by Mandi Casey
The timing of Matt’s coming up from the south made me suspicious. It wasn’t clear what the mark he’d placed upon my hip entailed. I could sense his presence from the mark. I could read his emotions now as he experienced them. I didn’t want to be so connected to anyone, let alone a wolf whom I struggled to remain in the same room due to his obnoxious, overbearing demeanor.
Then there was Blake. He was almost perfect in every way, except he had his werewolf pack to think about. Being charged with their survival was a huge responsibility, which he took serious. He told me I was more important to him than his pack or completing the prophecy, but I didn’t know if I could believe him. It bothered me that he could love me so much and he would put the future of his pack in jeopardy to be with me. I could never ask him to do such a thing. He believed we were life-mates, or so he insisted on telling me every chance he got. If he was correct, we would somehow make it as a couple, but I didn’t see the futility of trying to make it work.
If the vampires felt I’d chosen to take up allegiance with the wolves, they would not just hunt the werewolf pack down and exterminate them all.
They wouldn’t stop until they found me and exterminated me, too.
Chapter 13
Sitting on the stool behind the register, I breathed in the sweet smell of warm caramel filling the air. It was slow going with the customers so I filled the time by surfing on the Internet for the latest products. I’d become a regular visitor on the Celtic blogs to get ideas what to stock in the store to up Morning Sun’s traffic.
The front door jangled. In came the largest male I’d ever seen. Sipping my coffee, I waited to see what he wanted with my being the Selected, because the corded blue tubes attached to his head where hair should have been told me he was an Other. Others didn’t tend to come shopping in my store. Well, not often.
The man pounded beefy fists on the glass, causing the crack in the top to splinter further. After my body relaxed from having jumped in my seat, I rolled my eyes. I’d have to get the cracked glass fixed soon.
“Can I help you with something?” I mustered with as much sarcasm in my voice as possible with my heart rate ramping up while I tried to maintain a blasé expression. The malevolent intent came through his posture, like he was a grizzly bear ready to rip my throat out. Fear began to climb up my spine.
He turned his face, giving me a better view of the left side of his head. Lifting his hand, the man traced a thick puckered scar running the length from his brow to the chin of his face with a tapered blue fingernail, the same blue hue as the tubes lining his scalp.
“Yes, I think you can. I’m searching for my beloved.” He bent his neck in an inhuman fashion. When he stretched, a bone pressed outward. His neck was full of vertebrae running somewhere underneath his black trench coat.
I shook my head. “Sorry, you must be mistaken. I don’t know anyone who has a demon boyfriend.”
He grabbed my arm from across the counter. The second his fingers contacted my flesh, a searing burn began to make my skin bubble.
“Rage!” an angry female called from the other side of the front door.
Kasdeya sauntered into the store, drawing one of her swords as she moved.
The demon released my arm at the sound of her voice. I cradled my wound to my chest. The appalling fiend had burned my skin through my shirt. I could see scorch marks on my skin through the ruined material. That bastard owed me a shirt.
Rage, the demon Kasdeya had warned me about, had been the one who’d betrayed her. His treachery and greed had forced her into the contract as Judge and servant to the king of vampires.
The demons in the woods from my vision must have been referring to Rage when they kept mentioning ‘the Master’. Having him stand in front of me, I sympathized with them of their fears.
“Ah, at last I am able to see the sight of you with mine own eyes, Kas.” Rage moved away from the counter while I went around it, searching for something I could use to defend Kasdeya and me.
Kasdeya held out her sword, directing the tip at Rage. “Don’t come any closer. You are not welcome here, not in this store, not in this realm.”
The demon wore a perplexed expression while putting his hands on his hips, which I couldn’t help but notice were as wide as Blake’s shoulders.
“Why are you not begging me to touch your body?” He obviously couldn’t make sense of his ex’s lack of reaction to him. He must have thought quite highly of his charms if he assumed his very presence would make my new demon-friend swoon.
He had another thing coming.
Kasdeya continued to hold the sword pointed at Rage’s throat, but the shiny metal blade started to quiver.
Her shoulders shook.
A high-pitched shrill filled the air, piercing my ears.
“Oh, yes. I see your ego hasn’t dulled one bit since last we saw each other. That scar on your face, does it still burn from my fire? You must think such loving thoughts of me every time you look at yourself,” Kasdeya sneered as she cupped both hands on the hilt of her sword.
“Lover, you should be quaking with need. My servants have failed me again.” The demon stomped his metal-booted foot. Wood splinters flew into the air like fast little missiles.
My mouth dropped open in disbelief. I pointed a finger at him. “You, Mister, are going to pay to have that repaired. You can’t just come in here breaking my stuff.”
Rage turned his head in my direction. For the first time since he entered my store, I noticed his strong jaw line. The well-maintained, blue goatee lining his chin made my inner thighs tingle with thoughts of how it would feel to have him rub his face against my hot, sensitive flesh. I took in quick, shallow breaths as his gaze bore into my soul. The smell of sulfur filled the air. I’d never cared for the odor before, but smelling it coming from the fine male specimen in front of me changed my opinion, fast.
Damn, the demon could sense my arousal.
He leered at me. “This day couldn’t get any better, my sweet.” Rage refocused his attention on Kasdeya. “Employing quality servants is becoming more difficult, I see.”
My curiosity couldn’t be quelled, despite my self-preservation instincts screaming to remain silent. “What did you tell your minions to do that they screwed up?”
Rage crossed his massive arms over his bulging pecks. “It would seem, Selected, my servants applied the spell I brought from the Underworld to make my lover melt at the mere sight of me on you, instead of Kas.”
My mouth went dry. Rage was the cause of my wanting to share sheets with every man I’d encountered in the last few days.
The silver patterns lining Kasdeya’s skin began to swirl and bounce off one another as her fire made the room sweltering.
“You mean to tell me you ordered to have some kind of force spell put on me? After all you’ve done, the lecherous betrayal, forcing me into signing the contract with the vampire king because of your greed for power, now you want me to come back to you?”
Her voice turned more shrill with every word she spoke.
Rage traced his scar again, just as he had before I knew who he was.
“We have much to discuss. There is unfinished business between us.”
I waved my arm in the air to get their attention. “Wait just one minute. You did this to me? Fix it. Take it back. Whatever you have to do, make it go away.”
They both ignored me, keeping their glares on one another.
Kasdeya shook her head. “There is nothing left between us. We together are dead. You can never take back what is done. Your lust for power makes you weak, you and my father both. I’d never align myself with the likes of you again. I’ve learned my lesson the hard way, but learned it I have. You’d do well to accept that. The sooner, the better.”
My ears burned with fury. Neither demon acknowledge
d the real issue. My still being affected by the spell Rage had meant for Kasdeya. I wanted it undone.
Kasdeya repositioned her body weight, pointing her sword to the couch. “Sit there, next to the fireplace.” I hadn’t gotten around to lighting the logs in the fireplace yet, but planned on doing so after my morning coffee. Hey, a girl had priorities.
Rage sidestepped around Kasdeya’s blade to sit on the couch. I groaned at seeing how the piece of furniture bowed in the center from the burden of his massive weight. If he broke that too, he’d have more to worry about than just the blade at his neck.
Erupting from the ash, fire caught on the timber in the fireplace.
Rage eyed the flames with trepidation. “My lover, your antics don’t worry me, so you can stop the show with your little camp fire.”
Kasdeya brought the blade to the middle of his neck, letting the point indent into his skin, but not hard enough to cause him to bleed. That was, if he had blood. The demon didn’t appear fazed by her actions.
“Rage, what exactly is it you want? Why are you following me?” The black leather skirt strained against Kasdeya’s hips as she maintained her stance, ready to pounce.
The male demon caressed her with his eyes. “Isn’t it obvious, princess? I want you back where you belong. Your father has made another deal with the Dark Lord. Your father is charged with having you brought back to the Underworld.”
The spines I saw earlier when Rage flexed his neck began to grow in size, becoming more pointed.
Kasdeya stepped closer to him. “If you show your true face here in this realm, I will be forced to execute you. Matter of fact, go ahead. I’d be more than happy to report to the vampire king of your death.”
The spines returned to their original state under his blue skin. “I can’t help it, love. You bring out the best in me.” Rage smiled.
I had a feeling he’d used that charm on her in the past. I hoped Kasdeya was stronger than when she fell in love with him. I doubted that she could be affected by the demon anymore. He wasn’t trustworthy, but he was damn delectable.
Kasdeya rolled the hilt of her sword in the palm of her hand. The chrome nails at the tips of her fingers glinted from the light coming from the fireplace. The blade point dug into Rage’s flesh, but he didn’t move or tell her to stop. A single drop of blood welled where the metal cut into him. To my surprise, the demon’s blood was red.
“Lover, come home with me, now. We can start fresh in the Underworld, together.”
Kasdeya scoffed at the demon’s words. “Never again will I step foot in the Underworld, not until you and my father have met your fates. Rage, you know Karma exists, we’ve met her. She’s not going to be happy with you for what you’ve done.”
Rage’s brow furrowed with anger. “Don’t threaten me. I will make you do more than kill a few minions in the Underworld if you continue to defy me as you are. I’ve allowed you your indulgence to taste this realm. It’s time to get back to work.”
Kasdeya took her black-leather-booted foot and placed it on the bulge between Rage’s legs. The more pressure she applied, the more he groaned in pain.
“It’s time for you to leave, Rage. I’m not going anywhere. I have a contract to fulfill because of you. There’s nothing the Dark Lord can do about it. The contract was sealed in blood. Now”—Kasdeya removed her boot to step back, away from him—“you can either leave on your own accord, or I can send you in a celestial body bag. Your choice.”
Rage lumbered to his feet. His height towered over us. The flames at his back created a huge shadow over the splintered wood in the middle of the store’s floor.
The skin on his forehead relaxed. “Kas, you will come back to me, one way or another. But for now, I bid you good day.”
The hottest pureblooded demon I ever saw swaggered out the door, letting it slam behind him.
Kasdeya sheathed her sword in the holder strapped to her back. She crossed her legs at the ankles and threw her arms out in a dramatic display of exhaustion then flopped onto the couch.
Slumping onto the cushion next to her, I gave her arm a good shove. “Well, are you going to explain to me what just happened?”
She rolled her head toward me. Letting out a huge sigh, she said, “You’ve just met the one man who I fell in love with, the one I told you about.” She rolled her head back to the forward position.
I watched as the silver patterns swirling on her skin slowed to move in gentle waves. “Kasdeya, the demon you fell in love with put this awful spell on me. We need to figure out how to reverse it, pronto. You do know how to reverse it, right?” I heard desperation in my voice, but I didn’t care. Showing weakness, of any kind, was a no-no in front of a demon, but I was at my wit’s end. I couldn’t continue fighting the temptations rearing their sensual heads every time a man passed by me. I had enough trouble in my life. I didn’t want to have three boyfriends at the same time, but I was ready to do just that to satisfy my needs.
“No, Sydney, I don’t know how to reverse it because I don’t know the spell he used. I have a feeling your new bodyguard can help us unravel the structure of it. Once it has been weakened, I will be able to get rid of the magic residue. That is, unless you want to see what will happen? You could make a game out of it.” She groaned and rubbed her muscles as she climbed off the couch.
“No, my sex life is not a game. I’d appreciate it if you regarded my well being as more important than just something for you to toy with for amusement.”
The fire demon cocked her head to the side, examining my face with confusion. “Selected, your emotions are running high. I do not understand why. If you are going to survive in this world of Others, you will have to get control of your humanity. A Selected needs to set it aside when necessary.” She flung her chrome-tipped nails into the air. I heard them click as they grazed each other. “No wonder why Blake feels so strongly about being with you every second of the day. He must think you incapable of taking care of yourself.”
Kasdeya raised one silver brow as I stood, taking her words as a challenge. I put my hands on each hip. I closed off all external stimuli, including the grating slide of the demon’s boot heels as she walked circles around me.
I felt the Selected power deep inside of me. Relaxing, I let it crawl from the cavern within my head where it took shelter. The power felt warm, as if it were made up of a wall that held me up, allowing me to stand taller, stronger. The power felt close to exploding out of control. If I weren’t careful with maintaining the leash around it, I’d be consumed. The power of the Selected would take control of my conscious decision-making if I let it. There would be no more Sydney Sedrick.
When I opened my eyes, I focused on Kasdeya standing in front of me. She stepped back, giving me a wider berth.
“Attack me,” I commanded.
The fire demon shook her head. “Don’t be foolish, Sydney. You’re still just a human. With one flick of my fire, you’d be nothing but a pile of ash.”
Despite refusing, she widened her stance, placing her hands out to the sides. I could tell she was ramping up her energy because the silver patterns swam over her skin, their speed increasing. The faster they bumped into one another, the more energy she owned to fight with.
“You said I needed to be able to put my humanity aside to survive in the world of the Others. I’m telling you that’s exactly what I’ve done. Now, attack me.” My words came out in hissing sounds. If I didn’t speak the words from my own mouth, I wouldn’t have recognized my own voice.
Kasdeya’s shoulders sagged while she raised her hands in front of her body.
I stepped one foot back to get a better center of gravity, to prepare to take on her assault.
“Sydney, you’re being ridiculous.” No sooner did she finish speaking, then she raised an arm. In the palm of her hand glowed a ball of fire th
e size of a baseball. The flames licked up toward the ceiling. The fear of the store catching fire consumed me with rage.
The nerves along my spine turned cool, allowing my rage, on the verge of consuming me, to fill my power with focused energy. I laughed at the wind blowing around me. There wasn’t a window open so no breeze could be causing the air to move at such a rapid rate. Placing my arms out to the side, I allowed the power to continue to grow stronger.
“Demon, you might want to think twice before you challenge me, a mere human.” Without warning, I shoved both of my palms in Kasdeya’s direction. The air rippled between us in waves.
Kasdeya screamed as she was thrown backward, unable to throw the ball of fire caressing her hand before my power reached her. Just as her body was about to slam into the wall of the store, a blurred body wrenched open the front door and caught the demon before her body made contact.
Once the blurred figure stopped moving, Kasdeya looked her rescuer in the eyes. “Wolf, I don’t need your help. You better not even think of interfering. I owe her one.”
Happy glee bubbled over me. I clapped my hands with excitement. “I did it, I really did it.” They both stared as I did my victory dance flinging my arms out, doing the wave. I ended my celebration with the Green Bay Packers’ Aaron Roger’s touchdown dance, making an air belt around my waist.
Blake eyed me with suspicion. “What did you do?”
Kasdeya pushed herself from the wolf using his chest as leverage. She dusted herself off as if she had just been defiled by Blake’s having handled her.
