Glass Heart

Chapter 5

How can she still be sleeping? A voice echoed in my mind, curiously it didn't sound like mine. I stirred a bit, shifting closer to the warmth that engulfed me from nearly all sides, it was just too comfortable to get up.

Finally, my eyes blinked open, a weird shape coming into focus. On realizing it was a face, I startled, and lashed out. The face recoiled in shock, clutching at his nose. "Oh my! I'm so sorry! I totally didn't mean to do that!" I stumbled to my feet and peeled his hand away from his face to get a better look at the injury, totally missing the incredulous look he was giving me. His nose was red from the impact and might leave a bruise, but it wasn't broken. "Thank god you're alright. I'm really sorry, you just startled me and I . . ."

"—punched me in the face!" The man finished, sounding like he was still in shock, like he couldn't believe he'd been struck regardless of how minor the injury. He muttered to himself, "could have you disemboweled for that."

This girl has serious gall, there was that weird voice again, distinctly male and not present. Great, I have voices in my head now, thank you hell, just what I always wanted.

"Wait, who are you again? Why were you so close to me while I was sleeping?" I clutched my spear tighter, just in case there was trouble. He was clearly some sort of demon, though I had never seen a demon such as him before.

He was tall and had the body of a swimmer, that is to say he was well-muscled but still lean. His hair was half black and half white, split evenly down the middle but blended together due to styling. Two bony protrusions curved up into sharp points from his temples, but weren't large or altogether cumbersome. His eyes were bright piercing blue, but where a human had white in theirs, his were black. His skin was pale but not the unhealthy kind—I guess that tended to happen in Hell—and was marked by patterns that indented into his skin, I felt the weird urge to touch them but refrained. Overall, he was rather human looking compared to the demons I had faced before.

The smirk on his face told me he could tell I was totally checking him out, extended canines flashing his smugness. To be fair, he was incredibly attractive given human standards, so the pride was well-deserved, though annoying. I rolled my eyes at him and prompted him to answer my questions. "I was checking to make sure you weren't dead, you've been unconscious since the night before last. As for my name, I've had many, but you can call me Ryon."

"Well, Ryon, it's nice to meet you." I relaxed my grasp on my spear. Ryon looked at me quizzically, I must've said something unusual, but what could possibly be that unusual about a greeting.

What a strange creature. There was that voice again. Now I was sure it wasn't mine, what the hell was going on? Was this the rune's doing or was it just a thing in hell?

Ryon suddenly leaned close into my personal space, getting close enough to make someone uncomfortable, but strangely I wasn't one of those people. Maybe it was because he smelled so enticing, an odd mix of smoke and eucalyptus that made my head spin in the most delectable way. "My turn." He grinned, probably still trying to make me uncomfortable but I just found his smile adorable, "who are you, little human, and what are you doing in Hell?"

He towered over me, but I felt no fear or even a smidge of nervousness, his presence was comforting for whatever reason and I felt no inclination to lie to him. "I'm Grace, I used a rune to bring me here."

He drew back in surprise and I found I missed his scent, but I wouldn't admit that. "It was intentional? Whatever would you want to come here for?" He sounded so perplexed I almost felt bad.

But that I definitely couldn't tell him even if I wanted to. He was a demon, at the very least, he'd try to stop me, he'd likely be handsomely rewarded for killing a Hawthorne—especially one that was in charge of finding the Devil's heart and destroying it. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an ongoing bounty on any Hawthorne. No, I definitely couldn't tell him the truth.

Finally, I decided, "something of my family's was lost a really long time ago. I've been tasked to find it, all the clues point here . . . to somewhere in Hell."

"What is it you're looking for? Maybe I can help you find it." Ryon offered. There was no way he would be offering out of the kindness of his heart, he was a demon after all, I couldn't really trust a word he said. He probably wanted something out of it, demons were notorious for their deals.

Eyeing him suspiciously, I took a step back, "I can't tell you."

He just sighed, "well, that's going to make searching a lot more difficult—for you and me."

"Why would it trouble you?" I asked, genuinely curious. I thought after I rejected his offer for help that he would give up when he lost his chance at profiting from helping me.

I noticed the slight hesitation before he spoke, but didn't comment on it. "I'm the . . . guardian of Hell, you're a trespasser, I can't just let you waltz through my realm unaccompanied." While the explanation made sense on the surface, it was curious that he hesitated before giving his answer.

"Are you telling me the truth?" I questioned suspiciously. "There isn't anything in it for you if you help me."

Ryon raised an eyebrow, his face going surprisingly blank, a smolder behind his eyes that was incredibly attractive. This was the first time in our exchange that he seemed to be serious and I found I liked his smile quite a bit more, even if it was smug or trying to make me uncomfortable. "I don't lie. I have told you the truth and I don't want anything from you. It's up to you if you wish to accept my help or not, but if you leave here unattended, I'll have to hunt you down and you won't like what happens next."

"Pretty sure that was a threat." I commented with a misleadingly light tone. On the contrary, I was taking this whole thing very seriously.

"It is." Ryon confirmed with a grave tone, "I really don't want to kill you, just let me tag along on your adventure and I won't have to. You may even find me useful to have around."

Useful? Useful was good. And I preferred being alive to the alternative. To be fair, the thought of Ryon chasing me down did send a thrill through me that I'd rather not acknowledge, he would inevitably catch up to and overpower me, and then, well, it got more gruesome from there, ending quite unfavorably for me—unless it didn't. Shut up, fantasy! But he probably wouldn't be against the idea. This is so not the right time, and right after he threatened me? I need mental help.

The only thing better than such a fantasy would be him all to myself for the foreseeable future. But if he joined me, then it certainly became a possibility as compared to an impossibility if he ended up killing me. "Fine," I sighed, putting up the pretense of annoyance that I'm sure he could see right through because I can't act for shit, a smile creeping up on my face, "you can tag along."