Demons of Christmas Past: A Hidden Novella

by Colleen Vanderlinden

  “What?”

  “You’re homesick,” he said.

  I scrunched up my face and shook my head. “I am not. This is like a whole other life.”

  “I know. I miss it. You must miss it, too.”

  “Well. I don’t miss wondering where my next meal is going to come from. I don’t miss sleeping alone every night.”

  “But you miss Detroit.”

  I shrugged.

  “I’m an asshole. I’m still here all the time, but you hardly ever get out. I never even thought about that. If I was away the way you are, it would piss me off.”

  “I miss it,” I admitted. Then I gave him a quick smile. “That’s why we’re not leaving the city to go on vacation.” I pulled into the u-shaped driveway in front of the hotel we’d be staying in. It was one of the oldest hotels in the city, and a little research had shown that it was open and in operation in 1927. Nain probably knew it well.

  “Did you ever bring anyone here?” I asked him.

  He gave me a look. “Why?”

  I shrugged. I’ve seen the photos. Nain got around back in the day, up until the 1970s or so. Dozens of different women hanging on him through the decades, and, I’m assuming, just as many before there were photographs.

  I got out of the car and walked around to the trunk, unlocked it and reached for my suitcase. Nain put his hand over mine, stopping me and forcing me to look at him.

  “We’ve never given each other shit about anyone we were with before we started up together.”

  “Forget it.”

  It had just hit me that if Nain had a girlfriend, or girlfriends in the 20s, I didn’t especially want to run into them. I mean, I know he loves me and it’s me and him for the rest of eternity. I know that. Still, I’d rather not think about him fucking anyone else.

  It’s hard enough knowing he screwed my best friend after he’d thought I was dead. But I did the same thing to him, so I think we’re even there. It doesn’t make it any easier, even if I try to pretend it’s not a big deal. I don’t want to meet any of his other bitches.

  He kept his hand on mine, and I blew out a breath and met his eyes. We were silent for a few moments. I could feel the frustration, anger, always anger, coming from him.

  “I never brought anybody here,” he said. “Okay?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I said.

  “Apparently it does.” He pushed my hand aside and picked both of the suitcases up, then slammed the trunk shut. “And you’re giving me that look like you want to kill me. Where is this shit even coming from? This isn’t like you.” I didn’t answer and he glanced toward me. “Molls.”

  “Nain.”

  He was about to say something when I walked up to the desk. The attendant handed over our room keys and told us where to go. The hotel was twelve floors, and we were on the top floor. I’d also had to make sure that all of those rooms had been available back in the 20s as well, otherwise we’d be waking up in a broom closet or something once I pressed the amulet.

  I still wasn’t quite sure I believed it would work. If nothing else, we were away from home and alone together.

  We got on the elevator and I pressed the button for the twelfth floor. It started up and we rode up in silence, found our room, and Nain opened the door.

  It was what you’d expect from a hotel that prides itself on its historical significance: the rooms were decorated in period 1920s decor, but with all of the modern amenities: flat screen tv, air conditioning, a hot tub in the bathroom.

  Nain set the suitcases down on the floor and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me down onto the bed with him. I started protesting, but then he was on top of me, his lips on mine.

  “Stop trying to find reasons to fight with me,” he murmured against my lips. Then he kissed me again, hard, hungrily. “We both know that just turns into you naked and screaming.”

  “Maybe that’s why I do it so often,” I told him.

  He backed away a little, looking down at me. “Maybe. But I feel like this is different. I’ve never loved anyone like I love you. Yeah, I’ve fucked around a lot. Sometimes they stuck around a while, but I never needed them the way I need you. If I’d have met you three hundred years ago, you would have been it for me. But I had to wait a few hundred years for you. Don’t ever doubt that I’m yours, Molls, and that if I had the choice, I would have been yours from the beginning.”

  “I know,” I said.

  “Let’s make sure,” he said. We were out of our clothes within seconds, and when Nain pushed my thighs open and knelt between my legs, I knew I’d be incapable of saying anything for a while.

  Afterward, we lay catching our breath, our naked limbs twined together. Goosebumps raised along my cooling flesh and I snuggled closer to Nain. He held me tighter.

  “I want you to understand something,” he said after a while.

  “Okay.”

  “We’ve been through some shit. There were times I think we both doubted we would make it. And I can’t even count how many times I’ve wondered why you haven’t tossed me out on my ass.’

  “Well. You do have your charms,” I said.

  “Not enough for the shit I know I put you through. Everything. From the beginning. Tracking you, recruiting you. The imps. Astaroth…” he trailed off there, and I didn’t answer. We both knew that as much as I loved him, that was something I’d never really be able to forgive him for. He’d used me to kill his enemy, Astaroth. The only way to end him was to let Nain die as well, since a spell had twined their lives together. He’d known it at the time. I hadn’t. And he’d come up with a plan in which I killed Astaroth… which meant killing Nain as well.

  We’d been married for a matter of hours before I watched him fade away.

  “I don’t want to talk about that. You’re a pain in the ass. I’m a pain in the ass. It’s fine,” I said.

  “And all the shit after. Brennan. Eunomia. Me losing control too often, and you left picking up the pieces, watching out for me and everyone else,” he continued, his deep voice filling the darkness in our room. “I’ve been an asshole a lot of the time. And there’s not a chance in hell that I deserve you. The fact that we made a family together still feels like somebody else’s life.”

  I turned in his arms so I was facing him. “Is this going somewhere, or are you rambling again?”

  He leaned toward me and claimed my lips, not in the fierce, possessive way he usually did, but in a slow, smoldering, thorough way that had my head spinning by the time he pulled away.

  “My point is, we’ve been through a lot. And we both admit we’re not happy with the way things are. Like you said: I’m happy with you. I’m happy with our kids. I want to keep going after the assholes who hurt people. I’m not as altruistic as you are. I’m still hoping for redemption.”

  I ran my hands down his back. Redemption. He’d spent the past two hundred years trying to make up for acting like a typical demon in his first century of life. He wasn’t any closer to feeling as if he’d redeemed himself than he’d been when we first met.

  I knew where he was going with this, because gods knew I’d thought it a million times.

  “We need to change things.”

  “Yeah.” He took a breath. “I was talking to your mother.”

  “Oh, shit.”

  He snorted. “She says that Hades never worked as hard as you do. And even if he did, he didn’t have the responsibility of the human world on top of it.”

  I didn’t answer. It was an argument I’d already heard from my mother.

  “The dead aren’t going anywhere. And I know, you’re worried about someone else trying what just happened with the undead. You’re a hell of a lot more thorough than your dad, from what Tisiphone says. You can pull back a little. And so can I,” he said before I could interrupt. “I don’t have to be in charge of the demon guards. There are plenty who have been doing it since the beginning. They can be in charge.”

  He was saying everything I wanted to hear, b
ut I knew I’d feel wrong about stepping back from the duties I’d inherited from my dad.

  “We both know you want to be out there protecting people. Life among the gods isn’t for you, baby.”

  “I’m much better among demons,” I murmured.

  “And shifters and witches and werewolves and vampires… and Normals, too. I want you to be happy. I want you to do what you want. And this isn’t it.”

  “It’s safer for the kids in the Netherwoods. And then there’s Zoe.”

  “We have a family of telepaths and empaths. We can help Zoe. And we have more than a few shifter friends. If anyone can help her learn to shift, it’s them. I sure the hell can’t help her.” He paused. “And as far as it being safer, we both know Gaia and Heph and Ada would do anything possible to make the loft or your house just as safe as the Netherwoods. Or at least close to it.”

  I looked closely at him. “You’re not usually one to try to sell shit to me. What’s this all about?”

  He sat up, and I sat up with him. He pulled me onto his lap. I traced the dark tattoos over his shoulder and up his neck, then down his chest. They’d been lost when he’d resurrected, but he’d since had them redone, and I was happy to see them again.

  “Brennan and E,” he said after a few moments.

  I watched him.

  “They’re so happy it’s almost sickening,” he said, and I laughed. He shook his head. “And I was thinking about that. E’s even more obsessive than you are. Brennan is… Brennan,” he said, shaking his head. “But they decided that they were going to run their life the way they wanted, not the way tradition said they had to. E’s New Guardians are nothing like the old ones, and from what your mom says, they’re more efficient than ever.”

  “They are,” I agreed. E’s team was a force to be reckoned with. Almost the second I felt a soul ready to be claimed, one of them was bringing it to me. It was a major stressor, and part of my father’s powers, that I knew when someone died, that I anticipated their soul coming to me so I could judge it. At first, it had been all-encompassing, the only thing I could focus on. I’d gotten used to it since. Now, it was like constant noise in the background. It made it impossible to focus sometimes, but at least it wasn’t the only thing I could hear anymore. “They’re amazing,” I added.

  “And that’s because E realized she couldn’t keep going the way she was, and neither could they. They do their jobs. They’re the best at what they do. But E decided that life was just as important as death.”

  I didn’t answer. All I could think about was the hordes of souls waiting for me to give them their final judgment, many of them dead because of my own failures, my own enemies.

  “Think about it,” Nain said after a few moments of silence. “I’m with you no matter what, Molls.”

  I nodded and kissed him. We spent the night curled up in bed together watching reruns of old tv shows and eating room service. It was the most relaxed I’d felt in years.

  And just before I drifted off to sleep in his arms, I pressed the stone in the amulet, hoping it would work. He’d given me so much already. I wanted to be able to give something back to him.

  Chapter Seven

  I could smell coffee before I even opened my eyes.

  Shit. Maybe it didn’t work. I sat up and looked around. The decor of our suite was already old-fashioned, so that wouldn’t tell me much. I got up, slowly, trying not to disturb Nain, and crept to the windows. I pulled the heavy drapes aside and looked down at the street.

  It had snowed overnight. The sidewalks and trees looked like someone had dusted them with a thick coating of powdered sugar. The street was empty this early. I saw headlights in the distance and kept my eyes on the car.

  My heart started pounding when it got close enough for me to see details. It was definitely an old car. Maybe from this time? That could be a fluke, though. Some guy joyriding in the snow in his vintage car. I stood at the window a while longer. A few minutes later, another car went by… and it was another old car. I practically shouted in victory. I’d been about eighty percent sure this wouldn’t work and then I’d have to find Aion and kick his ass for taking my ornaments from me. I bounced on my feet a little, and another black car went past.

  I crept into the bathroom with my bag so I could get dressed. Once I was in there, it was abundantly clear that this was a different time. The wallpaper had a pattern you just don’t see nowadays, kind of overpowering and cluttered, giant pink roses. The toilet had a tank on the wall and a pull chain to flush, and the sink had two separate faucets, one for hot and one for cold. A clawfoot tub rounded out the room.

  Holy. Shit. It worked.

  I pulled my pajama pants and t-shirt off and dug through the bag. Nylons, which I have never worn in my life. A brown wool skirt that came down to my calves, a beige blouse with bell sleeves. I have never been capable of doing my hair, so I just left it down. Bright red lipstick, because if I’m going to play dress-up, I might as well go all the way. I slid my feet into a pair of brown and beige t-strap heels and looked at myself in the mirror as I put some pearl earrings on. I focused for another moment and brought up the glamour that hid my wings and my glowing eyes…

  I looked human. I studied myself, realizing how much I’d missed looking and feeling human. Blending in. I did it when I had to be among the Normals and didn’t want to create any chaos, but at home, and with my friends and family, I always let the glamour drop. It’s not that I’m not proud of who I am or who I come from. I just miss humanity.

  Eventually, maybe I won’t.

  I stepped out of the bathroom and pulled the drapes open to let some light into the room. I stood there a while longer, looking down at the street, watching the cars pass. There were more people walking around now, heading into the offices and shops up and down the street.

  “What the hell are you wearing?” Nain asked. I turned and let him get a good look. I could sense immediately that he liked what he saw.

  “I have a surprise for you,” I told him.

  “Vintage striptease? I’ll take it,” he said.

  I laughed and beckoned for him. He got out of bed, and I didn’t even bother trying to pretend I wasn’t staring at his naked body as he walked toward me.

  “Damn,” I murmured as he leaned in for a kiss.

  “Same to you,” he said, and I kissed my way across his jawline.

  “Look down there,” I told him. He stood behind me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and looked at the street below. After a couple of cars passed, I sensed confusion from him.

  “What the hell is this?” he asked. I turned around in his arms.

  “Your Christmas present,” I told him. “Welcome to 1927.”

  He stared at me, and I laughed at the disbelief on his face.

  “How?”

  “I have friends in high places,” I told him. “I’ve heard you talk about this time so often, I wanted to see it. And I know you’d like to see it again, too.”

  He shook his head, transferring his gaze back and forth between me in my vintage get-up and the street below.

  “I want to see the stuff you love so much. Will you show me?” I asked.

  Nain took my face between his hands and gently lowered his lips to mine. My toes curled in my pumps and I was more than willing to give him a very quick vintage striptease if he wanted one by the time he pulled away. “You are unbelievable. How the fuck did someone like me ever end up with someone like you?”

  “You’re really, really goddamn lucky,” I said with a laugh.

  “I am,” he agreed, claiming my lips again. His hands were reaching for the button and zipper on my skirt when I pulled away.

  “I have clothes for you, too,” I said.

  He reached for me again, and I ducked under his arm with a grin. “We can’t spend all of our time in the hotel room,” I told him.

  “We could,” he argued. He put his hands on his hips, and I knew damn well he was doing it because of the way it made his muscles flex
and swell.

  All of his muscles.

  I tore my eyes away from him and he laughed, one of those low, deep laughs that usually means I’m about to end up on my back begging for more.

  “You should get dressed,” I told him.

  He smirked. “I love when you try to pretend you’re not interested.”

  I rolled my eyes and he walked past me, grabbed his suitcase, and started to take it to the bathroom. “It’s gonna be fun showing you around today,” he said, and there was a glint in his eye that made my heart speed up more than a little.

  When Nain stepped out of the bathroom a little while later, it was my turn to go full hornball.

  The 1920s were a good period. Damn.

  Nain stood still, letting me look him over. The imps had picked out less-formal daytime attire in addition to a more formal suit. The gray suit he was wearing fit him like a glove, fitting over his bulky shoulders in a way that almost seemed like it’d been made for him. The crisp white shirt popped against his deep tan skin, and the gray vest that matched the suit made him somehow look like a rogue who was trying to look like a gentleman.

  Which is Nain. Completely.

  “So?” he asked. “I swear I had a suit just like this one.”

  I cleared my throat. “I’m gonna have to have you wear this for me sometimes back in our own time.”

  He laughed. “We haven’t done role-play yet,” he said. “I can see it. Gangster meets a sweet, proper woman and completely, totally corrupts her.”

  I looked away and laughed.

  “Or maybe we could reverse it. Maybe I’m the proper one and you’re the experienced woman who shows me what she likes.”

  I shook my head. “This is going to be torture,” I said with a laugh.

  He picked up the coat I’d set on the bed and held it up for me. “Come on. Breakfast and coffee, and then I’ll show you my old place.”

  I met his eyes for a second and turned around, sliding my arms into the coat. Nain reached around and buttoned the front of it and I tried to ignore the way my body responded to even this innocent touch.