Page 26 of A Study of Blood and Ichor

“I told you, I’m hungry and craving waffles.”

The demon snorted when my brows knit together, and brushed past me, heading toward the entrance.

“Wait,” I whisper-hissed. “Your eyes.”

Vain turned to look at me, palm resting on the handle, and I watched the black fade away until Rory’s sharp gray eyes pierced mine.

“What about them?” Rory said and, not waiting for an answer, opened the door. I grumbled out a curse, swiped the blood off the knife, and shoved it back into the holster before following him inside.

“Two please,” Rory said to the waitress behind the counter.

“Sure thing, sugar. Take a seat wherever you like.” She motioned to the empty booths on either side of the diner.

There was only one other customer, a man bellied up to the counter with a hot drink and half-eaten sandwich. I caught myself letting out a small sigh of relief because at least there would be low casualties should Vain decide to wreak havoc for a little fun. I kept an immobilizing spell at the edge of my fingertips in case I needed to restrain the demon quickly.

Rory ambled over to the red and white striped booth tucked away in the furthest corner of the diner and sat opposite the bar so his back was facing away from the kitchen and the other customer. The plastic seat squeaked as I slid into the booth across from him.

Under the bright fluorescents, there was no obvious indication or even the slightest hint that a demon lay under Rory’s surface. But I knew. It was hard—nearly impossible—to shake the image of those cold, black eyes. Vain was in there, and I swore I could practically feel the demon from within looking back.

“It’s just me,” Rory assured when he noticed me staring.

“That’s not true,” I muttered. “I know it’s still in there.”

“Fair point.” Rory placed his hands on the table and laced his fingers together. “Why do you call Vain ‘it’?”

“They’re monsters, Rory.” I forced my voice to almost a whisper because I noticed a woman walking toward our table.

The waitress had her pen poised above her little notepad, and a glossy pin on the breast pocket of her uniform read “Jessica”. She eyed Rory’s bruises warily. With the help of Vain’s quick healing, the swelling had gone down significantly, but there were still a few unhealed scrapes and bits of discoloration.

Rory pasted a pleasant smile onto his face and ordered waffles and a coffee for himself, as well as a slice of apple pie at the recommendation of the waitress.

“Best pie in town.” Jessica winked at him, and I couldn’t help but sour at the gesture.

“And she’ll have a coffee,” he added, as if it were an afterthought.

“Tea,” I bit back, a little too sharply.

Rory’s forced smile for the waitress turned smug as he eyed me. “And a pie for her too.”

“I’m not hungry,” I muttered, but Jessica was already walking back to the kitchen and returned moments later with two steaming mugs and a dish stacked with little plastic pots of creamer.

“Will you stop staring at me, please?” Rory said when she was out of earshot. “You’re freaking me out.”

“I just watched a demon give you back control of your body, and you appear completely unfazed as if this is somehow normal.”

Rory shrugged. “Define normal.”

Holy hell, this man was nearly as infuriating Vain. And what was worse was that he knew just how much he was pushing my buttons too. The tiny crinkle at the corner of his eyes gave away how amusing he found my frustration.

“How can you be okay with a demon possessing you?”

Rory snatched one of the creamers and a packet of sugar, then dumped them into his coffee. “It’s better than the alternative,” he said as if I was supposed to accept that vague non-answer.

The smell of smoke from the braziers in the Hull clung to his skin, and every time he shifted in his seat, the scent wafted around me.

“Are you insane?”

“I don’t think so.”

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