you for bringing her over.” Clapping the kid on the shoulder a couple of times, Eric slides into the car gracefully, and dumbfounded, I follow suit, if a lot less gracefully, closing the door gently in case I damage it or something. It looks brand new, the smell of leather strong inside it, like it had just come from the dealership.

  Jim is still smiling like he’d won the lottery because Eric spoke to him when the car purrs to life and we peel off the side of the road. I watch the kid in the side mirror until I can’t see him anymore, then I turn my body towards my companion with my eyebrows up to my forehead. He doesn’t look at me but keeps looking straight ahead, weaving in and out of traffic like a Formula 1 driver.

  “What?” After a while of me staring, his baritone breaks the silence, but he still doesn’t turn to look at me.

  “That was quite…” Lost for a proper word to use, my voice trails off.

  “Human?” His full lips twitch again, and the corners of his eyes crinkle as if he is suppressing a smile. “Maybe I should’ve eaten him. You know, to live up to the reputation and all.” Lifting his hand, he scratches his five ‘o’clock shadow as if contemplating it.

  “That’s not funny!” Huffing at him, I turn away and look out the window at the blurring scenery we are zooming past. “Nothing of this makes sense. Demons are grotesque-looking evil creatures that are trying to destroy humanity. They don’t talk, much less look and act like you.”

  “Why, Helena! That almost sounded like a compliment!” Sarcasm is thick in his words, and I glance at him from the corner of my eye.

  Since I don’t know what to say, I rub my hands over my face, praying the headache will go away. I’m still wearing the same clothes I put on yesterday morning, and I’d washed my face without having my makeup or anything else with me. I feel exposed and vulnerable. A wary sigh escapes me and I huff at my own stupidity. My whole life turned to crap, my best friend is dead, my father lied to me and might have had something to do with her death, an archangel is on my ass trying to kill me and a demon saved my life. Rationally, I doubt that not having makeup is my biggest problem at the moment, but I cling to it in hopes everything else will just go away like it didn’t happen. If I were being honest with myself, I would admit that I wear it like war paint in hopes that it will mask my fragile heart and emotions. It’s been working well until now.

  “Listen, all jokes aside… no, I suppose it's not funny at all. That being said, the situation is what it is. Nothing can change it. You’ll just have to make the best of it. “Sobering up, he turns his handsome face my way, and when I look at him, my stomach clenches at the pity in his green eyes.

  “Don’t pity me, monster boy!” Through clenched teeth, I growl angrily at him. “And watch the damn road! I didn’t cheat death last night only to die in a car crash!” Grabbing the leather seat underneath me, I dig my fingers into it, breathing through my nose in hopes to ground myself and stop the panic that is trying to overwhelm me. “I don’t need your pity! I’m not some helpless girl you found on the side of the road that requires saving.” Staring him down I’m not surprised that he is still watching me intently while driving like a bat out of hell. “I don’t have a sad story to tell you that I have been unloved or mistreated. My life was perfect until a week ago. This whole thing is like a horrible nightmare that I’m waiting to wake up from.”

  “I don’t pity you…”

  “Could’ve fooled me!” Grumbling, I turn away from him. “Where are we going, anyway?” When he doesn’t answer, I look at him, and after a few moments searching my eyes he looks at the road again.

  “We are almost there,” is all he says, after which silence drapes heavily in the car.

  Flying sideways through three lines of traffic like there were no other cars around us, Eric gets off the highway and drives us to downtown Atlanta. Buildings stretch up towards the sky, blotting out the sun, and thousands of people weave in and out of buildings and businesses alike. We enter an underground parking garage and it takes my eyes a second to adjust to the abrupt change of light while I keep blinking repeatedly. When I can finally see, my heart skips a beat because he’s driving us straight towards a wall, and my breath gets stuck in my throat as my eyes shut instinctively and I brace myself for impact. When nothing happens, I slowly peel one eye open while my heart hammers in my chest so hard I think it can physically be seen through my clothing.

  “What in the actual fuck is this?” I breathe, and gape at what looks like a parking lot for an agency or something from a crime show.

  Black SUVs are lined up on one side with people standing
around them chatting. Turning around, I look over my shoulder and see that the wall is still there, but we somehow drove through it without dying. A million questions are spinning through my head, but I’m in so much shock right now that I’m not sure I’m capable of speaking, so I just gulp down the panic and stare at what’s around me. Opposite the SUVs is an entrance with automatic glass double doors that keep opening and closing as if it’s the busiest place in town. What the hell is going on? Gawking, it takes me a moment to realize we’re parked between a Harley and a bright yellow Ferrari while Eric is sitting, leaning his back against the door with his arms crossed over his chest, watching my reaction.

  “Where have you brought me?” Even I can hear the panic and accusation in my voice, and I wince at showing him how freaked out I am by all this.

  “We’re still in Atlanta. I brought you with me to work.” His green eyes watch my face so intently I squirm in the leather seat.

  “What was the wall thing over there? How did you go through it?” Narrowing my eyes, I’m hoping my anger will mask the fear gripping my heart at the moment.

  “It’s just a glamour. An easy trick we can do with wards.” Waving his hand nonchalantly, as if he just said the weather is nice outside, he opens the door and climbs out. I’m still staring at the spot he occupied, frozen in place. “Come on, let’s go.”