I open my mouth to argue and then promptly shut it. Did something happen during the interview or the graveyard?
“Were the people at the interview humans or demons?” I ask as I sift through the memories.
“Demons,” Jerif answers evenly.
“Demons that look like Crux or demons that look like the freaky green men who attacked me?” I press.
“Ms. Atwood has three eyes. If you didn’t see them and the two rows of razor-sharp teeth when you met her, then you weren’t seeing through her wards,” Echo explains.
I think back to her model good looks and white gleaming smile. “Yeah, no shark teeth in my interactions with her.” Thank fuck.
“Anything unusual happen after you were hired?” Crux inquires.
“No. I gave notice at my work. Bought some stuff to fix my house. Came here a couple of days later. Got bitched out by your snooty butler. Found the groundskeeper building and the awful uniform waiting for me. Almost got brained by your scythe. Opened the graveyard gates, got a splinter that hurt like a bitch…”
“Wait,” Jerif interrupts. “Our scythe? What does that mean?”
I look at him confused. “It came with the uniform,” I point out.
“We didn’t give you that scythe. We thought it was yours,” Iceman declares.
I look at him like he’s lost it. “What part about I’m a human, don’t see demons on the regular, and most definitely wouldn’t be carrying around a scythe for the fun of it don’t you understand?” I ask him incredulously.
“You’re a demon,” he argues. “We just assumed…”
I rub my temples, too tired for this argument again. “So where the hell did the scythe come from then?” I ask, ignoring the whole demon thing for a little longer.
No one answers. They shrug and look back and forth at each other like somehow that will solve the mystery.
“Where is it now?” Jerif asks, looking around where I’m sitting like he just noticed I don’t have the inconvenient weapon with me.
“In my umbrella holder at home.”
Jerif’s fire-flickering stare fixes on me for a beat like he can’t compute what I just said. “You left a sacred and incredibly rare weapon of Hell in the umbrella holder at your house?” he asks, his fire flickering eyes going all judgy and his full lips flattening with exasperation.
“Yep,” I chirp back, popping the p. How the hell was I supposed to know that I shouldn’t let it out of my sight? It’s not like it came with instructions.
Jerif goes straight up grandpa mode and rubs his face with his hands while mumbling about young demons and how they have no respect for anything these days. He looks like he’s not much older than I am, so I find the display even more ridiculous.
“We’ll pick up the scythe later and have a look at it, but from the sounds of things, you only have yourself to blame for your new sight,” Crux explains casually.
My head snaps in his direction. “Excuse me?”
He doesn’t look even slightly affected by my fury. “We didn’t give you the scythe, so you must have called to it somehow. I suspect it must be the key to all of this, but either way, it doesn’t really matter.”
I stare at him aghast. “Doesn’t really matter? I called to it?” I sputter, too pissed to coherently talk anymore. “I am not Thor, and this is not a Marvel movie. I didn’t call shit. And in case you didn’t notice, this is just my life you assholes are fucking with. It absolutely matters!”
“She’s even hotter when she’s pissed,” Echo comments randomly, his black eyes mischievous, and I suddenly feel the need to scream and then...maybe make out with him a little. Because fuck, this is confusing and scary, and I’ve always been impulsive when it comes to sex. I like to use it to forget about all the fucked up shit going on in my life, because I need a way to work off the rage somehow. But I stab those thoughts with an imaginary scythe and try to get a grip on myself and my impulse control issues.
Luckily, Iceman cuts in before my traitorous body can do something I’ll regret. “We’re not saying your life doesn’t matter, Delta. But what also matters is getting the Gate under control. We can barely hold it as it is, which is why we’ve been frantically searching for a fifth. You’re here, and like it or not, you took the job. We could really use your help.”
Oh, now they want my help? “Then why didn’t you assholes track me down?” I demand.
He shrugs. “We figured we’d give you some space to think things through.”
I open my mouth to argue about just what in the hell that means, but Jerif cuts me off. “We still need to induct her as a Guardian and figure out what Ring she is.”
Iceman nods. “We need to go to Hell.”
As soon as he says that, it’s like my brain just shuts down. After the day I’ve had, shit, after the week I’ve had, I just can’t deal anymore.
They all keep talking back and forth, but I can’t pay attention. My head is a mess with jumbled and frantic thoughts. I want to run, but I know I’ll just wind up right back here, and that’s if I’m lucky again. Sweep the leg might not be so effective against the next demon attack, and then what the hell will I do? I don’t even know why those green scumbags attacked me in the first place. I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place, and both are trying to fuck me with
