Human (17 page)

"I can use only a little of magic once a day for myself. I need Maliadades' permission for more," he sighed, "which he never gives unless he needs me to do something for him."

"And you used it on me?" I looked up at his dark eyes as he closed the door of his room behind us. "Why are you so nice to me?"

"Because you were nice to me back in the human world," he whispered. "And I know being here must be hard for you. What you did for your sister..." He focused on the spot on the ground. I'd planned to kill him and he thought I'd been nice? My throat was suddenly tight, and I blinked away tears. I wished I had my plushie with me so I could just squeeze it to my chest and forget about everything.

Devin settled himself on the bed, leaving some space for me, but not enough. I frowned.

"Come here. I'll be your pillow." He grinned at me. "You're used to softer beds, but I can help you to get comfortable."

If the circumstances were different, I would have refused, or at least warned him not to try anything inappropriate. I got onto the narrow bed, resting my head on Devin's chest. He put his arm protectively around me, and I closed my eyes. There was a good chance he was a master manipulator and an awesome actor, but this time I decided to trust him. If this was the biggest mistake of my life, oh well, I'd learn for the next time.

"Hey." Devin smiled at me as I opened my eyes. My head was resting on his pillow, and he was sitting on the edge of the bed. I had no idea how he had managed to get up without waking me.

"Hey," I said sleepily, pushing myself up on my elbows. Taking a better look at Devin, I noticed the tension in his shoulders. Something was up.

"Is something wrong?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I didn't want to leave you here to wake up alone. But Maliadades wants me to do something... and I have to go. Will you be all right here?"

"Are you going somewhere?" If he was leaving, I had no idea what I was going to do here alone. I'd be bored to death, and I still thought some demon could come to attack me.

"Can I come with you?" I gave him a pleading look. Being in the library would be much more fun, especially with him. "Unless you think I'd only bother you."

I got up as fast as I could, running my fingers through my tangled hair. I must have looked funny wearing Devin's clothes, but that didn't really bother me because he didn't seem to mind. Actually, I thought he kind of liked it, even though I wasn't sure why.

"So what are you supposed to do?" I asked as we entered the huge library, instantly hit by the strong smell of the old paper. Devin walked over to the table and picked up a piece of paper, sighing. Then he went to the shelves and pulled out a huge dusty book with a green cover.

"Translate five chapters of this." He lifted the book up. My eyes widened.

"Are the chapters short?"

"No, not really." He carried the book to the table, settled in one of the chairs and opened a page. I walked over to him, glancing down at the unusual letters. They looked like a cross of Arabic and Latin.

"It's an old text. Very old. Some believe it was written by one of the first demons to walk the Hell. No one uses this language anymore, except those who want to show off." He continued writing like it was the easiest thing in the world.

"Why does Maliadades want you to translate it?" I sat down on the chair next to him.

"I've translated it already six times, but he's never happy with it. He wants it to be perfect because his knowledge of the old language isn't the best. I guess he wants to impress Leonard. But Leonard is the one who taught me everything."

"Oh." If someone gave me to translate the same boring text all over again, I'd throw it in his face. That probably wasn't an option for Devin, but I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else. "So is this like..." I leaned closer to him and whispered. "A demons' Bible?"

"You don't have to whisper. Nothing will happen if you say that word out loud." He didn't lift his eyes from the book, but there was a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Yes, if you want to call the essence of every being by that name." This time he actually looked up at me, his face serious.

"Is there a part of Hell where evil people go after they die?" I swallowed, looking away from him. Really, Ariel, that was the best you could ask?

"No. When someone dies, no matter whether human, demon or angel, their essence stays and rebirths again in the new body after some time." He was writing again, his black pen moving with ease across the paper.

"But I'm half-angel, half-demon. What was I in my past life then?" I stared at my fingernails. Maybe demons had gotten it all wrong.

"Maybe the same. Maybe just an angel, maybe just a demon, even a human. Or maybe your essence was newly created and this is your first life."

"So a demon can be an angel in the next life?"

"Yes. That's why no matter what we do we can't remember who we were. It's completely random."

"That is just.... weird." I wasn't sure I agreed with this theory, but if he believed it, who was I to say he was wrong? Especially when I didn't know any better. I got up and decided to take a look at some of the books, maybe even find something to read. Maybe then I wouldn't bother Devin with my questions while he was working, but I just couldn't help myself.

"Do you remember when you threatened to kill me when we were on Earth?" I said, and Devin's head shot up.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, his voice soft.

"Yeah, I know that, but I was just wondering something. You said you'd kill me, but if you had done it, would you be stuck in my world? I know you can't go out if you kill someone, but can you stay outside?"

"No. If I killed someone outside I'd be forced by magic to come back to Hell. Besides, I don't have Maliadades' permission to kill anyone, so I couldn't have done it anyway. I said that because I thought it was the only way to make sure you didn't do anything stupid." He sighed, playing nervously with the pen.

"I, umm, sort of planned to kill you," I said, running my finger over the cover of one book.

"You were worried about your sister," he said. "I get that. I guess. You don't have to worry about it. And you didn't really harm me."

I wondered would he think the same if I had actually succeeded.

"Did Maliadades also force you to go to classes?" I picked up a book and opened a page, coughing as the dust flew out of it.

"Yes. He thought it was easier to just send me there so I could look for your sister. Otherwise I'd have had to use magic all the time and make everyone believe I was present. It's a tricky thing, and he'd have needed to allow me to use more magic. And it was fun to see what school looked like. I've never experienced anything similar, but I didn't really like it; too many people and nothing like in those movies I've seen."

"So you have television here?" I placed the book back to its place and picked another one; an almost untouched copy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. If I hadn't read it on Earth, maybe I'd read it here. I had no idea how long I was going to stay in Hell.

"One more thing," I said. "That night when you were in my home... Were those nose bleeds you had just a ploy to get into my house? Was it then when you figured out my sister was an angel?"

"No. Maliadades wanted me back in Hell, and I didn't want to go. He tried to force me. That's why I had nose bleeds, but when I could prove to him that I was doing something useful, he let me go. He wouldn't risk getting me exposed." He flipped the page of the book and kept writing. Oh, so that was that then.

"Leonard had a vision of your sister and described her to me. I had no idea she was your sister at first, and when I found out, I didn't know she meant so much to you. It would have been easier to spot her if there weren't so many humans with fake tans and of mixed heritage," he added.

"Wait, but if you said Maliadades was calling you, and the gate opens every two weeks, how could you just come and go?"

"Because I belong to the king. Only those like me can come and go when the king orders us to do so. Free demons can't do that. Kings would be able to go as they please if it wasn't for the fact that they had to kill someone to get to that position, so they are stuck in Hell forever. It's a magic thing."

"So you lied to me when you said demons would come immediately if I killed you? Leonard told me only you could go out." I'd walked into Hell only to give my sister those two weeks to disappear before the gate opened again. If it had all been a lie...

"Right." I picked a random book off the shelf and went to the table. We'd spent almost an entire day, or night, in that library, making short breaks only to eat and chat. It was great actually, and I wasn't even a bit bored. But the best of all was that Maliadades hadn't come to check on us. He only requested Devin to bring the translation to his throne room. I waited in Devin's room, and when he returned, I fell asleep in his arms again.

The sound of the door scraping against the floor woke me up. I cracked my eyes open and saw the amused expression on Leonard's face. He was wearing a long black coat and dark blue jeans, his shiny blond hair neatly tucked into a ponytail. I groaned, trying to get up, but Devin's hand was entangled in my hair. Somehow I managed to get myself free and glanced at Devin, who was still asleep.

"Good morning, Ariel," Leonard said, looking smug. "I need you to come with me."

"Come where?" I asked, running my hand through my hair, even though I knew it was too messy for me to do anything without a comb.

"To the city."

"The city?"

"Yes. You need to see the real demon world. And since I'm going to buy some things, I thought you'd like to come with me." Leonard smiled. My eyes traveled to Devin again as I tried to decide what to do.

"Ariel, he's been here for 17 years," Leonard said. "He'll be fine."

I felt myself blush. Was I always so obvious or they kept lying to me about being mind readers?

"I can't go outside like this," I said, pointing at my oversized T-shirt and shorts. Just as the words left my mouth, I felt the tingle of magic, and found myself wearing a perfectly fitting red top and blue jeans.

"Oh, thanks," I said, hoping Leonard hadn't just seen me naked. "Why do you even go shopping if you can do this?"

"And waste all the magic?" Leonard raised an eyebrow at me. "Nah."

"You demons keep complaining about wasting magic, and you still waste it," I said as Leonard opened the door for me. Glancing one more time at Devin, I hoped he wouldn't panic when he woke up and see me gone. I didn't know why I assumed he would.

"Sometimes little things are more important than the big ones." He gave me a look that was supposed to be meaningful, but I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Devin likes you, and I don't think that's because you're the first girl he's been around for longer than a few minutes." Leonard said as we walked down the hall. I opened my mouth to say something, but I didn't know what.

"Put these on," Leonard said, giving me a pair of dark shades.

"Why?" I slid on the shades and had to stop because I couldn't see anything in the darkness.

"Do you really think it's smart to walk out with the angel eyes in a city full of demons?" He took me by the arm and led me forward. The shapes around me cleared a bit, but I still had a good chance of bumping into something on my way.

"Oh, right. I forgot." It was difficult to get used to the idea that my eyes weren't hazel here. "So, where are we...?"

I stared in surprise and shock at the scenery in front of me as Leonard opened the secret door, which led to the outside world. We came out into a busy street, which looked a lot like a post-apocalyptic version of New York or any other huge city. It was nighttime, and it seemed like it was like that forever. High black skyscrapers loomed over us, and it looked like they were going to close in on me. The demons who passed by didn't pay much attention to us, but I couldn't stop myself from observing them.

If they weren't all so unbelievably beautiful, I'd say they were human. Their clothes completely resembled our current fashion, even though there were a few demons wearing fancy long dresses that totally looked out of place and time. I couldn't see many cars on the street, but there were one or two from time to time, and they were all black. There wasn't any sign of a manufacturer on them, but they suspiciously resembled the human cars.