The Demon's Song

CHAPTER Fifteen


He felt like shit the second he stepped out the door. Had he seriously just suggested that she ought to be a vampire because humans were worthless?

Yes. Yes he had. Awesome.

But that didn’t mean he was going to turn around and apologize.

He walked a few paces away from his house and took a quick look at who was still home. He’d known he would have to leave Sofia with someone else at some point, because there were things he needed to know that she didn’t need to hear. He hadn’t planned to do it so soon, but there was no time like the present. Especially when your charge was pissed at you.

Phenex was relieved to see signs of life at Raum and Ember’s house just across the street, so he headed that way. Of all his Fallen brothers, Raum was the least likely to get on his case about the situation with Sofia, probably because it wasn’t entirely unlike what had happened to him. Of course, his wife, Ember, was the half-demon daughter of Raum’s biggest enemy in Hell, so she hadn’t had much difficulty adjusting to life with a fallen angel. And Raum had been watching Ember not so much to protect her as to protect the world from her, since she had the capability to break the barriers between Hell and Earth.

Okay, so it wasn’t really like what had happened with him. But Ember and Sofia were both women, so that was something.

Phenex gave a couple of short raps on the front door, and it was quickly opened by a beautiful redhead with an equally beautiful smile.

“Phenex!” Ember said. “I didn’t think you were back yet!”

He managed a small smile. He genuinely liked Ember, an emotion he reserved for very few people. She was always friendly, and had a hell of a temper that was fun to watch when it went off—provided it wasn’t directed at him. And she’d been good for Raum in ways no one would have believed.

“Yeah, I’m back for now. Change of plans,” Phenex said. “Looks like the trouble at Amphora is Belial’s work. I had to bring Sofia down here for now, since Belial announced his presence by trying to kill her.”

Ember’s brow creased as she took in the information. “Belial. More fun with high demons, I guess. So Justin was okay with you bringing a mortal down here?”

“No. But she’s here anyway.”

Ember laughed at that. “Color me unsurprised. So where is she? You didn’t lock her in the house or anything, did you?” She frowned, looking across the street. “I’m going to be honest, any of you bringing a woman home with you scares me. I think I’ve spent too much time watching you all.”

“No, she’s not locked in. She’s…ah…I need somebody to hang out with her so I can talk to the others. Maybe go back downtown for a while.” And lick his wounds over Sofia’s flat insistence that she didn’t belong to him, accompanied by the implication that she never would. But that part, he wasn’t sharing.

Ember arched a slim red brow. He suddenly wanted to sink through the stone and vanish.

“You dragged her here and now you’re ditching her?”

“Not for long. I just…we just…”

“Uh-huh.” Ember looked deeply unimpressed. “I’ll go over and say hello. If she’s been putting up with you for a couple days straight, she could probably use a friendly face. Raum’s gone down to the Half Light to meet Levi already. I think the others are probably there, too.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t go,” Phenex said. Ember was a fierce fighter when she wasn’t running her custom scent shop, Lotions & Potions, and she was an asset to any strategic discussions she sat in on. But Ember simply smiled ruefully and shook her head.

“Nope. I got my fill of everyone last night. Raum can have at it. I’m going to take a well-deserved night off. Or I was.” She eyed him. “I hope your current assignment is nice to talk to on top of being pretty. Justin mentioned that she was hot, but that was all the gossip I heard.”

“She is. Nice, I mean.” Hellfire, that sounded lame. Sofia was a lot more than nice.

“Then why do you look so guilty?” Ember narrowed her eyes. “You picked a fight and then left, right? Damn it, I wish you weren’t all so predictable, Phenex! Though I thought you had a little more in the empathy department than most. Tell me why she’s mad at you, and I’ll go.”

He didn’t want to talk about it, much less be accosted by an angry she-demon over it. But since he knew she wouldn’t let it go, and since he really did need her to go be with Sofia, Phenex relented.

“She wants to keep working. I told her no. When she insisted, I asked why she couldn’t just do as she was told.”

Ember winced. “Smooth. You realize you were a jackass, right?”

“No.”

Ember sighed. “Yeah, you do. And you like her, or you wouldn’t have bothered to fight and then run off to brood about it.”

Phenex hooked his thumbs in his pockets and glowered. “I asked for a favor, not a lecture, Ember. And I don’t brood.”

All she did was snort. “Please. I live with a champion among brooders. Go. Take off. I’ll go entertain Sofia.” She stepped out the door, shutting it after her, and Phenex started to walk away, relieved. Now that this was taken care of, maybe he could clear his head. But Ember’s voice, and her tone, strangely tentative after the way she’d given it to him, called his attention back behind him.

“Phenex? This Sofia…what does she think of it down here?”

He couldn’t quite look Ember in the eye when he answered, since he understood what this was about, too. Ember had found her happiness, and given Raum both new purpose and, in her love, a form of redemption. Raum had white wings again because of Ember, and a soul. But that didn’t mean that such a thing was in the cards for the rest of the renegades. In fact, Phenex doubted it. Though he could appreciate that Ember cared enough to wish it for them. He knew they weren’t an easy lot to like.

“She seems all right with it. But Sofia prefers butterflies to vampires,” Phenex said. “I don’t think that’s going to change.”

“Oh,” Ember said, and though she tried to keep her tone bright, he could hear the disappointment in her voice. He knew why. He’d thought about it enough. The only sort of mate that would make any sense for a fallen angel was another immortal. Sofia had no interest in paying the price she would have to for immortality, so pinning any hopes on her would be an exercise in futility. She would grow old and die, and he would still be down here, singing his songs. Alone.

Now he was brooding.

“Well, enjoy and come back happier, okay? Maybe someone will punch Gadreel. He was pretty well asking for it last night. That might cheer you up.”

Phenex didn’t reply to that, simply waved a hand as he turned to leave. “Thanks, Ember. She’s…” He searched for the right word while Ember watched him curiously, but he finally gave up. Sofia was a lot of wonderful things, but the only one that mattered was the one she’d made clear tonight—not his. That was what he needed to remember. He’d been the one to offer her a no-strings-attached arrangement. Ironic that he’d end up needing the blunt “this is not forever” talk himself.

With a wistful sigh, he walked away, leaving his sentence unfinished and Ember looking sadly after him.



By the time he got back to the house, it was near sunrise in the world above, and the streets of Terra Noctem had been full of vampires straggling home to sleep the day away. He’d needed the space and time to clear his head, and the other Fallen had provided plenty of diversion. All of them were here now, returned from various assignments that Uriel had devised for them, rooting out lesser demons in far-flung places to prevent them from getting a foothold in any one area. Like roaches, demons were difficult to remove from a place they’d infested.

Uriel still hadn’t shown himself, though Levi had received a short, terse message that implied he would be along shortly…though “shortly” could mean any number of things when it came to Uriel.

His brothers were the same as they always were, even Raum, for the most part, though there was a lightness about him that had been lacking before. A something more. But Phenex was getting used to it. Justin had been slightly less grim, though the vampire king hadn’t stayed. He was worried about Belial’s next move, worried about Amphora. Worried about everything.

Phenex was just glad not to be king of anything.

He started to tense up again only when he neared home. He still didn’t have a clue what to say to Sofia. All he knew was that he felt unusually bad about the way he’d walked out, about what he’d said. He’d basically told her that she wasn’t enough, that being human wasn’t enough. And that she should shut up and do what he wanted, which was stupid. He wouldn’t like her half as much if she were some mindless automaton.

But she’d cut into him with her words, something he wasn’t used to. So he’d cut her right back. In retrospect, he might have wanted to think about it before he opened his mouth, but that wasn’t exactly a habit of his.

He’d mulled it over while Gadreel and Murmur were having the same old argument about which of them was better at killing nefari and inferi, the low demons that made up the bulk of the demonic horde. It was uncomfortable to actually take a hard look at why he’d gotten so angry, when normally he just accepted his anger and used it as an excuse to wreck things. But with Sofia…he needed to get a handle on what was going on with himself. And what was going on seemed pretty clear, once he’d let himself think about it.

He wanted to keep her around. He thought he might want to keep her, period. That first night he’d known she was different, and he’d been right. She made him interested in things again. She made him feel. And the song he’d begun to play for her tonight…that was the music she seemed to be giving back to him, against every odd and after a thousand years of nothing. That was her.

But she was everything light, and he was a part of the dark. How was he supposed to figure this out when he couldn’t even keep a pot of flowers alive down here?

Phenex paused before opening the door, tried to figure out how to play things, and decided he would just act like nothing had happened. It might work, if she was tired enough to just let it go. And she probably was…she’d been up all day.

He turned the knob and walked in, and was immediately greeted by the sight of Ember curled in a chair and reading a book. She looked up, smiled, and pressed a finger to her lips. On the couch was Sofia, covered in one of his softest blankets, sound asleep. Her dark hair was spread beneath her head like a pillow, and he could only see her closed eyes above the edge of the blanket, which rose and fell slowly with each breath. The sound of a single, light snore made him smile. He completely forgot Ember was there until she appeared at his side and gave him a poke.

“She’s a sweetheart,” Ember said softly. “Be careful with her, or I will personally end you.” Then she gave his arm a reassuring squeeze, smiled, and let herself out the door.

Phenex barely noticed. He approached Sofia slowly, not wanting to disturb her. Though he’d been in her apartment the past couple of nights, he hadn’t watched her sleep. Some things were too creepy even for a demon. Now, though, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

He considered her for a moment, then came to a decision. Phenex slid his arms beneath her, scooping Sofia into his arms. Immediately, she cuddled against his chest with a soft sigh. He closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her, the trust that was apparent every time he touched her. He had done nothing to earn it, but she’d put her faith in him from that very first night.

There had to be a way to keep her. He had been taking things he shouldn’t for centuries upon centuries. He would find a way to do this, because he’d be damned all over again if he let anyone else have her.

The anger and jealousy were familiar, and comforting in their way. They blocked out the beginnings of what felt like despair.

Phenex carried Sofia upstairs, bypassing the little guest room and moving on to the larger chamber that was his. With one hand, he turned down the covers of the massive bed that dominated the room, then lay her gently in it, pulling the blanket off in the process. What was beneath was a very pleasant surprise—it looked as though Ember had lent Sofia a pair of pajamas. The simple cami and shorts were a little short and a little tight, and he was overwhelmingly grateful for both issues. It took all the willpower he had to pull the covers back over her. She shivered a little as the cold, unused sheets replaced the warmth of her blanket. That was something he intended to fix as quickly as possible. Phenex peeled off his jacket and shirt, tossing them to the floor, and then slid out of his jeans, leaving him in nothing but a thin pair of boxer briefs. He walked around the other side of the bed and slid in quickly, then fit himself along Sofia’s back, spooning her. The warmth was immediate, and in it he found something he didn’t expect, something above and beyond arousal. It was comfort.

Mine, he thought, the whisper of the word inside his head not at all gentle, but ferocious.

“I’m keeping you,” he breathed into her hair. Then Phenex curled his wing over them like an extra blanket, closed his eyes, and fell deeply asleep.