Page 14 of Cry for Help

“Heboughta human?” Caim, the horned demon, perked up. “Stolas bought a human?”

Malphas crossed his arms over his chest. “Probably spent every last of our credits for his sick savior complex. Death and Darkness, Stolas, tell me you didn’t do something sostupid.”

Caim craned his neck, trying to peek around Stolas’s tall body. Unfortunately, I was wider than Stolas, and it was evident I was tucked behind his back.

“Her name is Mandy.” Stolas pinched the bridge of his nose. “She is defective.”

“Mandy.” Malphas spat as if the word offended him.

My name isn’t Mandy. I remained silent, as always.

“Mandy?” Caim stepped closer, bending at the waist to try and get a better look at me. “Don’t mind Mal, he’s a grumpy asshole. I promise we won’t hurt you.”

“Speak for yourself,” Malphas grumbled, stomping away. “She ate mycheese.”

Caim ignored him. His brow pursed as he regarded me for the first time. The horned demon lifted his hands and signed a simple greeting in ASL.

“Hello, Mandy.” Caim gave me a weak smile, apologetic for his finger spelling.

I smiled for the first time in a long time. “My name is Maddie. Not Mandy. And I can hear. I just can’t speak.”

Caim snorted a laugh, turning to Stolas as he relayed my message.

Murmur cleared his throat. “PerhapsMaddiewould like to rest. I think Stolas has a lot to tell us.”

I looked between the demons, reluctant to be far from Stolas. While I didn’t know them very well, I had been around Stolas for nearly an hour, and he hadn’t hurt me yet. He hadn’t insulted me—he’d treated me like an inconvenient pet rather than someone he’d bought at the ‘meat market.’

Caim lifted his hand, volunteering. “I’ll take Maddie to her room.”

“She better not be taking mine,” Malphas said with a face of thunder.

Stolas arched a brow. “She’ll reside in the guest suite.”

Better than a chain in the attic, at least.

Caim beamed, holding out his hand for me to take. I eyed him as if he was mad. Because he probably was. He wasn’t offended when I didn’t take his hand, instead playing off my refusal with a chuckle before he gestured to the doorway. “This way, Miss Maddie.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as Caim led me to my room.

There was a bed.

A real live bed with a mattress and cotton sheets. A thick comforter andpillows.

I’d hid my excitement when Caim had shown me the room, determined not to let the horned demon know how pitiful I truly was, but the moment he’d left, I’d dived under the covers and formed a human burrito. Rubbing my legs together and grinning. If getting snuggly was an Olympic sport, I’d have won gold.

Despite the plush furnishings, it took a long while to sleep.

Stolas and the others argued into the early hours.

It was clear that Caim, Malphas, and Murmur were not included in his decision to buy me.

“Into the city...”

“More humans...”

“The trade...”

“We need to know...”

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