Bad Luck, Baby

28 - Bad Move

"Are you sure you're alright?" I asked, giving Ro's hand a light squeeze. We were about to leave and catch the bus to Al's office, and I was helping Ro put the finishing touches on his disguise. It would be his first time making the trip in human form.

"I'm a powerful, ancient demon," he said. "I'm perfectly fine."

"You're a powerful, ancient demon, bound to a witch and wearing a collar that limits your power and restricts you to human form," I reminded him.

He lifted our entwined hands to his lips and kissed my fingers, his smooth dusky skin contrasting with the lace of pale scars covering mine.

"I am bound to a witch I love," he corrected, "and wearing a collar of my own free will."

My face warmed, and I looked down, unable to hold his bright yellow gaze. The word 'love' rang in my mind like a bell and spread heat through my whole body. At the same time, doubt squirmed in my gut. It seemed like an age had passed since the day I met Ro, but it was really only a few weeks ago.

Could people fall in love that fast? Could demons? Most importantly, could I?

"The answer is yes," Ro said.

"What?" Startled, I looked up again and found him watching me with an unusually solemn expression.

"You're doing that thing you do. Asking yourself, 'Does he mean it?' or 'It is real?' or 'Am I worth it?' or something along those lines. And the answer to all those questions is yes. You're under no obligation to feel the same; and though I know well enough that you do, you needn't say it. Just remember what I told you last night: demons don't lie."

My blush deepened as memories of 'last night' flooded my brain. Ro had been gentle and sweet with me—'loving' was the only word for it—and had shown me through action how he felt. I hadn't known it could be like that.

As I'd haltingly confessed, explaining my embarrassing lack of experience, I'd only had two partners before. One was an awkward one-night-stand that was over before I really knew what happened. The other was Jamie, whose utilitarian style left me feeling a bit like a used tissue—purpose served. I thought that's just how it was: that guys are unsentimental about sex, and feelings are for 'pussies' and girls. Ro had shown me something different.

Now, he smiled down at me and gave my hand another light squeeze. "I really am fine, Ellie."

"You'd better not be lying about not lying," I said, pretending to frown. "Aren't demons supposed to be deceptive?"

Ro's smile sharpened. "Our words do not deceive; it is those who hear them that too easily deceive themselves."

"That's not exactly reassuring," I said. "What if a witch ordered a demon to lie?"

He shook his head. "We can't speak a direct untruth, but there are many ways to avoid the truth without lying."

"Isn't that dangerous, though? I mean, sometimes the truth can be more harmful than a lie. And what if you needed to lie to protect someone?"

To my surprise, Ro shuddered and looked away.

"That's why witches are careful," he said. "Why your father was careful with what I knew, and probably why he forced me to forget some things. Even so, after his death, when the Vestigers questioned me... Sometimes the only alternative to a lie is not to speak at all."

Frowning, I reached up to adjust the hood of the black sweatshirt he wore, borrowed from Tobin's wardrobe. "So, being ancient and powerful doesn't make you invulnerable, does it?"

Lifting a pair of sunglasses from his pocket—also borrowed—he slipped them on, hiding the yellow gleam of his eyes. "If I have a weakness, Ellie, it's you. So don't worry about me. Now, let's go see what good old Al has turned up."