Page 13 of Court of Heathens

“Usually, you bind something you intend to kill or use. Not much use for a freeing spell,” Phrixius calls, his voice matter-of-fact.

“Wait, you’re the god of magic. Don’t you know how to break the spell?”

He watches me for a long moment. “This is your magic. I cannot intervene in another’s magic.”

I frown, watching him. “But you’re a god?—”

“And he’s a demon. Your point, witch?”

“My name is Freya,” I mutter, and he smiles.

“Freya,” he explains, “magic is linked to the user and the intention. You know this, since you intended to trap a powerful being and it worked. You look tired. Maybe you should rest and try again tomorrow. I understand mortals need to sleep more frequently than creatures such as us and hellspawn there.”

“Did the god just make a joke?” My demon gapes. “I didn’t know they could do that.”

“Met many gods, have you?” I ask.

“One or two.” He shrugs. “They are quite boring and so into themselves and obsessed with rules—apart from Mors, the god of death. He’s pretty fun, if angry.”

Phrixius sighs. “He is not angry. He has been given the hardest duty of all time?—”

“Sure, sure.” The demon nods. “Anyway, demons and gods don’t mix, but since we are immortal, we cross paths every now and again.”

I frown. “Wait, how are demons made? I never really even asked. Like, I know you exist and the types, but are you just another supernatural creature or more like Teddy over there?”

“Sticking with the Ts, I see. Well, when two demons love each other very much, their bodies come together—you know, why don’t I show you instead?” I narrow my eyes, and my demon sighs. “You can’t blame a guy. You never asked before.”

“I guess I didn’t think about it,” I admit as I sit back. “Well?”

My demon sighs and settles back. “Technically, we are part god.” I blink, and he smirks. “A small, corrupted part. There was once a god called Luellen—it’s where your people got Lucifer from, though I heard he changed his name when he fell.”

“Fell?” I ask, sitting up.

“From grace. If we do not follow the rules and laws set forth by our roles we are destined for, then we fall from our world and into yours,” Phrixius adds helpfully.

“Exactly. Well, he fell, and he was pissed. He’d fallen in love with a mortal, you see, and as a master of reincarnation as well as many other things, he brought her back when she died. It broke his rules, and he fell. His mortal was taken away, her soul imprisoned to stop her from reincarnating again as part of his punishment. It drove him a little mad, and all that power corrupted. We were born from his hatred and his need to settle the score and defy the universe.”

“You were quite literally made to be a nuisance.” I grin, and he chuckles.

“Pretty much.”

“What happened to him?” I murmur.

“No one knows. There are rumours even amongst our kind that he is hidden, trying to free his mortal’s soul. Even now, thousands of years later, he still loves her.”

“How sad,” I say. “All because of love.”

“Love is the most dangerous thing in this universe,” my demon says, sounding serious for once, his eyes on me. “It makes even the strongest creatures do things they ordinarily would not. It is unpredictable and wild, like magic. Love is the most dangerous thing this universe has ever created. Even more than hatred.”

“Good thing you’ll never have that issue.” I chuckle, looking at the book, but he’s quiet. When I glance at him, he’s staring at me, his face devoid of any amusement.

“Indeed,” he murmurs before he blinks, and then he evaporates, leaving me alone, but I have a horrible feeling in my chest that I have upset the demon.

“Demons are capable of love.” I jerk back to see Phrixius. “Just in case you were curious. Most think they are creatures born from hatred, but hate is close to love. They are capable of feeling the same emotions as their creator—a man who loved someone so deeply he scours this Earth looking for her, even now.”

I feel like I’m being reprimanded or am not quite in on the joke in the room, but then he smiles. “Rest, witch. Tomorrow will be a new day for you to find the freeing spell.”

“And you?”

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