Page 24 of The Devil You Know

“Clumsy? A nervous wreck? Pathetic?”

I watched the angel search for more polite words to describe the man, but he finally admitted, “Yes. He had gone through several work placements in Heaven and couldn’t find his place anywhere... When I saw, ah, a situation, I offered Yomiel to work for me. I thought, surely something as simple as pet sitting wouldn’t be above his capabilities...”

My gaze traveled to the stain on the carpet I had to mop off, my brow rising meaningfully.

“I thought the idea of a pet sitter is to make your pet safe with a responsible adult,” I snarked. Michael wilted. “...but you may be onto something. Making sure one of us is here at least once a day to feed Bane is already complicated. And I think our pet needs and deserves more. Not only having his basic needs met, but companionship as well.”

Whether the fox heard his name or just had incredible timing, Bane proved my point by peeking out from the bedroom and attacking Michael’s sock-clad feet, eager to play.

“So, what’s the plan?” my lover asked, reaching for a toy to spare his toes, and dangling it for the fox to play with.

“Let’s give your guy a trial period... but I don’t want to leave him alone if we are not sure he will take proper care of Bane. I will get a demon to accompany him.”

“Do you really think it’s a good idea?” Michael asked, dubious. “Or do you just want to see how this will crash and burn?”

“Why, of course it’s both. I’m a man of refined tastes in disasters,” I grinned.

And that’s how I got the most cocksure, bratty, loudmouth of a demon to accompany a shy angel. I figured Kushiel would either make Yomiel bend or break. Either was fine with me. It was going to be fascinating to watch the drama unfold. Not only was Bane going to get some enrichment, but me too! I refused to cackle like an old school villain, but I definitely smirked under my nose.

With that dastardly deed in motion, I pondered the situation with Bane seriously. A pet sitter was fine, but I felt like it was only a momentary stop gap. The crux of the problem was that neither me nor my partner could take Bane to our home planes. There was a reason there were no animals, native, or brought from Earth, in Heaven or Hell. The environment allowed only a very specific type of creature to exist there and so far no one had an answer how to keep anything else than a demon or an angel from dying a slow, painful death. I shuddered at the thought of that happening to my precious little fox. But if I somehow discovered a way... that would surely be enough for my second Grand Gesture! My mind made up, I started my research.

As not so long ago I had seen Kreshadon and Nathaniel, the owners of the Steel Velvet club, present their knowledge about angelic and demonic power on Earth, they were my first stop. I watched in amusement as people cowered away while I strode through the club, some sending me and Michael venomous looks, the scandal of our relationship still fresh and the information spreading like wildfire. Soon everyone was going to know about it. My mirth grew even further when one angel got that daring glint in his eye and prowled towards me, probably hoping I was in the BDSM club for a reason. A mix of angels and demons pulled him back, shouting over each other about how Michael and I were together now and ‘do not go there, buddy! Red light! Do not pass go!’.

“Good evening,” Nathaniel, the angel, stepped towards me. “Can I help you in any way? And what can we do for you to stop stirring up our clients?”

“We can go to your office. I would like to speak to you and your counterpart.”

Kreshadon appeared swiftly once we were seated in the office, tea in hand. I wondered if they had a long distance panic button or something else for disturbances like me.

“First, I would like to thank you both for your help with the aftershocks of God’s death,” I said.

“No need for thanks!” the angel laughed. “Also, I would say our usual services help angels and demons even more. You wouldn’t believe how many sought solace in what our club can offer after their whole worldview was shattered. A little catharsis goes a long way.”

“Then I should thank you doubly,” I smiled back at him and we would probably spend several minutes more in polite talk hell if not for my fellow demon.

“You are obviously buttering us up. Just say what you want,” Kreshadon grumbled, his fingers drumming a staccato rhythm on the desk.

“Alright, I came to ask for some advice,” I said, dispersing with the unneeded pleasantries.

“Oh, we can give you a lot of advice!” Nathaniel beamed at me. “If you are only just starting with...”

“No! No. Not that kind of advice.” My cheeks colored a little. “We have that situation, ahem, in hand. I wanted to pick your brains about your work with different energies.”

I explained my situation with Bane and the pair were eager to ponder the dilemma; the demon because of his scientific curiosity and the angel because he thought it was ‘so sweet!’.

“Look, I would help, but our studies were about energy itself and we didn’t test how it affected living creatures,” Kreshadon spoke plainly a bit later. “There may be some knowledge to gleam, but it would take years to study the connecting phenomena and, frankly, I am happy where I am now and don’t want to go back in the field. Especially as it’s not guaranteed I would be able to do something both demonic and angelic scholars have already pondered in the past. You could try searching for those people. Knowing what had been tried and what failed is half of the process of new discoveries.”

“Or you could talk with Raphael,” Nathaniel suggested cheerfully.

I fought to not make a face.

“Why him?”

“Hmm, as a healer, Raphael should have the knowledge about how the powers affect angels. Maybe what he knows would be useful for animals as well. It’s a good venue to pursue,” Kreshadon nodded in approval at his partner’s suggestion, making Nathaniel beam like a puppy at the indirect praise.

I thanked them for their time and when I was back in my mansion I took a pillow and screamed into it. How would I even get Raphael to talk to me? I kinda rubbed my relationship status in when we last saw each other and kinda on purpose ignored him until he gave up on talking to me later. This wasn’t exactly fertile grounds for asking for favors like access to Raphael’s medical secrets. He hoarded the knowledge like a dragon, sharing only crumbs of it even with his fellow angels, which meant his position as the best healer in the Heavenly Court had gone unchallenged since the beginning of time. Well, no, that was a lie; it was challenged every millennium or so, but no one actually won those challenges against him. And my best medic from Hell was unfortunately behind even Raphael’s apprentices.

I wasn’t a coward. I had to at least try, even if it blew up in my face.

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