Mortal Wounds

Chapter Fifteen

Davian's POV

The demon is an enigma, convolute, and he acts tough like he wants to start a fight. Then there are moments like this where his guard is down. He's asleep beside me, head lying on my lap where the Totoro plushie acts as a pillow. We didn't know what to say and I spent all night waiting for him to open up. It took me a while to realise he was asleep. The emotion lingering inside of his exterior is causing him to bite his tongue and, in the darkness, I saw his lip quiver. I almost expected him to cry, but he remained silent. "Men don't cry," my brother once said, chiding my tear-stained face after our father was admitted into the hospital. 'Keep it all inside,' 'don't open up,' 'be the bigger man,' 'take the higher ground.' I always hate that BS. I always found it tougher for people to say what they mean, to open up.

I lower him onto the bed before stretching. Everything aches from the hours spent sitting on the floor beside the demon. He didn't need to say he wanted me to stay. It was written in the pain on his face. While I plucked out the splinters, he spent the entire time warring with himself, as though contemplating whether to open up to me. He vied for silence then slowly fell asleep on me.

I stretch my arms, managing to clean the room so Ascanius and Lilu would stumble across less damage since the busted drawers and shredded curtains stick out like an eyesore. Neither of them deserves to find the room of their dead brother trashed, but I did all I could.

I leave the room to go piss, only to meet the flaming eyes of Lilu. The fire in his eyes intimidates me and it betrays the smile on his face. Despite him getting smashed last night, he still looks like a supermodel, whereas I am sure I look like a ghoul.

"Good morning. I hope you had a nice night, Davian," he greets, the murderous look in his eyes not wavering a single bit.

"Uh, morning. Are you ok?" I ask with a yawn.

He gazes at the door past my head before taking a step towards me, his red eyes glowing eerily.

"I couldn't help but notice you walking out of that room. You didn't happen to spend the night there, did you?"

From what I'm gathering from his voice, I better say no if I value my life.

"Yes." Goddammit, why can't my mouth cooperate with my logic?

He presses his hand on the door behind me, leaning in closer to my face.

"Did Ascanius tell you that you can sleep in there?" he asks me with a silent warning. I better tell him the truth.

I get the feeling he will lose it if he finds some of the room broken. Lilu will murder both me and the demon.

"Um, no, just was hiding with Totoro." I show off the stuffed toy. "I didn't sleep on the bed or anything. Needed a break from all the partying." I'm technically not lying, but my heart races.

He scans me with suspicion.

"You didn't throw up in there or anything?"

"Of course not. I swear, I wouldn't want to do anything to get myself lynched."

I look up, slightly relieved that Lilu's expression has softened. It doesn't get rid of a mix of guilt and horror that's swallowing my conscience. Honestly though, who would disrespect someone like that on purpose? My eyes drift back to the door, hoping the demon can feel me glaring at him. Lilu pinches my cheek, the terrifying look slipping off his face.

"Just making sure you wouldn't. I just get edgy about family matters. It didn't help that Cosmo pulled that stunt the other day and, well, we never got our brother's body back so that room is all we have to pay our respects."

The lack of closure would drive me crazy. I wouldn't know what to do if that happened to my brother. What's worse is the likelihood of my brother being killed one day without me knowing it.

"Aw, but look at you with the toy and everything. Reminds me of one of my grand, grand grand–ok, there are a lot of grandchildren. Let's just call her my granddaughter. She can't sleep without her mountain of stuffed toys," he drawls, picking up and examining the Totoro plushie.

He pokes its stomach with a grin. I smile back at him, still puzzled by the demon and the way he acts out about the deceased brother. The guy tried to pass himself off their brother and trashed his room. There has to be a history behind the identity theft.

"I understand. Um, if you don't mind, what was your brother like?"

Lilu arches a brow with surprise. He scans my expression for some ulterior motive before dropping it with a nostalgic smile.

"Just the most adorable little cambion you would ever meet. He was such a curious mind, would follow you and ask questions like a little duckling. He adored marshmallows and used to love studying psychology," he gushes with pride. He grabs my cheeks and forces my lips into a smile. "I taught him most of the psychology stuff though. I wish he got to experience more before he passed but you're young and healthy. Don't you dare squander your good looks and youth. Go out and live a little. Fall in love, a couple of times if you must. Carpe diem and what not. You've been sad and pouty ever since I met you."

"I'll keep that in mind," I try to say, sounding muffled with the restrictions on my cheeks.

"At the end of the day though, if you care about someone enough make sure you're there for them. Don't let them slip through your fingers just because you didn't pay enough attention," he drawls, pecking me on the cheek, "By the way, you have some sexy dance moves. You had most of my kids drooling over you last night."

My cheeks heat up instantly and he chuckles at that.

"I don't remember any of that."

"I'll show you pictures some other time. Meanwhile, be a doll and help Ascanius clean up the house in my place. Gracias," he says before vanishing.

I stand there for a moment, trying to recover from my mortification until I question why he isn't helping clean up. He was the one who threw the party! Scratching my stubble, I check the room for the demon. Gone. I shut the door, wondering if he eavesdropped on any of it. I walk down the staircase, almost tripping when I see the state of the place. There is barely any furniture left. Wrappers and spilt drinks litter the floor. Part of the wall is burnt and there is also popcorn everywhere.

"Jeez, did any furniture survive last night? Why is there a gaping hole in the wall?" I question, not knowing whether to be impressed or mortified.

The raven on Ascanius' kitchen corner somehow manages to snort at me and gulps down water from a bowl. Ascanius sighs from behind it, patting the creature.

"There's been worse. The last party Lilu threw he accidentally blew up the house."

"You're taking this well," I note, approaching him.

"That's because I haven't looked at my basement yet," he states, "Did you perchance see the demon who rescued you last night? I'm sure he would be in the room you wondered about yesterday. Can you please get him?"

"He left this morning."

He arches a brow, perplexed by how I could answer that so quickly.

"How do you know? Did you spend the night with him?"

I blush furiously.

"Not like that! He just— ok, promise not to fly off the handle."

"Promise."

"He kind of destroyed most of your brother's room. I caught him in the middle of his rampage and managed to calm him down. I stayed there in case he switched back to Godzilla mode."

"You managed to calm him down?" he asks in surprise, rubbing his jaw with surprise, "I'm not used to hearing him getting upset. He used to bottle things up as a kid. I guess all of that is coming out now. Say, I have an errand for you. Surely you know how to get to the Veil by now. I would appreciate it if you keep an eye on that demon for me."

"You want me to spy on him?"

"Keep him out of trouble. If you do, I have a much bigger Totoro plushie you can keep."

"I wasn't trying to kidnap this one!"

Well, I'm not trying to kidnap it now. Tipsy me, on the other hand, wanted to run away with it. That was until I was distracted by the slams and bangs produced by the demon's Hulk-like behaviour.

"I have a Totoro as big as the couch Lilu decimated."

"Deal. Who is this demon I'm spying on anyway? Why does he seem to hate your deceased brother? Did they have some sort of fight?"

He stares, waiting to see if I will put it together myself. The raven laughs at me before gulping down some foreign bug from another bowl. What a strange, majestic creature.

"It should become obvious to you soon enough. Life has dealt him a bad hand and he is at a crossroads with many things in his life. Just know that underneath it all, he is worth every bit of help that comes his way."

*

Concealed in the Veil, I walk into the town of GoldVine within the Veil, taken aback by the demure atmosphere. I'm used to seeing everyone out and about, chatting away to each other as they go on with their daily routines. Barely anyone is out and security guards make rounds. I walk past them, getting a strange vibe from them.

I enter Virgil's house hoping to catch sight of the demon anywhere. I pause on the way to my room, noticing Morgana sitting on the floor of the living room. Anxiously biting her nails, she watches a BBB news story from her phone. My face comes up, along with some exaggerated details about how dangerous I am. There is even some made-up bullshit that I ran off to join ISIS. I run a hand down my face with a long sigh. It's because I'm Arab, isn't it?

I shake my head and search for the demon. I check the school, which he isn't at either. Students there seem nervous also. I begin to turn to go to Cosmo's place, figuring he might be there when I hear someone hissing on their phone.

"Shut the f**k up and push the story, Cassiel."

I spin around to see a cop retreating into the forest with long, urgent strides. Being the nosy guy I am, I follow him. I squint, reading his badge: Chief Raguel Wheldon. He seems to be preoccupied with reading a document.

"I don't give a f**k what you think, push the story and make everyone believe Davian took that little girl's hand or I swear, I will find the hand and shove it down your throat. Do you hear me?"

I blink rapidly then rush off to follow him.

"Good. Keep everyone convinced Davian is a psychotic spawn of Satan that hurt that girl. We can't have them know about the real threat. I don't know how that b***h escaped."

No, that can't be right. He's a cop. He doesn't want to convict me like that. It's his job to protect the people yet, he wants to push the story that I'm guilty regardless of what happened. I feel it's safe to assume this Raguel cop and Cassiel both know the grudge woman was the one behind Lavender's attack. I grit my teeth. The sick feeling in my stomach slowly converts to anger. They know the truth yet they want to make me a scapegoat. It was a good thing I ran and even better I didn't come back to try to clear my name.

"Keep an eye on the Thanasi family. Dwaine, the head of the household, is asking way too many questions. He is suspicious. His daughter keeps hanging around the victim way too much and don't get me started on his son. There is something odd about that kid. He has no problem pointing out contradictory evidence and seems to have some sort of influence on Beau. That brat is hanging out with Beau right now! We need to find Davian and make him confess that he was behind her attack, that should shut the kid up."

He stops walking. I get the eerie feeling that he can sense me. I hide behind a tree, tensing when his eyes emanate an eerie, gold light. I thought I am not supposed to see colour in Purgatory. He glances around to see if anyone else is there. I manage to back away out of sight and rush off to the Evanderous manor.

What catches me off guard is randomly finding the demon playing chess with Beau on his bed. Beau appears disgruntled by his presence while the demon fakes a smile I see right through. For some reason, a bolt of irritation runs down my spine seeing them alone together.

"You know, when you send a message saying you're coming over it doesn't mean it's ok to come over," Beau deadpans, moving a white knight forward on his board.

The demon smiles innocently.

I wave a hand in front of the demon's face. He doesn't sense me in the slightest.

"But we're friends, are we not?"

Beau snorts, waiting for him to take his turn. The demon appears uninterested in the game of chess, putting a random pawn forward. He doesn't know what he's doing and it's clear considering the number of dead pieces he has. And he doesn't even know he is one move away from putting Beau into checkmate. I fold my arms and tap my foot impatiently.

"Why are you so eager to befriend me now? I know that we're friends, but you never come over to see me," Beau states, deciding where he should move his king. For once, I'm with Beau on this one.

"It didn't occur to me how interesting you were." Beau blushes at his comment, making me silently fume. What the hell is happening here? "Also, it's far too awkward being at home now. I'm pretty sure Dwaine is trying to be passive-aggressive towards me by stomping around and slamming stuff when he's near me."

"You're calling your dad by his first name now?"

"I'm more leaning towards calling him a childish spastic-head or PMS king, but they both sound inappropriate."

I'd call him a childish spastic headed PMS king to compromise. I sit down next to the demon, waiting for an opportunity to get him alone so I can talk to him.

Beau shakes his head, "If I said that to my father he would have backhanded me."

"Your father was violent?"

Beau's face pales a little. He immediately shakes his head.

"No, no. I wasn't being literal."

"No? Then what was he like?"

Beau shifts around in his seat, averting his gaze to the meaningful wall art showcasing a couple of lines and dots.

"You should know. You used to come over all the time."

"I thought you said I didn't."

"I meant not for me. For Cassiel," he deadpans, cutting the demon an odd look, "When you two used to be best friends. You would have bumped into my father more than once."

Invidian thinks about it before smiling widely.

"Of course. I almost forgot, it feels like forever ago," he muses, tapping his lips, "What do you think of Cassiel and Ethelia's relationship?"

"Why does my opinion matter? It's not my relationship."

I fidget and scowl. It's beginning to drive me up the wall that the demon isn't moving his queen in close to Beau's king. When the demon moves his hand again, I grab it and make him move the piece. The demon snaps his head behind him, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"What's wrong?" Beau asks.

The demon slowly turns back around, brushing off what happened.

"I thought I heard something," he clears his throat and continues, "But you did say Cassiel never told you about his plans to get married. Doesn't that bother you?"

Beau shifts uncomfortably in his seat, pretending to be focused on the game.

"It's not any of my business."

"Do you think they love each other?"

Beau wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"I don't know! To be honest, I don't understand romance much."

"In truth, I think relationships are for idiotic masochists looking to get their heartbroken. Or worse," the demon states without batting an eyelash.

I examine his face, trying to figure out where he's coming from. Some unexplainable part of me wants to change his opinion.

"Worse?"

He nods without explaining what or why.

"Then there is the whole deal with cheating. What a heartache. What is your opinion on cheaters?"

"They're horrible. Why are you asking these things?"

"I just— I don't know if I should say anything."

"Tell me what?"

"It's about your brother."

"What about him?"

"I could be wrong... but I think I saw him in Gomorrah... and he was kissing a woman but it wasn't Ethelia."

Beau's jaw falls open and he leans towards him.

"What? No way. You must have been mistaking him for someone else. He wouldn't cheat."

"I wish I was. Who knows? Maybe I was."

Beau appears distraught by the information and sits back, running a hand through his hair.

"Even if he was, it's none of our business," he mutters, even though his face shows he is bothered by this.

"I suppose. I guess he is a man whose physical needs outweighs his romantic ones."

"Excuse me?"

He scans Beau from head to toe with a sultry expression.

"I'm talking about l**t and s*x, Beau."

Beau rubs the back of his neck, flustered by the conversation.

"This conversation is becoming inappropriate. Besides, l**t and s*x are sinful. A temptation for lecherous hearts."

The demon walks over to Beau's life-sized mirror, examining his face.

"Nothing is good or bad. It's just the way you perceive something. Look at your reflection for example. What do you see?"

Beau frowns and also wanders to it. He gives his appearance a bland look.

"Myself?"

"Is that all?" the demon asks, examining Beau's reflection over the guy's shoulder.

"There is nothing exciting if that is what you're looking for."

"Objectively, all you are is a sack of flesh, organs and blood. Nothing different to anyone else. But when people see you, they see different things; a friend, a brother, and a student."

"What do you see?"

My chest violently throbs and an unfamiliar sinking feeling clenches my stomach. I recognise the look in his eyes. He better not do what I think he's going to do.

"An individual universe on the inside. Something in there too deep and too shallow to translate into your appearance. But you can tell a lot from appearance alone," the demon muses, tracing a finger through Beau's hair. "Your gelled hair reveals you're a person that likes things in control. To control how people see you. You were taught you would be respected if you keep it like this." Beau stiffens, his breath shallow as the demon draws closer, hands skimming the skin beneath his eyes.

"Your eyes are soft with curiosity. Conflicted. Confused. You spent most of your life living what you think other people want you to be. Your eyes make me wonder if you know what you want separate from the expectations you internalised."

"Excuse me?" Beau's voice trails as the demon's fingers trace his lips.

"Lips soft never knowing the touch of another. A little red from you biting your lip out of anxiousness."

Beau swallows and the demon traces the lump down his throat to the front of his shirt.

"Clothes unwrinkled. Everything about your appearance is tamed. I wonder if you spend ages trying to achieve a certain look. Is it born out of a lack of self-confidence? Does that control the way you see yourself? Does it make you feel inadequate?"

My glare intensifies. The demon is coming onto him. Did our make-out session from the other night mean nothing to him? Dammit, I didn't mean it to mean something, but I didn't want to be tossed aside like I'm nothing. That I'm someone to use and forget about. It finally sinks in that Morgana saw me that way and it stings. I'm sick of people doing that to me.

He tilts Beau's jaw to face him. Their lips are only an inch apart. Beau's eyes become lidded with curiosity, fear and longing.

"What about me?" the demon muses.

Intrigued, Beau wets his lips and draws in closer to him. My jaw tightens. Oh, for the love of God, what the hell is this demon thinking?!

Before I know it, I grab a fist full of his hair and pull him back. The demon hisses and snaps around to check what is there. He scans the space behind him with a calculative expression.

"Nature is calling. I'll be back," he lies with a light laugh.

The demon leaves the room and I follow him, glancing back at Beau.

Beau watches the demon leave, his breath caught in his throat, his eyes wide with confusion. There is a bit of curiosity as if he wanted to see where the demon was going with that.

When the demon shuts the bathroom door behind him, he glares at the mirror.

"Ok, who the hell is there?" he hisses in a whisper, "I swear if that's you Ascanius, I will gut you."

I touch the mirror and find myself climbing out of it before sitting on the sink. Great, now I can see the fury in the demon's eyes in full colour.

"I'm beginning to get sick of you."

I twitch in annoyance. He's not the one who should be pissed.

"What do you get out of playing around with Beau?" I whisper aggressively, getting up to glare at him.

"Oh, piss off you stalkerish prickle cockblocking fuckstick," he hisses, struggling to keep his voice quiet. He turns to storm out of the bathroom.

"If you don't give me a straight answer, I will screw up every chance you get to mess with him."

That stops him in his tracks. He whirls around to glower at me.

"Why are you here? Did Ascanius send you to watch me?"

"He gave me an incentive I could not refuse," I admit, not seeing any point in lying. He bristles at that information. "I don't know what stuff you are going through in your life but you can't take that out on anyone else. Beau isn't a plaything for your amusement. You know he is inexperienced. You're taking advantage of that."

He glares at me before averting the hard stare to the wall, folding his arms. I feel like he understands my point but is being too stubborn to admit that.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Then enlighten me."

"I like making innocent little humans have an existential crisis over their sexuality. How's yours going by the way?"

"Dandy. Look, you're not fooling me. It wouldn't hurt to let me know a bit about what you're thinking. Who knows? I could help. I overheard something interesting. That police dude, Raguel Wheldon was on the phone with Cassiel. He was telling Cassiel to say that I'm guilty no matter what. They know someone else was behind Lavender's attack."

"So, you're a scapegoat," he states, going from pissed to curious, "They must be hiding something big."

"I swear the guy could sense my presence while I was in the Veil. His eyes also looked gold. It was so freaky. I thought he was going to turn and come at me like some Dr Who shit."

"So, that puts sneaking into this manor to look for clues off the table," he mutters under his breath.

"If you're going to try to figure out what is going on, I want in," I press, making him scoff in annoyance, "What? You're going to need backup anyway. They don't sound like they play fair at all."

"Sources tell me they're being possessed by angels."

If I was drinking something, I'd be spitting it out right now.

"Angels? Aren't they good holy beings though?"

He gives me a deadpan look as if he wants to say something but brushes it off.

"We'll see. I'm not a hundred percent certain but it's beginning to look that way. Cassiel may also be possessed by them. You'll need to avoid them even in the Veil."

"They're meant to protect people. I don't get why they're being like this," I mutter, running a hand through my hair.

There is no way I am getting my old life back at this rate. Even so, I don't think I want it back. He shrugs as if he's not surprised in the slightest.

"I'll figure it out. Go back to Ascanius. He'll need emotional support when Lilu decides to turn the 'cleaning up the house' opportunity into redecorating the entire thing."

Instead of doing that, I meet his eyes.

"There is a specific reason you're coming onto Beau."

He isn't the type to do something without reason. He offers me a nonchalant expression that only pisses me off further. Scanning me from head to toe, he smirks and leans back against the bathroom wall.

"You're jealous. You're upset I left you high and dry before."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I'm not too happy that you used me and pretended nothing happened. But that isn't the issue here. It would have been slack if I took advantage of you when you were feeling vulnerable. You can't do that to anyone," I scold, standing my ground on this one.

His expression shifts from cockiness to downright confusion as if expecting me to deny my jealousy. Well, the joke is on him. Who does this demon think he is that he can play these mind games with me?

"What else do you want from me?"

I don't even know how to answer that one. All I know is my chest is thundering and my face is going hot from talking about this.

"What do you see from me when you look at me?" His eyes flicker up and down before meeting my eyes. His lips remain pressed into a thin line, refusing to answer me. "You were gung-ho on reading Beau. Why not me?"

"Who the f**k even says 'gung-ho' anymore?"

"Stop avoiding the question."

"Why does that matter to you? To you, I'm just some messed up freak of a demon who messed up your life."

"I never said that."

"Then what do you see?"

I draw close to him, motivated by foreign emotions, emotions I don't think I even processed properly. I draw my hand to his chin. His eyes flicker to it with caution.

"Someone who thought I was worth saving." It wasn't my brother or father or mother who saved me. They are people who are supposed to be there for me, but they never have. Not when I needed them the most. Yet, this demon, this stranger I judged off the bat was willing to put his life on the line for me. "I want to help you as you helped me."

He is stunned into silence, his eyes flickering as if he doesn't know whether to laugh, walk-off, stare at me in disbelief or take me seriously.

"I'm not someone who can be helped," he bites off behind grit teeth, scowling at the mirror as if it is the route of all his problems.

But there is something else in his voice, a sense of defeat that douses my irritation. I remember the rage and defeat in his voice yesterday when he told me he would switch places with me in a heartbeat. A wave of sympathy hits me and I realise I've got him all wrong. He isn't the cruel sociopath I thought he would turn out to be. The truth is that this creature I've known only for a few days has been sending me on an emotional rollercoaster. From feeling suspiciousness, uneasiness, l**t, hatred, sympathy ... And a strange connectedness. I've seen him vulnerable and there is a strange type of sacredness in that, I think. Seeing the rage and desperation fight behind his eyes must mean something. He can't wear a mask with me even if he wanted to because I've seen what is beneath: someone desperate, scared, sad and pissed off for reasons I don't know.

Reasons I'm going to find out.

Before I can stop myself, I lean into his face with some mission to assure him he is wrong. I weave my hand into his hair and capture his lips. Something about it is different from last time. It's more intense. His mouth vibrates with a startled groan and I slip my tongue into his mouth as if that will comfort him in some way.

His eyes are wide at first but he slowly adjusts and deepens the kiss. I wrap my arm around his waist and draw in closer, melding our bodies together. I lift him onto the sink and cup his face.

"Whatever you're going through, you don't have to go through it alone," I assure him.

He stares at me in a daze for a moment before what happens sinks in. His face hardens and he shoves my shoulders.

"I couldn't give any less of a s**t about you or your well-being."

"If that were true, you wouldn't have saved me in the first place."

"I'm regretting my choice."

I don't take it to heart. He's pushing me away on purpose. It's a common thing to happen with someone going through intense crap in their lives. To push away people who care. Both my brother and father did it. To be fair, neither of them ever let me in.

But this demon chose me to see his vulnerable side, used me to soothe the distress in his heart. I want to show him that pushing me away after that won't work on me. He glares at me with confusion when I unbuckle his pants. He gasps and bites his lip when I hold his c**k, noticing that it's already hard.

"We can't do this s**t here," he hisses, "If someone hears us here we're fucked."

"Then muffle your moans," I muse, smug at the fact this time I'm the one teasing him.

I take him into my mouth, my jaw aching a little from the intrusion. The demon gasps, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, the other trying gripping my hair as if he doesn't know whether to pull me away or closer. I begin sucking him hard and fast, making him curse out in surprise.

I hold his hips, stroking his thighs, relishing the way he trembles underneath them. Giving in, he shuts his eyes and he leans over me, gripping the back of my shirt.

I take him into my hand and crane my head up. I lock eyes with him to show him how deadly serious I am.

"You don't have to let me in but remember I'm on the same side. I'm involved in this s**t as much as you are," I remind him, "I want to help you. And I owe you for your kindness anyway."

"No, you're curious about me. That's it."

I narrow my eyes before lifting his leg over my shoulder. He moans at the sudden action and arches his back against the mirror. I love the way he trembles and twitches with want as I lick his sack.

"You're reading me wrong."

He opens his mouth, no doubt to give me some sarcastic retort. Shutting him up before he can start, I swallow him down to my throat. My eyes burn and I gag a little. Man, p**n stars sure make this s**t look easier in videos.

He cries out in a silent scream as he comes. The warm liquid fills my mouth and I manage to swallow it all down. When I'm sure he's done riding his o****m, I pull away and wipe my mouth. Tremors running down his legs, he buckles his pants up, cutting me a hard look. He stares at me but for once it doesn't seem like he knows what to say.

I catch my breath, shocked by my actions. Everything happened on instinct. I have never acted this way before, yet I want to feel more of him.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Is anyone in there?" We both stiffen when we hear Raguel Wheldon's voice. I wonder if he can sense my presence here. Creepy dude.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Give me a moment," Virgil calls back, shooting me a warning look, "Stop interfering. You'll only get in the way."

I catch his arm, giving him a stern look. He rips his arm out of my grip with a fierce glower.

"Two heads are better than one. I can help you out through the Veil to figure out what Raguel and Cassiel are hiding."

He grits his teeth, seeming tempted to yell at me or throw me against the window. But knowing he can't make a scene stops him.

"Cosmo's house. 12 am. If you mess anything up for me then I won't help you any further. Make your choice," he tells me coldly before leaving the bathroom.

He's not going to scare me off that easy.