Page 17 of The Fearless Witch

Even though I spoke to Beleth, my eyes never left Nym’s crouched form. It hurt to see him so fearful and small, but it hurt even more to find out that all this time, he was sent to do a job. He didn’t choose me; he was forced onto me. He lied to me. For centuries.

“Because you were young and stupid, and I didn’t want to become your fucking babysitter,” the demon grumbled, cracking his neck until a loud, sickening noise that sounded immensely painful echoed through the room. “By then I had figured I was stronger when you’re alive, so I needed someone I could control and trust, someone who could walk the earth and enter Hell unimpeded, watching over you.” Beleth threw the rag on the table, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment before turning to me with a forced smile. I barely heard the words, the concept strange and unfeasible, like oil mixed with water. “That’s how this one-of-a-kind sentient monster came to be. Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Don’t talk about him like that!” I snapped on instinct. I had never cared what people said about me, but nobody insulted my familiar. Even if he… if he…

Slowly, like it took a great deal of effort, Beleth lifted an eyebrow. There was no amusement in his eyes, not even the wicked kind. “Or what?” he challenged. “What are you gonna do, Red? Attack me? Run? Scream? Curse?” He leaned his elbows on the table, staring me down. “Sit your ass down or I’ll tie you up again.”

All of this felt surreal, like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. My thoughts floated chaotically, body feeling numb and oversensitive at the same time. And the pain… the pain was everywhere. Dreams weren’t supposed to hurt, were they?

My legs wobbled, and I slumped into the bed, gasping desperately for breath. Beleth was staring at me with a strange look, while Nym stood at the edge, eyes wide with shock.

I shoved the hurricane of emotions down, trying to focus on something else. Anything else.

“You said… a piece of my soul went to…” My voice broke when I tried to say his name and I bit on my lip until I tasted blood. “Where is the rest of it?” I asked, trying to ignore the cat as he jumped off the table and slowly made his way toward me. He looked like a spooked animal that was nearing a dangerous predator. I almost laughed at the thought.

Beleth picked up the rag, dropping it into the water and moving it around with one finger.

“Gone.”

Panic filled my head. “Gone where? My deal isn’t complete! That soul is still mine!”

His dark eyes rose to mine, and he gave me a mirthless smile.

“You lost that soul the moment you made your deal. But if you fancy a meeting with the Devil, that can be arranged.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. This… this couldn’t be happening. This was too much.

“My soul is… with the Devil himself?”

Beleth lowered his gaze to the bowl, seemingly too focused on wringing the bloody water out of the rag. Something brushed my leg, but I ignored it, intent on staring at the demon even if he had gone back to disregarding me. For a single moment, I wished… I wished Nym had never come.

If he hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have found out about… any of this. All these years, I had respected his decision not to tell me what he was. I accepted him and cherished him like he was a friend, a family, a person closer to me than anyone else. It was almost ironic, considering he was basically my child. Humans often called their offspring their ‘heart and soul’ and this cat, this demon, he was literally that. A piece of my soul living outside of my body, caring for me and protecting me, even if it was at someone else’s behest.

And still, he betrayed me. My own soul… betrayed me.

It was so ridiculous that I chuckled before I stopped myself.

“I know what is going through your mind, Celeste,” Nym said in a chilly, dead voice, and I finally looked at him. I hadn’t noticed him changing into his infernal form, but now his head skimmed the ceiling while his long legs bent awkwardly beneath him. He curled further so our eyes were at the same level. “But I swear to you… Even if I found you on his orders, I approached you of my own volition. My task was to watch over you and keep you alive, but after looking after you for years, I…” He trailed off, a sliver of desperation slipping into his voice as those large, golden eyes filled with pain. He stared at me pleadingly, but despite all those emotions eating me from the inside out, I felt nothing. “I wanted to be part of your life, not a spectator from the shadows. It was my choice to become your familiar, not his order.”

I gave him a blank stare. It was hard to believe that now when I knew he had been lying to me all this time. But the desperation in his eyes and the obvious shivering of his massive body, like he was about to cry, were real. They had to be.

“Please, forgive me,” Nym whispered in a shaky voice, bowing his head until the top of it rested on my knees. He was careful not to cut me with his twisted horns—always careful, even now—and the way his form shrunk before me made my eyes sting again. He looked so unbearably crushed. I would have felt bad for him, but I felt nothing anymore. I couldn’t even feel my own body.

When he spoke again, his voice was weak, hoarse, and ready to crack like he was fighting with each word. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but Beleth forbade me.” His fingers tightened painfully on my thighs, but then he immediately loosened his hold. “Don’t throw me away, I beg of you. I do not wish to be parted from you.”

I turned away. Even after everything I’d just learned, I couldn’t look at Nym’s pained face. Beleth was watching us under his brows, his nails mindlessly picking on the scab that had started to form over one of the deeper cuts on his arms.

“Why?” I whispered, and the demon focused his gaze on me, fingers pausing over the wound that was now dripping blood. When he didn’t say anything, I pushed. “If you ordered him not to tell me before, why are you telling me now?”

Beleth let out a long, exasperated sigh.

“Because I don’t fucking care anymore,” he said as he got up. “You’re not going anywhere and he is already here, so there is no point in pretending.” Turning his back on us, he headed toward the door. I expected he’d storm out, but he stopped with a hand on the handle. “I thought you wanted answers, so that’s what I gave you. Now stop being so fucking difficult.” He tipped his head, giving me a sidelong look. “This will be a whole lot easier for everyone if you do as you’re told. It’s not that hard to just sit on your ass.”

He yanked the door open, and screams of agony and pleas for mercy flooded the room. I thought I heard my own voice out there, but then Beleth spoke again and I got distracted.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he said like every time he left, but the warning in his voice sounded heavier this time. “Demons don’t have a lot of benevolence to spare, and you’ve already pushed me past my limit.”

The door slammed and the cries from outside were cut off, leaving me with a shattered heart and a sniveling hellhound lying at my feet.

---