Page 169 of The Demon's Pet

It saw me and tried to lunge at me, hissing, but I stepped back out of the way, and it couldn’t go farther because it was tied up.

Sam’s black sheath appeared at his side, and he drew his long katana from it. “Since you don’t have your slayer sword yet, and Betty hasn’t made you a replacement, you can use mine.”

I put both of my hands up, shaking my head. “No. No way.”

Griffin looked at me like he wanted to help, but he was also still dealing with the utter shock of attacking one woman to defend another one.

I was growing really fond of the guy. Misguided but always trying to help me.

Just like Sam was misguidedly trying to help me now.

I took another step back, my hands still up. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“It’s a ghoul,” Sam said. “It’s practically dead already.”

“Not yet it isn’t,” I said. My heart was racing. “No. I’ll fight. I’ll figure out a way to do it without killing, but—”

“Disgusting,” Mor said. “How dare you be a coward after all Sam has done to get you here?”

I looked at Mor, shame waving through me. “That’s not my fault. He made his choices.”

“A ghoul kills anything it can find, brutally,” Simon said from the wall. “It’s truly a creature you would do the world a favor by removing.”

I looked at the ghoul, but it simply bared yellow, inhuman teeth. “What is it?”

“A half-turned vampire,” Simon said. “A human that was continuously fed off of until their life source was drained but who never made the transition into a vampire.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Are we going to stand around all day talking about ghouls, or are you going to kill something?” Sam asked, looking impatient.

“Of course this would be easy for you,” I spat, still taken off guard by this whole ghoul thing. “I… I can’t. I’m not ready.”

Sam’s eyes shuttered momentarily, and I could see disappointment on his face as he turned away.

In his next step, he turned back, still holding his sword, and cut the ghoul’s head off.

Black blood flew into the air as the creature fell backward, and blood continued to pump from the open wound of its neck.

I swallowed, looking at Sam, who watched the ghoul impassively before turning to look at me.

“I’m not a killer, Sam. I’m sorry. I’m not cold like you.” I knew it was a mistake the moment I said it, but I couldn’t take it back.

Sam’s jaw was clenched. “I killed many creatures to bring you here. If you have such a problem with killers…” He turned away with atsk, then walked back to the cathedral without even finishing his statement.

The large wooden doors slammed shut behind him.

Mor was watching me pensively as Simon climbed off the wall to come to her side.

“So female? Interesting. I’ve never met a female celestial. And you’re staying? Unlike Os, you aren’t afraid to hang out a bit with the undead?”

Mor looked at Simon like something that crawled out from under her shoe. “I’m here for Sam. He’s my friend.” She looked at me. “And as a half void walker, it wouldn’t make much sense to hate demons, or those they keep company with.”

She turned and followed Sam inside, sending me a mean glare before she disappeared.

Simon came over to me, almost putting his arm around my shoulders and then thinking better of it, probably remembering Sam’s anger before.

“It’ll be okay,” Simon said. “You’ll figure it out.”

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