Daniel Taylor Between Two Worlds

by Monica Davis

  “Just because of that? Is that really all?” Nessa’s cinnamon-colored eyes were boring into him.

  “Well, I guess I’d miss the sun, even though I don’t tolerate light very well.”

  She frowned. “You’re kidding.”

  “I’d miss my computer a lot, too, of course,” he said, trying to keep a straight face, “but I thought I might be able to introduce a few improvements down there, if I became Overlord, so …”

  “DANNY!”

  He laughed out loud and hugged Vanessa tightly. “I renounced my claim to the throne just because of you, you sweet little nerd, because I can’t live without you. What did you think?”

  “Oh, Daniel, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.” Beaming with joy, she kissed him. “I love you so much, Danny the Demon.”

  “You’re the nicest, and I love you even more!” He grinned back at her.

  Nessa just managed to say the word “brownnoser” before their lips met again. He’d also missed her kisses. There was no way a demon could taste as nice as Vanessa.

  “Do you think they’ll leave you alone now?” she asked, once she had caught her breath again.

  “No, I don’t think so.” Through the mental link, he had received some strange vibrations that made him suspect that the last word had not yet been spoken on the matter. Daniel shuddered.

  The Council had promised to completely activate his demonic abilities and to train him in their use. That had interested him, he had to admit — but the price was too high. He would have had to give up the two people who were most important to him: Vanessa and his mom. Even though she wasn’t his real mother, she would always have a place in his heart. I don’t tell Mom how much I love her often enough. I need to fix that. Daniel wasn’t good at expressing his feelings to her, but he was sure that she knew how much she meant to him. He couldn’t leave her alone, so soon after his dad had abandoned her — except that Peter Taylor wasn’t even his real father. He anticipated that at some point, they would have a heated discussion over why he hadn’t been told about his adoption much sooner. I’m going to find my real father, he decided, and kissed Vanessa on the tip of her enchanting nose to seal the promise. He felt somehow that his new mission was to find out everything he could about James Carpenter.

  There was so much more, things that he had only realized when he looked into the sinister faces of the underworlders: That he didn’t want a life full of hate, violence, and scheming. But he was sure that this ordeal wasn’t over yet. The demons had reacted indignantly when he had rejected the throne — all except for Antheus. For a split second, the shadow of a smile had flitted across the surly man’s face.

  Daniel made up his mind to try to learn how to use his abilities on his own, even though he had no idea how to go about it. He had to be prepared when they came for him again.

  “Have we lost him, lord?” Antheus asked obsequiously, but Xandros could sense his feeling of triumph.

  Xandros was sitting on his throne in the great hall, observing the son who knelt before him. Antheus was no different from the others. They all wanted power, wanted to outmaneuver him.

  “Silvan has to truly want it. He’s not yet ready. If he doesn’t open himself to us completely, we won’t be able to manipulate him.”

  “And only the half-blood can give you what you desire, is that really true?”

  Xandros nodded. This was the only reason that Silvan was still alive. Other than Marla, he was the only bargaining chip they had. The young demoness had provided a wealth of information: for example, the fact that Kitana had had a child with a human, a certain James Carpenter, who knew where the scepter was located. Unfortunately, Marla hadn’t been present when Kitana and Carpenter had hidden the scepter; otherwise, Xandros would have long since known where he could find the artifact he needed so badly. The lower demons, who supplied the lords with the souls that nourished them, were increasingly prone to rebellion.

  In the end, Marla had managed to find Silvan. Xandros owed her some kind of favor for that.

  He smiled inwardly. He would have been foolish to kill the little creature; her mother had wrapped her in a protective charm. Anyone who tried to kill Marla would themselves die. For this reason, Xandros had ensured that the girl’s powers would not be allowed to fully develop. She was harmless — and perhaps still useful.

  Now he devoted his full attention to Silvan. As a watcher, Carpenter would not wish any harm to come to his son. Silvan could be taught to penetrate his father’s mind. Then he, Xandros, would finally know where to find the scepter.

  “My son,” Xandros said cajolingly, “I know that you will not disappoint me. You’ll think of a way to change Silvan’s mind.”

  Antheus smiled slyly. “I’ve set Sirina on him, lord. It’s only a matter of time before he returns to you.”

  “Hurry, my son. I’m getting old, and my reign is nearing its end.” Xandros smirked to himself as he looked into Antheus’ sparkling eyes. He would make good use of his son, and the idiot would never realize it. How shocked they would all be when Xandros’ reign lasted for another thousand years!

  Yet another thought had been troubling him for some time, namely the real reason he had thus far spared Silvan’s life. Silvan was a hybrid, a mix of watcher and demon. If Silvan came to power — under his direction, naturally! — with the help of the scepter, he might have the ability to rule over not only the underworld, but also the world of men. It could be as it was before, when the mighty Pharaohs — under the guidance of the demons — had subjugated the masses, guaranteeing a stable source of souls. Xandros pictured himself living in a magnificent palace built for him by human slaves. Silvan’s abilities might prove to be far more useful than I first thought …

  A FEW WEEKS LATER …

  Vacation, at last! Daniel thought when the rays of sunlight streaming through his bedroom window woke him. They only had Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving, but it was better than nothing.

  Daniel stretched out his tired limbs and buried his head in his pillow. No hurry, you can sleep in, he told himself as the events of the last few weeks played themselves over in his head. Daniel still couldn’t quite get a grip on the idea that he was supposedly a half demon. He had tried to practice his demonic powers; unfortunately, he hadn’t had much success. There had been far too many distractions. His classes required all his attention, since he had no desire to repeat another year. However, his attitude toward school had changed a little — he didn’t hate it quite so much. Kuwalski still had it in for him, but a number of his classmates had rallied around him. They admired his courage for entering Edna’s haunted house on Halloween.

  Daniel was happier than he had been for a long time. He had Vanessa, and the demons had been leaving him alone. Only Marla dropped in once in a while to pay him a “sisterly” visit, as she put it.

  Yawning, he looked over at his alarm clock. So late already? Suddenly, he was wide awake, and he tossed his blankets aside. He had a date with Vanessa — or rather, she was supposed to be tutoring him in history this morning. He had almost forgotten!

  Daniel walked across his room and pulled up the blinds covering the window over his desk, allowing sunlight to flood the room unrestrained. Eyes squinting, he felt around for his sunglasses; he could no longer leave the house without them. He peered through the window at the Barkleys’ house. A big pink heart with “D + V” scribbled inside was stuck to Vanessa’s window. They had been together for three weeks, and Daniel’s pulse quickened whenever he thought about her.

  He hurried into the bathroom to quickly shower and wash his hair. Then he pulled on his favorite clothes — black jeans and a hoodie — before running down to the kitchen. His mom had already left for work, since she had an early shift at the hospital today, but breakfast was waiting for him on the kitchen table, as always. Ever since his mother had repainted the house in light colors and cleared out a bunch of useless things — above all mementos of his adoptive father Peter — Daniel
felt more at ease in his home. However, the previous day he had had a massive fight with her because she simply refused to tell him how he could get in contact with his real father. Daniel wanted to finally meet this James Carpenter — he had a right to know his father! Even Marla seemed interested in James. Daniel couldn’t blame her for that; after all, he had been part of their mother’s life. The mother they had in common — Kitana.

  His mom had said, “All in good time, Danny.” But how much time did he have left?

  He felt instinctively that the demons posed some kind of imminent threat. He knew he could rely on this intuition, since he was still linked to their collective consciousness, even when they shut him out of their minds. Daniel was getting better at shutting out the underworlders as well. He could manage it when he focused on creating a kind of invisible force field, like the ones in his computer games. When the demons tried to get into his mind, he heard a soft popping sound and felt a dull throbbing in his skull.

  Half an hour later, he rang the Barkley’s doorbell. Vanessa opened the door before he could even take his finger off the button. “Hi, Danny!” After looking over her shoulder, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Daniel sunk his fingers into her long hair and returned her affections. If it doesn’t happen soon, I’ll go mad! he thought as his hands roamed over her slender body. For days now, he could scarcely think of anything other than sleeping with Vanessa. But how could he tell her that? Talking about such things wasn’t really his strong suit.

  She pulled him boldly into the foyer. The Barkleys’ house was laid out exactly like his mother’s; only the furnishings were different. Little had changed here over the past seventeen years. Dark furniture, wall-to-wall carpeting. Vanessa’s parents were very conservative, but Daniel liked them nonetheless.

  “Hello Brenda, hello Richard!” Daniel waved at Nessa’s parents as they walked past the little kitchen. Her father was drinking a cup of coffee while her mother cleared the table. Daniel had known them both his entire life. He was surprised that they hadn’t fitted their daughter with a chastity belt, since they refused to let her go on the pill. The Barkleys’ views were a little medieval, he thought: no sex before marriage.

  Both adults nodded at him. Mr. Barkley, peering through his glasses over the edge of his coffee mug, muttered “Be good,” as Vanessa pulled him up the staircase to her room, leaving the door open.

  “Danny’s here to study!” she called back to her father, her ears turning red.

  As soon as they entered her room, Daniel closed the door behind them. He had other things in mind than being quizzed on history.

  “What are you doing?” Vanessa asked, her mouth hanging open in amazement.

  That sweet mouth must be kissed. Daniel pulled Nessa into his arms.

  “Danny!” she cried indignantly, but his caresses were emphatically returned. “We’re supposed to be doing schoolwork.”

  “Napoleon can wait; this can’t.” His lips found Vanessa’s mouth, and he placed his hands on her back to pull her body closer to his. He wanted to melt into her. She smelled heavenly, and her body was perfect.

  “What if someone comes up here?” she mumbled, running the tip of her tongue along the contours of his lips. It tickled, and Daniel had to laugh.

  “That’s why I’m locking the door.” Without interrupting the kiss, he sent a mental command across the room, and the key turned in the lock.

  Vanessa took a step back. “Knock it off!” She gave him a playful slap on the arm. “It’s spooky when you do that.”

  Daniel pulled her closer again and buried his nose in her soft hair. “I can’t think about dead Frenchmen when I only have eyes for you.” He grinned and slipped a hand under her shirt.

  “Napoleon came from Corsica.” Vanessa sighed as she kissed him. This harmless act shot through Daniel’s body with such power that he could scarcely control himself. This was constantly happening when he was around Nessa. Was it normal? What was normal, anyway? Hey, he was half demon!

  Vanessa tried to pull away again, but Daniel didn’t let her go. “See,” she said, “you really do need some tutoring.”

  “I’m also flunking anatomy; perhaps we could begin with that.” His fingers had found her bra clasp and deftly unfastened it. When he cupped her breast with his hand, Vanessa pulled away. “Danny, I can’t. My parents are here! If they come up here and see the locked door, they’ll know right away what we’re up to.”

  Usually, they hid out in the treehouse they had built as children. Vanessa had cleaned it up and turned it into a cozy little love nest, but that wasn’t really a suitable setting for the first time.

  Daniel reluctantly pulled his hands out from under her shirt. He went over to the window, leaned over the desk, and looked outside. “Your mom has just started weeding, like every Saturday morning, which means that your dad is probably sitting on the porch, smoking his pipe and reading the newspaper.”

  Vanessa joined him by the window and looked out, but said nothing. As Daniel pulled her shirt over her head, she offered no resistance.

  “You’re incorrigible,” she complained, pulling him onto her bed. They sat down side by side, legs dangling over the edge.

  I’d like to explore every millimeter of your body. Daniel leaned over her. His lips wandered over the soft skin of her shoulder. Danny knew that Nessa was ashamed of being so thin, but it didn’t matter to him. He thought she was beautiful just the way she was.

  When his hair tickled her neck, Vanessa giggled and let herself fall backward onto the bed. She stretched out across the bed and laughed even harder as Daniel swept his hair across her armpits. It had taken an eternity before she would let him see her naked — three whole weeks! — and Daniel thought it was time to go further. He had used up half a pack of condoms practicing before he got the hang of it; he didn’t want to make a fool of himself when the time came, after all. Now he carried one in his jeans pocket at all times. Be prepared, you never know! Daniel’s heart was beating violently against his ribs. Should I ask her?

  Ever since he and Vanessa had become a couple, he couldn’t think of anything but sex. How could he concentrate on studying? Vanessa was like a drug for him, addictive and seductive; he always wanted more. She smelled so good, and her kisses were delicious. Just a little while ago, he hadn’t understood why other boys were often so obsessed with girls. Now he got it.

  “We better stop.” She protested half-heartedly as he pulled down the zipper on her jeans and pulled them down. Her long legs appeared, and Daniel ran his hand over them gently, up and down.

  Vanessa trembled in pleasure, and Daniel hoped that her concerns would melt away like a sugar cube in hot tea. “You like it when I do this, right?” He brazenly sank his tongue into her navel and observed her reaction.

  Vanessa’s body shook. “Of course, but in the treehouse, I don’t have to worry about getting caught.”

  “They know that we’re dating.” Daniel’s mother had been particularly pleased that the two were finally a pair — she had evidently been hoping it would happen for some time.

  Vanessa sank her fingers into Daniel’s hair as he softly blew his breath on one of her breasts. “I just find it uncomfortable, Danny; you know how they are.”

  Is this uncomfortable for her? he wondered. Do I make her uncomfortable? Daniel felt slightly offended. The memories of his outsider status were still fresh, even though Nessa had always stood by him. The argument with his mother was also plaguing him, and maybe he wasn’t in the best mood today. The fact that he couldn’t quite get a handle on his demonic abilities was an ongoing, additional blow.

  His thoughts turned back to the present. Vanessa seemed to be sincerely enjoying his attentions today. Perhaps she was just as hungry for it as he was; he should take advantage of that. He quickly pulled off his sweatshirt and his jeans and lay down atop Vanessa, his arms propping him up on either side of her head. As the bare skin of their bodies touched, Daniel knew there was no better sens
ation in the world. He enjoyed her warmth and the tingling feeling of skin rubbing against skin. He felt their pulses racing in unison and sank his lips onto her slightly open mouth. Their tongues entwined, performing a tender dance before beginning to move more wildly.

  You’re so beautiful, he thought, concentrating on sending Vanessa his feelings. When Vanessa smiled, he knew that she had heard him.

  Wow, he like these powers. Maybe he should send her more thoughts, and Vanessa would melt under him. I love the mole next to your breast … Daniel slid down, kissed her stomach, and then ran his lips across her skin, lower and lower. I’d like to rip your panties off with my teeth!

  Vanessa giggled and said, “Let’s go a little slower.” She rolled out from under him and pulled the blankets up to her chin.

  Crap, what had happened?

  Daniel took a deep breath. “I’ll be eighteen soon, and I’ve never slept with a girl.” Why didn’t she feel the same way he did?

  Vanessa sat up in bed, clutching the blanket to her chest, and took his hand in hers. “It’s not about how old you are, but when you feel ready. And I’m just not there yet, Danny.”

  Daniel scooted closer to her and gave her his best puppy-dog eyes. “I want so much more.”

  “Look, we’ve been together for less than a month — we have all the time in the world. Anyways, we’ve done quite a lot already.” She added quietly, “With Mike, it took three weeks before I even kissed him.”

  “What?!” Daniel froze. Just hearing Blondie’s name was enough to turn his stomach, but this confirmation of his suspicions felt like Nessa had just ripped out his guts. “You went out with Mike? You never told me that!”

  “You never asked.” Vanessa crossed her arms. “Anyways, it’s not worth talking about, since all we did was kiss.”

  “I don’t want you to ever see him again!” Daniel leapt up. There was a drumbeat pounding in his skull, and his fingertips were prickling dangerously. If he didn’t get control of himself fast, there was the danger that something unpredictable might happen — like the earthquake in his history class. The very thought of it made him even more angry. Daniel hated the fact that he hadn’t properly mastered his abilities.