Demons & Hellholes_A Grimmer Legacy novel

by Eleanor Rousseau

  “And it’s stained with blood, this fabric is a nightmare to clean,” she growled. I found it impressive that she’d gone from sounding like a Banshee to sounding like a werewolf so fast. My aunt was a woman of many talents.

  I leant back against my headboard. “I had a thought about it. We should try to add a scent suppressing element.”

  “It wasn’t created to go after shapeshifters,” she pointed out, glaring at me.

  “Yeah but demon bulls apparently also have a good sense of smell.”

  She blinked, surprised out of her anger. “What on earth have you gotten yourself into, girl?”

  “It’s fine, I handled it.”I waved dismissively.

  Her eyes narrowed as she studied me. “That scratch on your neck would suggest otherwise.”

  “It’s just a nick.” I reached up to touch the narrow scar.

  Amber scowled at her, “But it means someone got close enough to make it.”

  Gosh, I was way too strung out to put up with being berated like an errant child. “At least she wasn’t the one who fractured my bone.”

  “See, now that doesn’t help your case,” she informed me and she wasn’t wrong.

  “Which bone?” asked Jay as he came back in the room. He seemed calm but I knew my brother, he could calmly beat someone to death if he felt like it.

  I took the pills and glass of water he offered, downing them before responding. “The this bone,” I pointed to my right hip, where the pain was worse.

  “You need us to take you to the hospital?” Jay asked.

  I shook my head, I really heated hospitals. “Avon fixed me up. He seemed to think I just need bed rest.”

  “Avon would be the Daemon you're now buddies with?” Amber finally put down the suit and turned to me again.

  “He’s a nice guy, he gave me the Axitross.” I pointed to the large contraption on my chest of draws.

  “This is it?” he asked skeptically.

  “Don’t touch it! It took forever to get that damn thing open. And you don’t want to use it with any of us in the vicinity.”

  “What happens?”

  “It drains witches.”

  “And it was used while you were in the vicinity?” He was starting to sound a little pissed.

  “Only for parlor tricks. I recovered in seconds but still it’s an easy way to drop a large amount of witches really fast.”

  His expression was very serious. “If someone brought it to hq while we were all there they could kill us all.”

  I nodded, “It wouldn’t hit most of you as bad but it could still take you down if they drew on enough power.” Most of them weren’t full witches and their other halves might protect them to some degree.

  “We’ll put it in the black box,” he said.

  I pushed myself to my feet and limped over to him, then I snagged the bracelet, put it back inside the contraption and snapped it shut. Then I pulled out an old bracelet case, tugged out the hair and shut it inside the case. If we ever did have need of it again I didn’t want to have to start yanking hairs out again.

  “If you want to get to it you’ll need three of four days and this.” I handed him the case.

  He raised an eyebrow, “Weird dna thing?”

  I nodded, he understood witchcraft just as well as I did. “Weird dna thing. Now, I am in bad need of a shower. You guys got anything you need to say that can’t wait til after?”

  “Only that dad’s going to stop by later.”

  “Spare me,” I murmured, glancing skyward.

  “Oh, and one just question. That shirt belong to your boyfriend?” He raised an eyebrow at me and gestured to my current attire.

  “Get out of here, you ass.”

  He picked up the device and Amber hugged me before picking up her suit. I guess I was forgiven. They left and I had myself a long, warm shower before grabbing a quick snack and going back to bed.

  “JUST WHAT IN THE HELL have you done to yourself, girl?”

  I groaned. “Dad.”

  Dad was in his mid forties, he married my mother shortly after her third child, Tia, was born. He didn’t really approve of what she was doing but seen as he himself was sterile he didn’t protest too strongly. Personally I could never understand that but it was the only reason I existed so I could hardly berate him.

  He was in fairly good shape for his age and his hair was only just starting to grey. He was also an accountant and one hundred percent human. Mum had surprised all my aunts and uncles by marrying a human but in retrospect it made sense.

  Humans were less territorial than most supernaturals so they are less likely to have a problem with raising another person's child. Also, marrying a man who fathered none of your children means he’s less likely to play favorites.

  “No, it is past time we have a conversation. You’ve been avoiding me for weeks.”

  I had been avoiding him and I’d hope to continue doing so. I pushed myself carefully into a sitting position. It still hurt. “Alright, fine, just say what you have to say.”

  “I know it was for a job, Jay has explained everything. I just want you to promise that you’ll stop hanging out with the Demon Blood.” He sat down of the stool at my desk.

  “He’s not a bad guy, dad.”

  “Not a bad guy? He stole the Axitross, Kai!”

  “Yeah, from a Warlock, and he gave it to me as soon as he was done with it.”

  He blinked, taken aback, “A Warlock, you mean Misha?”

  I bit my lip. “Yeah.”

  “Jesus. Did Jay know? I’m going to kill him if he did.”

  “He didn’t know, nobody knew. I doesn’t matter, Misha wasn’t there it was just one of his warehouses.”

  He nodded, still frowning. “Why would you trust this guy?”

  “He has yet to give me a reason not to trust him.” And he was really really good looking.

  “Demon Bloods are unpredictable and dangerous!”

  I gave a half shrug. “So am I.”

  “I don’t think you understand how dangerous they can be.”

  That irked me, I was so fed up of being treated like a child. “I have a fractured bone that says otherwise, which, for the record, the Demon Blood tried to heal. He has done nothing to hurt me and he’s tried his best to protect me.”

  “What about the human you started dating?” he asked.

  I barely resisted groaning aloud. “Anthony and I have never been dating, we’re just friends who sometimes have lunch together. He actually has a girlfriend.” Anthony was great but we both knew there were no sparks between us.

  He sighed heavily, “If it get’s serious I’ll expect you to introduce me.”

  “You’ll be the first,” I lied. I had no intention of ever introducing him to anyone. I was fairly certain I could keep two aspects of my life completely separate.

  He rose to his feet. “Alright, I shall leave you to recover, Jay told me about your injury. I’ll have Radien come and drop off dinner for you later.”

  I smiled, “You’re the best.”

  “And when you’re better we’ll go out for a nice family meal,” he stated.

  “Sure thing. It will probably take me weeks to recover, maybe even months.” Family meals were difficult and for me it would be very uncomfortable at the moment.

  “SMELLS GOOD, CAN I join?”

  I glanced over to where Avon leant against the wall by window and smiled. “Sure. How’s your mother doing?” The lighting was dim enough that I hadn’t immediately noticed his entrance and as a daemon the darkness was his alli.

  He sighed as he settled on the bed beside me. “Not great. It hit her harder than I thought, it’s like a wall’s come down.”

  I rested my hand over his, “She’s had to be strong for a very long time. It’s the first time she’s been able to relax and let it out. Hopefully she’ll be better after she get’s it out of her system. You don’t have to be here if you need to be with her.”

  “She was fast asleep when I lef
t. I can stay for a while.” He wrapped an arm around my waist and nuzzled my neck. The warmth of his body pressed against mine felt wonderful.

  “We have psychologists on the payroll, you know, I could have someone come and talk to her,” I said, trying to distract myself from the warmth that had begun to pool low in my belly.

  “I appreciate it, maybe in a few weeks, when she’s had some time to adjust.”

  “Good idea.” I tilted up my head and kissed his jaw before pulling out a carton of fast food and handing it to him. Then I got one for myself and pulled out some plastic cutlery. “How’s Grant?”

  He grinned, the expression making him look boyish and very sexy. “He’s good, he’s cracked a few jokes speculating alternative ways that you might have broken your hip.”

  I laughed, “Sounds like him. Is he watching your mother?”

  He nodded, mouth full of noodles. “They seem to be getting on well, or they were when she was talking.”

  I rested my head on his shoulder as I ate some chicken. “You know, you never did tell me how a Daemon became friends with a Fey.”

  He smiled, “You think that’s strange?”

  “Everyone does, you guys literally come from different worlds.”

  “Some might also say that a Daemon and a Witch being... friends, is weird.” He reached to stroke my hair.

  “Oh, believe me, they have.”

  He chuckled. “I saved him from a group of Demons who were giving him and his lady some grief. He promised to stick with me until the debt was repaid.”

  “That’s very noble, especially for a Fey.”

  “I guess neither of us conforms to convention.” He tugged lightly at my hair, sending a pleasant shiver through me.

  “So is that it, is his debt repaid?” I glanced up at him.

  “In full but I’m not sure it’ll be enough to get him off my back,” he said, eyes sparkling with mirth as he tugged me onto his lap.

  I smiled, setting against his warm, muscular body. “You tell him he’s free to visit any time but that he has to use the door.”

  He chuckled. “So the window is reserved solely for me? Good to know. I feel special,” he murmured, his lips brushing the corner of my jaw. I wanted to turn my head, to kiss him back but I wasn’t sure I was prepared for the consequences. He wasn’t human and at his gentlest he could probably break my delicate little mortal bones.

  One particular poor injured bone definitely wasn’t up to the task of surviving a Daemon at the moment.

  “ANTHONY.” I SMILED brightly as my friend barged into my room. If they didn’t feel free to barge if were they even really your friend?

  He wore jeans and an old tshirt with the name of a band which I had never heard off. I didn’t know much about fashion but I had a feeling these were the genuine article, not some fake designer type that were designed to look artfully ‘worn’ and ‘casual’. He dropped a large box of chocolates on the end of my bed as I switched off the tv. The guy brought chocolate, clearly he was a wise young man.

  “Those better be the good, I know you can afford the best.” I eyed the chocolates.

  He laughed softly, “How is the invalid?” Insults, another sign that ours would be a long lasting friendship.

  “I’m fine, almost fully recovered but they’ve threatened to subject me to a family dinner on me when I’m well again.” I screwed up her expression in distaste. Maybe Avon shouldn’t have done such a good job of healing me.

  “I can pay off a doctor to say you’re not fit for human contact, he will, however, be a psychologist. I wouldn’t want a doctor to have to stretch the truth.”

  I threw a pillow at him.

  He just caught it with annoying ease and perched on the stool by my desk, running a hand through his hair. “So, apart from the injury, it went well?”

  I nodded, “It went well. We got her out and I got to kill a bunch of demons.”

  “So you’re happy?” He seemed surprisingly serious.

  “Yeah, I’m happy.” And I was, there was just something so satisfying about a job well done. I was also somewhat uncertain about what

  “And Demon boy is happy?”

  I bit my lip. “He seems happy.” At least, he had when we’d been snuggled up watching movies last night. I didn’t blush, I had no reason too, but it was a close thing.

  He leant forward with an easy smile and rested his elbows on his knees, “Spill.”

  “He came over the other night.”

  “I hope he was considerate to your injury,” he teased.

  I laughed, “We just ate food, it was nice.”

  “You’ll still see him now that it’s over?”

  Now that was the question. “I hope so. I know it’s weird but I kinda miss him when he’s not around.” God, did that sound dumb when I said it aloud?

  He grinned, leaning back to rest an arm on my desk. “You’ve got it bad, girl.”

  Damn, I did, didn’t I? Time to change the subject. “What about you and your girl?” I asked curiously.

  “I’ve spent every night there for the past week.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Who’s got it bad now?” Despite my reluctance to talk about my own relationship it was nice to be able to. I’d never been big on sharing and since most of the people I hung out with had close familial ties with I especially didn’t share information about the guys who’s pants I wanted to get into. And I didn’t want to hear what they had to say about their relationships either.

  Anthony grinned, the expression making him look surprisingly young. “I absolutely adore her. She see’s the good in everything.”

  “My guy grew up in the Underworld,” I put out there.

  He laughed, “Clearly our tastes are vastly different.”

  I smirked, he certainly wasn’t wrong about that. In fact, it was surprising how well we got along when we were so fundamentally different. “So, you think you can smuggle me out of here before I’m subjected to a family dinner?”

  “I think I should leave any and all smuggling to your boyfriend.”

  I bit my lip, amused at the way he made ‘smuggling’ sound like a dirty word. “I don’t care who does it as long as they save me from the madness.”

  He smiled, “I’m sure it won't be so bad. Debbie’s having me meet her parents next weekend, now that’s going to be a nightmare.”

  “I was involved in the murder of Avon’s half sister.”

  He blinked clearly taken aback, “Okay, you win. Your stuff is crazier than mine.”

  To be fair, few people could beat me when it came to crazy. “It’s okay because she tried to kill me first... well, actually I started it.” I frowned. Technically I had taken the first shot but then I’d given her the chance to walk away.

  Straightening, he looked me over. “Anyway, I just came to check on you, make sure you weren’t possessed by any demons or dying of some fatal injury. Now I’ve confirmed that you’re in good health I have to go to work. You need anything else?”

  I shook my head, “I’m fine, thanks.”

  “If I see your boyfriend I’ll tell him you need to be kidnapped again.”

  I grinned, “I’d appreciate that.” A dark thrill went through me at the thought of being kidnapped by a certain Daemon. Now there’s a guy who could hold me all night long.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “I got you a cane,” said Maya. She offered me a long black cane with a silver head. My first thought was that it was a pimp's cane but then I noticed it wasn’t as flashy as I’d imagined. No rhinestones, at least, or depictions of predators heads with bared teeth.

  “Thanks, is this so I can play up the injury?” I took it and tested it out, putting my weight on it slightly. It did help a little but the pain had reduced to a steady ache even when I moved in the past week so I could have gone without it.

  “Absolutely. And since you insist on walking there.”

  “I’ve got to get out of the house, the last thing I need is to be out of shape.” My
stomach wasn’t quite as flat as I would have liked, but wasn’t that always the way?

  “Okay, also Jay helped me with the cane and if you twist it 95 degrees clockwise and pull the top part comes out as a blade.”

  “In case I haven’t said it before you are the best roommate ever.” She really did get me.

  She smiled, “Go now or you’ll be late.”

  “Wouldn’t that be a shame?” I murmured as I stepped outside.

  Despite my recovery after five minutes of walking my hip started aching in earnest and I was really using the cane to take some of my weight. Ten minutes in I paused to take a break. “Damn Avon and his weak ass healing powers,” I muttered.

  He had actually done an awesome job I was just cranky from the pain and the fact I was being forced to eat a meal with my entire family. Maybe I should feign weakness and claim I needed to lay down the moment I got there.

  Okay, so maybe the break wasn’t just to ease the pain in my leg, I was procrastinating. Either way I had to get this thing over with. Then I could call Avon to come over so I could whine on his shoulder about how horrible my family is.

  Actually he’s probably not the best person for that... at least he could empathise.

  I turned into the alley, still leaning on the cane as I walked. My senses suddenly snapped at me, insisting that all was not right with the world. I drew my gun on instinct and turned just as a sharp object was shoved into my neck. I pulled the trigger reflexively as I fell and someone snarled. That was the last thing I heard before passing out.

  I AWOKE TIED TO A CHAIR. That was my first clue that all was not right with the world, I kept my eyes closed as I struggled to orientate myself. How had this happened? Right, I was walking alone down an alley and my reflexes were off from my injury. Really, what the hell had I expected to happen? At least it hadn’t been night time.

  That was just a recipe for a kidnapping. I shifted my arms. Rope, damn it. Why couldn’t it have been handcuffs? The way I was slumped over was actually really starting to hurt my neck so I groaned softly and straightened.