Soulbound

31. Ashe

“Ashe, I was not expecting so many guests.” Nadia levels her gaze with mine, the clear lenses of her enchanted glasses masking the fiery white orbs behind the illusion of unassuming brown irises.

“I'm sure you made plenty of food.” She always did cook enough to feed an army; between Catalina's voracious appetite and her own, Nadia never did grasp an understanding of exactly how much food was sufficient to satiate a human. My own half-human nature probably did not help with that, though I'm grateful that she at least tried to give me a somewhat normal life. I flash the demon a grin. “I see you're letting the gray grow in this time. It looks good.”

If I were meeting her for the first time I would certainly not know based on her appearance alone that she was anything but human. Then again, I suppose that was the point of the skins that demons wore—the ones who could afford to pay the price of such magic, anyway. Only an elemental could disguise themselves among nature, and there were not many witches who would risk their own lives to aid in hiding a demon. The fees they charged to do so were often great.

Even without using a soul ring to bind them, over the centuries witches had invented new ways to siphon a demon's power. Extortion, some would call it, as they dangled the protection a skin offered as leverage in exchange for the types of favors only a demon could grant. Still, it was a far better alternative to prosecution and death should the Tribunal ever discover their existence.

“Well it has been some twenty years since I last saw you. Some things have changed.”

“And some things never do.” Catalina clucks her tongue against her teeth as she slips past Nadia and enters the foyer. “Honestly, Nadia, after five thousand years I'd like to think that your taste in home decor would've improved by now.”

“You will not wear those heels in my home, Catalina. Please take them off.”

In true Catalina fashion, the vampire waves a dismissive hand. “You don't really expect me to walk around barefoot like some commoner, do you?”

“It is custom—”

“It is a human custom, or have you been wearing that skin for so long that you've forgotten what you really are underneath that façade?”

“Skin?” I feel Dani press against me as she tries to keep her voice low and I try my best to ignore the tingle that crawls up my spine as the warmth from her breath tickles my neck.

“Remember how I said that elementals disguise themselves in nature? Well not all demons can blend in so easily. They need a skin if they wish to hide what they are.” I lean in so close that I can smell her perfume and for a moment I feel the sudden urge to wrap an arm around her waist and let her scent fill my lungs. Instead, I pull away. These close encounters were becoming a dangerous habit between us.

“How does a skin do that?”

“It's a suit made by witches using clay and blood magic, designed to be worn like a sort of human costume and sold to demons in exchange for favors. They're also highly illegal since demons are hunted by the Tribunal and, because of that, skincrafting is considered one of the dark arts. Anyone caught practicing it is immediately executed.”

Dani raises an eyebrow, though whether she was trying to decipher my words or the small distance I've created between us I could not tell. But what I would not give to be able to read her mind right now.