The Sinner
“They’re often playful and mischievous but mean no harm,” he explained, shooting me an Are you happy? glance.
Guy relaxed. “Hey Zu, was it you who turned on my TV that one time?”
The glass moved off the YES then back on, then spelled out I LIKE BASEBALL.
The mood changed then as the questions and answers became silly and banal, more like a party game than an actual conversation with “an entity.” Abby and Guy were relaxed now, having fun.
“Zu, settle a debate for us,” Guy said after a while. He shot Cas a wink. “Is the basic nature of man good or evil?”
I silently scolded him to not humiliate Guy and remember our plan.
Casziel received the message because the glass spelled out IT IS NEITHER. NOT BLACK OR WHITE.
“Thank you.” Guy laughed. “There you have it. Can’t argue with an expert, eh, Cas?”
The demon’s smile was acid. “Indeed.”
We all took our hands off the glass, game over. Guy turned to me and touched my shoulder, his smile warm. “Hey, fellow poetry lover, would you like some more wine?”
“That’d be nice, thank—”
My sentence was drowned in Abby’s shriek as the shot glass suddenly flew across the room and shattered against the wall.
“Oh, shit,” Guy burst out and grabbed hold of my hand, moving himself in front of me.
A silence fell where we stared, wide-eyed.
“It would seem your home is indeed haunted,” Cas said to Guy, his smile showing all his teeth. “But then again, I’m no expert.”
Outside on the street, Cas and I waited for an Uber. The demon looked exceedingly pleased with himself. I crossed my arms.
“Was that really necessary?”
“He could stand a little humbling.”
“Says the pot to the kettle. And besides, he’s not arrogant. He’s kind and sweet. Did you see how he grabbed hold of my hand? Like he was going to protect me.”
“I did,” he said icily.
“Our plan is working. He’s never touched me before.”
“And this pleases you?”
“Well…don’t we need this to happen? For your sake?”
“Yes. This needs to happen.” Cas said, his tone unreadable. “For my sake,”
A tension thickened between us and lasted the entire Uber ride home, then followed us into my place. It permeated every corner, and I was acutely aware of Casziel, his body filling my space, and how alone we were together. How his animosity toward Guy felt like more than an act. And how that thrilled me more than Guy’s touch…
No, no, no. This is all wrong. Our plan…
“I’m tired,” I said. “Think I’m going to get ready for bed. Sleep,” I amended quickly. “What about you? It’s early yet.”
“And?”
“You and Abby seemed to hit it off. She’s very into you.” I cleared my throat. “I thought, maybe you would want to…”
He cocked his head. “Would want to what?”