Where the Devil Says Goodnight (Folk Lore #1) - K.A. Merikan Page 0,62

“My burns are no fucking hallucination. Last time I checked you didn’t have hot irons for hands.”

Adam’s lips went dry, and he approached, focused on two red imprints, each with five fingers. He placed his hand on one of the burns, and when it fit perfectly, the floor under his feet seemed to creak, as if there was a bottomless pit just below, ready to suck him in. He pulled away with fright burning through his body like acid.

“He really did make me do it—”

Emil shook his head, standing that inch closer than before, and looking straight into Adam’s eyes. “Yes, a demon made you do that horrible, horrible thing. Especially at the end, when you held my hands. Everyone knows Satan’s such a romantic.”

Adam’s chest tightened, as if his ribs would rather squash his heart than let him live with the shame of what Emil implied.

He couldn’t move when Emil swallowed, and his sneaky hands reached for Adam’s hips.

“Adam, please. We had a connection. I know it’s a difficult thing for someone in your position, but you seem really sweet. We could take things slow, if that’s what you want.” Before Adam could flinch, Emil gave him the gentlest kiss on the lips.

Warm claws sank into Adam once again, but before he could have struggled, tried to push Emil away, a strange murmur rose all around, as if hundreds of fingers tapped on wood at the same time. Fur slid across Adam’s bare foot, and he stepped back, only to be tossed into yet another nightmare.

Field mice poured out from under his bed and closet, they pushed their way under the door, they swarmed on the windowsill, like bees about to protect their hive.

Emil screamed, and in a most surreal gesture, he grabbed Adam and lifted him to the bed, while staying on the floor himself and kicking away rodents, some of which seemed adamant on climbing up his legs.

His wide gaze turned to Adam. “Make them stop!” he yelled to Adam as if any of this could be Adam’s doing.

But what if… it was?

Adam had never shared any kind of bond with mice, but the frequency of coincidences in his recent life suggested they were anything but. “Shoo, go away!” he said with little energy, only to utter a high-pitched sound when the tiny animals changed direction, charging toward the open window like a herd of antelopes running from a lion.

Emil was still catching his breath, but he spread his arms. “You still gonna tell me we don’t need to investigate?”

Adam watched him with his throat pulsing from all the conflicting emotions buzzing inside him at once. It now occurred to him that this wasn’t the first time Emil had acted chivalrously toward him. Maybe he should have felt offended over being treated like a girl who needed protection from mice, of all things, but how could he if Emil’s reactions seemed so genuine?

“Maybe you’re right. But you can’t kiss me. I’m celibate, and I intend to stick to my vows.”

You’ve already broken them, a tiny voice at the back of his mind whispered, but he shrugged it off.

There was a rapping on the door and Adam thanked God and all the saints that he’d locked it.

“Is everything all right? I heard strange noises,” Father Marek said.

“Go,” Adam whispered to Emil and pointed at the window, where a couple of the rodents lingered. “Wait by the little shrine at the crossing.”

Emil held his gaze through the curtain of dark hair but didn’t hesitate and climbed outside, leaving Adam with his gums throbbing in hunger.

Chapter 12 - Emil

Emil stroked Jinx’s mane, still rattled about the mice coming at him out of nowhere and leaving at Adam’s command. But just beneath the surface of fear were coals that spread their heat all over his body. What had happened last night had not been natural. Whether it was good or bad, Adam was part of something that questioned Emil’s worldview, and they needed to uncover what this new reality meant. Emil would be there for Adam on this journey, even if it meant swallowing the bitter pill of rejection.

He’d opened up and tried to communicate as honestly as possible, so if that wasn’t enough, Emil would keep his feelings to himself from now on. He tried to dismiss his disappointment as anger over Adam’s unwillingness to put out again, but he knew deep down that had nothing to do with the truth. The emotions Adam made him feel were about much