Page 67 of The Deer and the Dragon
I looked at her expectantly.
“Maybe he’s doing you a favor by insisting he’s the one on the job. Any angel could have showed up to talk to your mom. There was no reason it had to be him, unless he’s requesting the task. And if he is…”
“If he is, is it a good thing or a bad thing?”
She chewed her lip. “That depends on his motives for doing so. It’s certainly curious. Then again, he’s a curious guy. Like, I admire his balls for asking me out, but he had to know I’m not angel material. Nymphs, fae, deities, and demons, though…” Her eyes drifted to the bartender. “Well, love isn’t out of the cards for us, but…”
“You’re going to say something gross, aren’t you.”
“We fuck.”
My exhale was heavy with amused exasperation. As ridiculous as she was, I was fond of her particular brand of nonsense. “I don’t know why you bothered finishing your sentence.”
She smirked into her drink and made a come-hither expression to the bartender so he’d bring her another. The muscled shadow looked up from whatever he was doing and acknowledged her beckoning.
“How are we paying for this?” I asked. “I doubt they take credit cards.”
“You paid for things in the human realm. I’ll take care of things when we’re out of the mortal kingdom. Now, go ahead, ask your next stupid question. I can see a few more clanging around in there, and I can tolerate them while getting drunk. But I think I should get a few questions in return.”
“Fine.” I was only halfway through my beer, but Fauna was well on her way to finishing her second green drink. There was something remarkably normal about the tit for tat of two friends exchanging questions over drinks. It put me at ease, even if the topics did not. I hedged for a moment before asking, “The horns?”
“Oh, that’s a pretty good question. So, when the kingdom split, it was the whole brother-fighting-brother thing. Or like, what do you do in human sports, when hot men get sweaty and half-naked?”
“Shirts versus skins?”
“Yes! That’s the one. Anyway, it’s just easier for the rebels to spot one another if they’re out and about. Maybe in the human realm, maybe in battle, whatever. The war is asinine, and at this point it’s most comparable to your Cold War. Lots of espionage and covert operations. No one has the time or energy for horsemen and swords and blood.”
I chewed my lip, considering the information. “Okay, and that cat-child that Silas killed? He was a demon, right?”
“The kiddo? Ew, no. Like I said, he was a parasite. Nothingto do with demons, though to be honest, parasitic entities are what most humans think of when they hear the word. Every realm has them. We’ve got them with the Nordes. The Hindu realm has them. They’re big in toteism. Malevolent entities are like rats in the age of bubonic plague—”
“You don’t have to relate every example back to a human experience.”
“I am being a good teacher and you’re being ungrateful.” Then to the bartender, she turned and said, “Sweetheart? Can I have one more for me, and another beer for my friend?”
“You’re putting them away a little fast, aren’t you?” I adjusted my body so the fire warmed a new side.
She nodded, sliding the empty glass toward the man. “Liquid courage, babe.”
“Courage against something scary?”
“Yes, something terrifying.”
I shifted uncomfortably, wondering what precisely could be unnerving enough to put Fauna on edge.
“It’s my turn now,” she said. She propped her elbow firmly against the bar, gesturing until her drink sloshed as she asked, “You never suspected?”
I slumped in my seat, frowning.
She elaborated. “All of this. Even Lisbeth knew she was seeing something real. She’s oversimplifying things, but at least she’s acknowledging what she’s seeing. I’m sure you’ve been noticing shit your entire life. You didn’t at least think you were psychic? Or experiment in witchcraft? Or…?”
It took me a moment to gather my thoughts, and she didn’t rush me. After a while I said, “Maybe I would have, if my mother weren’t who she is. Maybe she’s fae or psychic or whatever, but she’s also cruel and crazy. And it’s a lot easier to put it all in the same box, you know? If she’s nuts about five things, it tracks that she’s nuts about the sixth, too. Does that make sense?”
Fauna considered this. “But you saw Caliban in spite of her, not because of her. He didn’t—”
“I think it’s my turn to ask another,” I said. The lyrics to“Wanted Dead or Alive” wove through the bar, filling the space as she smirked. She raised her glass for me to continue.
“Okay…is it always dark here? In Hell?”
