we walk around the side and I take in the house. It’s cute. Just a house in the middle of a street, with other houses all around. It’s so...normal.
“This is where you used to live? Before…”
“Before I answered a job listing and got told I was a demon? Yep,” she answers with a smile as we step up to her front door. She makes a show of stoppin’ at the door and jigglin’ the knob, makin’ it look like she’s strugglin’ with a key, even though she’s not usin’ one.
At the sound of a door squeakin’ open, we both look over, and Delta raises a hand. “Hey, Maria!” she calls.
Her neighbor, Maria, waves back, watchin’ us as she smokes.
“That’s not a cigarette, is it?” I whisper, watchin’ as fifty-somethin’ Maria takes the longest suck on a stick I’ve ever seen.
“Nope,” Delta answers before she waves one more time and then shoves open the door and steps aside for me.
I walk through, and she closes the door behind me before stuffin’ her scythe in an umbrella holder nearby. I follow suit, the tall staffs lookin’ out of place there.
Delta presses her palm to the closed door, and a faint black light starts to glow between her fingers while she mutters curses under her breath. After a second, she drops her hand. “Fuck, that’s hard.” She turns to look at me with a shrug. “I’m still learning how to do wards. That shit’s not easy.”
“Oh.”
I look around at the interior of the house. The livin’ room is a cozy size, with carpet that’s slightly worn and a couch that looks like it’s been loved for many years. The kitchen is gleamin’ though, lookin’ like it’s been completely redone.
“I like your house,” I say honestly. “It’s comfy.”
Delta nods. “Thanks. It belonged to my parents—my adoptive ones,” she clarifies.
“Where are they?”
Her gray eyes dart away. “They died.”
I immediately feel bad. “Oh. I’m so sorry.”
“Me too,” she answers with a sad smile. “Here, come sit down on the couch. Make yourself at home. I’ll go grab us some beers, and we can talk.”
I move to the couch while she hurries off to the kitchen, and I hear her rummage around in the fridge before closin’ it and walkin’ back out. I try not to study the way she moves or her features, but I fail miserably. I feel like some creeper who can’t take her eyes off of her every move.
She sits down next to me on the couch, her back to the armrest as she hands me a beer and curls her legs up beneath her, wings tucked in tightly.
I tip the bottle back and take a long drink, the fizz and the quiet immediately settlin’ my nervous stomach.
“Thanks,” I say after a long swallow and a sigh. I run my hands through my hair. “That was...intense back there.”
Delta nods and rests her own beer bottle on her thigh. “Believe me, I get it. Those assholes always do this shit. Dropping info bombs left and right. Don’t worry, no one will bother us here. The guys know better,” she says with a mischievous grin as she takes another sip.
“You live with them in the mansion?”
“Yep. But every time they piss me off, I come here to chill, and they know they’re not allowed to butt in. My scythe is scary enough that they don’t fuck with me.”
I chuckle a little, feelin’ better by the second, and just like that, all the weirdness fades away between us. For the next three hours, the two of us just talk. About everythin’.
I learn all about her life, and I tell her all about mine. It isn’t awkward or strained. Once we just start goin’, tradin’ stories like we’ve known each other for years, it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Delta tips her head back and laughs. Between the two of us, we’ve polished off a six pack of beer and opened up a bottle of wine. We’re not feelin’ it much, because of the demon thing, but it’s nice to shoot the shit over drinks. Makes me feel a semblance of normalcy. “Your parents sound awesome,” Delta says as we polish off the last of the wine.
“They are. They’ll love you,” I tell her. “Purple is Mama’s favorite color.”
Delta chuckles again and then nudges me with her foot. “So...what’s the story with Flint and Alder?”
“What do you mean?” I ask innocently, starin’ into my empty wine glass.