Dre took a closer look and, really, the chalk was pink. How he hadn’t realized that before was beyond him. Though he had been pissed, and he tended to get tunnel vision when that happened.
“Okay, you’re right. It’s a pink chalk egg with scary symbols.”
“Not that scary. Some of them are wrong. I mean, look at that one over there. It should have two loops instead of three. And the four lines at the center? If whoever drew this tried to summon a demon, they should have spent a bit more time studying their basic mathematics, because you need parallel lines, not crooked ones. And…” The young man trailed off. Very slowly he turned his head to Dre, his gaze traveling from his navel up to his face. “Holy shit. You’re a demon!”
Dre bowed with a flourish. He could hear the fear creeping back into the young man’s voice and he wanted it gone again. He had liked the scholarly tone that the guy had used when he’d examined the circle way better.
“At your service. And as I said, don’t be afraid. I swear, no harm will come to you.”
Different emotions flickered across the face of the young man. There was the fear again, but also caution, which Dre thought was good. A human could never be careful enough when dealing with paranormals. Mixed in with those emotions was a healthy dose of curiosity fighting to be heard. After a few moments, curiosity apparently won out. The young man held out his hand.
“My name is Sammy—and I’m human.”
“Nice to meet you, Sammy. I’m Dre, which is short for Dresalantion. And I’m a demon.”
Dre took Sammy’s hand in his own and marveled at the softness of the skin and how completely his huge paw swallowed Sammy’s much-smaller hand. Sammy seemed to notice it, too, and for a moment, they both just stared at their connection. Dre was the one to break the silence first.
“How did you get here?”
Sammy scrunched his pert nose. “To be honest, I don’t know. One moment, I was taking out the trash after our book club meeting, and the next, something stinking was pressed against my nose. I woke from the sound of your footsteps on the floor.”
Dre sighed. “So, you probably don’t know who took you?”
Sammy shook his head. “No. I did hear them shrieking just now, but I was still too dazed to realize what was going on.”
“Pity. They should pay for what they did.”
Dre was still convinced Sammy’s abductors were underage, and he would have loved nothing more than to teach them a lesson.
“They’re dabbling with occultism. If you haven’t frightened them off, they will soon get another lesson.”
Sammy sounded a bit sad.
“Don’t tell me you feel sorry for them?”
“Not really. I mean, they kidnapped me, and I’m not naïve enough to think it was for friendly reasons, but they clearly have no clue what they’re doing, which means they won’t survive for long. And we won’t either if we don’t get out of here. I don’t like the sounds this building is making.”
Dre didn’t know what to make of Sammy. He didn’t seem too frightened anymore, and the way he talked about his kidnappers showed that he knew quite a lot about the paranormal world. He sounded pragmatic, and yet Dre could sense an innocence in Sammy that he usually associated with children. And as if this contradiction weren’t odd enough already, there was also Sammy’s slender build that spoke to something inside Dre, as well as a deep sadness in his eyes that hinted at yet another secret of the young man’s.
Sammy slowly got up and had to grab Dre’s arm when he suddenly started swaying. Dre steadied him by slinging his arm around Sammy’s waist. This brought their bodies even closer and, despite the filth all around them and the traces of fear and adrenaline still lurking in Sammy’s system, Dre got a whiff of his natural scent and felt a shiver down his back. Unlike shifters, demons didn’t recognize their true mates through scent, and Dre had always wondered how some pheromones in the air could make a shifter go crazy. But when he inhaled the spicy aroma of pine needles and cinnamon wafting from Sammy, he could imagine what it had to be like. The young man’s scent was pleasant. Dre realized he had been staring at Sammy with his mouth open and tried to downplay his reaction.
“Easy there. Whatever they used to knock you out must be still in your system. Do you want to sit down on”—Dre gazed around—“that comfortable-looking pile of debris over there?”
Sammy chuckled. “Looks tempting. To be honest, though, I think we really should leave here. I’m not too sure how much weight the floor can still handle, and you’re awfully big. No offense.”
“None taken. Let’s get you out of here.”
Without waiting for Sammy’s response, Dre lifted him in his arms. He figured that was the fastest way to leave the building without using his usual means of transportation. Somehow Dre got the feeling Sammy wouldn’t appreciate a trip through time and space at this moment. Sammy yelped in surprise and slung his arms around Dre’s neck, which felt better than he cared to admit. It was also strangely comforting that Sammy seemed to feel safe enough to cling to him.
“Wow, your skin is almost burning.”
“Perks of being a demon. We’re never cold.”
“Like a heating blanket. Must be nice during cold nights.”
Dre raised a brow while he tried to move gracefully through all the debris scattered around the abandoned building. Now that he was out of that tiny room, he realized he was on the second floor, according to the faded sign on one of the walls. In his search for a staircase, he turned right, where the floor seemed to be a little less cluttered.
“Did you just compare me to an electric device?”
Dre could feel Sammy’s grin against the skin on his neck and couldn’t suppress his own. Sammy was obviously relaxing more and more in his company, and he liked it.
“You have to admit it’s kind of an obvious comparison. And heating blankets are a great invention, first used in the 1900s, but back then they were still kind of clunky and considered an oddity.”
Dre was so baffled by this completely superfluous piece of information that his mouth hung open. “An oddity?” was all he could say.
“Yes. They started getting more attention in 1921, when they were used to keep tuberculosis patients warm. From then on, the heating blanket started its triumphal march to popularity, and in 1936, the first automatic electric blanket was invented. That basic design didn’t change until 1984, when the first thermostat-free blanket was introduced to the market.”
“So I’m a thermostat-free blanket?” Against all odds, Dre was having fun with this. He was a sucker for useless knowledge himself, but he hadn’t known about the heating blanket.
“I’m not sure. Do demons have thermostats? It would make sense, since you’re so hot—no pun intended.”
Sammy obviously tried his hardest to sound serious, but there was a hint of laughter in his tone that Dre found almost irresistible. Sammy sure was an interesting human.
“You’re aware that I’m an almost-eight-hundred-year-old demon who just saved your skinny ass from being sacrificed and you want to know if I have a thermostat on my body?”
He must have sounded harsher than he’d intended, because Sammy shuddered, and Dre instantly regretted his words, even though he had meant them as a joke. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. You must be in shock, and I blabber like an insensitive asshole.”