Inked

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

"You?" I stared at Zane, unable to figure out how he would be able to help me find angels in hell. Since I was pretty sure those from Elysium stayed away from Tartarus because their powers didn't mix well. That made me think how in the world did my grandmother even meet my grandfather? Or did she sneak into Elysium and sneak attack him while he slept like the old folk tales? The sound of my grandmother's voice pulled me away from my random thoughts.

"Zane runs a special type of business within Tartarus."

Skeptical, I couldn't help but voice my thoughts. "Please don't tell me it's a brothel."

My grandmother slapped me up beside the head. I flinched, no wonder Zane had held his head, she packed a punch. I pouted with my lip out and rubbed the spot she had hit.

She just rolled her eyes at me and slapped me again. "Brothels were our ancestors best place of business, do not mock them."

"Ow." I grumbled, rubbing my head lightly. That seriously hurt. It would be best to change the topic so she didn't have the urge to hit me again. "Fine, what is this 'business'?"

Zane shifted on his feet. "I run a store that helps angels, demons and humans alike, adjust to whichever world they want to live in."

"Oh, well, that sounds like a shitty place to hang out." I shut up as my grandmother whacked me up beside the head once more. Damnit, I needed to keep my mouth shut around her. "Sounds like a place where knights would gather."

"There are no knights here, Kei." Zane responded seriously. His eyes glowed like lights as he made sure I understood. "Only demons."

"No shit sherlock," I grumbled, rolling my eyes again. "We are in hell."

"No, Kei," was his serious response. His face was stoic as he scanned over my face until his eyes rested on mine. "I mean more than just our blood. I mean our personalities too." He's saying everyone in hell is an asshole? Wasn't that encouraging to make me stay?

"Does that include you?" His face never changed, but somehow I could see the corner of his lips twitch as if he was fighting a smile.

"Highly likely." I really didn't know if he was joking or if he was serious.

"Then I am sorry." I replied sarcastically, "Everyone should know kindness and compassion toward anyone." This made my father roll his eyes as he shifted in his seat. I grinned at him and then looked toward my grandmother. "By going to Zane's place, how long do you think it will take me to stabilize my blood?"

"It will depend. It could be anywhere from a couple of months to a couple of years."

"Years?" I thought of Earth side and my mother, would she notice if I was gone longer than a month. Thinking back, my father had said that she had lied to me in the first place when I was only suppose to be here for a month, looking over to my father, I thought of the best way to phrase my question. "How long did you tell my mother I would be here for?"

"I told her that it depended on you and that you may decide to stay here permanently." I stroked my chin and looked down at my feet. It depended on me, huh? Or in actuality, it depended on the bomb ticking inside me. It's not like I had ever been anything more to my mother than a slave anyway. Would she actually miss me if I stayed with my father? Probably not, I decided. Plus, on this side, there were people who seemed to truly care about me. I glanced up and through my lashes watched Zane as he watched me. He was also here.

"When can I go see this agency?" I asked Zane, lifting up my head and tilting it to the side, my blood was boiling beneath my skin even by just looking him in the eyes. Even though I couldn't turn away, I wanted to hide so badly.