Page 12 of Gift for a Demon

His gaze kept flickering to the wall he thought they’d entered from. He swore he’d seen a door open, but all the walls looked the same to him—except for the fact that some of them were decorated with shelves full of weapons and trinkets.

Tentatively, he walked toward them. He kept picturing the demon materializing out of thin air and punishing or torturing him or whatever real-life demons actually did. It didn’t happen, though, and the shiny shelves called to him.

He began with the one closest to him. It mostly had swords and a few daggers. All of them were glinting with the light that came from a window too high for him to reach. They were clearly taken care of, not a fingerprint or speck of dust to be seen. Their hilts were all covered in different gemstones—mostly emeralds and rubies, from what he could identify.

Jordan was the one who knew everything about stones and jewels. Dave just liked going shopping with him and trying on what he recommended.

Nope.

Not thinking about Jordan or anything about his life on… Earth? He got the impression that he wasn’t on Earth anymore, even though he couldn’t remember why. Perhaps it had been a snippet of one of the conversations the minions decided to have in his head.

He didn’t know, and didn’t care enough to try and remember. He could reassess once Melchom—or any demon—showed up again, but it would be too much otherwise.

The row of shelves in the opposite wall only had a few weapons—a couple of maces bathed in gold and one that looked like a samurai sword, except he was sure it had a different name.

The rest were trinkets. There were a few thick wrist bracelets and a couple of necklaces, but it was mostly full of tiaras and crowns of different sizes and patterns.

A—reckless—part of him itched to try them on, he wasn’t going to lie. There were so many things to choose from. His fingers drew closer to a thin tiara in silver with small diamonds that created a soft line bordering the curves and tips. He figured it would be easier to cover up than one of the cooler ones with all the stones that looked heavy as all fuck.

This one felt light—scarily light, really. Dave wondered if he should take it off because Melchom didn’t look like the kind of demon who would appreciate it if it broke into pieces because he got overexcited.

He was starting to lift his arms to grab it when he noticed a door.

All right, so maybe he was easily distracted.

The sound of the door opening made him wince at the way it needed to be greased. He didn’t know if he should feel disappointment or relief when all it led to was a bathroom.

A bathroom with a giant claw bathtub filled with water and bars of soap on a stone stool next to it.

Yes, finally.

Walk in, Melchom’s gift.

He’s still alive! I told you so.

“No. No, no, no, no.”

A cacophony of high-pitched laughs filled his head.

Only the bedroom is off limits to us, human.

Come in, don’t be shy.

And don’t forget about the hair!

The last voice rushed up to his head as he shut the door closed and stumbled backwards.

The tiara clanked against the ground when his knees hit the mattress. It looked to be in one piece, he noticed from a distance.

The door to the bathroom seemed to grow larger as he kept staring. At least this time he knew it was in his head and not a real thing.

“What are you doing there, Dove?”

Dave sprung up, head snapping. He didn’t have time to register the stupid nickname. He did register the fact that the main entrance to the chambers, as Melchom had called it, was oiled to the point it hadn’t made a sound.

“I…”

Shit. The tiara on the floor.

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