“You’re done already?” Raea asked and looked up from the book she was reading. The glowing blue light on her chest started to dim while Palan got off his bed and stretched. She was using the light to read in the otherwise dark room.
“I don’t feel myself getting stronger anymore,” Palan said with a frown. He stood up straight and twisted his body while reaching down, touching the back of his feet while keeping his legs straight. Cleo tried to imitate him but fell over. “If it’s not working, then there’s no point in continuing.”
“Oh,” Raea said and nodded. “I don’t know much about demon growth, but maybe Pyre can—“
A snore interrupted her. Pyre’s head hung low, his chin touching his chest. A line of drool leaked from the corner of his mouth onto his brown robe. He was sitting in a plush armchair with his arm hanging over the armrest, his pipe on the floor. Raea blinked. “Or not.”
Palan stepped to the window and pulled aside the curtain. The yellow moon hung in the sky. Palan squinted his eyes and thought he could see traces of white on the surface. He frowned. Raea tilted her head at him. “You’re not thinking of going out again, are you?”
“Before I came back,” Palan said, still gazing out the window. “What were those sounds?”
“You heard that?” Raea asked. She straightened her back. “What did you think?”
“It sounded like a lizard’s mating call but softer,” Palan said. A pillow hit him in the face before he could react. Palan raised an eyebrow as he faced Raea. “I was unaware you were skilled with projectiles.”
“Lizard’s mating call?” Raea asked while pouting. “Even I can feel insulted sometimes, you know?”
“What’s wrong with a lizard’s mating call?” Cleo asked and placed her hands on her hips.
“That wasn’t an insult though?” Palan knit his brows.
“How can it not be an insult?” Raea asked, glaring at him.
“Hey!” Cleo pouted and covered Raea’s head with a blanket. The angel shouted before struggling and removing it. She pinned Cleo’s arms to her sides and wrapped her up like a burrito with a tail. Cleo hissed and rolled around to no avail.
“The closest thing I’ve heard to the noise from before was a lizard’s mating call,” Palan said.
Raea stared at him. “You’ve never heard music before?” she asked. Her face softened. “I guess demons wouldn’t have time to learn with all the time spent killing each other and all.” She placed her hands in her lap. “That really wasn’t an insult?”
Palan snorted. “I wouldn’t insult you for something you’re competent in,” he said.
“I think that’s the closest thing to a compliment that you’ve ever given me,” Raea said. “I’m not sure whether I should feel happy or sad.” She furrowed her brow. “I thought you were just trying to bring me down, but you really did think I was incompetent in that many areas, huh?”
Palan nodded, causing Raea to sigh. She got off her bed. “So you thought my music was good?” she asked and walked behind Pyre’s chair.
“I have nothing to compare it to,” Palan said, “but I enjoyed listening to it. I lost myself in it like I lose myself to hunting.” He watched a smile bloom on Raea’s face as she took out Pyre’s set of bagpipes.
“Before, you heard me playing the harp,” Raea said. She gestured towards the bagpipes as she moved to the center of the room. Cleo stopped struggling and used her tail to prop herself up. “These are the bagpipes.”
“You seemed reluctant to play those,” Palan said. “Like you were embarrassed by it.”
“What? There’s nothing wrong with the bagpipes,” Raea said and glanced at Pyre. She noticed he had stuffed his ears with cotton balls. “It’s just the look that Pyre had given me when he told me to play them made me uncomfortable.” A tremor ran through Raea’s body. “It was very lewd.” She shook her head and brought the bagpipe’s mouthpiece to her lips. She inhaled deeply through her nose and started to play.
Palan stood in a trance as he stared at Raea playing the bagpipes with her eyes closed, the yellow moonlight shining down on her. Goosebumps rose up along his arms, and his thoughts couldn’t help but drift towards Andrea. She would enjoy this. He could imagine her reaction to the music, her widening eyes and rising eyebrows with her mouth opening into an o-shape. He wondered how he would describe the sound of music to her. “Music,” he’d say. “It’s an amazing thing.” How would she respond?
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The sound of the bagpipes stopped and Raea lowered the bag. She glanced at Palan while biting her lower lip. “How was it?”
“What’s it taste like?” That’s what she would say.
“Pardon?” Raea asked.
Palan shook his head. “I was thinking of how Andrea would react.”
“Well, if my music could make you think about your sister, then I think it must’ve been pretty good,” Raea said and returned the bagpipes back to their proper place. The corners of her lips curved upwards as she hummed to herself. “I look forward to playing for your sister.” Palan raised an eyebrow. “You made a promise, remember? You wouldn’t hurt anyone without telling me first.”
“Did I?”
“You did,” Raea said and nodded. “And we agreed that if you broke the promise, then you’d have to come back with your sister and continue being my contracted demon for the rest of your life.”
“I don’t recall making a promise like that.”
“Really,” Raea said and sat down on her bed. “You can’t break a promise with a kindness angel, you know?”
“And you should never take a demon’s words at face value.”
Raea was silent as Palan rummaged through his drawer and pulled out his leather bag. He began to take inventory of the items inside. “Do you dislike Div’Nya?” Raea asked. “Is Eljiam that much better?”
“I’m more familiar with Eljiam.”
“But is it better?” Raea asked. She brought her knees to her chest. “The stories I hear about Eljiam are … bleak.”
“There’s not much difference,” Palan said. “People want to kill me in Eljiam. People want to kill me in Div’Nya. At least in Eljiam, I can kill them first without consequences.” Palan paused. “I will admit, resources are more abundant here.”
“That orb!” Pyre shouted. Palan was in the process of inspecting the blue orb that he seized from the goblin shaman so many weeks ago. Pyre wiped the drool off his mouth and stood up.
“What orb?” Palan asked as he closed his bag. “You’re blind, old man. There’s no orb here.”
“Do you think I’m Raea?” Pyre asked. “I can’t be fooled that easily.”
“Hey,” Raea said. She unwrapped Cleo and tossed the poor lizardman at Pyre, knocking him to the ground.
“What do you want for it?” Pyre asked Palan, pushing Cleo aside. “I can give you two uncharged orbs. You can easily make those pride orbs. What do you say?”
“No way,” Palan said and tied the bag to his waist. “This orb is something only I can create for you. I can pilfer orbs from any angel on the street.”
“You want me to offer something more,” Pyre said as he dusted off the back of his robe and sat back on the seat. He rubbed his chin. “Crystals?”
“Worthless.”
“Books?”
“No.”
“Exotic food?”
“Even worse.”
“Women?”
“No,” Palan said. Raea glared at Pyre.
Pyre raised an eyebrow. “Men?”
“I think we’re done here,” Palan said. “You clearly have nothing to offer.”
“Name a price,” Pyre said and reached inside his robe. “I don’t believe I can’t get what you want.” He frowned. “Where’d my pipe go?”
“I want the power to kill an archangel without any resistance,” Palan said. He ignored Raea’s expression and stared at Pyre, observing the muscles on his face. The angel’s mouth twitched, and he exhaled through his nose. “Do you still believe you can get me what I want?”
“I do,” Pyre said and nodded. His voice was flatter than usual. “I just don’t know if it’s worth the price.” Palan waited.
“You two really should not be talking about killing an archangel,” Raea said, clasping her hands together.
Pyre sighed. “Miss Caelum has some common sense in her after all,” he said and leaned back into his chair. “Forget about the orb. Let’s pretend this never happened.” The usual cheer in his voice returned, and he grinned at Palan. “I had no idea your ambition was that great.” The demon snorted.