Chapter 153 Chapter 153
“I’m not used to being a demon. Don’t blame me,” she replied cheekily.
“Do you need some help, huh?” he mumbled while he rearranged the chain so it wasn’t askew anymore. “Now it’s better.”
“Didn’t know you were such a perfectionist,” she teased.
“Says the one who took half an hour to fix my braids,” he countered, raising his eyebrows. “You’re one to talk, sugar.”
“You totally loved it, though. You even told me to do it again.”
He put his chin on his hand and watched her, a pout on his lips. “No. I don’t recall that.”
“Maxwell, I swear. Don’t play that card now.” His mocking grin demanded to be wiped off his face, and she already knew how.
“Well, I’m not surprised your memory is that bad… how old are you again?” she asked.
“Valerie, how would I know?”
“You don’t even know??” she gaped at him.
“Demons don’t care about their age. We just stop counting when we reach one hundred, I guess.”
She found that so weird that she began to laugh, her brown eyes sparkling cheerfully. “You sure are strange.”
“Special,” he corrected smugly.
“Mhm, yeah. That too,” she smiled. “Maxwell, would you do me a favor?” Her sweet-as-honey voice and the use of that dreaded pet name were telltale signs to him that she was about to make him do something annoying.
The demon sighed deeply. “Tell me what it is,” he grumbled.
“Can you get us something to drink at the bar, please?” she asked, batting her lashes at him and giving the sweetest smile she could muster (which probably looked unfitting given her current outfit and make-up).
“Why?” he whined. “I don’t want to.”
“I said please,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, so?”
“Ugh, you are one stubborn man,” she muttered. “Okay, so how about this: If you get drinks for us, then I’ll make a strawberry shortcake for you tomorrow. Sound good?”
He paused after hearing that and looked as if he was contemplating it, but he didn’t agree yet.
“It’ll be all yours, okay? You can eat the entire thing alone,” she added.
He grinned, looking satisfied with that. “Deal,” he replied. “What kind of drink do you want, sugar?”
“I don’t know, surprise me,” she said. He got up and walked towards the bar, dodging several drunk humans along the way.
While she waited for him, Valerie looked around for a bit, watching the other people nearby. It seemed that some witches were present among the humans, and she also saw the glowing red eyes of a vampire in the crowd, but other than that, she spotted no supernatural beings. Perhaps they preferred the other two halls where the dancefloors were, or they just hated Halloween in general and stayed away.
She leaned back and let her eyes move over the crowd. A smile bloomed on her lips when she realized how easy it had been to get him to change his mind with the promise of cake. He was a demon with very weird preferences. And thankfully, she knew how to use them against him when he was stubborn. She hadn’t made cake in a while and looked forward to it since she enjoyed baking.
When she noticed someone walking up to her, she turned her head only to come face to face with a stranger. She figured he had mistaken her for someone else, but he didn’t move away. And she soon found out what his intentions were.
“Are you here alone?” he asked, smirking confidently. He was human, and apparently the obnoxious type of person. Just great.
“No,” she said repellently, not gracing him with her attention. She kept her eyes fixed on the wall opposite her and didn’t budge from her seat at the table, but the guy wasn’t deterred.
“It looks that way. I could keep you company,” he said persistently and inched closer, making her snap her head around abruptly. Icily glaring at him, she swatted his hand away when he tried to touch her.
“No, thank you. I advise you to leave before you piss off my boyfriend,” she warned him. “He tends to be violent with people like you.”
“Are you playing hard to get?” the guy insisted. “I’m sure you dressed up like this because you’re looking for company.”
“Leave me alone.” she hissed. She despised men like him who didn’t know what no meant, and she would make sure to show him exactly that. She was no longer the defenseless woman that she had been before. Much had changed since she’d broken up with Uriel. A human wouldn’t scare her anymore. After all, she had fought demons and all kinds of supernatural creatures when she’d been hunting with Travis. The skills she had learned were valuable, and she would use them when needed.
Therefore, she considered summoning her magic to scare the jerk. Teaching him a lesson sounded like a good idea. Hopefully would keep him from pestering other women, too.
“Come on, don’t be such a bore,” he grumbled, slowly losing his patience. Simultaneously, her irritation grew and grew. She curled her lips in distaste. Some of her light magic gathered in her palm.
But in the end, someone else was faster. Furious demonic magic surged behind her, the kind she was very familiar with.
“What do you think you’re doing, human?” Maxwell’s steely voice snapped as he put himself between her and the stranger. He stood with his back to her, but she knew even without seeing his face that his eyes were bloodred.
“I warned you,” Valerie smirked, not intending to hold the demon back in any way. That idiot had asked for trouble when he hadn’t listened to her, so now he had to deal with the aftermath.
“Who are you?” the guy stuttered, taking a step back and realizing that he’d bitten off more than he could chew.
“Why would I tell a filthy human my name?” Maxwell growled lowly, staring him down. “I should kill you for pestering her.”
“Kill?” the stranger echoed, horrified. The magical pressure building around him weighed on his body. Since he couldn’t explain the strange sensation, it made him panic. “Isn't that a bit much? Look, I was just… talking to her,” he scrambled to explain himself.