Under the Darkest Skies

Chapter 7

"Why can't I just go through Bartholomew?" Seth asked, staring up at the hotel room ceiling. "At least I know him."

"He'd just be the middleman," Becky pointed out, curling up beside him. "The tester would be someone completely new. And besides, it's not like you don't know Finn. You've wrestled him for years now. And I've been friends with him for... damn, over half my life now."

Seth glanced over at her. "But I didn't know he was a demon," he replied. "That makes things different. Now I'm second-guessing everything I've said to him—or that he said to me. When I said things about his Demon persona, did he take it the wrong way? Did he take it personally? Did he—"

"Seth." Becky leaned across his chest and kissed him. She would have loved to straddle him, but the more she touched him, the more she would want to touch him, and that inevitably led to sex. Seth's mind was all over the place, and this was her realm of expertise, so she had to help him stay calm and get focussed. "Don't worry about it. Finn would never misinterpret stuff that way. He knew that you didn't know. If I had said something off-colour," she added, "that would be different, because I knew. If you thought the gimmick meant he was an actual demon, I think he would have worried. I mean, he did worry." Sighing, Becky shut her eyes. "I remember him always asking me if I thought he was covering well enough, if he was passing for human. I did what I could to help, but Liv's sigils seem to really be working for him, at least."

"It just feels weird," Seth admitted, stroking her back. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but... but even with you. I mean, I think I'm a pretty smart guy. I'm observant. Liv being a witch I might have guessed because of all the...." He gestured vaguely. "You know. Stuff. The crystals and jewellery and vibes. But then again, Sasha's into that too, so...."

"No, Sasha's not a witch." Becky generally liked to let people tell their own stories, but she didn't want Seth to get himself mired in a loop of wondering who else in the company was a supernatural. "You know Liv is, and you've heard Liv talk about Piper."

"Tegan?" Seth asked, eyebrow raised.

"I'm not saying anything about anyone without their permission. Sasha's cool with it, because she knows how her interests come across." Then Becky smiled. "Hell, even I wondered for a little while if she was a witch, because she's so tiny and yet she never seemed to mind all the drills. But no, she's not. Just otherworldly beautiful and with a fondness for crystals."

"That's fair." Seth twined some of her hair around his fingers and Becky smiled. She loved doing that with his curls, and she wondered if he picked up the habit from her or if he was just trying to keep his hands busy. "So would Finn know more people since he's a demon? Is... people the right word? Do werewolves consider themselves people?"

"All supernaturals basically consider themselves people," Becky allowed. "Whether they identify as human is another story. Most witches do. Vampires—eh. That's about a fifty-fifty split, though it depends on the region and culture. In America, they definitely seem more inclined to identify as human. In Europe, not so much. Werewolves are... well, everyone's different, obviously, but they're usually pretty cool with being called human—when they're in human form. When they're in wolf form, they don't want to be treated like someone's pet dog, you know?"

"Werewolves," Seth muttered. "I mean, I guess it makes sense, like you said. It's just not anything I ever thought of much as a kid. I was so into wrestling and stuff that monsters never really made it on my radar."

Becky tried to hide her flinch. "You may not want to use the word monster around most supernaturals," she advised. "Most of us have some bad history with humans—non-magical humans—hunting us down."