Demon Deception

by M. J. Haag

  He looked much too thin. Just weeks ago, he had been a chubby baby. That child was gone.

  I fumbled my way down the stairs into Kerr’s arms. I barely noticed as he picked us both up. I was busily unwrapping Caden to look at him. He was pale, a tint of blue to his lips. But other than cold and thin, there wasn’t a mark on him.

  Wrapping Caden up, I pointed to the kitchen.

  “He needs something to eat.”

  Kerr sat me down on a chair, but I didn’t stay sitting. Opening my jacket, I tucked Caden inside and zipped up the front so only his head stuck out. Keeping him supported with one arm, I searched the cupboards but didn’t find any formula.

  “He needs something to eat,” I repeated, feeling desperate.

  “We both do,” Dawnn said from behind me.

  I turned and saw her staring listlessly at the fey. They were staring back.

  “Are they going to eat us? Like the infected or those dogs?”

  “No. They’re friends. Where’s the food?”

  “There hasn’t been food for two days. Lee left to get some more, but he hasn’t been back.” Her face didn’t crumple, but I could see it in her eyes. She knew he was dead.

  “He told me to wait here and keep Caden safe. I’ve been feeding him water bottles.”

  I looked down at my son and gently touched his cheek.

  “We need to go to the shopping center and see if we can find something there.”

  “Are you insane?”

  I glanced at Dawnn’s panicked face then Kerr. For the first time, he wasn’t watching me. His gaze was locked on Caden. I looked down at my son and saw that his eyes were open. Not focused. Just open.

  “Do you think you can get us there?” I asked Kerr.

  “Yes.”

  “We need to go now.”

  Kerr didn’t hesitate to scoop me up. I considered Dawnn, who was staring at me with a healthy mix of frustration and fear.

  “One of them will carry you. The rest will keep us safe.”

  A fey stepped forward.

  “May I carry you?” he asked her.

  “Yes.”

  Even though she’d said yes, she flinched when he moved toward her. It didn’t stop him, though. The fey lifted her into his arms then looked at me.

  I adjusted Caden so he’d be shielded from the cold.

  “Ready.”

  Kerr led the way outside. The fey who hadn’t come inside with us waited in the front yard. So did a new pile of headless bodies.

  Molev stepped forward.

  “Do you have what you wanted?” he asked.

  “More.” I lifted the blanket covering my son’s face. “This is Caden. My son. And that’s Dawnn.”

  Molev didn’t look at the other woman. He was too busy studying Caden.

  “He is small. And, all humans start out even smaller?” he asked.

  “Yes. Remember how I said they needed a lot of care? Caden hasn’t eaten in two days. And we didn’t find any formula along the way. We need to get him something quickly. There’s a store just down the road. If it hasn’t been raided, it will have plenty of what we need.”

  Molev lifted his gaze from Caden and glanced at his men.

  “I need five volunteers to protect Cassie and Caden.”

  Five fey immediately stepped forward and surrounded Kerr and me. I gently patted Caden, trying not to freak out over how lethargic he was.

  “We are ready when you are,” Molev said, watching me.

  I pointed down the road in the direction from which we had come.

  The forerunners took off; and Kerr, along with our personal guards and Molev, followed. The rest of the fey surrounded us. Within their protective circle, I felt safe and very grateful. I breathed in Caden’s scent and touched my lips to his cheek before covering him again. He wasn’t getting any colder. But he wasn’t getting warmer, either. I itched to prod the fey to hurry, but they were already running. And while I knew they could go faster, I also understood the danger in doing so. I didn’t want to rush into a trap. Not with Caden.

  We reached the entrance to the subdivision without running into any more infected. The pile of headless bodies and bloody snow looked horrific. Dawnn made a small noise of pure fear and quickly closed her eyes against the sight.

  My gaze went to the mound of dirt and snow not far from the pile, and I kissed the top of Caden’s head. Lee might have been a crappy husband, but he’d done everything right when it came to keeping Caden alive. And I would never forget that.

  Tearing my gaze from my husband’s grave, I silently pointed to the building just across the road that we needed.

  The fey moved as one. Graceful and silent. I hoped the store hadn’t yet been raided. Or at least, not the baby section. Parsons didn’t have a ton of options, and I wanted to get Caden in the truck where there was heat.

  Before crossing half of the super center’s expansive parking lot, the fey stopped. I alertly focused on the building, waiting for infected to come streaming out. However, the doors to the store remained firmly shut. Everything around us remained quiet and still.

  A few snow-covered cars sat in the parking lot closer to the building, and an undisturbed blanket of white stretched out in front of the doors. No footprints indicating an infected presence. I glanced at Kerr. He looked down at Caden then pressed his forehead to mine.

  “I will keep you safe. I swear,” he said softly.

  Molev signaled and ten fey ran forward. We all watched as they pried the front doors open and entered the building. There wasn’t a sound once they disappeared into the dim interior. No moans. No scuffles. Nothing. It relieved me on several levels. Perhaps the infected weren’t as smart as I had thought. Perhaps they had just been lucky when they’d chosen the prior stores. I mean, why choose the Wright Signs and Graphics building instead of the grocery store?

  One of the fey emerged and waved for us. Kerr, Dawnn, and I moved forward within the center of the larger group. Watching those before us disappear into the dark interior sent a shiver of worry through me. The dark was never good.

  At first, I couldn’t see a thing after coming out of the daylight. However, after a few blinks, my eyes adjusted to the weak light coming from the store’s front windows. Everything inside looked undisturbed. The candy selections at each checkout remained nearly full, something Mya would appreciate.

  However, it was obvious that the power had gone out long ago. A musty smell, with a hint of rancid underneath, clogged the air. Thankfully, the current temperature was keeping the smell from getting worse.

  “Grab those bags,” I said pointing to a display of reusable shopping bags near the door. “Take everything that’s edible.”

  The fey grabbed the bags and spread out in the store. A few stayed near the front, collecting the coveted chocolate.

  “The supplies we need are down this way,” I said, pointing in the direction we needed to go.

  “Shh,” Dawnn said softly from further behind us.

  I ignored her and paid attention to the supplies we passed as our immediate group moved toward the aisle with the infant supplies. The contents of the store would fill the rest of the truck several times over.

  “We’ll need another truck,” I said to Molev. “Big, like the one we have.”

  He grunted and considered the shelves and the fey surrounding us.

  “The six of us will search for what we need. Everyone else will stay in the store until we return.” His gaze slid to Caden, then he and the others left.

  “Can you put me down?” I asked Kerr.

  He hesitated, looked around, then carefully placed me on my feet. I went right for the containers of baby food and found something with banana in it, which I knew Caden liked.

  I popped the lid open and moved further down the way to grab a box of infant spoons.

  “Would you like me to hold him?” Kerr asked.

  “No. I got it.” I wasn’t letting Caden out of my arms for weeks. Maybe even months.

&
nbsp; Dawnn made another shushing noise and wriggled her way out of the arms of the fey holding her. Meanly, I wished the fey would have gone somewhere else with her instead of following.

  Ignoring her, I took a bit of banana and touched the food to Caden’s lips. However, he didn’t open his mouth. I gently nudged his lips apart, trying to get in enough for him to realize what I was doing. As soon as the flavor hit his tongue, he opened wide, in a hungry piranha-style. I almost cried. I quickly gave him another bite as soon as he swallowed then stopped. I didn’t want to feed him too quickly and have him throw everything up. He was too small for that.

  “Can you start packing all those little containers?” I asked Kerr, who was watching us closely.

  I looked up and down the baby section and thought of Angel.

  “Actually, let’s just take everything if we can.”

  Caden squirmed in my arm, and I gave him another quick bite. When I didn’t immediately fill his open mouth with another one, he let out a pathetic sounding wail that broke my heart.

  “Put your hand over his face,” Dawnn said, rushing toward me. “Shut him up.”

  “What?” I slapped her hand away.

  “Stop him. He’ll bring more.”

  The sound of something falling somewhere further back in the store sent Dawnn into a panic. She lunged for me and closed her hand over Caden’s mouth and nose. He immediately stopped crying, and I jerked him away in horror. He was breathing and awake. Still visibly upset, but not making a sound.

  I looked up at Dawnn, my eyes wide. The shock of truth hit me hard.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Dawnn whispered harshly. “I’m the reason he’s alive. I didn’t have a group of grey protectors. I had Lee and an unheated attic cubby in the middle of winter. If I’d let your baby cry, we would have both been long dead by now. So get off your damn high horse and stop judging me. I never asked for any of this. And for the record, I didn’t steal Lee. That asshole hit on me and never told me about a wife or kids until after I was already into him. I wish he would have let me walk away instead of talking me into giving him a chance. Biggest mistake of my life.” Tears fell freely down her face.

  As I looked at her, my anger turned to guilt. She was right about Caden crying. Hadn’t I trained Lilly to be silent, too? She’d been older and had the capacity to understand the danger of sound. Caden wasn’t. What would I have done in Dawnn’s place?

  “I can’t imagine the choices you’ve had to face,” I said softly. “I’m sorry, Dawnn. For judging you when you’re right. You are the reason my son is still alive. Thank you.”

  She turned her head from me and wiped at her tears.

  “Can we please stop talking now? Everything in this fucking world is attracted to sound.”

  I looked down at Caden, who was still squirming in my arms, and gave him two more bites of banana sauce.

  Dawnn reached out and plucked a jar of rice pudding from the shelf. I didn’t try to stop her or suggest she eat something else. Given how malnourished she looked, it was probably the safest choice, anyway. She sipped the contents slowly, and we both watched Kerr place the items from the shelf into his bag.

  “Brog, can you find more bags?” he asked when the bag he held was almost full.

  The fey who’d carried Dawnn grunted and jogged off.

  Something clattered not far away, and Dawnn jumped.

  “They’re hurrying to gather the supplies,” I assured her. “We need everything we can get.”

  “Shh,” Dawnn said softly.

  Nodding, I focused on Caden and scooped another bite of banana into his mouth. After counting to ten, I gave him another spoonful. He was so hungry, and it was hard for me to not shove it in as quickly as he would have liked.

  We were halfway through the container when Brog returned with more bags.

  “There is a pile of full bags near the front of the store. It will fill the truck. We cannot take more.”

  “Molev will find a second truck,” Kerr said. “There will be room.”

  He and Brog started at the end of the aisle, filling the new bags with everything just as I’d asked.

  They’d barely begun when something crashed in the row next to us.

  “They need to be quieter.”

  As Dawnn spoke her last whispered word, Caden’s gaze shifted from my face to something above me. I tilted my head, following his gaze.

  A silently snarling mass of shadow with glowing red eyes stared down at me from the top shelf.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Dawnn screamed, but the creature’s focus never shifted from Caden. Its muscles bunched as it crouched low and launched itself at us.

  Time slowed. I clutched Caden to me. Fear for Lilly and anger clawed at my insides. We’d made it too far only to end like this. I would not lose Caden now. I stared at the hound’s teeth and started to turn my back to it. Dawnn continued to scream. But she was close. Close enough to catch my boy. As I turned, I changed my hold on Caden, preparing to throw him.

  A roar filled my ears.

  The impact I expected didn’t come from behind but from the side. Two arms encircled my waist, knocking me off my feet. But, I didn’t fall. Time seemed to slow.

  Brog lifted me into his arms, his momentum moving me further away from the hound. I held tightly to Caden. Snarls and grunts filled the air.

  “Hellhound,” he shouted.

  I looked up at Brog’s set expression as he started to run. Panic and fear gave everything clarity. Brog meant to leave Kerr alone with the beast in order to save me. I twisted in Brog’s arms to look over his shoulder.

  Kerr strained against the hound, one bulging arm wrapped around the beast’s massive neck. Alone, he would never keep the creature from following us. He would die.

  A sound escaped me.

  Kerr turned his head and met my gaze. I barely noted the blood that streamed down his face from a gash near his eye. I only saw the love in his eyes. His willingness to give his life to keep me safe.

  “I promise,” he mouthed.

  Tears ran down my cheeks as Brog turned the corner, and I lost sight of Kerr.

  There was no doubting what he’d meant with those two words. He would do everything in his power to keep his promise. Even give his life. The thought of losing Kerr struck deeply as the thump of running feet grew louder and more fey converged on the area. I held Caden tightly to my chest as so many ran past us. I hoped they would make it in time.

  The shouting and howls grew louder, echoing in the building. Those fey who didn’t run to help with the hound gathered at the front of the store where the supplies waited. Half the number watched the door for infected that might be drawn by the noise. The other half surrounded Dawnn, already there in the arms of another fey. He looked completely unsure what to do with the silently sobbing woman.

  Brog entered the circle of protection. Shaking in his arms, I stared into the dim interior and listened to the fight. I pictured the hellhound devouring Kerr, bit by bit.

  All noise suddenly stopped. I stared down the main aisle, barely breathing as I waited for Kerr to appear. The first fey who walked out of the baby aisle were covered with bites and scrapes, their shirts torn and faces grim.

  When Kerr stepped into view, my heart broke. His shirt was completely shredded and barely hanging onto one shoulder. Bites and gashes covered his torso. He had definitely borne the brunt of the hellhound’s aggression.

  I wiggled myself free of Brog’s hold and started for Kerr, desperate to take care of him like he’d been doing for me.

  “Do not.” Kerr held up one hand along with the command.

  I slowed and frowned, a little hurt by his abruptness.

  “Why not?”

  “I am covered in the hellhound’s filth. I will not risk you or Caden.”

  I looked down at Caden, now alertly watching everything from the safety of my arms, and nodded. It would be foolish to go near Kerr now. Yet, when I looked up, I knew I needed to help.

/>   I studied the large gash near his eye.

  “You need stitches.” I looked around the store. “There has to be a bathroom around here or somewhere where you can wash up.”

  “Stay here. I will find it.”

  Kerr started walking away, and I looked at another fey.

  “Go with him, please. He’s losing a lot of blood.”

  He moved to follow Kerr. I opened my mouth to ask one of the other fey to go to the truck for the supplies I would need when I realized the truck wasn’t even there. I swore softly under my breath and gently rocked Caden, more to comfort myself than to comfort him.

  “Does anyone know where Molev went?” I asked.

  Several fey shook their heads.

  “The truck has the supplies I need to stitch Kerr up.”

  “I will go find them,” Shax said.

  Several other fey went with him, reducing our numbers even more. It worried me since we’d already found one hellhound in the store.

  I looked at the nearest fey, Tor.

  “Do you think there are more hellhounds in here?”

  He shook his head. “I do not. I believe he came from the back room. We checked there and did not see any signs of more than one.”

  Dawnn made a small noise of fear beside us.

  “Let’s get you something to drink,” I said, looking at her pale face.

  I moved a few feet over to the cooler at the start of one of the checkouts. I opened it and studied the lines of warm soda inside. Near the bottom, I spotted a bottle of apple juice and grabbed that.

  “Give this a try,” I said, handing it to Dawnn.

  Dawnn’s hands shook as she took her first gulp. I didn’t bother trying to tell her to slow down. She’d figure it out on her own, soon enough. However, to my surprise, after that first gulp, she capped the bottle again.

  Kerr returned a short time later, bare from the waist up. The bites and cuts I’d glimpsed under the tattered remains of his shirt didn’t look as bad as I’d first thought. Many would still need stitches, though. It was the wound on his face that looked the worst. The sides had even begun to pull further apart.