Page 37 of Mortis

Kael.

Everything from the previous night slammed back into me like a lorry on the motorway.

Arlo waking me because of the funeral home’s alarm. The smashed front door. The mess inside. The monster with a demon living in his head, halfway through eating Dorothy Robinson. Inviting said monster home and cooking human flesh like I was auditioning for MasterChef.

“Hello, Teddy.”

Kael was curled up beside my bed. At some point after I’d fallen asleep, he’d shifted back into his true form, his clothes noticeably absent. His giant hooves were tucked beneath him, his long fur-covered legs folded awkwardly to fit in the tiny bedroom. His crimson eyes sparkled in the daylight spilling through the window.

I only knew it was Kael and not the beastie because he’d used my name instead of calling me “mortal.”

“Morning, Kael.”

Just like before, his whole expression brightened. I’d spotted the little tail on the back of his pelt last night, and I had the distinct feeling it’d be wagging like a dog’s if I could see it.

“What time is it?” I asked automatically.

It was surprisingly easy to forget I was talking to an actual demon from Hell.

Before I could take the question back, Kael lifted his head and looked out of the window. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully before he turned back to me.

“It’s just before noon.”

Despite his confidence, I reached for my phone. It was just past eleven thirty.

“How’d you know that?” I asked, eyebrow raised.

Kael nodded towards the window. “The sun has yet to reach its highest point,” he explained, as though the answer was obvious.

I supposed, to a demon who’d spent decades living in the woods and telling time by the position of the sun, it probably was.

“Right,” I said with a nod. “Good to know.”

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and Kael immediately shuffled backwards to give me room. He tucked his inhuman legs against his chest, clawed fingers gripping the fur around his knees. It was almost cute watching him try to make his hulking frame smaller. Less intimidating.

Opening the bedroom door, I stepped into the hallway, but turned back to let Kael know I was going to the bathroom.

Or at least, I tried to.

Instead of empty space, I walked face first into what felt like a brick wall.

“Fuck!”

I stumbled backwards, rubbing my nose, only to realise it wasn’t a wall at all.

It was Kael’s very hard, very muscular chest.

I let out an involuntary squeak and practically launched myself against the opposite wall. Meanwhile, Kael stood frozen in my bedroom doorway, shoulders hunched so his horns didn’t scrape the top of the frame. I glanced towards the spot where he’d been sitting, then back at him. I hadn’t even heard him move.

Despite the giant hooves, he was somehow quieter than Arlo sneaking into the kitchen after midnight for some biscuits.

Kael stared down at me with wide, apologetic eyes. Slowly, he raised both hands, black-tipped fingers spread in surrender.

“I’m sorry for startling you.”

“We need to get you a bell,” I muttered, pressing a hand to my rapidly beating heart.

Kael tilted his head. “A bell seems like an unusual gift.”