Page 22 of Realm of the Wicked

Before I could stop myself, I said the thoughts out loud. ‘You don’t look like a devil.’ I couldn’t remember ever imagining the Devil had glasses of all things. Shouldn’t his vision be 20/20? All the better for roasting you alive, my dear.

‘The Devil. Or Belial if you’d rather.’ His face remained impassive, eyes still downcast on his notebook. ‘My apologies. I fear I’ve left my pitchfork in my other dress pants.’

I frowned. ‘Seriously. This is not how all the books depict the Devil looking.’

Damien sighed, realizing his work was futile and I wasn’t planning on leaving without some kind of answer. Once more, the glasses were carefully removed, slowly folded, and placed on the desk with purpose. He closed the book with a snap. ‘Look, I know how those monster books make it seem. I’ve read enough of them over the years. The Greeks probably came the closest. But what it comes down to is that someone is required to transport the souls. Essentially, they are a gatekeeper to Hell. A go-between of Earth and Hell. That’s what I am. So call me whatever you’d like, the result is the same. And the truth of it is that devils aren’t born, Stella. They’re made. I was made. I had a life once, like you. I used to be human, once upon a time.’

Blinking, I tried to make sense of the words he was saying. ‘How… how long ago were you human?’

‘A very long time ago.’

Made. I didn’t know much about religion. My parents had been the kind to believe that church was the sun above you and the grass under your feet on a Sunday. But I knew enough to know the Devil had just always been. They weren’t created. And yet, here was Damien telling me the exact opposite. ‘How did you become a devil?’

‘I made a choice,’ he snapped. ‘And I chose this. So now here I am.’

‘How long ago, though? A hundred years? A thousand?’ Despite myself, I was curious to know more about him.

‘The world I grew up in no longer exists. That’s all that matters. The family I once had are long gone, and anything I would’ve known and understood about the world doesn’t exist either. It doesn’t matter, Stella. You’ll realize soon enough for yourself.’ A smirk crossed his face, fleeting and cruel. ‘Everything is temporary. Once you’re on the outside of it all, looking in at the people floating around inside their snow globe, looking for a meaning that isn’t there, you realize how fucking temporary it all is.’

‘It’s not.’

His tongue darted out, running along the seam of his lips. I followed the movement with my eyes. ‘What?’

‘Temporary.’ I leaned forward until I rested my forearms on his desk, not daring to blink. I wouldn’t show weakness. ‘None of it is. Just because you’ve been around long enough to see it all happen, and then repeat itself again, doesn’t mean it’s temporary. I’m not going to forget my sister or my parents. I’m not going to forget the life I had out there. And if I don’t forget, and I’ll be around forever, doesn’t that mean my memories are forever, too?’

The annoyance and cruelty evaporated off Damien’s face, sliding off until he sat expressionless in front of me once more. ‘For your sake, Bambi, I hope that’s true. I truly do.’

The edges of the desk bit into my arms. ‘Bambi?’

‘Don’t tell me you don’t know that story. I thought all humans knew those tales.’ The smirk was back, the sharp gaze that made me question if it was teasing or serious.

‘Bambi, as in the deer.’ God, he was strange.

‘Bambi, as in the sweet, naïve deer who had no idea what the world was like, watching it all through those big, innocent, brown eyes, expecting a miracle to come out of nowhere.’ Damien twisted one of the silver rings that graced his fingers. I couldn’t help but watch his graceful hands. They were beautiful, like the rest of him. ‘That’s how you look at me. Like you’ve seen the worst in the world, and you still somehow expect some good to come out of me. There’s no good in me left.’

I shrugged, ignoring the way my heart began to pick up speed. ‘Maybe I hope for the best in all people. You’ll be disappointed if you’re expecting a naïve girl with no understanding of the real world, though. Hopeful, maybe. I’d even give you optimistic. Naïve? Sadly not.’

‘I’m beginning to see that.’ Damien’s voice was a quiet thrum, keeping time with my heart.

I opened my mouth to say more, to defend my honor – or at least what remained left of it – but before I could, Damien held up his hand, narrowing his gaze as he looked past me. My eyes widened. ‘Wha⁠—’

‘Shush.’ His eyes remained focused on something beyond me, until an angry growl escaped him. ‘Fuck’s sake.’

The shock of fear that shot through me was unexpected. I might not have known Damien well, but I knew by the look on his face that whatever he’d heard wasn’t good. ‘Is everything okay?’

‘No. And thanks to your little intrusion in my office, I have no way to hide you. I’m going to need you to listen, which I know isn’t your favorite thing, but if you want to get out of this in one piece, you’ll listen to every damn word I say, okay?’

‘I… I don’t understand.’

Damien strode around his desk and pulled me to my feet before I realized he had even gotten out of his chair. He pulled my chin up to look at him, and all I could think about was how good his warm hands felt against my skin. I must have been more touch starved than even I realized, because I found myself fighting not to lean into his hands. Surely, this one weakness wouldn’t damn me?

‘Listen closely,’ he hissed. ‘Because the head of the Council of Hell just showed up at my door, and with almost absolute certainty I can say they’re here to question me about you. So you’ll do as I say, and you’ll only speak when spoken to. If they ask you a question, you’ll answer with a yes or no. Do not give them more information than they ask for. Do not give them anything freely. They will use it against you. Maybe not today, but believe me, nothing goes for free in Hell.’

‘Information isn’t temporary then,’ I muttered under my breath. From the flash in Damien’s gaze, I knew he’d heard me. ‘What do you mean, Council of Hell? Aren’t you in charge?’

I could hear them now, what Damien must have picked up on far before me: an echo of footsteps trailing down the hall, sure and precise.

‘Checks and balances, Bambi.’ He grimaced, let go of my chin, and pushed me behind him the slightest bit. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was protecting me. ‘Everyone answers to someone.’