Touched by a Sprite

by E. A. Reynolds

  “I should slap you silly,” she said coldly and shook her head.

  He faced her, leaning his hip against the counter. “Incubus demons need to feed off what?”

  “Energy, stupid,” she muttered. “Why?”

  “When was the last time Kirkyn fed, and how is that going to affect him doing his job?”

  “I’ll take care of it,” she said stiffly.

  “No, you won’t,” he snapped. “I’ll do it.”

  “That’s crazy,” she exclaimed. “You’ll only strengthen your tie to him, Baylee. That will make it harder to contain him.”

  “It’ll be fine. He’s never hurt me feeding before.” Kirkyn had just got him turned on.

  That delight in having the demon touch him and feed from him had scared him. Baylee had thought he’d really gone off the wrong end of the sick-scale his family thought he lived on.

  “Maybe I won’t stop Kirkyn from killing you. I’ll just tell his uncle he knocked me out.” She turned on her heel and walked out.

  Baylee sighed and headed upstairs in search of Kirkyn. He was looking out the window. Baylee’s heart beat faster.

  He closed the door, making a decision he knew could get him killed.

  Baylee closed the distance between them. He stroked a hand up Kirkyn’s back. “Are you hungry?”

  “Go away, Baylee. I’m going out,” he said. “I’ll find someone.”

  He bunched his hand in Kirkyn’s shirt. “Like hell you will,” he snarled. “You have me right here.”

  Kirkyn turned and growled at him, giving him the demon’s gray face with darker blue markings on the right side.

  “Stop trying to scare me, Kirkyn,” he ordered. “That ship has sailed.”

  “Has it?” Kirkyn bent down to him and kissed him.

  Baylee didn’t close his eyes at first, but the sensation of pleasure that rushed through him had him doing just that.

  His body felt as if it were being stroked, especially his cock. All he could do was moan, even as his head swam.

  Kirkyn drew back, and Baylee swayed. He put his fingers to his temple. Kirkyn swept him up in his arms and took him to the couch, where the faint hint of sex lingered.

  “Did you take enough?”

  “For now,” he said. “But you’ll need to stay away. I’ll try to fight the urge to feed from you again, but it’ll be hard.” Kirkyn stroked Baylee’s hair. “I miss you. I miss us.”

  “Me too.”

  “Then, why can’t—never mind. If I’m right, I’ll be on my way home within a few days. I think Ennis and I will be able to take out the demons once we stop the infection.”

  “It’s going to stop just like that?”

  “Yes, but it’ll take time for the plants to completely vanish. They just won’t be dangerous,” Kirkyn said. “And we need to be ready to close that portal before any more demons come through.”

  “How many more do you think might come?”

  “I think three of their kings are here. Bancoo is the least dangerous when all’s said and done, and they’re planning to bring over a demon who was imprisoned in Hel realm. Before that, he ran Darth with an iron fist. He was blood thirsty and empire driven for the sake of power.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Meeshim, the most dangerous demon in Darth. He’s a telekinetic and a telepath. He can control multiple minds at once.”

  “You don’t have contacts that can keep that from happening?”

  “No, but Ennis said he might. I sent him a message before you came up,” Kirkyn said.

  Baylee stroked Kirkyn’s nape. “I can’t go through all the torture and stalking again,” he said. “I won’t. I’ll use everything in my arsenal to kill you this time.”

  “Why didn’t you before?”

  “I love you, that’s why,” he admitted. “I just didn’t know how to deal with you being a demon, considering how little I knew about demons.”

  “And you and your grandmother will need to be in the fight,” Kirkyn said. “I’d like to minimize collateral damage.”

  “I’m sure she would, too,” he said on a sigh. “So, this time, if we don’t work, one of us won’t live to regret it.”

  “I said I wouldn’t hurt you,” he said firmly. “Nothing will change that.”

  Baylee studied him wanting to ask what would be different this time, but he didn’t want to fight. “Now, tell me your plan.”

  “I’ve noticed that your blood is as dangerous to those plants as they are to this area. I think that you and maybe Alisa were born of that demon-sprite union. That made you different.”

  “I don’t think—maybe it’s my union with you that’s changed me,” Baylee said.

  “I agree,” Kirkyn said. “That’s why I sent Darik and Trinity back to the city. I hope there are similar stories to the one of this area that foretell of the two species or even the human and demon species coming together to form a harmonious union.”

  “What will that do? I mean, how would that affect the land?”

  “The demons changed the land to a certain degree anyway, but they wanted to make sure they didn’t damage the life they needed to sustain them. At the weddings, a drink of both parties’ blood was mixed, and it was used to fertilize the new seedlings so that the demon matter didn’t kill the hosts.”

  “What you’re saying is that the mixture created something new, something that could be deadly.”

  “Exactly. So, I’m going to need your blood and mine, along with a little of the crystal. If that does what I think it will, all we’ll have to do is make a bigger batch.”

  “Couldn’t we just serve it to the demons?” Baylee asked. “Trojan horse style?”

  “We’d need a demon to try it on,” Kirkyn told him. “I’m sure we could get one.”

  “It’d be worth a try instead of fighting, right?”

  “Yeah.” Kirkyn smiled. “Beauty and brains, that’s why I’m so crazy about you.”

  Baylee smiled and caressed Kirkyn’s chest. “How can we close the portal?”

  “We’ll need to find it, but it’s probably in the original site,” Kirkyn told him.

  “Original site as in when they first came here?”

  “One and the same,” Kirkyn answered. “I’m going to check that out tomorrow.”

  “Can I come with you?” Baylee asked. “I want to learn more about your world. I think the more I know, the less afraid I’ll be of what you might turn out to really be.”

  “This isn’t my norm.”

  “No, I mean about you the demon, about demons. I know Kirkyn the man.”

  “You might learn something by working with me, but I don’t think you’ll like any of it,” Kirkyn said.

  “I might not, but I’ll know what I’m getting into. That’s all I’m asking.”

  Kirkyn nodded. “Okay. I guess, you’re right. Plus, you aren’t powerless. You’ll be able to defend yourself if anything happens.”

  Baylee smiled. “How early are we leaving?”

  “Just after first light,” Kirkyn told him. “I want to get a good look around the area where the portal might be.”

  “Are you sure there’s one around here?” Baylee frowned.

  “I just hope it’s above water.”

  * * * *

  Kirkyn was awake early the next morning with Baylee curled against him in bed. Kirkyn smiled but dared not allow himself to become too optimistic. Baylee’s suggestion had been right. He deserved to know what lay behind the gray skin.

  He probably wouldn’t like what he found, but Kirkyn was prepared to walk away rather than attempt to kill Baylee.

  Baylee was a vibrant light that he wouldn’t steal from his family simply because Kirkyn had become a crazed monster.

  Kirkyn dropped a kiss on Baylee’s forehead and climbed out of bed. After a quick trip to the bathroom, Kirkyn grabbed some clothes from the dresser and was dressing when Baylee yawned.

  “It’s early,” he murmured.

  “Re
member that early start?” Kirkyn asked.

  He groaned. “Maybe I should let Astarte go with you,” Baylee grumbled.

  Kirkyn chuckled. “You used to be a morning person.”

  “I still am an hour from now,” he protested. “But I’ll get up. Give me a few minutes?”

  “I think I have fifteen to spare for you,” Kirkyn said, giving him a wink, and Baylee grinned before vanishing into the bathroom.

  A rap on the door had Kirkyn going to check it out. “Astarte.”

  “What are we doing today?” she quizzed.

  “I’m going out for a few hours. Can you hold down the fort?”

  “Yeah. Sure. I’ll check in with the nymphs, but don’t get too side-tracked. If you do, whatever you have in mind might not take.”

  “He’s my mate, Astarte,” he said softly. “I want that third chance he’s offering.”

  “I know, and I’m not saying don’t.” She shrugged. “You’re both grown men. I’m just saying don’t let it rule you.”

  “I’ll be careful, Mother,” he said in a mocking tone.

  “Thank you, son.” She rolled her eyes. “That boy’s nothing but trouble. I’m just worried about you.”

  “I appreciate it. I’ll see you later and check in with Wayfaire?”

  She nodded. “Be careful out there. There’s no telling what those sneaks have planned.”

  “I know,” he assured her.

  She gave him a smile and retreated.

  Closing the door, Kirkyn made his way back to the bedroom where Baylee was dressing. Kirkyn grabbed his pack but covertly watched as Baylee braided his hair. The highlights suggested the color was more natural than not.

  “Why’d you dye your hair?” Kirkyn asked. The color suited him, and the hint of red mingled with the black made it even more appealing.

  “I didn’t. It changed on its own after the surgery.”

  Kirkyn frowned. “I hate you changed your face, but you’re still so damn gorgeous.” He went to pull Baylee into his arms for a slow kiss.

  Baylee stroked his fingers over Kirkyn’s nape, and his touch soothed the fear in him.

  “How did you recognize me?” Baylee asked curiously.

  “I’m sure Trinity told you what he thought the answer was, but the truth is, you left your signature on me. It’s an energetic imprint of lake water. We can always find each other through it.”

  “It’s like a homing device?”

  “Exactly,” Kirkyn told him. “I can communicate with you telepathically through it. The demon bond only augments what you did to me.”

  He had been surprised at the power of Baylee’s touch and shocked that he’d left an imprint on him so deep it had changed him on a fundamental level. He could use that link to breathe underwater, to communicate with it on a very basic level.

  That had come in handy, but he wouldn’t use any of it against Baylee, not now.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Baylee enjoyed the passing scenery, but he half expected an attack, because the land didn’t feel the same.

  “Do you think they’re following us?”

  “No,” Kirkyn said. “They only have one watcher that I’ve noticed. Why’d your hair change?”

  “My grandmother doesn’t know,” he said. “She’s still looking into it though. She has no idea why I can do things my cousin can’t.”

  “Like what?”

  “Water burns and whirlpools are pretty standard stuff, but they don’t actually kill.”

  “Yours do?”

  “I have an affinity with water plants, too. I can make them do what I want,” he said, throwing Kirkyn a look. “The extent of the difference isn’t really known yet. What she has seen intrigues her. It’s almost like you shooting electricity.”

  Kirkyn chuckled. “It’s not quite the same.”

  Baylee smiled, turning his gaze back out the window. He didn’t know anything about demonic abilities, but he did know Kirkyn’s electricity had a water feel. It sparked blue and black like dark water.

  Kirkyn pulled off the main road fifteen minutes later. “We’re walking from here.”

  Baylee climbed out and watched as Kirkyn pulled something from his bag and set it on the front seat in the sun. Once he closed his door, he rubbed the handle with something. Then, he sprinkled something around the truck.

  “Some kind of protection?”

  “I don’t really want to walk all the way back,” Kirkyn said. “Come on.”

  Baylee followed Kirkyn into the woods, and a low snarl greeted them. Baylee looked around frantically, and a large black-gray dog with red eyes appeared from the brush at his right.

  “Shit!” he gasped, and the dog leaped for him. The animal was wicked fast, and Baylee was knocked to the ground before he could blink.

  Instinctively, he braced his hands on the dog’s shoulders to prevent it from biting him. The red eyes glowed and drool rolled down the corner of its mouth as the dog snarled, teeth bared.

  The ground moved slightly beneath him, and a scream lit the air followed by a harsh command. “Kill them.”

  The dog lunged, and Baylee’s palms dampened as the animal broke his grip, going for his throat. The water issuing forth hurled the dog backward into a tree, and Baylee got to his feet.

  The mutt growled and charged him. Baylee’s eyes became slightly unfocused as he held out his palms. Water rushed from them and curled around the animal’s neck before lodged in its shoulders, cutting deep grooves into the skin.

  The hound whined, and Baylee clenched his fingers into claws and blood dampened the animal’s fur as the water thorns dug deeper into him, hitting and breaking bone. The dog struggled to get free, and Baylee drew his hand down to the right in a sharp move. A moment later, the animal was dead.

  “Bastard.” A blow from behind knocked Baylee to his knees, and a tree limb lowered, pinning him down.

  “Get off me,” Baylee ordered, and the branch split in two.

  Baylee heard a hard grunt from his left and the snap of twigs. He turned his head to find Kirkyn shooting electricity from his palm.

  “How did you to that?” the shrill voice demanded.

  He jerked his gaze from the scene as hard hands jerked on his hair as an elbow locked around his neck.

  “Like this.” Hot, wet blood spit down his neck, and Baylee flinched. The body landed next to him a moment later.

  “Are you okay?” Kirkyn asked, pulling him to his feet.

  “Yeah. That thing’s blood is hot.”

  “Gnomes are a bit more hot-blooded than you’d think. Let me take a look. It might have burned you,” Kirkyn said.

  Baylee lowered his head and gentle fingers smoothed away blood.

  “Let me get something from my bag or this will be a problem later down the line,” Kirkyn told him.

  “The tree attacked me under that gnome’s command.”

  “You handled it well,” Kirkyn said and wiped his nape with something damp before applying what he assumed was some kind of antibiotic.

  “I just broke it.”

  “No, you didn’t,” Kirkyn said. “It withdrew. Only part of it broke.”

  Baylee looked around to see if he could tell which tree was the culprit.

  “That one.” Kirkyn pointed.

  Baylee took in the tree, finding part of a limb was gone along with the leaves, but the old tree was otherwise unharmed.

  “Let’s get moving,” Kirkyn said. “I want to have a look at the spot before reinforcements show up.”

  They trekked through the woods for all of thirty minutes before Baylee started to lose track of time. He’d never been into this part of the woods, so everything was new to him, including the stream they came to with a few colorful plants growing in it.

  “I’ve seen these before,” Baylee said. “There are some on the hotel grounds.”

  “I noticed,” Kirkyn said as he bent, cupping his hands to drink from the stream. “This water is so pure tasting.”

  Baylee
dipped his fingers in the water, and it ran up his arm and around his wrist before slipping back into its bed. Intrigued, he hummed a low tune and the water seemed to come alive, as did the entire area.

  The water rushed, the flowers’ fragrance became stronger, and the trees seemed to sigh around them.

  “Kirkyn,” he said softly.

  “I see,” he said. “There’s the portal. Stay here.”

  Baylee kept an eye on Kirkyn as he hurried away. He didn’t see the portal, only a flicker of color behind a bush. Kirkyn opened his bag and removed a vial. He spread the contents around the bush, and as he made a hand gesture, the light dimmed.

  “Baylee come here.”

  Baylee walked over, and Kirkyn took his hand.

  “I don’t want this open again unless I order it to be open,” Kirkyn said. “Can you do that?”

  “It’s not water or—”

  “Just tell it to obey,” Kirkyn told him firmly.

  Baylee hummed a low tune that rose and then lowered again. The light was gone now, and the bush before it burst into deep red-orange with hints of plum. “What happened?”

  “You did it,” Kirkyn said softly. “It was fall when the demons first came here.”

  “It was also fall when the demon and the sprite fell in love,” Baylee said. “My grandmother said the area was forever changed by the union, because fall truly came to this area, complete with colder air.”

  “It’s colder in winter there than it is here in the South,” Kirkyn said. “It would have been the start of spring there, and spring looks like fall in Kenova where the demons came from.”

  “You’ve seen it?” Baylee asked.

  “My uncle took me to be educated there,” Kirkyn told him. “It’s a beautiful place despite the sometimes harshness of the people or demons.”

  “Wow,” Baylee said. “How long were you there?”

  “Four years. I went to what was called warrior training school. It’s like military school, I guess. I learned weapons of all kinds, including seduction and the arts used to convince someone to trade their soul for their dreams.”

  “I thought you said you couldn’t do anything with a soul.”

  “I can’t. I became apprentice to a warrior, not a soul-eater.” Kirkyn’s expression hardened. “I was selected by one, but his way of teaching was nothing more than pedophilia, and I refused to be anyone’s sex slave.”