Demon Warden: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy (The Cursed and the Fallen 1)

by Selene Kallan

  “She is mine,” Kazzian snarls. Manic possessiveness replacing the fear in his face.

  “She is no one’s,” replies the prince, making a flicking movement with his hand.

  Purple fire explodes around Kazzian, who gives an unearthly wail that could pierce eardrums before disappearing in a flash of purple fire and black energy.

  I stay motionless as the prince turns to me, looking beyond enraged.

  What is the point of trying to crawl away? He doesn’t even need spells and is clearly more powerful than Kazzian who kicked my ass. His shape blurs and I fall back, the pain flares stronger now that the adrenaline is burned out. I can’t decide what is worse, my leg, ribs, or back. In less than a blink, I have the prince crouching beside me.

  “I leave for one night and you get in trouble,” he growls, his face inches away from mine now.

  I flinch when he lifts my sweater. My stomach roils with the metallic taste of blood on my tongue and the sulfur-tainted smoke. The prince places his warm palm against my belly and I cry out. His touch is gentle, but I am far more injured than I believed.

  He lets out a brusque word in a strange language that sounds like a very, very dirty curse. His hand moves down towards my sore leg.

  “What in the unholy hell is this?” he growls.

  I whimper as everything gets out of focus, unable to scream again as he lifts me off the ground, cradling me in his arms as if I were weightless.

  The fire I’ve started is expanding quickly, the smoke makes me cough and I want to ask him to put the flames out but I can’t find my voice.

  The poor animals don’t have to pay for my ineptitude.

  Please, please, I beg to no one.

  To my surprise, the flames die out. One moment they are blaring at the next nothing.

  “Interesting,” the prince mutters.

  More pain explodes everywhere and I sink into darkness. Amethyst eyes are the last thing I see.

  CHAPTER 4

  NOX

  Dinah used a silent spell to contain the fire. I frown, feeling the remnants of her magic, much stronger than most witches I’ve ever met. She lets out a small groan, even in unconsciousness.

  She looks so small and defenseless in my arms.

  If I hadn’t arrived in time…

  I’ll kill Kazzian for this, to hell with waiting for the Asteri to do their damn jobs.

  For a moment I can’t do anything but stare at her pale face. Careful not to cause her more pain, I cradle her a bit closer and portal us directly to the hospital. Located in a filthy and abandoned street in New York City, it looks like a decayed building on the outside. Inside is a different story, clean white walls, concrete floors, and spotless, equipped with state-of-the-art medical machines of human and fae origin.

  I emerge from the swirl of purple energy right in front of the reception area. The Fae female that sits behind the desk, Ayana, looks at me with wide eyes, apparently unable to get used to my comings and goings even after two years. Her coffee skin always pales a little when she sees me, I can feel her fear and her effort at tamping it down.

  “I need Alice, now,” I say to her.

  Ayana nods and hurries through a corridor; there is no-one in the waiting room, which is a relief. My kind is one of the most feared, especially among fae and half-bloods. A small sound of pain comes from Dinah; I look at her and something tugs inside my chest, something I’ve not felt in a long time.

  The protective impulse hits me like a brick to the head. I want nothing but to shield Dinah from anyone that could hurt her, and isn’t that ironic considering that she is definitely scared of me, and with good reason.

  I grit my teeth and focus instead on the strange pulsating energy wrapped around her femur, I’d not felt it the day before. Maybe because she’d not tried to use her power with me.

  “Oh hell, who’s that, and what the fuck happened to her?”

  I lift my eyes and meet Alice’s electric green stare. six-foot-one, with short purple hair aiming in all directions and several piercings adorning her elegant features. She’s dressed in scrubs and a powder coat.

  “Kazzian’s work,” I say.

  Alice growls, eyes flashing with anger. “I owe that fucker a good beating.”

  She stretches her lithe arms towards Dinah.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to get in line,” I say, handing Dinah to her.

  Alice cradles the unconscious girl with the utmost care and begins to walk down a corridor, I follow her, ignoring the surprised looks of the nurses who join Alice as she heads briskly to the OR.

  A faint sheen of green energy covers Dinah, Alice’s scanning spell is much more detailed than mine, but I’d expect nothing less from the finest demon surgeon I’ve ever known.

  “Holy shit, what the hell is that thing on her femur?” Alice asks, shooting me a glance over her shoulder as the nurses open the double door to the OR.

  “I was hoping you’d tell me,” I admit.

  Alice sets Dinah on the table. She casts yet another spell that creates a hologram of Dinah’s internal organs and bones, hovering right above her prone form.

  “Six broken ribs, rupture of the stomach and…” Alice pauses, cocking her head.

  Both nurses, one half-fae, the other a vampire, stare transfixed too. I follow their gazes, looking at the thing wrapped around her upper femur in the hologram.

  “What is it?” I snap.

  “A binding device,” Alice almost whispers, “I’ve never seen anything like it, also she’s not human.”

  I frown, I’m not an expert in biology so her organs look pretty ordinary. Alice reads my confusion.

  “No appendix, larger lungs and larger, double-chambered heart,” Alice explains, signaling different spots in the hologram, “two extra vertebrates in her spine, no coccyx, there’s more but that’s not the most important part. I can’t heal her with magic, I don’t think any of us can until I pull that thing out of her.”

  “It’s draining her power,” I venture. A bizarre sensation curls in my stomach.

  “And halting her regeneration,” Alice murmurs, then shakes her head and points at me. “Out.”

  I give her a curt nod, not bothering to argue. I trust Alice as much as I allow myself to trust anyone. One of the nurses—the petite half-fae—closes the doors right in my nose, apparently not giving half a damn about what I am.

  My phone buzzes and I fish it out of my trouser’s pocket as I walk to the reception area.

  “So, you haven’t disappeared from the planet, huh? I was beginning to wonder,” drawls Isir.

  I suppress a sigh, knowing she’s well in her right to be annoyed, I’d be if she’d been incommunicado for two days.

  “I have not,” I reply.

  Isir sighs, and I can almost see her eye roll. “Where are you? Do you need help?”

  The note of real concern she tries to hide unnerves me.

  “The hospital, and I don’t.”

  “The hospital?” Isir asks, concern now plain in her voice, “what have those bastards done now?”

  I sit on one of the hard stainless steel chairs in the reception area, running a hand through my hair. Usually, when I disappear for a while it means I’m in pursuit of human hunters, so it’s only logical she assumes that I’ve run into them. I’m almost tempted to let her believe that. Isir has had an encounter with Kazzian before and it was less than pleasant. He tried to persuade her into binding her immortal soul to him. Only Isir was in a much better position to defend herself than Dinah.

  Succubi are not as powerful as high-class demons, nor are they demonic themselves as human superstition suggests, but they are one of the most powerful supernaturals out there and Isir is one of the strongest of her kind.

  “Nox,” Isir prods, and I can hear the clinking of keys on her side, she’s like a mother hen.

  I relent and tell her everything that happened with Dinah and Magdalena’s death. By the time I’m done, I can hear her speeding away on her motorc
ycle.

  “Fuck, how bad is she?”

  I send out a small flicker of my power looking for Dinah. Sharp pain lances back towards me. She’s unconscious but in agony. My stomach twists with unbidden sympathy. Kazzian is going to pay for this.

  “Not great, I’m sure she’ll live nonetheless.”

  “I’ll be there in ten minutes,” Isir says, and hangs up.

  I sit straight and watch the comings and goings of a few doctors and nurses, there aren’t nearly as much as there would be in a human hospital, mostly because supernatural species heal a hundred times better and faster than humans, and partly because the supernatural population is considerably smaller than the human population. And if the hunters keep up their deviant little crusade, several more species will be in danger of extinction in a few decades.

  But that won’t happen, not if I can help it.

  The stunning receptionist sits in her post again, flicking not-so-subtle glances in my direction. Her aura is plum colored and clear, her soul untainted. Curiously, pure souls aren’t as alluring to most of my kind as some would believe, no. We are far more attracted to tainted souls. Those are infinitely easier to reap and can’t get us in as much trouble with the Asteri like feeding on a pure soul would, a soul that belongs to him or is destined to go back to the cycle and reborn.

  There’s a buzz, and the metallic doors of the entrance open to admit Isir. She stalks right to where I am, dressed in a leather jacket, military-style boots, and ripped jeans. A bit over six-foot-tall, with tanned skin and long, wavy raven hair. Her clever chocolate eyes are currently scanning me with too much intensity for comfort.

  I keep my face impassive as she plops down next to me gracefully and crosses her legs. Her natural honey-amber scent is mixed with a floral essence that doesn’t come from any expensive perfume. She’s buzzing with sated, alluring energy that’s the usual result of recent feeding.

  Ayana gazes Isir with curiosity, taking a lock of wavy hair behind a pointy ear. Isir winks at her and gives her a small, provocative smirk. I’m not surprised when she gets a shy smile back.

  Isir turns an inquisitive look on me. “So, how long has Alice been working on her?”

  “Twenty minutes, maybe,” I reply.

  Isir yawns, covering her mouth. “Ok then, are you planning on staying until you hear news of her?”

  I usually don’t, Alice simply calls me when the patients are ready to be interrogated. But there’s nothing common about this situation, and though logically I know there are no chances of Kazzian showing up here to finish what he started—Alice would kill him—I can’t seem to find any desire to leave.

  “I’ve nowhere else to go right now,” I say, and that’s not entirely true, there’s always something to do regarding the pursuit of hunters.

  “Hmm,” Isir murmurs noncommittally and laces her arm around mine, leaning on my shoulder with a big sigh. I swallow, battling against the small part of me that wants to get rid of her touch. Isir is the only person who touches me without hesitation, one of the very few I allow any close physical contact.

  “You should be in bed,” I observe.

  Isir chuckles. “I just came from bed,” her voice is low and raspy, a small, aimless flare of lust buzzes out of her. I see Ayana shift in her seat and glance at Isir with wide eyes.

  “I meant to sleep, Isir, how many hours did you spend on Qetesh last night?”

  Qetesh is Isir’s night club. Open to supernaturals and humans alike, warded to the teeth against hostile demon presence by me.

  “Shhh, I’m tired and you’re surprisingly comfy,” Isir murmurs.

  I sigh, placing a hand on her waist and gently leading her down. She lets out a contented sound and places her head on my legs, laying over three seats and curling like a cat. I remove my suit jacket and cover her. She hums happily.

  I close my eyes and I allow myself to fall into a light doze, lulled by Isir’s warm presence, now reluctant to reclaim my hand from her waist. It’s been days, almost a week since I’ve slept, it’s not a necessity precisely, but it does help keep a clear head and can become a nuisance after a couple of weeks.

  There’s mercifully no more pain coming from Dinah, so Alice must be making progress.

  * * *

  I open my eyes to find Alice standing before me. She yawns and scratches the back of her neck, the smell of disinfectant and the faintest trace of blood cling to her clean scrubs.

  “How is she doing?” I ask.

  Isir stirs when she hears my voice, sitting up and stretching. She and Alice exchange a greeting nod and half-smile.

  “Much better, considering,” Alice says, wrinkling her nose. “Follow me.”

  Isir hands me my jacket, I fold it over my arm as we stand, both of us following Alice’s crisp pace towards the elevator, a good few feet away from the front desk.

  “You need some sleep,” Isir reproves.

  Alice snorts. “You’re one to talk, owl. But yes, I can’t see another patient until I rest.”

  We leave the elevator and follow Alice down a white corridor, she opens a door and walks inside a decent sized room with a small lavatory and window facing a low building, tall skyscrapers in the background. The fading light of the afternoon washes over the room, and the unconscious girl deep asleep in a hospital bed.

  “Oh, poor baby,” Isir says, stepping around the bed and moving a humid lock of hair from Dinah’s forehead. She smells like lavender-scented soap, disinfectant, and blood. IV tubes are attached to both of her arms pouring light blue and amber liquid into her veins. Though deep asleep and heavily drugged, a small buzz of pain emanates from her.

  “I’ve never seen anything like the thing I removed from her femur,” Alice explains, “I have it in my lab, I can’t stand being near it anymore. I had to cut out a piece of her femur to remove it.”

  Isir gasps. “Did you place a bone implant?”

  Alice sighs, running a hand through her wild purple hair. “Yes, I’m sure it’s already taken root and she will regenerate completely in a few days.”

  “Why didn’t you or one of your fae doctors heal her?” I ask, unable to quench the accusatory note in my voice.

  Alice gives me a tired look, leaning against the window. “We healed her stomach with magic after removing the device, but I’m afraid her leg will have to heal on its own. That thing in her femur siphoned fae power. Positively devoured it. And I didn’t want to risk using my power on an unstable Nephilim.”

  Both Isir and Alice observe me closely, the temperature in the room falls a few degrees. I clench my jaw reining in the involuntary reaction.

  Dinah is a Nephilim.

  Isir bites her lip, and too casually steps between me and the bed.

  “Think I will kill a defenseless girl, do you?” I ask, hearing the ice in my voice.

  Isir crosses her arms in front of her chest, face emotionless as she uses her empathy to measure my reaction. I wish she’d vocalize what she can sense.

  I’m not sure how I feel about the situation.

  I had suspected Dinah’s true lineage, but the confirmation still ignites a flare of resentment. My history with Nephilim is less than ideal and the only way I can tolerate them is if they remain far away from me. Half-human and half Asteri, Nephilim are almost as strong as their immortal sires and hunt down my species with relish.

  “Do you know if she lived a normal life before the attack?” Alice asks, breaking our staring contest.

  “She had a slight limp and bruised like any other mortal; she’d taken a beating from her ex-boyfriend just a day before I met her,” I say, “and she could get very drunk on rum.”

  Isir growls, looking at Dinah as if she were a wounded puppy.

  Alice curses something imaginative even for her standards. “I’m honestly not sure how she could even stand it, how she wasn’t in constant pain. The device siphoned her power, her life force so badly it almost made her human. That’s something I’ve never seen before.”

&nb
sp; Isir frowns, “who would do that? Is it of nox origin?”

  Nox is the proper name of my species, of demons.

  Alice shakes her head, “no, it was made of black quartz and has layer after layer of Nephilim spells.”

  I flick a glance at the unconscious blonde, her breathing is even, and she looks pale, drained.

  “Why would a highly powerful Nephilim do that to one of their own?” I ask aloud.

  “No idea,” Alice says, voice laced with tiredness. “I’ll give you access to my lab, you can go and have a look if you’re up for a headache. I will try to peel away the layers of spells and see if I can find out more about it after I’ve had some sleep.”

  I nod. “I will.”

  Isir moves back to Dinah’s side and gently takes a pale hand between her tan ones. “She is healing, but I can barely feel her power core.”

  All Nephilim have a power core akin to a nuclear reactor right between their hearts and spines, Dinah’s is barely pulsing. I’d never encountered such a small ember in a Nephilim before.

  “Considering the sheer amount of power that thing was taking from her, the damage it almost caused us, how it fought back,” Alice says, with an awed shake of her head, “I’m surprised she is still alive. She must be immensely powerful.”

  A flash of how I found her in the humid forest ground, twisting in pain, terrified, and broken burns in my mind’s eye. Who could be cruel enough to maim her so badly she wouldn’t stand a chance to fight back?

  The almost alien feeling that flared when I held her in my arms comes back with a vengeance. I can’t let her go back to her life unaware of the danger she faces, I owe Magdalena Novak more than I’d like to admit; I promised her to protect her bloodline, and that includes the unconscious Nephilim a few feet away from me.

  Isir gives me a knowing look reading my decision, and I don’t bother trying to block her empathic abilities.

  “How long until I can move her?” I ask Alice.

  The demon surgeon blinks. “Move her where?”

  “To the penthouse,” Isir answers for me with a smile, “I’ve just gotten myself a new roommate. A less grumpy one, I’m sure.”