Demon Cursed

by Sadie Hobbes

  “Yes, he is. You should come by the house and meet him. He’s a fascinating fellow.”

  D’Angelo grimaced. “I would love to. Although sitting down with a stodgy professor is not exactly my idea of a good time. But you never know when you’re going to need a resource, right?” He slapped Graham on the back a little harder than necessary.

  Graham smiled, enjoying D’Angelo’s discomfort when the slap didn’t move him so much as an inch. “Well, let me get to it. I’m sure you have an impressive deal to accomplish today as well with the fresh recruits coming in tomorrow. Is everything ready for them?”

  Annoyance crossed D’Angelo’s face before he covered it. “Of course, I have my people working on it diligently. I will review everything later today. Do not fear. All will be completed and ready for our new batch.”

  “I never worry when you are in charge, D’Angelo. Have a good day.”

  “You too, brother, you too.”

  D’Angelo turned for his home as Graham turned for his. Graham glanced back over his shoulder at him. A young woman was walking up the hill. When she caught sight of D’Angelo, she quickly crossed to the other side.

  Graham rolled his hands into fists. One day D’Angelo would get his. Graham would make sure of it.

  Chapter 7

  Addie

  I had been wrong about Mrs. Uriel not keeping me late that night. She kept me for two hours after the end of my shift. Her daughter Tiffany arrived home unexpectedly from school. An impromptu formal dinner had been arranged to celebrate her return.

  Of course, Nigel took me aside to share that the reason for her return was that she had flunked out of school. But Mrs. Uriel announced that Tiffany had returned to spend more time with her family, who she couldn’t bear to be away from during these trying times.

  I’d had to stay to help set up and prepare before the evening staff came in. Beth gave me a look as she darted a glance at the darkening skies. “I don’t like you walking home in this. Do you want to stay at my place tonight?”

  “No, I’m good.”

  “But there were four demon attacks last night. One of them, they went into a family’s home.”

  I stopped still. “What?”

  All the demon attacks I’d heard about had one thing in common: They occurred after dark and outside. I had never heard of a demon entering a home. For some stupid reason, I thought they couldn’t.

  Beth nodded. “A young family. They killed the mother and took the husband. The child was left behind.”

  “Are you sure they went into the home?”

  Beth shrugged. “You know how it is. That’s what the rumors are saying. But that’s never happened before, has it?”

  “No, it hasn’t.” But even though I wanted to chalk it up to the rumor mill getting the details wrong, dread ran through me. If they could go into homes…

  I quickly wiped down the counter. “I need to go. I can’t let the kids stay alone at night.”

  Beth bit her lip. I knew she wanted to argue more. But there was no way to argue that Noel and Micah should be home alone. So instead, after darting another look out the window, she went back to the kitchen table and grabbed some rolls, ham, and cheese. She rolled all of it into a large napkin and handed them to me. “I’ll finish up. You tell those kids I said hello. And I’ll have some tarts for them tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, Beth.”

  I hurried out of the kitchen, stopping at the bathroom to change. Pulling my backpack from the closet, I tucked the food bundle inside. The kids would be thrilled. I hung my uniform up in the closet, knowing that it would be washed tonight and waiting for me tomorrow. After quickly donning my own clothes, I hurried outside.

  With dread, I realized it was later than I thought. Dammit. I hated getting home this late. Lights were already on in the houses in Sterling Peak. Down the hill in Blue Forks, it was dark. No one was going to waste electricity or candles until they absolutely had to.

  I hurried toward the bridge at a brisk jog. Going down the hill was much easier than my sprint up it this morning. The line at the bridge was shorter than this morning too. There were only two people ahead of me. Both of them cast increasingly nervous looks at the darkening sky.

  Once past the guards, I jogged over the bridge and then ran when I hit the edge. Four demon attacks. I didn’t like the sound of that. And with them going into people’s homes, well, that just wasn’t good at all. I hoped the rumor mill was wrong.

  And I prayed that Torr would keep watch.

  By the time I reached the outskirts of my neighborhood, darkness had completely fallen. I slowed as I reached the buildings, placing my hand on the knife at my waist. I didn’t run in the dark unless I knew exactly where I was going, and that there were no demons nearby. I dashed down the street, casting my gaze from side to side and checking behind me. Everything seemed all right.

  A muffled shout reached me from an alley only two blocks from the apartment. I paused, trying to figure out if it had come from inside a house or out of it. Then it came again, followed by the clang of a trashcan.

  I slid my knife from out from its sheath as I ducked down the alley. A man walked with his back toward me, his hands up. “No. No, please.”

  The demon laughed as he approached. “Where is it?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please just let me go.”

  The demon reached forward and snatched the man by the front of his shirt, holding him up in the air. “Where is it, Professor?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have the book.”

  The demon smiled. “Then you are of no use to me.”

  The demon’s hand rose in the air, its claws extended. I darted forward and grabbed on to its arm, shoving it back. The demon stumbled, flinging the professor away. The man hit the wall and slid down, disappearing behind some boxes.

  Shock splashed across the demon’s face. “How did you do that?”

  I smiled. “I’ve been working out.”

  Truth was, I didn’t know where my strength came from. It was something that Noel, Micah, and I had discovered together after that first fight with the demon. I could fight them hand-to-hand. My strength matched theirs, even though my size most definitely did not.

  The demon pulled a sword from behind its back. Lightning flashed along the blade. I swallowed. Well, that was new. I’d never encountered a demon with a weapon before, although I'd heard about them.

  The demon must have noticed my fear. “Not so cocky now, are you little human?”

  I pulled back my fear, picturing Noel and Micah. I didn’t have the luxury of fear. I needed to get home. I shook my head. “It’s not fear. It’s excitement. Looks like I’m going to get myself a new toy.”

  Knife still clutched in my hand, I darted forward and then shifted to the side, cutting the demon at the waist but barely breaking the skin.

  He swung at me. I ducked under his arm, slashing out at his stomach. He let out a scream as my knife sank into his skin deeper this time, leaving a jagged six-inch cut. The demon swung wide, its hit a reaction to the pain rather than a focused move.

  I darted behind him, kicked out his leg, and then plunged my knife into the side of his neck. Blood coated my hand.

  He jolted forward, moving so quickly that I lost my grip on my knife, unable to yank it out before he stood up. I jumped back as he swung at me again. I backed away, my hands in front of me.

  Blood dribbled from the edge of the demon’s mouth. My knife still impaled in its neck, it smiled. “Looks like I have all the weapons now.”

  He lunged forward, his sword leading the way.

  I stepped to the side and then latched on to his wrist, yanking him forward just enough to get him off balance. I wrenched his wrist to ninety degrees, facing his palm toward him before turning his hand to the ground. He let out a scream as he hit the ground, and his sword, still gripped in his hand, pointed at his own neck.

  I shoved the tip into the edge of his
neck and then through. I put all my weight and strength behind it and nearly decapitated him. His tongue rolled out the side of his mouth. He hissed out a breath before going silent.

  I rolled my shoulders, taking a breath as the flames dimmed around the sword and then went dark. Carefully, I pulled the sword from his neck, and then ripped it from his hand.

  A demon sword. A chill ran through me.

  I leaned down and, using the edge of the demon’s trousers, wiped the sword clean. It was a beautiful weapon. The blade was straight and unblemished. The hilt was curled with an ivory-wrapped pommel.

  But I didn't have time to scrutinize it now. I stuffed it into the side of my belt. It was a little awkward, but the best I could do at the moment. I stood up and made my way to the discarded boxes.

  The man was slowly getting to his feet, his eyes unfocused. I didn’t recognize him. He was older, probably in his late fifties, with light-brown skin and light-brown eyes. His dark hair was scattered with gray.

  “Are you all right?”

  The man touched the back of his head with a wince. “I hit my head. I think blacked out for a moment.”

  Good, that meant he hadn’t seen anything. Normally I had a black veil that covered the lower half of my face, but I forgot it in my rush this morning.

  “How did you do that?” The professor stood up from behind me, his eyes shifting between the demon and me.

  I spoke quickly. “I didn’t. I was coming home and heard something. When I arrived the demon was already down. Are you all right?”

  He ran his hands down his body, a confused look on his face. “I think so.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw the demon dissolve into ashes. All the bodies did. Some it happened instantaneously, some took a few minutes. But all them were reduced to ash in death. I kept my attention on the man. “You shouldn’t be out here this late.”

  “Yes, I know. But it couldn’t be helped.” The man stepped away from the wall and then swayed.

  I darted forward and grabbed him. “Give yourself a second. You’ve had a scare. Where do you live?”

  “Not too far.” He gestured vaguely toward the bridge.

  Surprise ran through me. He did not look like one of the residents of Sterling Peak. His clothes had a distinctive lived-in look to them, and his pack was practically ancient.

  “The bridge will be shut down by now. They won’t let anyone through without special permission. Do you have that?”

  The man shook his head, his eyelids dropping again.

  I couldn’t leave him here. And I certainly couldn’t let him go wait by the bridge. They wouldn’t let him cross. Already a light rain had started. He’d be huddled there in the wet until morning. That was if he even made it. In his current shape, that seemed like a long shot. At best, he’d get pneumonia.

  “Okay. Why don’t you come home with me? You can stay the night. It’s nothing fancy, but at least it will keep you dry.”

  “Thank you. I would really appreciate that,” he said, right before he pitched forward in a faint.

  Chapter 8

  The professor was dead weight. I checked for injuries and found nothing. Maybe he’d just passed out. Regardless of the cause, I had to get him home somehow.

  I grabbed him by the arm and hauled him up, flinging his arm over my shoulder. He was surprisingly light. The jacket made him appear bulkier than he was. In fact, it felt like the guy could use a good meal. Maybe even a dozen.

  Not that that made him different from anyone else around here. Of course, that did call into question whether or not he really belonged over in Sterling Peak.

  I carried him along the back streets, staying in the shadows. It was blessedly quiet. I turned right at the alley that ran alongside my apartment building.

  Torr sat up on the fire escape and spied us from down the street. He quickly climbed down, stopping in front of me, his hands on his hips as he studied the professor. “What happened?”

  “Demon went after this guy. He passed out or something. I couldn’t just leave him there.”

  He looped the professor’s other arm over his shoulder. The weight on me immediately lifted. Torr might be short, but he was incredibly strong. He grunted. “You could have. You just chose not to.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. How are the kids?”

  “I walked them home from school. One of the kids was giving Micah a hard time. That Thompson kid?”

  I nodded as I pictured the boy that had been picking on Micah for the last few months. But Micah being such a sympathetic soul, he didn’t have it in him to return any of the insults from the much larger Raymond Thompson.

  “Yeah. Unfortunately for the kid, he took a tumble down the steps of the school as he was coming out the door.”

  “Torr…”

  Torr glared at me from the side of his eyes. “What did you expect me to do? That kid’s a bully, and Micah’s too nice to defend himself.”

  “Was the kid hurt?”

  “Just his pride. I’ll stick close to Micah and make sure the Thompson kid becomes awfully clumsy in his presence if he keeps it up.”

  I wanted to tell Torr that what he was doing wasn’t right. Raymond Thompson had lost his brother to a demon attack just six months earlier. That had to be messing with his head. But I couldn’t let him mess with Micah’s head. “Thanks.”

  Between the two of us, we awkwardly carried the professor up the stairs. At the door, I dropped my voice to a whisper. “You need to stay in the apartment tonight. The rain’s getting bad out there.”

  Torr started to shake his head. “No, I’m fine. I’ll—”

  “This is not a debate, Torr. I won’t have you sitting out on the fire escape getting soaked. I’ll make a bed in the corner of my room. Besides, what if this professor goes all crazy on me? I’ll need the backup.”

  Torr snorted. “Yeah, the day you need back up against a human is the day we’re all in trouble.”

  “You’re staying inside.”

  Torr opened his mouth and then shut it, giving me a nod. “Thanks,” he said gruffly.

  I shifted, so I took all the professor’s weight and then knocked on the door.

  “Who is it?” Noel called, her voice meaner and deeper than was natural.

  “It’s me.”

  There was a clacking of locks as she undid all of them. Then the door swung wide. A look of relief crossed Noel’s face, and I cursed Mrs. Uriel for keeping me late yet again.

  The relief quickly shifted to alarm as Noel’s gaze fell on the professor. “What happened?”

  “He passed out as I was walking home. I couldn’t just leave him in the street.”

  Noel met my gaze for a moment and then nodded, stepping back to give me room to maneuver the professor in.

  Noel and Micah knew about my extracurricular night activities. They knew that I took down more than my fair share of demons. And we never talked about it. I figured they knew what I did, and that was enough. No need to worry them.

  But one of the first things I’d done when we first met was to teach the both of them how to defend themselves. For the last two years, I’d spent hours on the weekends training them in self-defense. Over that time, the two of them had gotten pretty skilled. They didn’t have my strength, but barring that, they were a match for any human at the very least. They might even be able to tag-team a demon.

  A small one.

  Although if I had anything to say about it, they would never have to.

  Noel slipped underneath the professor’s other arm as Micah came out of his bedroom, his eyes going wide. “What’s going on?”

  Torr slipped in quickly without touching either Micah or the door just before Micah closed it.

  I quickly explained about finding the professor, briefly mentioning the demon as I maneuvered him onto the couch. The professor stirred, his face arranging into a frown. His eyelids fluttered and then flickered open before closing again. A second later, they flew open, and he tried to sit up.


  I put up my hands. “Hey, hey. It’s okay. You’re safe.”

  His gaze darted around the room before it returned to Noel and Micah, who stood behind me. “What happened?”

  “What do you remember?” I asked.

  He stared at me, and then sank back against the pillows. “You’re the one from the alley.”

  “Yes. You passed out, so I brought you here. I didn’t want to leave you there just in case anybody else came by later.”

  The professor nodded his head wearily, starting to sit up. “Thank you. But I’ll get out of your hair now.”

  “Not tonight,” I said.

  “But I need to get to Sterling Peak.”

  “Like I said before, without special permission, you’re not getting across the bridge at night. They don’t let anybody over there after nightfall. And it’s not safe for you to just wait outside. Especially in the storm.”

  “I don’t want to put you out. I’ll just go find some other place—”

  “There is no other place. So I’m afraid you’re stuck with us till morning.” I turned and handed my backpack to Micah. “Beth sent a few things to eat.”

  Beth’s name earned a smile. “Awesome.” He grabbed the bag and headed to the kitchen.

  “Can you get the professor a glass of water?” I asked Noel.

  She nodded, following Micah. I glanced over at where Torr perched in the corner, studying the professor with a look on his face I couldn’t decipher.

  I turned back to the professor. “You’ll stay with us for the night. You can sleep here on the couch. It’s not much, but it’s better than being outside.”

  He met my gaze for the first time. “You’re very kind.” Then he frowned.

  “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” I scanned him, wondering if I had overlooked something. It was dark when I’d first checked him.

  “No, no. I’m not hurt, but… you… you fought off that demon, didn’t you?”

  “Like I told you, I found you afterwards.”