Just what was the young woman? And what did it mean for the world of supernaturals? Pulling out a fresh notebook from her bag, Celia stood back, doing what she did best, observing and recording.
Chapter 12
Damien put down his cell phone and glanced at the clock. After five in the evening. He’d spent all day conducting conference calls to the other heads. Each one had listened to his assessment and agreed with his decision of training Krista.
Each one except Racine.
Damien had yet to call the head of region seven. He wanted to get all the others behind him before he broached the topic with Racine. It sounded like the Euadaemon wasn’t too keen on training the young girl. He had no idea why. Krista may be young and fragile-looking, but appearances were deceiving. If she truly had the power of a Daemon, she needed to learn how to use it. Unchecked power could lead to dangerous places.
He glanced at the empty plate on his desk that once contained one of Cuthbert’s famous pastrami sandwiches. The man may be a grump most days, but damn could he cook. Being a Brownie this fact surprised no one. They possessed quite the skill for cooking and cleaning.
He wondered if Celia had received her lunch as he requested. A smile tilted his lips as he imagined the sexy Witch so involved in her research that the plate still sat on her desk. Untouched. A damn shame.
Strange, this pull he felt toward her. She had been here a little over a month, but already he had a hard time imagining a day without her. As a man over four hundred years old, he’d had his share of women. Some important, some only fulfilling an itch. None had been the one. His true mate. His Tira.
He had yet to find his Tira, the mate destined for all Daemons. Not for lack of trying on his part. The true sign of a Tira was the matching silver bands that circled the iris after making love. Damien had made love to many women over the centuries. No silver bands.
He wondered if he would ever find her.
He shook himself out of his musings. Good gods, he sounded like a simpering schoolgirl. Fate would send his Tira when the time was right and not a moment before. Until then, he planned to enjoy his time with the pretty Witch who made him feel more alive than he had in decades.
Picking up the phone, he pressed the number for Racine’s direct cell. Bypassing the main number for region seven headquarters.
“Racine.” The other man’s deep voice came over the lines.
“It’s Damien.”
“How are you, brother?”
“I’m well, brother. I have news.”
He heard rustling on the other end of the phone. A door closed, then Racine returned.
“Tell me.”
He took a breath then launched into the events that had transpired since last they talked. He told the other council head about Celia’s discovery of the timing of breaking the spell.
“Damn,” Racine swore. “I’ll never understand why certain spells have to be cast and broken with the moon cycles.”
Neither did he, but then again he was a Daemon, not a Witch.
“There’s another matter I need to discuss with you.”
A pause on the line before the other man spoke again. “Yes?”
“I’ve had a request for formal Enforcer training from someone in your region.”
“Oh?” The single syllable held a world of meaning.
“Krista.”
Racine muttered a foul curse Damien had not heard the other man utter in centuries. Why did the Euadaemon have such a problem with training the girl?
“She said she asked you and you turned her down.”
“Damn right I turned her down!” Racine’s loud voice boomed through the speaker of the phone. “She’s a child. A human. She’s not fit to be an Enforcer.”
He had expected this argument. “She’s twenty-one years old. Much younger than you or I, but not a child. And she’s not human. Not anymore.”
Silence.
“I spoke to the other heads. They agreed her new powers need to be examined and documented. We need to know what she is. And we need to train her.”
“What?”
Damien swore he felt Racine’s wrath burning through the phone lines.
“You talked to the other heads before discussing it with me?”
“She said you wouldn’t train her. Krista needs training, Racine. She has power she doesn’t know how to use and power we have yet to understand.” He thought back to the scene in the kitchen. Tiny Krista standing over Alex, the Frost Giant. It still boggled his mind. “The Kakos are making humans into something more. These Drones, we need to know what they can do and if they pose any danger.”
“Krista is not a fucking science experiment.”
Whoa, those growled words opened his eyes to the real problem at hand. If he gambled, he would bet the other council leader had feelings for the young woman. No wonder Racine didn’t want Krista as an Enforcer; watching the woman you care for put herself in danger was worse than torture.
Damien’s gut clenched just thinking of what Celia would go through when breaking the spell on the Kako language. Secretly, he was a little relieved she had another week before she had to face the blood curse.
“The other heads agree she needs training. She wants this, brother. I’ve only known the young lady a few days, but I’m guessing she usually gets what she wants. If we don’t help her, someone else will.” His fists clenched at the thought of the dark supernaturals “helping” Krista discover her new talents.
“Fine,” Racine conceded. “But she will train here, in region seven. I’ll send her to our training facility in Deer Creek.”
“Fair enough. I’ll send Saint with her. He can provide daily updates on her progress. Also, Celia plans to examine her this week. I’ll be sure she gets you a copy of the report.”
Racine chuckled, anger placated for the moment. “Careful, brother. It sounds like you’re beginning to mistake my head scientist for yours. I expect her back after this spell is broken. Celia is too valuable to let you steal her away from us.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll get her back.” But would he?
The thought of Celia leaving made Damien’s gut roil. Hadn’t he started thinking of her in terms of his the moment he took her sweet lips in Clem’s store? His mind kept wandering back to the other night when he passed by her door and heard his name moaned on her lips. The soft touch of her skin as he pleasured her. The warm flush and excitement in her eyes as he brought her to climax with only his hand and lips. He had yet to experience all the wonders of this woman, but that moment rapidly approached. And when it did, would he be able to let her go?
An hour and a half later, the woman in question sat directly across from him at the dinner table. Krista sat on one side of her and the two women talked in hushed tones. Except for the smile and faint blush she gave him when he arrived, they had not communicated at all. The fact that bothered him told him just how deep his feelings for this woman went.
Tabitha sat at his right side with Kiernan next to her. Alex on his left. Dinner was always a small affair as most Enforcers left headquarters for the night.
Alex looked up from his plate of Cuthbert’s delicious lasagna and addressed Krista with a smile. “So I hear you totally whooped ass today. I saw Kang a few hours ago. He said you took him to the mat in less than a minute.”
Krista rolled her eyes. “Pffft, try five seconds. Wolf boy didn’t stand a chance against the almighty powers of Krista.”
“You got into a fight with a Werewolf?” Tabitha practically jumped across the table at her sister. Celia had informed him of her trip to the basement training area by text earlier. Apparently, she hadn’t told Krista’s sister.
“No, I was sparring. And it wasn’t a Werewolf. Two Werewolves, a Witch, a Vampire, and a Daemon.”
Tabitha’s face turned beet red. “Are you insane?”
Her younger sister’s eyes narrowed. “No, Tabitha, I’m training. I need to learn how to use my new powers.”
Tabitha tur
ned on him, fire blazing in her eyes. “You agreed to this? To throw a defenseless kid in with trained warriors?”
He understood the woman’s anger. Her little sister fought some very powerful creatures. But as the head of this council and the leader of this region, he did not have to explain himself to anyone.
Before he could remind Tabitha of her place, Celia interrupted.
“I did, Tabitha. I wanted to observe Krista’s capabilities. We were downstairs in the training areas. Completely safe. In fact, the Enforcers didn’t even want to participate until Krista proved she wasn’t weak by taking Kang down in a heartbeat.”
“See? Five seconds.” Krista crossed her arms over her chest and grumbled. “A minute? Yeah, he wishes a minute.”
Damien shoved a bite of food in his mouth to hide the smile curling his lips. The young lady had spunk and unlike her sister, he found it very amusing.
“You are not going to be an Enforcer,” Tabitha said to her sister between clenched teeth. “It’s too dangerous.”
“Oh, it is? You mean the thing you do every day?” Krista shot back. “Why is it too dangerous for me, but not for you?”
“Because I’m…” Tabitha hesitated.
“I have to do this, Tabitha.” Krista’s voice cracked with emotion, eyes glistening. “I need to fight back.”
Damien watched the play of emotions cross Tabitha’s face. Sadness, guilt, worry. He didn’t have a sibling, but he imagined it would be very hard to watch them put themselves in harm’s way, even if for the greater good.
“She has a point, Tabby Cat.”
Tabitha whirled on Kiernan. “Oh, so now you’re taking her side?”
“Good way to lose out on some lovin’ time, my man,” Krista said.
“Krista!”
The young woman shrugged. Damien really liked her pluck. She would make a fine Enforcer.
“I know Krista is your baby sister, honey, but you’ve seen what she can do. She’s not the same little girl you grew up with. She has power now.”
Damien watched as Kiernan tried to assure his Tira. Tabitha let Kiernan tug her back into her seat and wrap an arm around her. Eyes glossed over with tears, she stared at her sister.
“I just don’t want you hurt again.”
Krista smiled sadly at her. “That’s why I need to train. So no one can hurt me again.”
Another good point. The girl was not only powerful, but smart, too. Yes, she would be a strong asset to the councils’ force.
“I’ve spoken to the other heads and they all agree Krista should receive training,” he spoke, bringing the focus back to him. “Racine wants Krista trained at his center in Colorado. I’m sending Saint with her.”
“Racine agreed to my training?” The young woman’s eyes lit up with hope. A faint blush rose on her cheeks when she said the other council head’s name. So the attraction went both ways, perhaps. Very interesting.
“He did.”
“Everyone’s against me,” Tabitha grumbled, grabbing her wine glass and emptying half the contents in one sip.
“No, Tabitha,” Celia said softly. “Everyone is for Krista learning what she can do now and honing her powers. We need every advantage we can get against these Kakos.”
Soft green eyes sought out his and held. Every advantage was right. Krista needed training no matter how much it worried her sister and Racine. Celia needed to break the spell on the Kako language, even though he despised the knowledge she would suffer for it.
A war was coming. People would have to fight. Some would bleed. Some would die. But if he had anything to say about it, all the blood staining the streets would be the tainted blood of the Kako scum.
Chapter 13
It seemed doctors’ offices always had the same sterile aroma. Celia was used to the strong smell of antiseptic thanks to the many hours she spent in region seven’s examination rooms. She wasn’t a healer, but she had some rudimentary skills and often helped tend to the sick when needed. Biology was a science and she had knowledge in all things science related.
The reason she sat in the slightly chilly exam room in region eight taking the vitals of Krista Culver. After dinner last night, she mentioned her need to run tests on the young girl and Damien suggested she use exam room four. He said she would not get in anyone’s way as the room rarely got use. Celia thanked him and then promptly hightailed it back to her room for the rest of the night.
Running away?
Maybe, but after spending the morning in a fruitless attempt to discover how the whole man, woman, sex thing worked, she was embarrassed. And a little bit scared. She had no idea what she was doing. What if Damien wanted to make love to her and she did something stupid or weird? He was obviously much more experienced than she. The idea made her laugh; the kid who delivered their pizza the other day had more experienced than her.
She didn’t want to disappoint Damien. She was coming to care for the Euadaemon too much. Not ideal timing with everything else going on around them, but there it was.
“Can you hear my heartbeat if the stethoscope isn’t in your ears?” Krista asked.
Celia glanced down to see the earpiece of her borrowed stethoscope still hanging on her neck. She scowled, angry at herself for losing focus. She never daydreamed during work. Since meeting Damien, it seemed all she did. Could she be any more pathetic?
“Something on your mind?” Krista smiled. “Or should I say someone?”
She sent the girl a reprimanding glare, placing the stethoscope in her ears. “Quiet. I’m listening.”
Krista chuckled. “Busted.”
“Shhh, deep breaths.”
The young woman pantomimed zipping her lips. Celia listened as Krista sucked in a lungful of air and let it out. Her lungs sounded excellent and her heartbeat…wow, it was fast. Super fast. Supernaturally fast.
She jotted the heart rate down on the chart. Earlier this morning, she pulled blood for a full work up. In a regular doctor’s office, it took at least a week to get results, but thankfully, every council headquarters came equipped with their own lab so the results would return in a matter of hours instead of days.
“So what’s the prognosis, Doc?”
“I’m not a doctor. At least not a licensed medical one.” She did have two PhDs, so technically she was a doctor. “And you, my dear, are perfect.”
Krista gave her a wink. “Well, duh. I already knew that.”
“I mean, your vitals are at the exact point for maximum health. Your heart rate is elevated, but it beats at the exact same rate of a Daemon. You ran on the treadmill for an hour, full speed, and it didn’t rise above your current resting rate. You didn’t even break a sweat.”
The perky smile started to waver. “You make that sound like a bad thing.”
“Not bad.” She shook her head, pushing her glasses up her nose when they slipped down. “Just strange. It’s almost as if you are a Daemon now.”
Which was impossible. Despite what society thought, one couldn’t become a supernatural. No bite or sharing of blood—no matter how often it was performed—could change a human into a supernatural. If a supernatural mated with a human, any resulting child took either their human parent’s genes or their supernatural parent’s genes. Vampires were born Vampires. Shifters born Shifters. Humans born humans. And everyone stayed the way they were born.
Until now.
“If I’m a Daemon now, why don’t I have any wings?”
“I don’t think you are fully Daemon. You have some traits of a Daemon, but not every advantage. I don’t know what you are.”
“Great, I’m a freak.”
Celia’s heart broke. Inexperienced with comforting people, she awkwardly patted Krista’s arm.
“You are not a freak. You are a strong, funny, amazing young woman trapped by someone very evil for a long time. But you’re free now. You have the opportunity to live life to its fullest. You are just you, Krista. Don’t let what Stryden did to you make you feel like any less than you
are.”
Krista stared at her and Celia wondered if she had revealed too much. The connection she felt to this young woman stemmed from her own years of imprisonment and torture. No one—save for Damien—knew about her past, but perhaps Krista sensed it, one survivor to another.
“Why do I feel like that little speech had a world of personal truth to it?”
Busted, again. The girl was more insightful then some of the psychics she knew.
“Perhaps, one day, we can sit down to lunch and swap stories. Compare our escape plans.”
Krista smiled, her eyes tearing up. “I’d like that.”
Then the other woman reached out and wrapped her up in a fierce hug. Celia let out a squeak as slim arms tightened around her like a vise.
“Sorry, I still forget how strong I am now.” Krista pulled away with a sheepish grin.
She smiled and patted the girl on the back. “Very strong.”
A mischievous gleam lit pale blue eyes. “But not freakishly strong.”
She laughed, happy to see the young woman hadn’t lost her spirit. “No. No freaks here.”
Just two strong survivors who had the opportunity to take life by the balls.
“There you are.” A deep, sexy voice invaded their female moment.
She turned to see Damien filling the doorway of the exam room. He must have been training because instead of his usual pressed slacks and button up shirt, he wore a pair of loose sweat pants and a black tank top that molded to his impressive chest. Sweat glistened off his muscles and she had the most insane urge to walk over to him and lick those salty beads off his delicious-looking skin.
Her previous thought of taking life by the balls took on a completely new meaning. Suddenly, her earlier fears of inexperience flew right out the window, replaced with something hot and needy.
***
Damien liked the way Celia stared at him. As if he were chocolate cake and she a chocoholic in need of a fix. He would gladly be her fix.
Daemon Deception Page 10
