Demons Run (13)
I woke up fully dressed and laying in bed. The last thing I remembered was sitting in the bottom of the shower with Roman.
"You're up." said Roman. He was sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed, his elbows resting on his knees and holding up his head. He looked tired and stressed out, "How are you feeling?"
I blinked stars out of my eyes and shook my head of the strange dream.
"Dizzy."
I tried to sit up but my head span more, and Roman got up quickly and hurried over to me, resting his hand at the base of my neck and laying me back down, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Be careful. Don't sit up."
"I'm okay." I tried to mutter in protest. He stroked his hand over my hair and shook his head at me. I stared up at him curiously. He looked very relieved that I was up and talking to him, which despite how upset and distraught I'd been, made me happy. "Pharzuph said you were a bad man. And that you were going to kill me."
Roman shook his head, "I would never kill my only chance for redemption. Besides that, you're good. And I told you, I only kill the wicked." He said, "Pharzuph is a liar. He took advantage of your naïveté."
I was naïve in this situation, but it still wasn't nice to be called it. I shifted in the bed a little, feeling the springs in the mattress coil and warp. "He said you chose this. To be a demon. That you drank the blood of other powerful demons."
Roman let out a deep sigh and grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. "Listen, angel. I'm going to tell you why and how I became a demon."
I suddenly became very excited, but I felt guilty for being so curious once I realized how tough the topic was for Roman.
"No, no." I said quickly, "We don't have to."
"I don't want what happened tonight to ever happen again. I want you to trust me, so I'm going to be completely open about this with you." He said very seriously. I nodded and he went on, "I was born human, just the same as my brother. When I was about twelve, Ray and I were out at the river playing. He got too far away from me and was sucked under by a current. He was never a strong swimmer, and I couldn't get to him in time... He drowned."
I felt my heart snap in half at the words. The same brother that Roman said he had loved so much died. I would be scarred after something like that too.
"My mom couldn't handle the grief of losing her youngest son. She heard of a man in town who went from rags to riches on a crossroads deal. It gave her all sorts of really crazy ideas, so she went to the crossroads. When she found out it was real magic and not all smoke and mirrors, she struck a deal with Barbatos to bring Ray back. When she found out what Barbatos' end of the price was... she wasn't so sure anymore."
"You." I said quietly, "Her oldest son turned into something dark."
He gazed down at me through dark lashes, "At the time, we weren't sure what he wanted with me. He made it seem like the deal was almost free." Then he continued, "Mother came home and told me what happened. She asked if... if it was okay... for her to offer me."
"Oh my god." I said quietly, tears pricking the back of my eyes, "You were only twelve."
"I told her yes, because I loved my baby brother." He said quietly, "I wanted him back and if it was the only way to save him I would." there was a brief pause as he gathered himself, "Barbatos came to me one night and fed me the blood of a pure demon, one of the first fallen. Apollyon, in case you were wondering." I had almost forgotten that name. Pain had warned me how dangerous Apollyon was. "I was turned into a hybrid, having the demon blood in my veins. It wasn't bad at first, but Barbatos knew that all hybrids eventually get the same urges as demons do. As I was 22, a female demon named Aria seduced me and made me believe that it was good for me to drink demon blood, and that it would make me stronger to succeed in my endeavors."
"You were tricked by a girl?" I asked, poking at his ribs.
"Demons are the ultimate predators. We are creatures built on temptation, seduction, and lust." He said. I swallowed a bit, trying not to break my gaze with him and signify that I was nervous, "Demons are made to be alluring, to draw you in. Why do you think it was so easy for Pharzuph to manipulate you? Creatures made the most beautiful, are the most deadly."
"You don't manipulate me." I said.
"I don't have to." Roman replied, "We're friends."
"Friends?" I repeated, "Does that mean you care about me?"
"Don't get your hopes up." He said, looking away from me.
I didn't say anything. I couldn't. My mouth was dry, and I was disappointed. There was a sinking in my chest. I had over-romanticized our situation like I always tried not to.
"The demon blood did make me stronger, just like Aria said it would, but it was too late when I realized the changes that had happened to me." He said, resuming his story, "The demon-blood overtook my human-blood, and I lost my humanity. I transitioned into a full demon." Another pause, "I've been waiting on you for centuries, angel. You are the only one who can save me."
"Why me?"
"You're special. You have a righteous heart," He said, "I might just be a demon, but even I know a good person when I see one."
"But you're not like most demons." I said, staring up at his beautiful chiseled features. How could I ever have doubted him? Even for a second?
"Is that so?" He asked, giving me a slight chuckle.
I nodded firmly, "Of course. You have your jerk moments, but you're very sweet. You care about more than just yourself. Hearing the way you talk about Ray breaks my heart."
The smile and chuckle had left his voice, but he did not look angry. It was more a soft air of reminiscent sadness.
"Why does it hurt you?" He asked, laying a hand on mine.
"I can only imagine the way you felt. What it must have done to you..." I said quietly. "I hate thinking about you being upset."
"Angel..." Roman murmured in a husky voice.
His hand slid from mine up to the side of my face where he brushed a callused thumb over my cheek. I leaned into his touch slightly, welcoming it. He gave a soft laugh and began leaning down slowly. His weight shifted the mattress and I could feel the heat of his body as he closed in on my face.
My heart was pumping so hard I thought it might fly out of my chest. Was he going to kiss me? I'd thought about it for a long time, but now that it was an actual possibility I was astronomically nervous. My hands shook slightly and he glanced down, taking notice for a moment, and then looked back to my eyes. That silver stripped the essence of my soul apart; he could tell anything about me just by looking. I would serve my heart on a platter to him if he only asked.
His warm, minty breath fanned teasingly over my lips and I had to force myself to breathe.
"Am I making you nervous?" He asked with a small smile.
I glanced at his perfectly shaped lips and swallowed the rock in my throat, "No." My tone was defiant.
"You're a bad liar." He chuckled darkly, glancing to my mouth and then back to my eyes, "You're just lucky you're cute."
"You like me." I teased him.
"You're very annoying." He responded, shaking his head at me. His voice wasn't fully in the statement; he didn't mean it.
My heart did something that could only be described as a happy dance. Despite being nervous, I smiled up at him. There was just no way this man was a demon.
As soon as I thought he was about to close the remaining space between us, the hotel door burst open. Roman's fighting blinders went up, and he shot from the bed on high alert. I jerked up in bed, alarmed, and instantly regretted it. Spots tainted my vision again, and I grabbed my head with a wince.
It was only Pain and Panic, back from apparently Chucke-Cheese. They were each carrying armfuls of prizes and unused tickets, wearing beads and big mouse ears. Pain was sipping from a Chucke-Cheese cup absently, slurping at the almost empty contents.
"Where have you two been?" Roman asked in a low, menacing voice.
His anger seemed to fly right over their heads because neither of the twins noticed it, and continued being happy and cheerful.
"The house of Chucke." said Panic excitedly, "He is an imposter mouse, but he has fun games."
I fought the urge to laugh outright. They'd thought he was an actual mouse man?
"We tried to dance with Chucke and the gang on stage, but some rude human said that it was for children." said Pain, stopping the obnoxious slurping, "Look, Eve, I got you a necklace!"
Pain proudly held up a stretchy candy necklace beaded with assorted hard candies. In the middle of them all was a large heart candy. Despite feeling under the weather, I smiled at him. They may be complete goofballs, but they mean well.
Roman gave an indulgent sigh and rubbed a hand over his forehead, "Did you at least bring Eve her food?" Both of the twins blanked and looked to each other like deer in headlights. "You didn't get it, did you?"
"Well..." said Pain, dragging his foot across the carpet guiltily and looking down at it, "We were going to bring her pizza..."
"But on the way home we saw a cat." Panic finished, "He licked my hand and seemed to like us, so we fed him."
"You prioritized a feline above Evangelina?" Roman asked criticizingly.
At hearing it put like this, both of the twins looked over to me sadly. Their lips began trembling and their eyes began to water. Pain dropped everything in his arms; the tickets drifted to the floor followed by a clatter of the cup and several plastic rings and other small toys. He ran to the bed where I sat up, flinging himself around my waist and burying his face into my side.
"We are not worthy!" He bellowed tearfully.
Panic followed in his brother's footsteps, dropping all of his things as well and running to my other side, "We are worms!"
In unison: "Punish us!"
The twins cried into my sides until my shirt was damp with faerie tears and hot breath from heavy sobs. I took my hands to rub over the back of their heads comfortingly.
"It's okay." I said. Pain lifted his head first, followed momentarily after by Panic. They both had red, puffy eyes and sniffled. "Go sit down, it's all alright."
The twins nodded and took their seats in separate places, drying their faces up. Roman was looking down at me, not bothering to spare either of them a glance, "She was targeted by the demon Pharzuph tonight."
"What?" Panic asked immediately, "How? Wasn't she here with you?"
Roman turned sharply, "I had to feed. I had to harvest a soul. I was getting very hungry, and Eve was starting to look more delicious than usual." I blushed at this, hoping he didn't see it, "You weren't here to watch her. I had to leave. She got curious and, long story short, ended up running away because she thought I was going to kill her. In the middle of nowhere, Pharzuph must've caught her scent since we were apart. He targeted her and put her under a siren spell."
"A siren spell?" asked Pain quietly, "Those are impossible to break." He shook his head, "He could have made her kill you."
I went rigid, thinking about how Pharzuph had asked me to kill Roman with the slab of headstone. He'd wanted me to, but I hadn't done it. The fact that I'd disobeyed him had him completely fearful, and I was curious as to why.
Roman looked over to me; it was obvious that we were thinking the same thing. I'd somehow broke the spell on my own, but I wasn't sure how. All I could think of was that Roman was in trouble and he needed me.
"How did you manage to get away?" asked Panic quietly.
Roman met his gaze steadily, "I killed him."
"Roman! You know the more demons you kill the easier it is for Barbatos to track us!"
"I didn't have a choice! Which is why the sooner we get to the cruise ship the better." He replied, "We leave first thing in the morning."
"Why not now?" asked Panic, shaking his head.
"Eve collapsed earlier." said Roman as he gestured to me, "Does she look well enough to travel to you?"
I shot Roman a scowl, "Gee, thanks. I look like death, isn't that just great?"
He opened his mouth to speak but Pain beat him to it, "Don't be silly, Evangelina, you always look pretty!" He was giving me a cheeky smile that I couldn't help but return.
I knew I probably didn't look the greatest. I'd been rolling around in rain and mud with a demon two hours ago. Only then did I come back and pass out on the floor and have some pointless dream. My side was still hurting a bit and even stinging in some places. I could feel where bits of dry blood were still sticking to my tanktop.
"Get a room." muttered Roman, shooting a very quick glare at Pain and then looking away from him.
"I don't understand," said Panic, "We are in a room."
Roman let out a heavy sigh at their lack of knowledge on innuendoes, and rubbed the bridge of his nose using his thumb and index finger.
"The point..." He went on, "Is we leave in the morning."
...
The next morning I cleaned up and put on fresh clothes; I actually attempted looking halfway decent. Just one more stop before we reached the cruise ship to Iraq.
I straightened my hair and put on slim-fit skinny jeans matched with a pale blue reverse collar sleeveless front tie shirt. When I finished getting ready and walked out of the bathroom to pack my toiletries up, Pain ambushed me and pulled me into his arms, spinning me around.
I squealed in delight and he set me down, beaming. Today the mood was inexplicably brighter. This may have had to do with the fact we were about to be at a major halfway point in our journey.
"You look like a ray of sunshine, Eve!" He complimented, grabbing my face and shaking it.
I laughed. I was starting to feel a little better as well.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized Roman wasn't going to let anything hurt me. He hadn't let me down thus far, and that was a comforting thought.
Roman walked into the room as Pain's hands were still affectionately fixed on my face; this may have looked a little romantic from an outside view, but I'm sure Pain meant nothing by it.
Roman stopped in his tracks and went a bit rigid at the scene, almost as if he didn't know what to think.
Pain turned around with a smile still plastered on his face, "Hiya boss!"
"Are, um... you two... ready to go?" He asked uncomfortably.
I cocked my head at him. He was never awkward or uncomfortable. What was with all that?
"Yeah, I s'pose." I said, walking over to my large black bag where I shoved in my makeup kit and hair straightener.
"Great," He said, holding out his hand for the bag. I strapped it to my shoulder and smiled.
"I'm not playing damsel today." I said smugly.
He let out a chuckle and rolled his eyes, "Let's go. Panic won't stop playing Ke$ha in the truck and he'll only change it if you ask him to."
"Ooh!" Panic squeaked behind me, "Ke$ha!"
With that, he darted out of the door in front of us.
...
After twenty minutes of compromise that was going nowhere, we cut the radio entirely off.
The twins were playing the alphabet game where they would look on billboards and at restaurants to alphabetically find each letter. You couldn't skip the more challenging letters to find, so the game got progressively harder and kept them entertained.
"What is a Q, exactly?" Pain asked in a philosophical tone, "What is its point? Its contribution to society?"
Panic and I stared at him blankly, and even Roman looked at him funny in the rear view mirror.
"Well... its point is for words like quack... you know, duckies." said Panic slowly, "Where did you even hear that?"
"Sherlock." Pain said after a moments silence. Now that, I can believe. He has this weird faerie man-crush on Benedict Cumberbatch, who he is convinced is not an actor, but the real Sherlock Holmes.
The twins were on letter "V" fourty-five minutes later. We'd progressed past all billboards and even gas stations. It had been a few miles since I'd seen one. Right now were on a stretch of road with a hilly landscape and narrow ruts beside the road.
"This game isn't fun anymore." Pain muttered, crossing his arms childishly and falling back into the seat.
I averted my attention away from him and to the road, where a white tailed deer was leaping out in front of us.
"Oh my God, Roman!" I yelled, pointing my finger at the large buck.
"Hold on!" He commanded everyone in the vehicle. He hit his brakes and tried to avoid the animal, which he did successfully, but at the cost of causing the truck to flip.
My heart was in my throat as we tumbled through the air, my stomach was doing the same motions as the vehicle, and I was terrified. I slammed across the car this way and that, feeling the seatbelt cut into me while trying to hold me in place.
As we landed half-down, half-sideways in the rut with a final devastating impact, the air bags deployed. Roman threw his arm out in front of me to cushion the blow. The air bag alone could have broken my nose or fractured my ribs.
Then, everything was still. Utterly, perpetually, still. The only sounds were of heavy breathing and racing hearts. That had been a very close call.
"Angel, are you hurt?" Roman asked automatically, breaking the silence.
I shook my head, "No, I'm not. What about you?"
"I'm fine." He said breathlessly.
My eyes scanned for injury anyway and I was horrified to see the arm he'd thrown in front of me was bloody and scraped and injured.
"Roman! Your arm--!"
He cut me off, "Will heal quick." He then looked back to the twins, "What about you two, how you holdin' up?"
Pain's lip was busted open and Panic had a bloody nose, but beyond that there was no other visible signs of harm.
"Okay." said Panic quietly, "What about the deer? Is he okay?"
"We didn't hit him." Roman assured the concerned fae.
I let out a slow breath and tried to open the door on the Sierra Grande, but the ditch was too narrow for the door to open wide enough so I could even squeeze out.
"We're stuck." I said in a panicky tone. I was beginning to hyperventilate, "I c- I can't. Roman, I'm claustrophobic."
"Shh." He said, grabbing me by the back of my neck and forcing me to look at him, "Don't think about it. You're not in a small place. You're just with me in the truck, okay?" I stared into his silver irises and pretended that we were sitting on the road, "Now, you can still climb out of the back window, is that alright with you?"
I nodded absently. He let my neck go after one last reassuring look and I climbed into the backseat where Pain and Panic moved aside to make room for me to get through.
I had no trouble unlatching the window and wiggling out of it. The twins passed me our baggage out of the window and I set it all on the ground. They climbed out behind me, and I realized that Roman was too big to fit through the window latch.
He obviously didn't think so.
He thrust his boot through the entire window to make room for himself to get out. When he finally did climb out and off the bed of the truck, he shook all the shards of glass off himself.
"Now." He said, "Let's walk. I'm sure insurance will cover that later, but we don't have time to stand here."
We climbed out of the ditch and onto the main road where no cars came from either way. I could have sworn we were lost, but Roman insisted we were going the right way.
...
Four hours.
Four hours we walked in the humid Florida day; I was thankful when finally the sun dipped beyond the horizon and left us in a cool, merciful night.
A little too cool, actually.
The bad thing about Florida weather was that with winter just around the corner, things were nice during the day, but got freakishly cold at night.
Maybe I shouldn't have dressed cute after all. I swapped the shoulder that was carrying the bag again, as it was becoming tiring to hold. I hugged my arms close to myself and shivered. My ears, even though covered by hair, were cold and aching.
At once, I felt something heavy plop down over my shoulders and turned to see Roman walking beside me, jacketless. He'd given me his favorite leather jacket. It smelled like him. That wonderful spice and nature smell that I had come to adore.
He turned his head just the smallest bit toward me, and even in the dark I saw the slightest smile tug at the corners of his beautifully sculpted lips. I couldn't help but return it, pulling the jacket closer.
"So you and Pain... are you two... you know...?" Roman suddenly trailed off, scratching the back of his neck and looking down at me.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "Are we what?"
His question had come out if nowhere and I still wasn't even completely sure what he was asking.
"... courting?"
I let out a sputter of laughter and instantly threw a hand to my mouth when I realized he wasn't joking, "I'm sorry, excuse me?"
"FUCKING." He finally blurted, then looked over his shoulder to make sure the twins hadn't heard him, "Are you two fucking?"
"No." I said automatically, shaking my head, "No, no, no, no. He's my friend."
"Oh. Okay," said Roman, "Good. That's-- that's good."
His question made me curious as to what the twins were even doing at this point, so I turned to check on them. I was surprised to find that they weren't talking. They'd taken to silence, for which Roman seemed thankful. Perhaps they had missed nature and roaming free. This seemed like a treat to them. Plus, they had the chance to burn off some of that boundless energy.
There were still no cars, streetlights, or stores anywhere in sight. Crickets and frogs made soft noises from in the woods and hilly areas. Moon and starlight were the only things lighting out path.
Halfway down the middle of the road, we saw a man. I squinted my eyes at the figure curiously. He was moving towards us.
Roman pushed me slightly behind him, and we kept walking. I peaked at the figure and finally realized who it was. I'd know that lovely halo of blond hair anywhere.
Tonight Raziel was wearing a long-sleeved white t-shirt as opposed to Roman's short-sleeved one; he matched this with a pair of jeans.
"Raziel?" I asked as we got closer. He looked at me and smiled a greeting, giving one gentle nod.
"What are you doing here?" Roman spat distastefully, "I told you to stay away."
"I came because I felt Evangelina's distress." He said simply, as if that explained the matter, "Perhaps I could help--"
"We don't need your help!" Roman yelled with finality, "How many times do I have to tell you that?"
"Roman, suck up your pride and put aside our personal issues for Evangelina's sake." Raziel said, trying to maintain his calm front, "Look at her, she's freezing. She's human, remember. She feels weather and exhaustion."
"I'd carry her if she asked." said Roman in a low, growling voice.
Raziel let out a soft laugh and his eyes sought mine out, "I've known Eve long enough to tell you she doesn't ask for help."
He was right. I was cold, and I was exhausted. I also didn't want to say this out loud and be looked upon as weak. My last name may mean damsel, but I am not.
This seemed to agitate Roman. His back straightened and his tone was defensive, "What so you think you know her better than me now?"
"Maybe I do!" Raziel said childishly, wavering a bit in that calm façade.
"Stop!" Panic finally screamed at the two feuding grown men as he came to stand at my left side; he was growing red in the face, "You're both big, now can we please stop the fighting?"
We all looked at him, shocked. Normally he was the voice of reason, but I'd nearly forgotten his incident in the hotel room the night I first met him. He did have a temper.
"I just came to help and Roman doesn't care what I have to say!" Raziel began angrily, "If he really cared about her--"
"I DON'T," Roman roared so loud that it echoed all around us, "I DON'T care about her and that's what you don't understand! I am NOT interested in getting attached, and I don't need YOU putting silly little fantasies into her head that I am!"
That was like a slap in the face. My heart stung at his words. He may as well have shot me, because it would have hurt a hell of a lot less. A knot suddenly formed in my throat and I felt like I was going to be sick at any given moment.
"You're upsetting Eve!" Pain growled, taking up refuge on my other side, "Stop it! Both of you!"
"She deserves to be--"
This time, I was the one who cut Raziel off, "'She' is right here and can speak for herself!"
Raziel's eyes flicked to Roman and he coughed, "Told you."
"SHUTUP!" I yelled, "Does anyone really care about what I want or am I just a weapon in your personal vendetta?"
Roman didn't say anything. After screaming that he didn't care, he could hardly bear to look at me.
"Of course we care." said Raziel. He spared Roman a glance, "Well, I care. What do you want, Eve?"
The twins were fixated on me reassuringly, so I guess that's what gave me the courage to speak, "I want to get out of here. I want to get to Babylon and be done with all of this. The sooner it's over, the sooner I can get home to Ben."
With that, I trekked ahead of everyone, making a point to push past Roman. I wouldn't cry. He wouldn't get any tears out of me.
Maybe I had fallen for the wrong person.