Page 36 of Cry for Help

My cheeks warmed, and Caim's eyes darkened as they met mine.

I couldn’t get those silk scarves out of my head.

I shook my head to clear it. “A cage?”

“I’m fine,” Stolas assured the group. “Once I had opposable thumbs again, it was fairly straightforward to get out.”

“What situation?” I asked. “Why were you even in a cage to begin with?”

Stolas sighed. The sound was heavy with burden. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Caim reached for the fruit on the counter, plucking one of the ripe apples from the pile. He rolled the red apple between his hands. “I think Maddie should know.”

Murmur held up his hands. “Don’t look at me, I wanted to tell her.”

I resisted the urge to put up my hands to remind them I was still there.

Forgotten.

Stolas pinched his brow but said nothing.

Malphas shut the fridge, turning to the others. “You brought Maddie into this mess.” He pointed to Stolas. “You brought her back when she tried to leave.” He pointed at Caim. “And you told her demonic secrets that most of the human government would kill to know.”

“I told her about Lucifer,” Murmur growled.

Malphas narrowed his eyes. “You confirmed that fucker even exists. Or, existed.”

I frowned, digesting his words.

“Yeah, he’s dead,” Malphas told me. “I don’t know if Murmur mentioned that.”

Stolas, who until that moment had remained silent with his hand on his brow, stood up. Slamming his palms on the countertop. “ENOUGH!” He roared, losing his cool for the first time since I had seen him. Stolas adjusted the lapel of his jacket, though nothing was out of place. Stolas turned to me; his endless black eyes weren’t just black anymore. I saw stars swirling like a galaxy of deep, dark colors. He blinked, and the illusion disappeared.

When he spoke, he signed. “Madeleine. You have agency here, even if you were ‘bought’ at the auction. We have no intention of imprisoning you. Or using you for nefarious purposes.”

Stolas looked like someone had pissed in his Cheerios. Whatever he was going to say next wasn’t good.

“I chose you because I saw myself in you. You might not have realized it, but you likely would not have survived the night if you had not been bought that evening. Many of the humans in the Red City are owned by demons and the ones that don’t have a job or purpose. Human prisoners are not allowed to roam if they fail at auction.” Stolas looked away.

The lump in my throat grew so large that it hurt to breathe. Though the threat of my own death had hung over me since Dr Holdsworth had told me about my failed appeal, it had been easy to ignore.

I had been seconds away from being tossed, and Stolas had saved me.

He could be lying, trying to foster some kind of gratitude or sense of loyalty, but somehow, I didn’t think he was.

Stolas exhaled, the sound shaky. “I was selfish bringing you here, even for the right reasons. I brought you into our homewithout consulting my brothers. I abandoned you to this empty, temporary house while I...”

Murmur stepped up, slapping Stolas on the shoulder. “Madeleine gets it.” Murmur shot me a pointed look, and though I was still in shock from seeing Stolas’s armor crack, I nodded.

Malphas went to the cupboard and grabbed a bottle of wine. He placed it on the countertop and silently fetched glasses. “We’re traitors,” Malphas announced, not looking at me as he put the glasses next to the wine bottle. “We’re working for the human government to bring down a trafficking ring in the Red City. We also have a deal with Asmodeus, Queen of Lust. If we can find dirt on any of the big players in the city, she’ll help us.” He popped the cork and poured a glass, pushing it towards Stolas. “You know, so we don’tdie.”

Because of their broken connection to Hell, it was all starting to make sense.

Stolas grabbed the glass and drained it in one go.

“I’m guessing you were investigating someone and got trapped in a cage while possibly breaking and entering?” I signed.

Stolas nodded, grabbing the bottle and pouring more wine. “A warehouse. Someone is shipping large amounts of somethingoutof the city. It was labeled as ‘sugar’ on the manifest, but we don’t grow sugarcane in the city. Northern California isn’t the right environment for it.”

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