Page 21 of A Cursed Heart
The feeling of vanishing and reappearing didn’t bother me as much that time. It really was just getting used to the feeling of stretching and snapping back.
“Great, thanks.” I brandished the keys in my hand. With the press of the fob, the doors were unlocked. I opened my door and gestured for Mal to do the same.
This time, Mal opened the door himself and was far more graceful getting inside.
“Okay, let’s try this again.” I retook my seat then reached over to buckle him in. Up close, he smelled of fire and something spicy. I tried not to be too aware of how close we were. “This,” I told him, pulling away from him, “is the seatbelt. It’s a safety feature for driving a car. The car made a noise because it’s against the law not to have one on when the car is moving.”
Mal watched me buckle it and then myself. “Thank you, Ryan, for teaching me.”
“No worries.”
“I am sorry about… vanishing. I was… concerned for your safety.”
Well, that was kinda cool. My own demon protector. “It’s fine, you didn’t know.”
“There is much to learn.”
“Yeah, but you’ll pick it up quickly. I’ll help you.”
We sat in silence, me feeling bad about hurting his feelings, until I pulled up to my apartment block and switched off the engine. Then I turned in my seat to look him in the eyes. “Explain it all. From the beginning.”
Mal fixed me with a piercing stare. Okay, so he had a backbone and wasn’t just a mindless servant. That made things a lot better. “From my conception, or just the history of the gem?”
“Ha,” I deadpanned. “Tell me what I need to know for whatever this,” I waved between us, “is to work.”
“First of all, do you truly believe I am a demon and that I can do magic?”
“Why does that matter?”
“Answer me truthfully.”
“After earlier? I’ve got no choice but to believe you. I’ve seen the proof of it with my own eyes.”
“Good.” Mal didn’t say anything for what felt like the longest time. “There are things in my past I’m not proud of…”
“You don’t have to tell me all that now. Maybe later, but only if I need to know.” Unless he’d been harming children, I didn’t really care what he’d done in the past.
Freya. I was bringing him home to a house with my child.
“Hold on.” I had to be sure. “Have you ever harmed a child?”
“What? No!” Mal looked disgusted, then resigned. “I have harmed the innocent with my misdeeds, however, I would never hurt a child.” He sighed. “I know you have a daughter, and I vow, here and now, never to make her cry. She will be protected with my life if necessary.”
Wow, that was… a lot. He was so earnest, I couldn’t help but believe him. Whatever bond we had told me he was telling the truth.
“Alright. That’s all I needed to know.”
“As you say. Well, everything wicked I had done led me to this. This punishment… my actions caught up to me, and I was trapped in the heart ruby, the gemstone you picked up from Salvatore’s office.”
“You really lived inside it?” Horror filled me once more at the thought of him being in there. It was so small compared to him! I mean, he’d said it before, and I’d sorta believed him, still it was only truly registering to me just how awful that had to have been. Like, was he always in there? Did Salvatore know about him? Mymind buzzed with all the questions, but I had to pay attention to what Mal was telling me. It was too important.
“Yes.”
“Like a genie and a lamp?”
Mal scoffed. “I believe you are referencing djinn. You would not like to meet one.”
“Don’t they grant wishes?”
