AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t get too excited.” He lifted a black, leather case from a small ledge, stirring my curiosity as he turned toward me. On the case was an emblem--serpents entwined around a dagger, with wings at each of its sides.
“You were in a fraternity?”
“Something like that.” Lips cracked to a smile, he ran his finger over the emblem, before his smile faded to a frown. “Knights of the Infernal Order.”
“That sounds very medieval.”
“They go back a long way. The ancients fought in the great war against the heavens.”
“Are you talkingthewar? As in,Book of Revelationvariety of war?”
“Yes.”
Jesus. Literally. I wondered if he’d actually met the guy all of a sudden. “You aren’t that old, are you?”
“No, smartass. I wastrainedby the ancients. I didn’t say Iwasone.”
“As a Knight of theInfernalOrder? So like, Hell? Thebadguys?”
“The bad guys. In fact, the leather of this case is made from flesh.”
I grimaced, wondering if he meant human flesh, but I didn’t have the balls to ask. “How did I not know this about you?”
“It’s not exactly dating conversation.” Pulling back the sleeve of his shirt revealed the veins in his forearm, where the silvery tattoos gleamed. He pointed to a faint white outline embedded beneath the tattoos. The same emblem embossed in the leather had been branded on his arm.
“How did I miss that?”
“It’s not something I’m proud to show off. I’ve done very bad things in my lifetime.”
I knew that about him. Jericho was a bad man. Essentially the villain in my story, who killed without mercy and gave little-to-no thought about morals and virtue. I’d come to terms with it, because good men didn’t scare away the monsters that were inevitably coming for me. “You’ve also done some good, Jericho, which makes you complicated. Bad, but complicated.”
From inside the case, he lifted a beautiful and elaborately carved object made of silver. Or so it appeared, anyway. As he removed a blade, it made a satisfying melodic swish sound.
“A knife?”
“A dagger is what we like to call it. Made of celestial steel and reinforced with a curse.”
“Curse? Like the one Drystan used?”
“Not quite.” He held up the dagger, twisting it around as if admiring it. “This blade, you must strike a certain way to send someone to Ex Nihilo. It’ll be safer for you to sleep with.”
“Sleep with … as in under my pillow?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Precaution.”
“Look, I know I just gave you the ‘I’m not a child’ lecture,” I said in air quotes, “but I’m also not the bad-ass you seem to think I am. The most impressive thing I’ve ever done with a knife is manage tonotget peanut butter on my sleeve.”
Only a hint of a smile played over his lips as he stood up from the organ bench and stepped toward me. Damn the flutter in my heart, as he approached in his black button-down shirt, which showed off just a hint of silver tattoo beneath the sleeves. “Anybad-asstraining taught in your realm would fail to work here, anyway. What is vital to humans is not the case with demons.” He flicked his fingers, urging me to stand up. “Come. I’ll show you.”
“Sure that’s a good idea? It could be dangerous, getting too close.”
“You’re mocking me.”
“Damn right.” With a huff, I stood up from my seat, and the moment I was upright, he dragged me close to him. My body mourned the heat given off by his, and I craved that proprietary grip of his against my hip. It hadn’t been more than a couple hours of staying away from each other, and it already felt like an eternity.
