CHAPTER 28

Know your place, hellspawn. The shadow smashed the succubus into the ground, the floor splintering around her. It did this several times until Lily finally went still, her tail going limp against the floorboards. Pathetic. We shall speak again, Caretaker. Alone, next time.

Like a breath of fog, the shadow vanished. The heaviness dispersed, and Mike stood and rushed to Lily's aid.

"Are you okay?" He grabbed Lily by the arm and helped her up.

"It looks worse than it is. I'm going to have a killer headache when I get out of here, though." Lily lifted her head to reveal that several sharp splinters now stuck out of her face. "But, yeah, I'm fine."

"Is he gone?"

Lily spat out a piece of wood. "Yeah, but he was pissed. Whatever that shadow is, it's very powerful. I don't want you talking to it anymore."

"That's not a choice I get to make."

"And that's what worries me." Lily stepped back from Mike. "That thing shouldn't have been able to toss me around like that, not in here." She looked out the hole in the house. "I was miles out to sea before I could regain my bearings. That kind of willpower from a spirit should be impossible. It isn't a ghost, in case you were wondering."

"Well, I think we both know that the shadow isn't just a random spirit."

"Hmm." Lily turned her attention on him, her eyes smoldering. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I think I'm going to be keeping a closer eye on you for the foreseeable future."

"How... how would I take that the wrong way? It sounds like a nice thing."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course, you'd think it like that. Maybe it's about my own self-preservation, the idea that I actually like my freedom. I knew you would get all moon-eyed at me. You going to start writing me poetry now?"

"Maybe." He flicked a piece of wood off her shoulder. It hit the ground and turned to marbles, rolling in every direction. "I'm pretty awesome at haikus."

"Doesn't surprise me, since you're all about feelings and shit. Time to wake up now. I want you sleeping in your own bed from now on. Oh, and no making that door without me. I don't want that fucker watching you do it." Lily winked, and then popped like a bubble, vanishing from sight. An intense smell hit his nostrils and the world ruptured around him.

Mike opened his eyes and coughed, the air rich with the scent of sulfur. Groaning, he sat up, rubbing a sore spot in his neck. The floor was hard, and unforgiving, apparently, and the book he had used as a pillow lacked any sort of neck support.

"You are awake, Mike Radley."

He flinched at the sound of Death's voice, then looked up at the specter. "Have you been waiting there this whole time?"

Death shrugged. "I did not want to get separated in this place, so have remained by your side."

"I see." He groaned, then stood up. His legs hurt too. "I think we should take what we have and go meet up with the others. I feel like shit."

"Let us take our leave, then." Death's hood concealed all but his lower jaw, but Mike could feel the reaper's intense gaze on him. "Mike Radley, are you aware that a demon of Hell had sexual congress with you while you slept? She left just before you awoke."

"You... you saw that?"

"I did. I found it interesting."

"I, um..." Mike looked at Death. "Interesting like your maps?"

A chilly laugh emanated from Death, a laugh that echoed through the Library. "I found it fascinating to watch, and have so many questions!"

"Ah, geez." He and Death walked back through the stacks toward the large ledge overlooking the rest of the building.

"Are you in love with this demon, Mike Radley? Were you two making love? I have heard the term before, but find it quite silly. I guess you could claim that a child itself is a form of love, but how do you know if you are making love when you have to wait so long to find out that the woman is pregnant? Is it just wishful thinking to make such a statement?"

Mike sighed. "Her name is Lily. As for how I feel about her, let's just say that our relationship is extremely complicated." He looked out over the expanse of the Library and saw a distant carpet moving their way.

"You slept through the whole thing, Mike Radley. Did you not enjoy it? I know that humans sleep through things they find tedious or boring."

His cheeks burned. "It's how some demons do it is all."

"I see. Mike Radley, you seemed to suffer a series of seizures toward the end of your sexual encounter. Is your body okay? Are you well?"

Mike rolled his eyes, willing the carpet to come faster. Death continued to question him on the nuances of sex for the entire ride, and it became perfectly clear by the time they landed that Death wasn't going to let it go anytime soon.

He spotted the others in the Lobby. Tink was crashed out on a separate carpet with a giant stack of books nearby, and Sofia appeared in a flash of light, wheeling an empty cart into the Library. She had obviously dropped a load of them off in the house.

"So you're saying these seizures are pleasurable? People do it on purpose?" Death was sitting with his bony legs crossed, gazing up at Mike with a sense of wonderment.

Mike felt like he was a kindergarten teacher for the Damned.

"Look, you and I can talk about what an orgasm is later," he told Death. "Sex talk can be sensitive for some people, and I don't want to upset the others."

"I see." Death looked at the women by the entrance. "We must use discretion then."

"Yes, absolutely." He let out a sigh of relief, grateful that Death had gone quiet. When the carpet landed, Sofia approached him, holding her staff up.

"You've been gone a while." She looked past him at the cart full of books. "Hmm. Tink found way more books than you did."

"She had Reggie's help, though." He looked around. "Speaking of, where is His Majesty?"

"He went home hours ago. C'mon, let's get these to the dining hall, and then get you to bed. You look like shit."