Page 46 of Mortis

So far, I’d only known two versions of Kael. The Beast, all swagger and sharp teeth. And Kael himself, eager, curious, almost puppy-like despite being seven feet tall.

This defeated man kneeling on the floor was new, and I didn’t like it one bit.

“What did you do to piss Mammon off so much?”

Kael kept his eyes fixed on the floor. “I was summoned to the mortal world long ago on my master’s behalf,” he admitted quietly. “When my summoner’s chains were broken, I should have returned to Hell.”

He swallowed.

“But I didn’t want to.”

Chains.

The word made my stomach twist. Had he really been someone’s prisoner?

“I ran,” he continued. “For as long as I could. Eventually I reached Barrowfell Woods.” A faint smile ghosted across his face. “I liked the forest. It was peaceful. But the Beast grew hungrier, and with every life we took, I sent their soul into Mammon’s coffers.”

His hands clenched tightly in his lap.

“The Princes of Hell compete endlessly over the number of souls they possess.” He looked at me. “That is why beasts like me exist. To gather them for our masters.”

“That’s—” I shook my head. “That’s horrific.”

A humourless chuckle escaped him. “Demons are greedy by nature, Teddy.” His smile faded. “Mammon more than most. He is the embodiment of Greed, after all.”

“So, you kept sending him souls,” I said slowly. “Just to keep him from coming after you?”

Kael nodded. “It was selfish, but I didn’t want to die by Mammon’s hand. Just as I didn’t want to disappear beneath the Beast.”

He reached out and gently took my hand. His skin felt impossibly warm.

“Thank you, by the way,” he whispered. “For saving me from myself.”

I looked down at him.

This creature had been ready to accept oblivion rather than kill another innocent person. Meanwhile there were humans who murdered without losing a second’s sleep.

The irony wasn’t lost on me.

For so long he’d carried all of this alone. The guilt. The fear. The loneliness. And somehow, despite everything he’d done, all I could see was someone who’d never really been given the chance to be anything except a monster.

As ridiculous as it sounded, I didn’t want to lose him.

I barely knew Kael.

For all I knew, this could be an elaborate act before he murdered me in my sleep, stole my soul, and polished me off before breakfast.

But every instinct I had insisted otherwise.

There was a gentleness to him. A kindness he’d spent years burying beneath guilt and survival. And somehow, I’d been lucky enough to meet that version of him.

Saving him once had felt right. So what was one more time?

I slipped my hand from his and caught him gently by the chin, forcing him to look at me.

“Stop being melodramatic.” I gave his chin a tiny shake. “You’re not dying anytime soon.”

I held out my hand.