Page 163 of The Demon's Pet

Simons’s lips turned up in a grin. “Ah, getting feelings finally? Cayne would have loved to see that.”

“He’s fucking gone, and he lost that right!” Sam practically shouted in Simon’s face. A vein was bulging at the side of his temple. He leaned in even closer and said his next words loud enough for me to hear him. “And I’ll never care deeply about anyone, ever again.”

Sam gave Simon one more harsh glare and whipped around, retracting his wings as he stormed away, disappearing around the side of the cathedral somewhere by the willow.

Why was he going there?

Simon looked over at me. “You should go find him.”

“No, you shouldn’t,” Griffin said. “You and I should go. I don’t know where but anywhere you don’t have to be with that demon. He took a beating to make you feel guilty, Cleo. He won’t even explain himself. You can’t trust him.”

Simon shook his head. “You’re mistaking something, though Sam is definitely someone to watch out for.” He took Griffin by the arm. “Let me tell you a few things, and you can decide if you still want to take Cleo from Sam.”

Griffin looked dubious, but I nodded.

“I need to go talk to Sam,” I said. “I need to know why he did that and what he intends for me. And then, if you’re right, I’ll think about whether we should go.”

Griffin sniffed. “I doubt there is anything that you could tell me that would make sense to me.”

Simon sighed, rolled his eyes, and put a hand up to cup Griffin’s ear as he leaned in to whisper to him.

Griffin’s eyes went wide at whatever Simon was telling him, and he slumped with a nod as Simon finally pulled back.

“Well, what do you think now?” Simon asked Griffin. “You still want to fly away from here?”

Griffin blinked, looking confused, and his hands moved into fists. “That explains the Zarris fight, yes.” He swallowed, looking as if his throat felt tight. He looked over at me. “But I still don’t want my friend to be a weapon if she doesn’t want to. You can talk to him, Cleo. But if you decide you don’t want to stay, we’ll figure a way out of this. I promise.”

I nodded, grateful to have found such a good friend. I walked forward to pull Griffin into a hug, and, to my shock, I felt Simon join us, locking his arms around us.

“Mmm… human energy. Almost as good as blood,” Simon said happily.

“Get off me,” Griffin said, shoving the vampire away. “I’m going inside to get something to eat.” He stomped back up the stairs to the cathedral.

“Ooh, I do like a chase,” Simon said. “All that self-righteous, judgmental celestial in him is so easy to get riled up. Looks like this will be fun.”

I just gave Simon an odd look, and he laughed.

“Well, aren’t you going to go after Sam?” Simon asked. “I think if you approach things right, you’ll learn something new about him. He’s a difficult boy, but I can tell you feel something for him.”

My chest and throat felt tight. If he hadn’t even fought back against Zarris, why hadn’t he told me the night I took care of him?

Simon let out an exasperated breath. “I shouldn’t say this, but I can tell you don’t even know where to start.” He looked down at the ground for a minute, then up at the sky. “Sam lost his brother a year ago. He hasn’t been the same since. Whether that played into his fight, I don’t know. But it’s worth considering.”

A heartbreaking picture slowly came together in front of me, and I immediately knew I needed to see Sam.

I took off, jogging in the direction he’d disappeared.

Behind me, I heard Simon softly mutter, “Atta girl. Go get him.”

39

I had to be careful not to step or trip on any gravestones as I jogged along the open paths in the cemetery to find Sam.

I slowed down as I approached the willow and saw him standing under its shade.

The gray day cast the tombstones in sharp relief. Some were very old, the corners worn, the letters barely visible. Some were newer, with dates from this century.

I cast my eyes around for a certain one but didn’t see it.

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