by Cece Rose
“Yeah, why the hell did you owe him a favour, M? Because I keep trying to think about why and it just doesn't make sense to me,” Kaden questions.
“He's the one that helped me make the demon blade. He gave me a book with instructions...he then saved my life by killing X for me when I failed,” I admit, feeling like a weight is lifted off my shoulders by confessing this to them now.
“I wondered how ye managed it,” Callan says, and I pull a face. Is it really that unbelievable that I killed X?
“So…what did he have you do?” Mason asks, his forehead is creased with worry lines. I just want to reach out and smooth them. Barely resisting the urge, I keep my hands in my lap, twisting them around each other.
“He made me go to this demon party—”
“Demon party?” Nick cuts me off in an incredulous tone. The looks on all of their faces match Nick’s tone. Apparently, the idea of demons throwing parties is ridiculous to them all. Having now attended one, I’m inclined to agree. There was so much weird and wrong about the demons sitting around pretending to be civilised. Nick clears his throat, and I take a deep breath, then let it all out at once.
“Yes, a demon party. They're so frickin weird. They all dress like historical rejects, and pretend to act sophisticated, and not like, well, freaking demons. Okay, so we went to this party because I had to go and be questioned by the demon princes, and kings. Oh, and one queen, did you know there's a really disproportionate amount of male demons to female? Anyway, so I'm there being questioned, and they decide they believe that I killed X, which was my debt to Adam by the way. He said he'd consider my debt paid if I covered for him. But then they decided to debate on whether I'm a halfling or a demon, or whatever between them because I have magic. And now I have to pass a stupid test or they're going to kill me,” I answer, my words falling out in a rush. I look at all their faces, every single one of them is gaping at me.
“You met the demon princes, hell, you met the demon kings? And Astaroth?” Nick questions, his green eyes wide.
“Um...yeah?” I answer lamely. He pokes my shoulder lightly, then harder, and then he pinches it. “What the hell!” I snap, pulling away from him.
“Sorry, just checking you're actually alive, because dead would make a lot more sense than any of what you just said,” he mutters.
“How did you know her name?” I ask.
“Who doesn't know her name? A lot of demons are notorious, Mona. These are beings that are thousands of years old. They used to live in this world, and a lot of them were worshipped by humans if you look back far enough,” he explains. Figures that Nick would know about that, considering his interest in history. I wonder what else he could tell me about them?
“Huh, that actually makes some sense,” I reply, trying to push away my other questions for later.
“Okay, angel, now explain to me this part about the fact you’re going back to the demon realm to be tested?” Kaden says, sounding pissed off as hell. Shit, the friendly giant doesn’t look so friendly suddenly.
“Well, either I'm a halfling, or I'm more than a halfling. If I fail, I'm a useless halfling and I die. If I pass, they'll consider me a demon. Not just a demon, but a freaking higher demon, whatever the difference is,” I admit, hating saying the words. Either way, it sounds terrible. My options well and truly suck.
“Their test can’t change what you are,” Mason says, but his voice wavers slightly.
“It doesn’t matter what I am apparently, only how I’m perceived. If I count as a higher demon, I get to live, but I have to sign their damn demon agreement,” I reply, admitting that bit begrudgingly.
“Damn demon agreement?” Nick asks, raising a dark-blond eyebrow questioningly.
“They have an agreement not to kill each other. Apparently, only four demons are allowed to kill higher demons,” I explain.
“Well, that’s something I didn’t know,” Nick admits sounding intrigued. “Did you find out anything else that’s interesting?”
“I wouldn’t say any of it’s interesting, Nicky. It was horrible, and I have to go back there,” I say, groaning as I put my head into my hands.
“Maybe interesting isn’t the best word,” Mason says, giving Nick a pointed look. Nick only shrugs in response, clearly not seeing a problem with what he said. I look at Nick and notice what he's wearing is a little odd. It's all black. His shoes, his trousers, his t-shirt, his zip-up hoodie…which is really unlike him to wear, anyway. I turn back and look at Kaden again, realising he's dressed identically.
“Why are Nick and Kaden dressed like they’re about to commit a crime?” I ask the room, figuring Mason and Callan would be in on whatever it is that those two are really up to.
“I wouldn’t really call it a crime,” Nick begins.
“I would,” Kaden grunts, clearly unhappy.
“What are you planning?” I ask.
“More like, what did we do,” Kaden says, looking pointedly at Nick, who rolls his eyes in response.
“You thought my idea was great a few hours ago,” he replies, unfazed at Kaden’s annoyance.
“If we were caught—”
“But we weren’t, relax Kaden. We’re fine, Mona is home, and we have another boring book for Callan’s collection,” he says, shrugging.
“Once we have a chance to make a copy, we are returning it like we planned, Nick. Before the council know it’s gone,” Kaden says, stressing the last point with a glare in Nick’s direction.
“Wait, you stole a book from the council? The people you work for? The ones that could send you both to whatever the supernatural version of prison is? The people that would kill me if they knew I existed?” I question, feeling alarmed as I glance around, trying to spot the damn book. I look back at Kaden and then at Nick, neither of them will answer me.
“Yes, they did,” Mason eventually answers for them. There’s no remorse or upset in his voice.
“And why the hell would you do that?” I snap, keeping my eyes locked on Nick. Somehow, I just know this is his fault.
“It’s a banned book. The council has an archived copy of every banned book in existence. This book we took is on demons, and rumour has it, it has a chapter on how to summon one if it doesn’t have a summoning sigil. We thought the ritual inside might work on you, considering you have magic,” he explains.
“You did it to try and summon me back?” I ask, a little shocked Nick of all people came up with a plan to save me.
“You sound surprised, Mona, didn’t you just call us friends the other day? Or does that only stand when you’re trying to piss someone off?” he retorts.
“It’s not like that,” I mutter, frowning. Well, it was a little bit, but only slightly. Nicky was growing on me every day, as much as I’d hate to admit it, but I did exaggerate our current friendship to piss Barbie-vamp off. I didn’t think that would actually bother him, though.
“Whatever, Mona,” he says, standing.
“Wait,” I say, and he pauses.
“You guys don’t need the book to summon me. At least, I’m pretty sure you don’t. I made a summoning sigil when I forged the demon blade,” I explain.
“You have a summoning mark?” Mason questions, and I nod. I lift up my arm, and push up my sleeve, showing the six lines on my arm.
“Your summoning sigil are those six straight lines?” Kaden asks, looking at it disbelievingly. I’d made up a lie about having some tragic looking tattoo done a few weeks before we met. The guys hadn’t really spent a lot of time staring at my wrists I suppose, and they hadn’t questioned it further. Only Nick had given it a second glance after I had explained.
“Yeah, you have to draw it, and I’m not really much of an artist, so lines it was,” I explain, shrugging. I would have picked something nicer had I known it was going to show up on my skin like a tattoo, but demon spell books aren’t the clearest. It didn’t help that half of the instructions were in Latin. Google translate could only help so much.
“You h
ad to draw it?” Mason asks curiously.
“Yeah, in my own blood, and then I had to burn it in a flame while reciting some Latin. It was lots of fun,” I mutter. I cringe when I think of Luna's blood-covered makeup brushes. I should probably send her some new ones, even if she isn’t talking to me.
“Well, now we know your summoning sigil, it should be pretty easy to call you home next time,” Kaden says. Nick is still standing, just looking at me.
“What?” I ask.
“You didn’t think that maybe that could have been helpful knowledge for us? Like how telling us that a demon was coming into our home to pick you up, is also the kind of thing you should warn us about. Are you really that dense?” he snaps at me.
“Look, I messed up. I was just worried—”
“No. You didn’t trust us. Do you trust anyone, Mona? Even if not me, why not tell Kaden, Mason, or Callan? What have they done to cause your distrust in them?” he questions, firing off his questions quicker than an interrogator. I can’t get a word in edgeways. “Well, Mona? Nothing to say? Why don’t you trust them?” he asks. I look to the other guys, hoping for some help, but they look as frustrated as Nick. I swallow the lump in my throat. I know I messed up, this is their home, and I let danger into it without warning them. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself before I reply, not wanting to cry. It always invalidates an argument with a guy when you cry, they’ll just say or do anything to make you stop, and I want them to really understand this. They need to understand why I acted the way I did.
“I want to trust you guys, I really do. And I do trust you, but it's to an extent. People in my life have a habit of letting me down. The only person in the world I can rely on is…it was Christian, and he's gone. I can't just let you all in like a flick of a switch okay? It's ingrained in me not to trust people,” I explain, feeling my body start to shake a little bit at the mention of Christian, but I keep the tears in.
“I get not trusting people, Mona, but when your distrust puts other people in danger, then it has become a problem. You can’t let your issues put them at risk,” Nick replies, his tone not sounding understanding at all.
“I'm sorry I put you guys in danger, I won't keep any more secrets like that. I'm sorry,” I reply, looking at each of them. My eyes linger on Callan, who has been oddly quiet; he's barely said a word since we all sat down.
“It’s okay, M. We get it,” Kaden says, speaking first. I let out the breath I was holding, feel the weight fall off my shoulders as he stands up and pulls me up into a hug. I slide my arms back around him feeling completely relieved that they don’t hate me for what I did. When Kaden pulls away, I look at Nick who has sat back down on the sofa, although positioned as far away from me as possible without falling off the end.
“Are we okay?” I ask him gently, afraid to set him off again. He nods slightly in answer and I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Mason, Callan?” I ask.
“We were always good, Mona,” Mason answers.
“Aye, we’re fine, lass,” Callan agrees. I smile at them both, and sit back down, making sure to sit closer to Kaden than Nick.
“But now you need to explain more about this test they want you to do,” Mason says firmly. The guys make affirmative noises and wait patiently for me to explain. I chew on my bottom lip, knowing they won’t be happy with what I’m about to say.
“Mona?” Nick prompts, narrowing his green eyes at me, making me sigh.
“I wish I could. All I know is they needed time to plan it, whatever it is, and I honestly don’t know more than that. Adam is going to pick me up in three days, and then I will take the test. If I pass, I’m a demon. If I fail, I’m a halfling that shouldn’t have the magic that I do, and they’ll kill me.”
“Shit,” Kaden curses, and I look up at him, seeing the frustration in his expression.
I couldn’t have put it better myself, elf-ears. Shit.
Chapter 17
As I am—for what must be the millionth time today—slammed onto an ugly, blue mat, I stare up at the dark-grey ceiling of the basement workout room.
“Please, can we be done now,” I groan, feeling the ache spreading through my body. If my super demon healing abilities were actually working right now, this wouldn't be so bad.
“Sorry, angel, we're not stopping. You need to be as prepared as possible in the event that they're able to get to you tomorrow night,” Kaden says, trying to look reassuring as he smiles down at me, but I can tell it's forced. His tight, grey t-shirt clings to his giant-sized muscles like a glove. I try not to stare, directing my eyes back up to the ceiling.
“In the event,” I snort. “You know no matter where you hide me, thanks to the damn favour mark Adam hasn't removed yet, he can find me anywhere. It's pointless,” I mutter, throwing an arm over my eyes to block out the bright, artificial light coming from above.
“Well, maybe they will be able to find you, it doesn't mean they can necessarily get in,” he says. I move my arm and sit up, hugging my knees against my chest.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“There's a plan. Nick came up with it while you were sleeping last night, but it's not foolproof, so Callan told him not to tell you yet. Plus, we're not even sure if it will work at all...there's an untested element involved,” he admits.
“What's the untested element?” I ask him, watching his face for clues.
“You, we don't know if it will also keep you out,” he answers. For a moment, I'm confused, but then it hits me.
“Because whatever this plan is, it keeps all demons out, right? Including me?” I reply glumly.
“We don't know that—”
“But, it's a possibility. This plan could totally fail. Do we have any others?” I ask, hoping there's a whole load of options they’re also yet to enlighten me about.
“The plans are either we hide and take shelter in a place that no demon can step, or we fight. We’re preparing for both eventualities,” Kaden answers firmly.
“Even if we hide tomorrow night, they could just come back the next night and the night after. We can't hide forever,” I say, feeling the defeat already setting in. This isn’t a sustainable plan.
“You don't think we haven't considered that, M?” he says, and I shrug. Who knows. They'd done most of their planning while I'd slept, apparently, my trip to the demon realm had taken it out of me. I only got a couple hours of training in with Kaden before falling asleep on him. I'd spent the next sixteen hours in a practically comatose state as I caught up with such much-needed rest.
“What are we going to do then?” I ask.
“This is just a short-term plan, just while we figure out a better one that’ll keep you safe without having to hide away every time the sun sets,” he answers.
“What if there is no long-term solution? Surely I should just go with them now—”
“Don’t even say that, M, it’s not happening. We have no idea what they will try and make you do, or how difficult it’ll be. I’m sure some of the demons will be making it deliberately impossible for you, and if you lose, you die,” he says seriously, cutting me off.
“And if I win, I’m a demon. It doesn’t seem like much of a prize,” I mutter glumly.
“So, don't take their test. Let us keep you safe,” he pleads, kneeling down next to me on the blue mat.
“It’s not your job to do that,” I mumble, as he sits down properly and stretches out.
“You’re right, it’s not. But we want to help you, angel, let us,” he says pulling me onto his lap and into a hug.
“Fine,” I grumble, not able to resist smiling though, as he plays with the ends of my blonde hair.
“Fine?” he says softly, his breath hitting my cheek.
“Yup, fine,” I answer, and he pushes me off his lap. “Hey!” I shout, looking up at him.
“Back to work then,” he says, ignoring my annoyance with an evil grin on his face.
“Nope. I’m done working out for the day,” I reply.
“No, please, let’s just go get a pizza or something,” I plead.
“M, come on, stop messing around, we need to go over some more useful spells,” he says.
“Elf magic is different from demon magic,” I grumble.
“True, but a lot of the spells themselves are the same, and you know it. Stop making excuses,” he replies.
“Fine, you teach me one more spell and then we go get pizza,” I suggest.
“Sure, if you can get the spell right first time, we’ll go and get pizza,” he answers with a glint in his eye.
“First time?” I moan. He must be kidding me, I’m not the kind of person that normally gets stuff instantly, having to work at something to get good at it. I’d practised my circle about twenty times before being able to do it properly.
“Yup, first time,” he replies with a grin.
“Fine, what spell are we going to do,” I grumble, knowing this is the best offer he will give me.
“What about some flames?” he suggests.
“Flames? You trust me to make a fire in your house?” I question. No freaking way did I get that lucky, I know how to set stuff on fire already. I try to hide my smile.
“Why are you grinning like an idiot, angel?” he asks. Damn it, stupid open-book face.
“Firstly, I'd like to agree with your suggestion of fire as the spell we have the bet on. And, secondly, I already know how to do it. So, let's get pizza!” I reply quickly, jumping up into a standing position.
“Angel,” he practically growls.
“Kadie,” I reply sweetly.
“What kind of fire can you use?” he asks. I look around the room, not spotting anything good to set on fire. I look back at Kaden and his tight-fitting, grey t-shirt. He wouldn’t miss it, right?
“Could I borrow your shirt a second?” I ask, smiling deviously.
“My shirt? The one I’m wearing right now, this one?” he asks, pulling the shirt away from his body a little to emphasise his words.
“Yup,” I answer.
