by Lil Hamilton
“If she has set up a meet to tell me there is hostility between the werewolf pack and the vamps she could have spared me. Like I care if there is.”
“Don’t think it’s that,” Viv said.
My phone binged and I opened it. “Huh. She says no point in meeting after all. She thinks she might be seen. She just wanted to tell me High Demons have been seen in town.”
“That is odd. I mean, seeing as you are on the Accords Council any High Demon hunting a rogue would notify all of you first,” she said.
“Completely true.” I read the next message. “She says they are sexy.”
I sighed.
“Oh don’t give the young pup the lecture.”
“Sexy means beautiful to your prey. You know that, Viv.”
“Yeah, for feeders. Like feeder demons and fae. Not High Demons who are elementals. They don’t feed on humans and generally don’t give a damn about them either. No, they look all sexy because they have morphing abilities and over centuries have adapted to appeal to humans simply because they can.”
I raised a brow. “You think so?” It hadn’t honestly occurred to me. They could change shape. Even go pure elemental. It just never occurred to me they designed themselves to look better physically.
“I really do. Who even knows what they actually looked like originally?”
“There are humanoid demon castes.”
“Yeah, with odd shaped skulls, weird eyes or forked tongues. Or because they are feeders and need to mimic humans.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “I can go with that theory.” Another text booped up. “Crap. She says she does want to have a conversation about her agreement with me.”
“I bet I know why,” she said.
“Oh?”
“She has been seen with the Alphas son. A lot. In public.”
“Oh for the love of all the gods. I should just set up a werewolf dating service. All my spies pack-up on me. Well, I better get a hold of her to meet tonight then. I’ll have to wipe her memories. I hate doing that but it is for her own safety. The Alpha finds out she was a plant from me and he will kick her ass or worse. It just feels so…”
“Yeah, I know. But you are doing it for the right reason.”
“Maybe. Maybe there isn’t a right reason. I’ll just stop trying to get someone into that pack. Maybe the Alpha will attempt to play nice. I can always go back to tormenting him personally.”
“There is the spirit,” Dill said. I glanced at him, did he zone out for a bit there? Aw, well, he’d be fine.
***
Chapter 3
There are days when staying in bed is a survival tactic.
I woke up quite suddenly, wincing as a piercing screech scratched along my mind. Someone was at the edge of my shielded house, not politely tapping and not attacking, but scratching along it, like nails on a chalkboard in my fricken head. When I was awake I tended to only have a ward, keyed to alert me of others and only throwing out an aggressive response to an unauthorized attempt to enter. When I was sleeping, however, I liked to make sure I had a full blown active shield that created a layer of tight packed energy. Something that hit like a linebacker on crack. It would take a pretty aggressive assault to break through and I wasn’t that deep of a sleeper. A passive shield would be the same, but an active shield was linked and fueled by me and thus if anything happened to it, I felt it. My awareness immediately went to the intrusion and the three very distinctive demon essences outside made me groan.
I lived on the edge of the District. Being as I was an ambassador and fae I had to live within its bounds but I was also a mixed breed which meant I could tolerate a great deal of human technology and such. So there was a fine strip right at the edge which had all the luxuries of humanity for the fae that could tolerate them, with buffering spells to inhibit our neighbors from being aggravated, but we were still covered by all the protective wards of the District itself. Protective wards that prevented any human or Other from crossing into the District uninvited, and those that managed to do so by malicious means would encounter some rather nasty guardians. This did not, unfortunately, apply to demons that were, despite what the fae would like to believe, very close in nature. The wards protecting the District were held by all the wild fae magic that coated the city and the wild magic recognized demon magic as similar enough. Ergo, it let them pass. We really needed to come up with some other way to keep them out, but then… might keep me out as well.
It was hard not to sense them; they seemed to create a very void space around them, like little black holes. Sucking the life out of everything. I didn’t like to overlap my essence with theirs to find out any more, it always felt like I was being consumed in some way. Or tasted. Licked from the inside out. Really it was more the fact that demons had no understanding of personal space when it came to the mind and the aura, so mingling of energy was common and a part of the way they communicated. I simply didn’t like sharing.
I threw on a form fitting cotton shirt, leaving the ties at the neck open and slipping into a pair of worn leather pants. Viv said I was lost in an era of fashion long forgotten and even when I wore my velvet jackets and matching hats she rolled her eyes. Called me eccentric and not in a good way. Vivica could really whore it up when she wanted to, which passed for style these days. I never passed up the opportunity to point out if her ‘thong’ was visible it was not sexy, it was rather revolting, but better than exposing half her butt. We agreed to disagree on that issue.
As I padded out of the bedroom I did a quick check on my security and mentally triggered the kettle. Tightly securing my mental shields, in rotating layers, I dropped the ones securing the house at the same time as opening the door. It was almost instinctive; lower one shield, buffering another, like shedding a coat. In this case, not only shifting around my mental shields, but securing them and twisting a few spells in my lower consciousness. Like a human could ponder a problem without being aware of it, I could spin spells in my lower consciousness with very little attention needed. There were few demons I trusted and while I had a heads up they were in town, I didn’t like social calls at my house rather than my office. It was rather presumptuous.
I opened the door to three men who could easily pass for exotic models. They were all in matching black t-shirts and jeans likely because Hunters were supplied with the same earthside style of clothes for simplicity. I knew how the whole fallen angel bit had started, because men just didn’t look that way in reality. Not in this reality. Ugly wasn’t a word I could use to describe pure born Seelie fae or High Demons. Demons were all dark and delicious. Fae all cool and lean. Plenty of dangerous eye candy to go around.
A person might think I stood their stunned by their golden toned male flesh. It was more shock. The way fae expressed shock was in an immobile stillness that often reminded me of vampires. Or cobras. Anyone that knew me and how my pulse slightly hitched and my gaze became fixed would know I was on the edge of a fit. Demon-fae half-breeds often went mad and I was, in particular, known for my blackouts. I tried to even my breathing out, but I could feel that first pulse of rage boil up within me. Keep it cool.
“Ray-Ray,” Sebastian said, with a wide grin and holding his arms open.
My hands curled into fists just as I felt my essence tighten, muscle mass increasing and claws extending. There was a slight tremor in my entire body that should have given him significant warning. Sometimes, a little switch in me went off, I went blank and berserk, waking up often in a pool of blood none the wiser. The human world tempered that a bit. That damn smile didn’t even waver even as I got tunnel vision. My last moment of consciousness was my lunging at him.
When I surfaced from the blinding rage I was face first on my living room floor with three demons holding me down. I let my body relax and still the instinctive desire to keep fighting for pure spite. Feisty was all fine. Stupid was another story. “It’s okay. I’m fine. You can get off me now.”
“I should kill you now, half-breed,” a vo
ice hissed by my ear. “For touching a prince of the blood.”
“Get. The. Fuck. Off. Me.”
“I think it’s over now,” Sebastian said. I could hear the amusement in his tone, sending another curl of rage that I suppressed as best I could.
They sorted themselves out and I rolled onto my back, feeling surprisingly uninjured. Usually demons played rough, as in, even a play fight ended in broken bones. “Bas, how unexpected,” I said. I held up a hand with two fingers an inch apart as I said, “You were this close to being turned into a newt.”
“Next time I think I’ll call,” Sebastian said, holding out a hand.
I took it and pulled myself to my feet. “Don’t bother. With your anti-techno vibe it would likely just be static and a creepy crackling voice. Just don’t come at all.”
He smiled widely, flashing teeth with some impressive canines. I guess the fight had riled him up a bit. “Is that any way to treat your favorite brother?”
I flicked a look of irritation at the other two before saying, “You do realize if you came to the office or gave a little freakin warning I wouldn’t have gone off on you.” It was a half-assed apology, since really, he was my favourite brother. Not that I trusted any of my half-siblings. “The last time you paid a visit to my home you kidnapped me. Totally uncalled for and I’m inclined to hold a grudge for at least a century more.”
I felt the tug at my aura as the other two tried to merge with my aura and were likely offended when I tightened my shields reflexively. Both of them had wavy black hair, deep soulful black eyes and the demon golden skin. One caught my eye more than the other, because he plopped down on my armchair, smoothed his hand over the material of the arm and stretched out his long, toned six foot six body out. Make yourself at home, buddy. His eyes scanned the room with open curiosity, but couldn’t hide the more critical appraisal of a Demon Hunter. His features were more defined and sharp, with a roman nose and sharply cut cheekbones, far more masculine than his friend. His skin deeply tanned gold of a man who spent a great deal of his time under the demon suns.
Sebastian flopped himself down on my couch with an easy grin. His crimson hair was short now, and I wondered if that was an attempt to ‘blend’ and, if so, the solid black eyes rather gave him away. The red hair was a strong family trait that at least half my full demon sibling shared. His companion sat down, looking uncomfortable but equally curious about my home. Demons were as curious as cats. He looked young to me, more lean than muscular.
Both Sebastian and the other dark haired fellow bordered on pretty and didn’t have the sort of dangerous and compelling aura about them. The Demon Hunter also was fully loaded. I counted four knives on him, in addition to the sword on his back. So old school. But then the old races were all about the fight, the skill and the slow kill. Shooting people lacked appeal. No such things as guns in the Hells. When I looked at all that taunt demon muscle, honed from hours of battle training a day, and frankly I saw the appeal. Totally yummers.
I remained standing as I slowly surveyed the damage. The entryway made me wince. The bench was beyond repair. It had been an antique. I found a great deal of joy in the beauty humans used to put into their furniture. No one appeared to be hemorrhaging blood all over my carpet. I rubbed my cheek; it felt like someone had slugged me a good one. That was pretty good, all in all. I should expect no less. Three demons against one berserk half-breed should be sufficient to immobilize me. This was rather disappointing. It made me feel less like having a berserk rage and more like having a futile tantrum. I sighed. Sometimes being a half-breed sucked. Just enough show to be impressive but lacking that actual essence to be effective. Perhaps it was good for my ego to reside in the mid-realm.
Sebastian gestured to the Hunter. “This is Lan. And this is Gabriel.”
Gabriel looked like he wanted to rip my throat out. So I gave him a toothy grin.
“Pleasure to meet you both,” I said, oozing insincerity. I recognized the Hunter’s name by reputation, but then there were not so many of them that I didn’t know them by name. I even worked with a few of them from time to time.
Lan smiled slowly.
“Please contain your enthusiasm,” Sebastian said. “It has been so long, little sister.”
“Only fifty years.”
“Too long.”
“In my defense human culture rapidly evolves generation by generation. The 60’s were a blast. The 70’s totally rocking. The 80’s were a bit of a mistake and I could’ve squeezed in some vacation time there, but before I knew it this age of technology hit and there is just always something new and shiny to play with. I swear I have a family get together penciled in for 2039.”
He rolled his eyes. “Somewhere between getting stoned and shopping for a new plasma TV you could have fit your own flesh and blood in.”
I have no clue how he knew what a plasma TV was since the thing would implode if he looked at it funny.
“Because our family is so close?” I mocked.
“You refused the last summons,” Sebastian said, still grinning. The man found everything entirely too amusing, but of my nine demon brothers he was the most tolerable. He even grinned when he was killing someone, which actually made him a bit more unpredictable. I had no idea how old he was, somewhere around two millennium, but demons didn’t really keep track year by year, but by hundred year cycles of the demon realm. In his eyes, I was a toddler. I was surprised he was not cooing at me and dangling his car keys. I knew my demon siblings had a hefty dose of sibling rivalry that was just damned terrifying to me, but as the baby of the family I was no threat to them. No threat and obviously still at that amusing cute stage so they all were slightly protective and overly affectionate.
“I didn’t refuse so much as not respond,” I replied, finally sitting down on the edge of a chair. I was a little pissed. I hadn’t had an episode of rage for about two years, which was a record. And not a true black out for a decade. Demons and bad history brought it out. It was a little embarrassing to have happen, as it clearly expressed my half-breed nature. I never manifested any demon traits otherwise.
“Father was so annoyed.”
“I’m sorry, Sebastian, but the moment I left Faerie, four of my brothers, you included, kidnapped me and dragged me to the Hells. Where I remained for a decade. Imprisoned. So excuse me for being impolite by not going back, knowing full well he would keep me there.”
I didn’t mention the constant battles and the torment I had endured, mostly because it hadn’t been much compared to Faerie. Also it was hard to resent some of it when demons played war a little more roughly than most and with a great deal of barbaric enjoyment. It was all rough and tumble and ‘sorry bout breaking your leg, mate’ sort of fun.
“You are a Princess of the Court,” Gabriel said and I glared at him.
I was a mistake. One neither side of the border really claimed, unless it was to piss of the other side. I was toyed with, contained, or used. I was never ‘princess’ unless daddy-dearest wanted to use me as a pawn. That never ended well for me.
“Ray-Ray, father only wanted to make sure you were properly trained in your demon nature and so you could know your family.”
“Not really. What he wanted to do was break the training I did have to see if I had a demon center.”
“Oh?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.
I narrowed my eyes. For a moment seeing red. My duel nature was explosive around them. Sebastian bloody well knew how to push my buttons. I let out a low hissing breath, while I mentally counted to ten forward and backwards. “While his off center bonding technique may have been fun, I think the real point was trying to hold me hostage while demanding the return of his ‘wife’.”
He made an offhand gesture. “One of many reasons. The fae are holding your mother hostage against him. He did wish to encourage her return by showing you were just as much his daughter as hers.”
Well that didn’t work. Daddy had done his best to crack my fae trained shell, and
crack it he did, but not break. Frankly, it seemed a futile task. I simply didn’t know what it would be like to have no mental shields; they went so deep even I didn’t know the ones that were instilled in me to be automatic as blinking since I was born. Demons had no mental shields. They had a mental haze. The very idea of it would make me feel exposed and naked.
“Bas, he kidnapped the Queen’s handmaiden and knocked her up, just to piss the Queen off. And now he demands her back, claiming my mother is his wife, making the poor woman a pawn in their little game. Hell that is what bloody well started the war that led to humans being oh so very aware of us.”
“Father doesn’t think your mother is a pawn. He thinks she belongs to him, hardly the same thing,” Sebastian said smiling. “The fae bitch is the one who stole her back and now refuses to turn her over.”
“Whatever. It has made everything rather peaceful since. No one wants another incident like that here. When the Demon Lord himself is in love with a fae woman all hell breaks loose apparently. Unfortunately, if the Queen turns her over there is quite a bit less likelihood he will play nice.”
“And how is your mother?” Sebastian asked lightly.
“I’ve no idea. Her majesty is irked at her so she was exiled to the lower Unseelie Courts, last I heard. Haven’t seen her for about thirty years or so.”
I had covertly looked of course, but Unseelie lands were vast.
“Angry at what? The fact she is mated to the Demon Lord?” Gabriel asked.
“That’s about it. The whole thing is unpleasant. That one of her loyal handmaidens would allow herself to be captured and then have the audacity to take a demon lover. Bad enough, but then to mate up with him? A scandal that doesn’t vanish in a century. I think people still titter on about that.”
“Mated up?” Lan asked, just when I thought he was the strong silent type.
“Made the unbreakable bond. Tied the metaphysical knot,” I replied. “The Queen damn well knows a demon cannot fully make that bond until after they were lovers, so she knows my mother willingly became his lover before the link was solidified. And that, my friend, is consorting with the enemy. A big no-no.”
