Chapter 40 Chapter 40
“I have never in my life met someone as conceited as you,” she mumbled.
“Human, how many times do I have to tell you not to insult me?” he growled, glowering at her with dark and sinister eyes. She swallowed, admitting he could be pretty intimidating if he wanted to.
“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” he then said, turning serious. “The witch bonded to Vaughn mentioned something interesting I keep thinking about. She told us that a blood mage could break our bond.”
“But Maxwell, Esther warned us about this. It’s too risky, and we don’t even know any blood mages,” she said worriedly, not liking the stubbornness she saw in his face.
“You’re just scared I’d kill you if the bond is gone.”
“Well, I can’t deny that,” she admitted, fidgeting with the blanket on her legs. “But I want to return to my old life too.”
“That is impossible. You would still be able to see the supernatural, with or without me, doesn’t matter,” Maxwell replied, his words making her skin crawl in fear. Of course, he was right… Valerie had to face it as it was; things would never return to normal unless she somehow magically broke the bond, lost her sight, and got amnesia or something. Yeah, highly unlikely.
“Will you really kill me once the bond is gone?” she asked after a long pause and reluctantly glanced at his face, scared of what she might find. He looked at her for an endless time, observing her without answering.
His eyes met hers, but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. A trace of red colored the blue of his irises. He gnawed at his lower lip, tilting his head. Valerie got more nervous by the second and deeply regretted posing her question until he finally answered her.
“I won’t kill you,” he murmured. “You’re… entertaining, and it would be a waste if you lost your life. Your soul would go to hell since you’re a sinner, and I doubt you would like that place.”
Ah, that was another problem to be added to the list. She was a sinner now, and heaven’s doors were closed for her, all because a dumb spell had gone out of control. Even so, she was glad to hear he didn’t want to rip her head off anymore.
“Maybe you’re not so bad,” Valerie smiled faintly, her eyes twinkling.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, arching an eyebrow while taking another bite of his pizza slice. The TV show had long since been forgotten; none of them paid attention to it anymore.
“Um, demons are usually bad, but you’re not?” she stuttered. “I mean, you are bad, but not that bad? Slightly bad… Half bad?”
“Just stop talking, okay?” he grinned, shaking his head. “Silly human,” he muttered and tousled her hair with his hand just to annoy her.
“Hey,” she complained, trying to save her poor hair from looking like a bird’s nest, but judging by his smirk, it was a lost cause. “You’re so mean.”
“Oh, please, you call that mean? I can do so much worse,” he said huskily, the seductive tone of voice not lost on her.
Before she could answer him, her smartphone started ringing, and she pulled it out of the pocket of her sweatpants. It was Naomi, and Valerie promptly remembered her friend’s plan for the weekend while sighing to herself. “Hello, Naomi?” she said, feeling Maxwell’s eyes on her as she spoke.
“Valerie, are you coming tonight? We’re already on the way to the house; it will be so much fun.” Naomi said excitedly.
“Please, Naomi, I told you this is dangerous. Don’t do it, okay?”
“It’s just a little ghost hunt; what could go wrong? You’re a chicken, just like when we used the Ouija board. Nothing happened back then, and nothing will happen now.” Naomi replied. Coldness seeped into Valerie’s heart, and her face fell, dread replacing her happiness. She leaned back on the sofa, glaring at the ceiling.
“So what if nothing happened,” she forced out with some difficulty. It was hard to pretend all the time, but Valerie didn’t want to drag her friend into this mess. Her obliviousness was annoying, but it was better than confronting her with the harsh truth. “Naomi, you can’t go there. Trespassing is a crime, and you know it.”
“Don’t act like you’re working for the police, Valerie. I told you before, nobody will ever find out we were there.”
“Think about this for a minute. The property is abandoned for a reason if no one wants to live there anymore; something must have happened,” Valerie reasoned, but without success.
“You’re right about that; something did happen, and that’s why the place is supposed to be haunted,” Naomi said. “Twenty years ago, a young bride was murdered there, and the people who bought the property later experienced strange things when they wanted to renovate it. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?”
Valerie couldn’t share her enthusiasm for something so horrifying and creepy. Her fingers were trembling at the mere thought of going there. She had to stop her friend at all costs.
“Don’t go there, please. Trust me on this when I say that it’s too dangerous.”
“You sound like my mom,” her friend remarked. “I’m going with my friends, whether you like it or not. And in case you’re changing your mind, I’ll send you the address. It would be great if you joined us. Remember, be there at midnight.”
And then she ended the call. Valerie stared into space, feeling cold. The beeping of the phone next to her ear didn’t register in her brain until Maxwell took it from her and put it on the coffee table. He could tell something was wrong, but since he hadn’t heard the whole conversation, he didn’t know what it was.
When Valerie got over her initial shock, she took a deep breath. She had to do something since her friend was getting herself into grave danger. Her head snapped around, and she looked at the demon. “You need to help me,” she said pleadingly.