Page 8 of Snowed in with the Demon Lord
Her anger, her passion, was so pure and strong. I envied the mortal—it had been a long time since I’d felt so strongly about anything.
“I would not drive into a snowstorm, nearly die, and abuse my rescuer’s hospitality.” The words were harsher than I intended, and Holly’s eyes narrowed.
“Sure, you can turn off your curiosity like a switch. I can’t. I fucked up going out into the storm, and I’m grateful that you saved me, but you can’t expect me to ignore the fact that you’re turning my world upside down just by being big, red, and horny.”
It took us both a moment to process what she’d said. Then a bright red blush rose on Holly’s cheeks and she broke eye contact. “I meant youhave horns,not that you’re…ohmygod.”
“Noted,” I said, fighting a laugh and glad my coloration made spotting my blushes difficult. Holly’s pale skin made hers delightfully obvious. “Peace, then. I will give you what answers I can, and you will let me work.”
That compromise might work, and it had to be better than my current predicament.
6
HOLLY
That’s how I came to sit next to a demon on his sofa, his hellhound curled up beside me, looking at his pages of notes with growing confusion and a headache. I recognized a few symbols from a friend who refused to shut up about astrology and tarot readings.
But I refused to give up. So long as Abaddon tried to explain, I’d listen and take notes and do my best to follow. At least it wasn’t boring.
Confusing, aggravating, and frustrating, but notboring.
Especially with Belial forcing his way onto the sofa next to me, pushing me up against Abaddon. I tried to keep him off the furniture, but the hellhound was built like a small bear and refused to listen.
“Do not waste your energy,” Abaddon said after watching my futile attempts to resist. “Belial is in many ways an excellent companion, but when he gets it into his head to sit somewhere, there is no stopping him.”
I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “I would have thought ademon lordwould expect his pets to be obedient.”
To my surprise, he chuckled at that. “True, but Belial is more than a pet, and he is loyal. More important than obedience, and far rarer in Hell.”
Since there was no way I was going to move the big lump of terrifying monster-dog, I gave in with as much grace as I could muster. Scratching behind Belial’s ears, I turned my attention back to the notes and tried to keep it off the feel of Abaddon’s body heat and delicious scent.
“Wait, you’re powering the cabin withhellfire?”I tapped the page as I spoke, pointing to a complicated array of arcane squiggles. I didn’t understand the magic, but the other side of the equation was familiar. Not that I understood electrical engineering any better, but at least I recognized the volts, amps, and watts as human measurements. “Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It’s better than having to go to town for gas,” he said. He almost cracked a smile. “I keep my shopping runs to a minimum for obvious reasons.”
Was that humor? Maybe. I doubted the folks in Springview would appreciate a demon popping by the general store, which raised more questions. “How do you get supplies then?”
His face turned serious again, the hint of a smile disappearing behind his stony expression. “I buy in bulk, collect once a month, and don’t speak to anyone if I can help it. It takes an effort, but I can transform myself to hide my nature.”
“Oh, that I have to see.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “You heard the part where I said it took effort, yes?”
I should have left it there. So of course I pushed on. “Please? Just for a second? I want to know what human-you looks like.”
After a second, he sighed again. “Fine. This is a foolish waste of energy, butfine.”
He stood in the center of the cabin, turning to face me. As I watched, he drew lines of sparks in the air with practiced motions.
Sudden bright light made me wince and blink, and in that moment Abaddon changed. I tried to focus on him through the afterimages of the flash.
Before I saw him clearly, there was a loud bang and the lights went out.
Then silence, the kind you only get when a noise you hadn’t noticed stops. The heating had failed too, and the temperature plummeted.
“What the fuck?”
“I don’t know,” Abaddon’s voice burned with confused rage. “Something happened to the generator. I have to fix it.”
