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“Are you certain that’s what you want?” I ask, taking a hesitant step forward. Her punch didn’t hurt me, but I’d rather not invite any attacks that could. “It would mean more work than you would have had at a human college. More hours studying, more tests. You might come to hate me more than Elena for the workload I will have to give you.”
The edge in her expression softens, and she looks at me with sadness in her eyes. “You don’t really think I hate Lena, do You? I mean, I’m mad as hell at her, but I don’t hate her. I could never really hate her. She’s my sister; I couldn’t hate her any more than I could hate You.”
Relief floods me, and a curious stinging sensation burns my eyes. I rub them with the back of my hand, surprised when my hand comes back wet. Are those … tears?
“Oh, Az!” Callie launches forward, almost tackling me with the force of her embrace. “I didn’t mean to hurt Your feelings.”
I return the hug, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close, speechless as more wetness slides down my cheeks. I realize that I’ve never cried before, not once in millennia. Not when I fell from Heaven, not when Lilith turned her back on Us Princes, not even when I had to help Elena exorcise My own Brother from her son. Now, though, an emotional exchange with My Love is enough to bring me to tears, and I don’t know what to do to stop them.
“How strange …” I touch my cheek again, marveling at such a human response to distress.
Callie looks up at me and wipes my face with gentle hands. “I’m sorry, Az. It’s just—I guess I’m not handling the shock of seeing Amir killed right in front of me very well. I shouldn’t be so weak. It’s not like I haven’t seen people die before.” She smiles and stretches to kiss me. “Tell You what: If You promise to teach me as much as You can about the infernal arts, I’ll teach You what I can about human emotions. They’re complicated as fuck and probably take about as long to learn.”
I smile back, grateful for her kind understanding. Imagine, a human woman concerned for a demon’s feelings.
“I accept your bargain, Callie. Knowledge for knowledge. It is a fair trade.”
Chapter 15
Callie
Studying sucks.
I’ve had my nose buried in one infernal tome or another for days. Az took me at my word, and He loaded me up with every spell book, guide, historical document, and even math book that He could get His claws on.
Yes, even demons have to learn their own math, and of course in Hell math doesn’t work like math on Earth.
I derp my way through about half a chapter of Introductory Interplanar Physics for Beginners before Az gets His hands on a convenient English-Infernal dictionary, complete with pictures. I don’t know who decided that even needed to exist—all demons know the infernal tongue by instinct, so maybe it’s to translate their tongue into a mortal one—but I’m damn glad it does. Once I have that, my schooling really takes off.
Despite the gravity of the situation, I sneak a moment when Az is busy and look up the signs and sigils He marked me with. The iridescent tattoo is beautiful, but I still want to know what it says.
Some of the sigils can mean more than one thing, so piecing together a translation that makes sense takes me the better part of an afternoon. In the end, I think I’ve got it:
Whosoever shall lay eyes on this Mark, know that its bearer is bound to Asmodeus, Lord of Lust, through all eternity. His love binds her in this and all planes, and wheresoever she may go He shall find her. Mourn all who harm her, for they shall know the fury of His wrath. Celebrate all who love her, for they shall gain His eternal favor.
Damn. That’s pretty cool. Sweet, in a demonic way. Won’t find any human men earning such high marks in the wooing department, that’s for sure.
Knowing its meaning makes the mark even more stunning in my eyes, and I find myself twisting my arm in the light from the surrounding hellfires to see the shimmering colors change with the movement, mesmerized by the way the firelight plays on the designs.
With that little side project done, I buckle down and get cracking. Days stretch on as I sit in my little dorm room, surrounded by infernal tomes. I jump from book to book, following rabbit holes of research as I learn new things. A spell to entrance a human leads to a memory-erasure spell, which leads to a whole volume on human memory and its complexities. I end up learning more about myself than I ever wanted to know, as it appears human nature plays a factor in a lot of demonic spells and rituals.
Az checks on me every so often, bringing food and drink and company. A few times He tries to initiate intimate play, but I can’t let myself get distracted. Not when Leviathan is still after me.
The envy demons are getting bolder by the minute. Some upper-level ones actually came to the borders of Az’s Territory and riled up some of the incubi and succubi who were minding their own business, working on their soul-torturing duties. A few of Az’s Kids died in the skirmish, but with Az’s help they took out half the envy demons before the other half ran back to Leviathan.
I don’t like Him being on the frontlines. I don’t like Him being in the thick of it. What if Leviathan shows His face again? Though He’d be weakened by leaving His Territory, Leviathan could stir some serious shit if He decided to attack Az, even here.
I have my nose buried in a book on infernal grammar and punctuation when Az brings a huge plate of food …
…humanfood! He’s got it loaded with pizza, French fries, wings, hot dogs, burgers—all the greasy goodness I’d started to miss. Don’t get me wrong; Az can cook up a mean demon burger, but it’s not the same as good ol’ Earthy mystery meat.
“Oh, my Gods, thanks, Az! I’m starving!” I drop the book in favor of grabbing a slice of pepperoni pizza and take a most unladylike bite. “This is delicious! Where did You get all of it?”
He wipes a string of melty cheese from the corner of my mouth with a grin. “I suspected that you were missing home a little, so I thought I’d bring a little bit of home to you. I understand that, for humans, this stuff is considered comforting.”
“Yeah. Some people even call it comfort food.”
“What volume are you studying today?” Az picks up the heavy tome and reads the cover. “Ah, a classic! I remember teaching My Children from this book when they were all younger than civilization.”
