Page 18 of Deliver Us from Evil

"Yeah, our hellhound legion. Think of it as wolf packs, only more monster-like."

"Does that mean you guys have an alpha or a leader of some kind? Wait, don't tell me. It's Helios, isn't it?"

Abaddon laughed. "You got it. How'd you know?"

"Are you kidding? Honestly, I'd be surprised if it wasn't him."

"Oh, really?" Abaddon smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not into him, I'm just not surprised that he's your leader. Helios exudes leadership vibes."

"What do I exude then?"

"Cockiness."

"I can live with that," Abaddon said with a chuckle, but then his expression faltered nearly instantaneous. Clearing his throat, he pointed towards my room with his thumb. "You should get back inside now and get some rest. You'll have a pretty active day tomorrow."

His change in mood took me off guard. Granted I barely knew the guy, but I was already used to his playfulness from the few interactions I had with him. It almost looked as if he'd lost himself for a moment before remembering something that dampened his mood.

"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching out my hand to him.

Abaddon backed away, like touching me would brand him. "I'm fine, but you need to go inside Antonia. Trust me, you'll need the rest."

Okay, something was definitely wrong with him. I should've been glad that they were at least willing to keep their distance from me, but I thought maybe we could at least have a conversation with each other. I thought maybe we could become friends. I guess that was another fantasy. Maybe talking with Solara gave me a false sense of security. These guys weren't here to befriend me, they were here to watch me. I was a prisoner, and these were my guards. Nothing more. I was stupid to consider that there would be more to my stay here.

"Fine," I said flatly, trying to not show the affects his rejection had over me. "See you tomorrow, I guess."

I whipped around and stormed inside my room—prison—and was about to push the doors shut. I briefly saw a stiffness in Abaddon's body, like he wanted to say or do something but was holding himself back. I didn't make sense to me.

"Did you want something?" I hedged with a little bite in my tone.

Abaddon licked his lips and opened his mouth to say something but froze before backpedaling. Why was he being so hesitant with me suddenly? Did something happen between sending me to meet Lord Deimos and sending me to my room? I didn't think hellhounds could show emotions, but I could tell there was an inkling of fear in Abaddon that was preventing him from relaxing in my company now.

"For God's sake, say something!"

Abaddon's face scrunched in a sour expression. "Don't say the G-word here. It's bad luck."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I went back to my original topic. "Why are you acting so weird around me all of a sudden?"

"I'm not," Abaddon argued. “I’m not trying to be weird around you it’s just…”

“Just what?” I hedged.

Abaddon looked legitimately perplexed, like something was stuck in his head and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.

It bothered me because it came out of left field. One minute we were laughing and joking around, and the next it was as if a lightbulb went off in his head. “Abaddon, talk to me. What is it?”

He shook his head. “I honestly have no idea. For a moment it felt as if we were friends for years, you know? Like we meshed a lot easier than what would’ve been expected considering your current situation and the fact that we only just met.”

Now that he mentioned it, we did seem to hit it off right away despite knowing he was a hellhound. Same for Helios. Maybe it was the shock from finding myself trapped in Hell, but Abaddon seemed to think it was something else.

“I think I get what you mean, but is it a bad thing?”

“No,” he quickly said. “No, it’s not a bad thing. I’m saying it’s odd is all. But it’s nothing you said or did. Maybe it was only a fluke that we’re connecting.”

“Maybe,” I mumbled, feeling the weight of the day pushing me under. I didn’t want to think about this anymore. I only wanted to sleep and pray that when I woke it, this would all be a dream.

“Okay, I’m going to bed.”

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