Chapter 2 Don't Open Your Eyes - Livvy's POV

“Don’t open your eyes,” the man said quietly, as if it wasn’t a suggestion. 

I bit back a scream, freezing as whatever was on my face stayed there. “Gore?”

“Yes,” he whispered, something cool touching my face.

After a moment, I realized it was his hands. He was wiping away whatever was on my face. I felt his breath blow out on top of my head.

“You’re a bit of a mess,” he chuckled. “Sorry about that.”

“You’re laughing at a time like this?” I asked, my voice cracking. “What’s so funny? What is on my face?”

“Demon blood,” he replied nonchalantly. He wiped once more over my eyes, then paused, his thumbs resting on my cheeks. “Open your eyes.”

I did and blinked a few times. The mysterious man who had stood across the room, the very one I wanted to talk to, was standing in front of me. He was taller than I thought and so much more intimidating up close. His dark brow rose.

“Are you okay?”

“No,” I croaked.

“Are you a frog now?” He added, as if this were normal. 

“No,” I repeated. “Unless you can turn into a frog in dreams. Anything can happen in dreams, right?”

He chuckled at that. “You’re right, but this isn’t a dream. This is very real.”

“This is real,” I breathed. “You mean demons are real?”

“Everything you thought was myth is real, Olivia Lewis,” he said quietly, his hands still resting on my cheeks.

I almost sputtered. “What?”

“We’re not fairytales and this isn’t a dream. I need you to realize that sooner rather than later,” he said more urgently. “It’s important that you do. We all exist beside humanity and have for centuries.”

My vision darkened at the edges. “This has to be some kind of joke.”

I blinked back the tears threatening to fall. As soon as I heard Remi shouting my name, I turned, pulling my face from his hands. 

“Don’t go yet,” he whispered. “You’re not fit to be seen.”

“But I have to help her. I’m working tonight,” I complained, but he reached out, grabbing my face again. When I was facing him, I groaned. “Let me go. I don’t know you and I’m not sure I want to.”

“Paranormal creatures have been trapped on Earth for centuries,” he snapped. “And now someone knows you exist. If you want to live, then you need to come with me now.”

“I’m working,” I argued.

“And if you keep doing it, you’ll die,” he snapped back. 

“You’ll have to explain more than that if you want me to go with you.”

He shook his head. “No, I’m not explaining anything else. You know enough to make a decision. Now, are you coming with me or not?”

I froze for a moment, still unsure of what I was doing. Could I leave with him? Who even was he? I knew nothing about him and he had just revealed everything I thought was imaginary was, in fact, real. 

I looked back at the door as Remi called for me again. “You are drunk,” I said, laughing, my mind going to the only thing it could process. “Or I am. I must have tried one of those bottles. Man, that stuff is awful. I need to tell my boss to get rid of it.”

He let out a huff. “And you are going to be more difficult than I thought.”

“Hey, I’ve been hollering at you for the last few minutes,” Remi said as she came into the room and paused. I heard her footsteps stop. “Oh, girlie. I had no idea that you were seeing someone in the back room.”

“It’s not what you think,” I explained as I turned around. “Let me tell you—”

She screamed when she took in my face, flinching backward. “What is all over your face?”

“Demon blood,” the man answered from behind me. “And now this has become a bigger problem than I wanted tonight.”

He moved with lightning-fast speed, stopping just short of Remi.

“Hey! No, don’t hurt her.”

“Don’t move or speak,” he said, his voice low and rhythmic.

At first, I thought he was talking to me, but I soon realized that Remi had gone completely still. Her expression went blank mid-breath, like someone had simply… turned her off. 

“Remi!” I stepped between them, pushing him away from her. “Hey, Remi. Talk to me.”

She said nothing, even when I waved my hands in her face.

I whirled to face him, my fists clenching at my sides. “What did you do to her?”

He pushed me aside with ease, resuming his spot. “Remi, is it okay if I call you that?”

She nodded.

“Good. There is something I want you to do for me,” he said, his voice a near purr. “I want you to walk back out there and work your shift. Olivia here got sick and had to go home early. She was so sick she couldn’t even tell the boss. Can you do that for me?”

“What? No, you’re not doing this—”

“Yes, I can do that,” Remi whispered sweetly with the biggest smile on her face. “Is there anything else?”

“You'd better not,” I said sternly. “I had better not hear—”

“You know what? Change that,” he bit out. “She isn’t coming back. Tell the boss he needs to find a new bartender and get some new beer. It smells so foul here.”

My jaw dropped as all the color in my face vanished. “What! I’m not going with you.”

“Anything you say,” she giggled and waited.

“Go on now, Remi,” he purred. “You have a job to do and you’re going to do it without complaint. And forget all of this happened.”

She turned and went back out to the counter. I stood there as horror washed over me.

“You commanded her, and she did it.”

He turned to me, a wicked smile plastered across his face. “Compulsion, dear. It works wonders.”

My throat tightened as Remi walked away without even looking at me.