Touched by Fire (Demons of New Chicago #1) - Kel Carpenter Page 0,74
On the other side of the room, a small bookcase had more crystals and knickknacks. Books of all types. Including raunchy romance ones, if the titles were anything to go by. The room was small, and a double set of French doors with glass panes were wide open, leading into another, larger room with living room furniture.
“Where are we?”
“My apartment,” Nat said with a sigh. “You crashed as we were coming through the shop downstairs. I had to drag your ass into the elevator. You’re lucky there was an elevator. You weigh a lot more than you look.” The last bit was added with a bit of a grin sliding up one side of her face. She was amused. I wasn’t.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“Because we were never going to make it to the car, and my apartment is warded. No one will find you here. Not with blood magic. Your demon hasn’t shown up either, so I’d guess it probably protects against that too.”
I swallowed hard and looked away. The jazz music was subtle, but it filled the awkward silence when I couldn’t.
“You saved me,” I said eventually.
Nathalie nodded. “And you saved us. I guess we’re even now.”
I leaned back, titling my head to rest it against the window.
“Lucifer isn’t dead,” I said. “He’ll be back.”
She nodded slowly. “I kinda figured as much. Demons seem to be harder to kill than other supes.” She reached out and took my hand before I could yank it away. “But we’ll find a way.”
I frowned. “We will?”
She snorted. “You can be so dense sometimes. Yes. We will. I told you, I’m not leaving you. Not even if you’re a—”
“Don’t say it.”
She tilted her head, and I pushed her hand away. “Why?”
I didn’t answer her immediately . . . because I couldn’t. “Just . . . don’t say it.”
“Demon,” she said.
“I just said—”
“Demon. Demon. Demon. You’re a demon—” I grabbed the pillow from behind my lower back and whacked her in the face with it.
“You’re annoying.”
She chuckled. “Pot meet kettle. You have a real lack of social skills, you know that? Have you ever actually cracked a smile, or said thank you for anything? You should work on that.” I pressed my lips together, and she laughed again. “Look, I’m doing this for you. You’re afraid of it, and you shouldn’t be.”
“I’m not afraid,” I argued.
“Then what are you?” she challenged, lifting both eyebrows.
I took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. “Prejudice. Hateful. Wishing I could still be in denial.”
Her expression softened. “I take it you weren’t born one.”
I shook my head. “I . . . I was made.” My mouth was dry again, but this time it was for a whole other reason.
“How does one make a demon?” Nathalie mused, leaning back in her chair. She kicked her feet up onto the end of the bed.
“With a summoning,” I said. “At least that’s how I was. You know the girl your coven used as a sacrifice?”
She nodded.
“I was her. Ten years ago. Claude Lewis led a summoning, and I was chosen as the sacrifice. They told me that I would be able to bargain for power. That I could be made into a supe.” I looked at the ceiling as I recounted it because I couldn’t look her in the eyes. “Only later did I realize it was all a lie. I survived that summoning on pure dumb luck when I should have died.”
“You hate magic,” she said. A statement, not a question.
I laughed humorlessly. “People keep saying that. You gotta remember, I was born human. The world changed in a single day, and suddenly I went from being on equal footing to being at the bottom of society. My family . . .” I struggled with this part. To recall those memories. Bittersweet. The best and the worst. “We were treated horribly. I watched my parents lose their jobs and then struggle to make ends meet. My mom had to sell her body to put food on the table because there was literally no other work for a human woman. She tried to hide it, but the vampire clients she had were rough with her because they could be. It tore my dad apart. Things got better when he helped form human patrol, but it was still difficult. I’d had enough. If I wasn’t born equal, then I was going to take power and make myself equal.”