A Demon Does It Better

by Linda Wisdom

  A witch with a cat familiar. No surprise there.

  Jared used the shadows so he wouldn’t be easily seen when he was free from the hospital. They allowed him to roam through Inderman and the surrounding area like one of the many specters that inhabited the supernatural community. He was seen, but always managed to ensure he wasn’t remembered. Females were drawn to him like moths to a flame. There were even times he didn’t mind singeing their wings in a purely carnal way. But no longer. He preferred conserving his power, so he could indulge in trips away from his cell. The trouble was that while the shadows were his friends, they were also his enemies. While they gave him a chance to believe he could have a semblance of a normal life, they also took away that feeling when they decided it was time to return him to his cell.

  He felt the painful hitch in his body that meant he would soon be pulled back to the prison he’d called home for so long. The place where he was known as the most monstrous of all fiends.

  Jared hoped he would see the exotic-looking witch again. He knew Inderman would be his best bet to do so. It might be a large community, thanks to the strong magick that kept it animated, but it also had the feel of a small town. He sensed she would return here for shopping and perhaps grab a bite in one of the many taverns and restaurants Inderman offered.

  He hungered for the chance to learn her name. He already knew her voice was as striking as her beauty. The old crone had struck just the right note with the perfume oil she offered her. He’d filled his lungs with the fragrance, committing it to memory for the dark hours he would spend in his cell.

  For now, his body wanted her. The need grew so strong he didn’t feel the pain the shadows inflicted as they pulled him back to his prison.

  Chapter 2

  Lili sat on the floor with her back resting against the couch. She had a cup of chamomile tea resting by her bare feet. She bent over and touched each nail with a fingertip, watching a dark purple color shimmer on the surface. She next tried a neutral beige/pink on her fingernails. Classical music poured from the speakers that she had arranged around the family room, and pillar candles wafted the soft scent of sandalwood.

  She hadn’t been able to sleep, so she finally abandoned her bed and came out here to indulge in some girlie pampering. She used her jar of The Body Bakery body cream, a gift from Jazz that smelled like snickerdoodle cookies. She felt the cinnamon and vanilla were a perfect blend with the sandalwood-scented candles. Pretty soon her arms and legs were soft and sweet-smelling and her nails manicured. To top off her girlie night, she pulled a container of Ben and Jerry’s Magic Brownies ice cream out of the freezer. The black raspberry ice cream swirled with fudgy brownies was the perfect finishing touch for a night of self-indulgence. Her mindless tasks also helped keep her from thinking too much. Except that now her nails were done and the empty ice cream carton sat on the coffee table, so there was nothing to keep the worries at bay. She leaned back against the couch, the cushion firm against her neck.

  The image of the dark-haired male appeared behind her closed eyelids as she drifted in a soft mellow haze. It had been three days, and he hadn’t left her thoughts, even if he was nothing more than a faint mist in her memory.

  “Why are you haunting me?” The words were a bare murmur. “What exactly are you?”

  A tingle of magick prickling along the surface of her skin was her first warning she wasn’t alone. Her eyes popped open, and she saw the mysterious man seated on a nearby chair.

  “How did you get in here?” she demanded, starting to jump to her feet, but she fell back before she could gain her balance. She chose to ignore her awkwardness.

  “Hades if I know,” he said, looking around. “You have a nice place. Do you have the sports channels?” He picked up the television remote control.

  Lili pushed herself off the floor again and this time managed to remain upright. A wave of her hand sent the remote flying out of his hand and into hers. “This house is heavily warded against unwanted intrusions,” she ground out. She tamped down the traitorous lower part of her body that felt all too warm and gooey at the moment. Cleo was right. It had been way too long between dates, not to mention her pretty much nonexistent sex life.

  His grin flashed white with a hint of feral. “Let me tell you, I wouldn’t be here, in this room, unless you’d been thinking about me.” His intense gaze started at the top of her head with its messy topknot down to her bare, freshly polished toes. She resisted the urge to curl her toes.

  She backed up until her knees hit the couch cushion. At least she had something soft to land on when she fell backward. Damn! She had been thinking of him!

  No way she could miss the darkness slithering around his ankles with an intention all its own. She didn’t know a lot about demons, but she had no doubt those shadows doubled as reliable transportation.

  “It’s you!” Not one of her better moments, since she was usually a lot more coherent, but what did one say when a demon suddenly appeared in your family room?

  He nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m just as surprised as you are. This hasn’t happened before.”

  “Stalking is a crime among the preternatural too.” Magick sparked at her fingertips as she readied her defensive power.

  “I was invited.”

  Lili frowned. “Were not.”

  “Was so.” He grinned again, settling back in the chair. “You don’t happen to have any wine around, do you? Perhaps a nice Burgundy or Bordeaux?”

  She gestured toward her teacup. Plus, she preferred white wine. “So sorry you don’t have time to stay.” She lifted her hands, fully prepared to give him a good push out the door. Or through it.

  He cocked his head to one side. “Why did you call for me?”

  “I didn’t call for anyone.” Lili only hoped Cleo would remain asleep in the bedroom. No telling what the cat would say if she saw Mr. Cute Hottie sitting here.

  He stared at her, his dark eyes intense and probing. His mouth twisted as if in pain.

  Then Lili noticed the shadows wrapping tighter around his legs.

  “I’m sorry, I guess this will be a short visit,” he told her. “I’d hoped to stay longer.”

  “And I hope to strengthen my wards to prevent this,” she said.

  He flashed that bone-melting smile again. “It won’t work, my Greek beauty. Witches are gifted, but a demon does it better.”

  Lili barely blinked her eyes, and her surprise company was gone from her sight. Only the slightest hint of sulfur in the air told her it hadn’t been her imagination.

  ***

  An hour later, Lili had the wards surrounding her house humming stronger than ever. But she still checked all the corners as she reheated her cup of tea and settled back on the floor. As she sat down, she glanced at the picture lying on the coffee table. Her heart hurt as she viewed her friend.

  “Where are you, Sera?” she whispered. Her eyes closed and her senses flared, but to no avail. Not that she expected to pick up anything, since her friend had never set foot in her cottage. “What happened to you? Why can’t anyone sense you?”

  She picked up the photograph and flattened her palm against the glossy surface. While she wasn’t a Seer, she could sometimes pick up a sensation when it was a close friend. This time she felt nothing but a dark void. It was as if the object of the photo never existed.

  Lili stared at the image of her friend laughing at the camera. She refused to believe Sera could disappear from everywhere like that.

  Sera’s pale blond, pixie-cut hair was feathered around her face, and her blue eyes sparkled as she mocked a high-fashion model’s pose.

  Lili’s eyes glistened with tears as she thought of the day the picture was taken. They had attended a Medieval Faire. Lili joked that her memories of the time period were very different than what they experienced that day.

  They drank mead, munched on turkey legs, and visited the many booths offering a variety of crafts. Lili still had a beautiful glass ball, filled with a rainbow of
colors, that sat in her bedroom.

  Sera hadn’t been one of the witches who attended the Witches Academy with her, but she had become a close friend when they both worked in Chicago.

  The nurse’s magick empathy with her patients, understanding their pain and fear, and being able to ease it for them, was a valuable skill.

  After Sera’s bad breakup with Chad, the stockbroker—may he suffer in Hades for a thousand years—she decided she needed to leave Chicago. When she told Lili she was considering a nurse’s job at Crying Souls, Lili offered her the use of her cottage. Except Sera decided she wanted something all her own.

  At first, there were almost daily wallmails and phone calls. Sera loved her work and urged Lili to come out also.

  The silence was abrupt. After three days of hearing nothing from her, Lili tried contacting Sera. The news that she no longer worked at the hospital was unsettling. Her cell phone voice mail box was full as was her text in-box, and wallmails to her were ignored. It was as if the witch had disappeared into thin air. Except Lili knew better. It wasn’t in Sera’s responsible nature to just go away without a word to anyone.

  Lili picked up her cup and sipped her tea as she carefully placed the photograph onto the coffee table in front of her. “I’ll find out what happened to you, Sera. I swear it.”

  ***

  “Wow, who did you piss off that you’re now banished to the dungeon of horrors?”

  Lili turned around to find Deisphe catching up to her with a ground-eating stride. “The dungeon of horrors?” There was no question what the nurse was talking about. She was curious about Deisphe’s take on the underground ward set aside for the insane.

  The Wereleopard’s expression was serious, her golden eyes dark with concern. “Sorry, I know I shouldn’t call it that. If Dragon Lady caught me saying it I’d be washing out bedpans for six months. Word all over the place is that Dr. M. wants you working below a few days a week,” she said softly, touching her arm. “It’s not a nice place, Lili.”

  Lili felt a hint of unease in the pit of her stomach. “Dr. Mortimer mentioned at my initial interview that he wanted someone who was able to work with the insane patients, but he didn’t say anything definite.” Or to me.

  Deisphe nodded. “He gets absentminded at times. He always thinks he’s told you something when he hasn’t.”

  The two walked side by side down the wide hallway. Lili thought she detected a tall, dark-haired figure when she glanced in one of the office reception areas. She frowned as she realized all she could see were shadows.

  A demon does it better.

  Lili stopped so fast her heels skidded on the floor.

  “Careful.” The nurse grabbed her arm before she ended up on her ass. “Are you okay?” She looked closer at the doctor.

  “Yes, thanks.” She turned around and headed for the empty office. Just as she thought, nothing was there except a few tendrils of shadows that looked pretty suspicious to her eyes. “Who has this office?” Someone like the cute guy I saw at Inderman, who popped into my house last night? But remember the last guy you dated, Lili? Not a good memory at all.

  “No one.” Deisphe looked at her curiously. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “Just curious.” She moved off with a faster gait as they headed for the locker room. “So the rumors are I’ll be working in the dungeon, as you call it?”

  The nurse nodded. “Good thing, since we’ve been desperate for some new gossip. Not all that surprising, since Dr. Mortimer spends more time down there than in his office or even treating patients up here. He set up the psych ward once he took over the hospital. Still, as long as he’s working with the patients below, he’s not looking over anyone’s shoulder. Bad enough we have Director of Nursing Garrish for that. Still, I wish you luck, Lili,” she said quietly as she pushed open the door. They entered the large locker room, Deisphe heading for a tall locker decorated with shiny stickers of fluffy kittens.

  “Kittens?” Lili laughed, tracing one fuzzy sticker.

  “My five-year-old niece thought my locker needed some decorations,” she explained, placing her palm against the metal, waiting until the lock clicked open. “She gave stickers to everyone last Yule. My brother got Captain Jack Sparrow stickers, since she thinks Tyler looks like Johnny Depp. I tried trading with him, but he wouldn’t do it.” She frowned as a growling sound emitted from Lili’s tote bag that the witch had left on a bench. “Is that what I think it is?” Hackles rose, and her eyes slitted pure gold.

  “Back off, kitty cat,” Cleo popped her head out of the bag and wrinkled her nose at the nurse. “I may be small, but even on my worst day, I can still take you down.”

  “No cat fights,” Lili ordered the two, before Deisphe could respond. “You told me you don’t have problems with Weres during Full Moon,” she reminded Cleo as she unwound the hot pink cashmere scarf from her neck and draped it inside her locker. She was pleased to obtain a locker here. She had a tiny office, but there wasn’t much storage space there. The locker gave her what she needed.

  “That is not a Were.” Deisphe glared at Cleo, who issued a nonkitty snarl. “The Dragon Lady will toss her furry ass right out of the building.”

  “I’m a therapy cat and have privileges in this forsaken place that even she can’t revoke,” Cleo informed her with her typical feline arrogance even as she hummed “Welcome to the Jungle.”

  “Cleo, I brought you in today because you said you’d behave,” Lili warned her cat. She made sure to stay out of claw range. Been there, done that, treated the scratches.

  “And Dragon Lady allowed it?” Deisphe pulled a pair of dark green scrubs out of her locker and quickly changed clothes.

  “Cleo’s presence is always written into my contract.”

  Lili also wasted no time changing into her scrubs. As the soft cotton fabric settled against her skin she felt the protective sigils power up. It increased when she slipped her lab coat over them.

  “What do you know about the asylum?”

  Deisphe glanced at the wall clock. Since she had time before her shift started she dropped down onto the bench by Lili. She reached into her bra and pulled out a cigarette, blowing magick on the tip to light it up.

  The witch arched an eyebrow.

  “Like my kind worries about their lungs.” The Wereleopard waved it around. She dipped her head a bit and lowered her voice. “I guess you can tell that Dr. Mortimer is an old-fashioned guy. He dresses and acts like he’s still in Victorian London. I think he’d be happier if the entire hospital was back in that time period.”

  “When was the new ward constructed?” Lili sat beside her.

  Deisphe thought about it for a minute. “Dr. M. opened the dungeon not long after he took over. I guess about thirty years. He wasted no time putting the word out that he would take care of the ‘troubled ones.’” She sketched air quotes. “The first patient appeared almost immediately, and we’ve had full occupancy since then. He has one down there he considers a true prize. I’m sorry, but I don’t see it as something to be proud of.” She shook her head. “I was sent down there to help out when one of the patients was badly injured. It’s not a nice place. You’re the doctor. Tell me why many of us who are immortal or even close to it can be felled by the common cold or a disease of the mind.”

  Lili didn’t miss the desperation in the female’s voice and eyes. “Family member?” she asked softly.

  Deisphe pinched the end of her cigarette and tossed it over her shoulder, the white stick landing neatly in the trash can.

  “Sixty years ago my brother was poisoned by cursed meat left out by a sorcerer who hated our Pack. It attacked his brain and turned him uncontrollable,” she murmured. “My kind has been called wild animals for centuries, but Worifa turned into something…” she searched for the right word, “worse.”

  “He gave fully into his animal nature and couldn’t return?” Lili probed.

  Deisphe’s fingers trembled. Her eyes turned a dark gold filled
with sorrow. “It was much more than that. Worifa became a creature straight out of ancient times. Even our most powerful healers couldn’t bring him back. Our Alpha had no choice but to destroy him. Although Pack law requires family members to watch the death, the Alpha ordered that my mother and my brother’s mate not be present. He wanted to spare them that grief, and I was grateful he did. As it was, Worifa’s illness almost killed my mother.”

  Lili knew Deisphe’s mother must have been highly revered for the Alpha to excuse her from watching her son put to death. Emotion wasn’t something found among the Weres. Even the females were expected to be strong. She wanted to reach out and touch her new friend, to offer any sort of comfort she could. She knew that Weres didn’t accept physical consolation as easily as some others did. However, Cleo didn’t believe in personal space except for her own. She climbed out of the tote and languidly stretched out along Deisphe’s thigh. The Were smiled and stroked the feline’s fluffy back in long grooming strokes.

  “Is that why you became a nurse?” Lili asked.

  Deisphe nodded. “I had my Alpha’s permission to work in a Were healing center in New Orleans for a couple years, then I returned here when there was an opening.” She wrinkled her nose. The nurse glanced at the clock, winced, and jumped up. “Good luck,” she called over her shoulder as she left the locker room.

  Lili nudged Cleo back into the tote bag and carried it into her office, which was a bit larger than a broom closet but held what she needed, including a small couch.

  “Not very elegant for such a revered physician as yourself,” Cleo said with typical disdain. “Not to mention moi, who requires a silk pillow. I hope you’ll remember to bring one tomorrow.” She hopped up onto the couch and kneaded the upholstery with her claws as she finally settled down. “I suppose I have to stay here while you’re off doing your healing.” She released a long-suffering sigh.