Page 101 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“And if it goes well, he gets the benefit, and he gets to boast about how brilliant he is.”
“Exactly. I wouldn’t put it past him to act like this was his plan all along, the long game to catch the enemy off guard.”
“The politics here are just as dirty as they are on Earth.”
“No, baby, they’re a whole lot dirtier.” He pulled one of my arms from around his neck and brought my palm to his lips to kiss. “And I’m going to do everything I can to keep your hands clean.”
Behind him, the shadow opened again, and I sighed. “I guess that means we’re leaving?”
“Yes,” Raymond said as he carried me into the darkness.
We stepped out on the other side and were back inside our borrowed condo. The others hadn’t made it back yet, so we snuggled up togetheron the couch. Soon, after picking from the left-over pastries and making a comment about how I needed protein, I drifted off on his shoulder. I woke up when Raymond shifted beneath me.
“What is it?” I yawned. “Are they here?”
“I think so. Someone just knocked on the door.” He got up and headed to the door.
“Oh.” I sat up, straightening my shirt and making sure I didn’t have a tit out of place.
“What are you doing here?” Raymond’s voice had that edge to it, and I expected Metice to respond.
“That’s no way to greet a visitor!” the cool, feminine voice spoke. “Besides, I didn’t come here without an invitation. Daddy told me about what you were going to do, and I asked if I could help. I already spoke to Metice. Surprised he didn’t tell you.”
“We took a detour on the way back,” I heard Raymond say as he stepped aside.
In walked a tall, slender demoness with green skin. She had an arm that looked like it didn’t fully match the rest of her and tentacles that looked the same. I stood from my seat and prepared to give her a warm greeting when she opened her mouth again.
“Oh, so this is the human you replaced me with.” She scrunched her nose. “At least this one is cuter than the last one.”
“Last one?” My eyes shot to Raymond.What the hell was she talking about? Was I not his first human? Why did that matter?
“It’s nothing.” Raymond turned on her, finger pointed in her face. “Olian, stop it.”
“First, Metice does it to me, and now you!” She threw her hands up like a damsel in distress. “How will I ever recover from this embarrassment?”
“Metice?” I shouted then slapped my hand over my mouth as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.
26
It was Olian?!
“We are not talking about this right now.” Raymond looked at me after my outburst.
I still stood there, hand over mouth, eyes shifting between the two of them, all the dots connecting in my mind. This woman, this green demoness with mismatched parts, was the reason for all the chaos. Honestly, looking at her, it made so much sense. She looked like a handful, and when she opened her mouth, she proved my point.
“I think you should. Yes, talk it out.” She swayed over to the room and sat on the sofa where we had just been cuddled up. “It’s important for a healthy relationship to face the bumps in the road.”
“Olian, shut up,” Raymond grunted. “There is nothing to talk about.”
“Raymond.” She pointed at me, still there with a look of shock plastered on my face. “I think she would have a different opinion if she could speak right now.”
“Come on.” He grabbed my hand and took me into the bedroom. As soon as the door shut behind us, he spoke again. “Please don’t make a big deal out of this.”
“I’m not. It's just… That’s the woman who broke your heart?” I could feel the enthusiasm creeping across my face, like finally reaching the itch you couldn’t scratch. The revelation was so satisfying. “And she chose Metice over you. It all makes so much sense now. I kept wondering why you tense up whenever you’re around him. It’s because of her!”
“I do not tense up around him.” He frowned. “And you don’t need to sound so excited about this.”
“Oh, yeah you do. And I’m sorry, but this has really been bugging me: I thought maybe you two had a fight, or he betrayed you. I was even beginning to think Metice was in on the plot to overthrow Klougus and you turned your back on him with all the others.”
