by G. Bailey
“I’d love that. I just have one more thing to ask before you leave,” I say.
“Yes?” he replies.
“The curse of having a half angel, does it apply to me?” I ask. “Not that I want a child for a long time, or ever, but it’s something that I want to know.”
“No, the curse does not apply to you. Your child won’t have wings either, I believe, as the gene line is faded. I think you will make a great mother one day, just like your mother was and would have been to you if she had the chance,” he says, seeming sad and lost in memories again. That cold expression going back into place.
“Maybe one day, and I hope you will be around to help,” I say, trying to cheer him a little.
“Perhaps. We will see each other soon, Evelina,” my father says before holding his hand in the air, and there is a white flash, and then he is gone. I smile at the empty room, feeling a strange warm feeling in my heart. I never knew I could have family like this. I have my guys, Star, Hali and apparently my father now too. I only have to get rid of my sister, and everything will be perfect.
Evie
“Are you sure you don’t want to come to training this morning?” Connor asks as I stretch out in bed, looking over at him, Trex, and Nix looking at me like I’m acting weird. I am, but still, I need them to get out of here. I hide deeper under the covers, yawning loudly. I went to a silly ball last night in a big dress and spent the night trying not to fall asleep, yawning as Trex invited me to meet all the snobbish Protectors who are richer than sense. There were only a couple of them I liked speaking to as they were like normal people, the rest might as well have been singing me a lullaby all night. I am tired, but it has more to do with Trex taking me back to his apartment, stripping the awful dress off me, and showing me his awesome shower skills way into the morning.
“Sorry, no. I slept really badly last night, so I’m sleeping in because I’m tired. Good luck,” I reply, doing another fake yawn.
“Alright then…later,” Connor replies, and they all walk out, whispering about how I might be nervous for the test tomorrow and that’s why I’m acting strange. I wait for the front door to shut before pushing the blanket off myself, smoothing down my leather outfit and clipping my sword onto my back after I stand up.
“They’re gone,” I shout, waiting for Azi to come out. I told the guys Azi was off for the day, following a lead, so they didn’t suspect anything and they didn’t ask Azi to go with them to training.
“I really don’t know why you need to break out Connor’s mother today. Surely when you’re queen, you can just free her,” Azi says, tightening the cuffs on his suit. Azi seems much more relaxed here since his clothing shop, and a space has been made in the closet for all his expensive suits. They do suit him though.
“If something goes wrong, and I don’t win the test, Erica will be queen. Erica will kill Connor’s mother just because Connor is close to me. I can’t let that happen, so we need to get her out, just in case,” I say firmly, knowing I am right. The more I think about it, the more I know we will need to be able to leave quickly after the test, before Erica can order me to be killed and Cex gets his power.
“You should have told Connor, at the very least,” Azi warns me.
“Yeah, I should have, but he might have wanted to stop me taking a huge risk for his mum. I also need him to be in a public place when we get her out,” I say, shrugging my shoulder, because it’s irrelevant now anyways. We are doing this right now. I made my mind up before I’d even met his mother. No one deserves to be locked up and have their child taken off them because they loved the wrong person. “Now let’s go to the demon underground and find the girl I need.” Azi sighs at my determination and ignoring all his advice but follows me out of the bedroom and through the lounge to the empty corridor.
I call a portal to land us just outside the barrier of the demon underground, and Azi walks through first to make sure it is safe before I follow him through a few seconds later. The cold wind brushes against my face, pushing my hair around in the air as the smell of grass and mud comes to me. I glance down at the muddy field where my boots are sinking into the wet ground a little. I look up at the cloudy sky, knowing we need to get a move on before it starts to rain.
Azi takes my hand in his as we pass through the barrier, turning what looks like an empty field into the built up area where most demons live nowadays. Three blue skinned, thin looking children run past us as they laugh and chase each other, splashing mud up Azi’s expensive suit and my outfit. Azi looks down at his muddy clothes in distaste before glancing at me as I laugh, watching them run away. It’s good to see them happy, even when they live in a place like this. That’s one thing my childhood taught me, it doesn’t matter where you are, happiness can be found even in the roughest place to live in the world. Those laughing children are proof of that.
“I received information about where she is staying in here from an old friend,” Azi says to me, pulling out a note from his pocket and reading what it says. I asked him a few days ago to find someone for me as I can’t leave the Protectors’ city to look myself without someone noticing. Plus, it isn’t safe for me to be outside the city for long at the moment. I’m sure Cex would love a chance to kill me before I can even get to the test. With that line of thinking, I pull my hood up and tuck my hair inside it as Azi guides me through the buildings. We walk for at least ten minutes before Azi stops, rubbing at a sign stretched into a metal container that says “East block 22-34.”
“She lives in block twenty-four, apparently,” Azi explains why we have stopped. I only nod before following Azi up the steps on the side, going past the doors until we find the one that has the right number on it. Azi bangs on the door twice, and I silently hope we have the right place, that she is in and we don’t have to search for her. Thankfully the door opens, and a familiar pink face looks at us in confusion, a metal baseball bat resting on her shoulder.
“Who are you? What do you want?” she demands, narrowing her eyes. Good to see she is looking after herself now. I pull my hood down, watching how her eyes widen as she recognises me.
“Can I come in for a bit? I need your help,” I ask her, smiling tightly. The succubus demon looks much better than when I last saw her. Her pink hair curls around her shoulders, her clothes look clean, and overall, she seems in good health. Let’s hope her powers are the same, or this plan won’t work.
“S-Salvatore. Yes, of course!” she mumbles, pulling the door open further and letting us walk into her small apartment. Well, the apartment is more of a box room with stone walls, with a bed, kitchen and bathroom all in one. There is a fireplace on the one wall with a burning fire giving off heat and light. Seeing this room is just a reminder of how little demons have when Protectors have too much.
“In case you don’t know, I’m Evie. This is Azi. I never did get your name back then,” I say, crossing my arms and standing near the fire for warmth.
“When you saved me, you mean? I never got to really thank you for that day, and my name is Bella. I thought those humans were going to fall to my powers like humans do and hurt me because of it. Sometimes I hate what I am, but since I have been here, life has gotten a little better. I still miss my only love, but I help out with the community to keep busy,” Bella tells me. “Now, what can I do to help you? I owe you a debt after all, and demons always pay their debts.”
“I was hoping you would say that,” I reply with a smile. “What I need you to do could be very dangerous. I have to warn you of that before we discuss this.”
“A debt is a debt. I trust you to protect me. You know the people call you the demon queen and say that you will make sure demons survive. How could I not fight for you?” she says, smiling at me. I glance at Azi who is on the other side of the room, and he smirks at me. The demon queen…I think I like that title.
“Alright then, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Though I will keep you as safe as possible,” I start off, and though she seems nervous, she doesn’
t look away. “First, I am pretty sure I am right, but your powers do work on Protectors? You can seduce them into anything you want like humans and other supernaturals? Even demons if you really try?” I ask her. I don’t know much about succubi, but after speaking to Azi in detail about this plan, he is certain Bella should be able to do what I need.
“I’ve never tried to seduce a Protector, but I have a witch before. But yes, I could seduce one if I wanted…why?” she asks me.
“Well, I need you to seduce a Protector prison guard into looking the other way as I get a prisoner out,” I explain, and her eyes widen in shock. We are both silent for a while as she thinks it over before nodding.
“I guess I can do that,” she replies, nodding her head. “I’ll just grab my coat.” I watch her for a moment, a little confused as she unhooks her coat off the back of her door and starts pulling it on.
“Don’t you want to ask more questions?” I ask. I planned at least half an hour to convince her to come with me. I really didn’t expect her to say yes straight away without a lot of explanation.
“Nope. I don’t see how the situation is going to be less scary, so we might as well get it over with,” she says, and I grin.
“I think I like you,” I reply, which is saying something as I don’t like most people.
“Most people do. I’m literally born for people to like,” she says, winking at me, and Azi chuckles as he walks over.
“Evie, call a portal to the prisons. The alarms are going to go off the moment we enter the city with Bella. It won’t be long until they investigate the prison. We should get in and out quickly,” Azi states, making me smile because I can’t help the joke that pops into my mind and demands that I say it.
“Just what every girl wants to hear, Azi,” I joke, and Bella laughs as Azi shakes his head at me before I call a portal. I jump through first, with Azi following, and the moment Bella steps into the room, an alarm goes off.
“Right, let’s get to it. The receptionist is through there,” I point at the only wooden door in the room. Bella nods and walks through it, and we follow after her. I feel the pressure change in the room when Bella starts using her power, making me feel hot and a blush rising to my cheeks. I look over to see the woman behind the desk glowing pink as she stares at Bella with pure lust. Azi clears his throat, pulling at his collar as he is clearly feeling the effect just like I am.
“Hey, beautiful lady. I need you to open—” Bella stops, not knowing what door she is asking for, and I shout over.
“Duna’s room.”
“Can you open Duna’s room for me and make sure the doors don’t lock up with that silly alarm?” Bella purrs, her voice is even seductive to me, and I don’t swing that way.
“Y-yes. Yes, I can,” the defenceless woman says as Bella leans over the desk, placing her hand on the woman’s cheek. A few moments later, there is a buzzing, and I walk to the door, pushing it open. With the alarm still blasting, Azi and I run past the rooms until we get to the open one, where Connor’s mum is stood looking confused. She looks thinner than before with only a thin jumper covering her up and worn looking jeans.
“Princess Evelina? What is going on?” she asks.
“You’re getting out of here, and I don’t have time to explain right now, but I will later. Come on,” I say, nodding my head to the side. Duna looks worriedly at Azi before looking back at me.
“Connor is a good friend of mine. You have nothing to fear from me,” Azi states, and that seems to make Duna move, running to the door with me at her side. I jog into the reception first, surprised to see Bella kissing the woman behind the desk.
“Azi, get in the room with Duna and call a portal,” I say, and Azi does as I ask while I run to Bella.
“We need to go,” I tell Bella when I get to her side, feeling the smash of seductive energy coming from her brush against my skin and making my knees feel weak. Bella pulls back from the other woman but doesn’t move her hands off the woman’s shoulders.
“If I let her go, she will set off an alarm. The woman is much stronger than I thought,” she explains to me.
“Alright. I have an idea,” I say, jumping on the desk and sliding over to the other side. I pull out a dagger and spin it around before whacking the Protector on her temple with the blunt end. She passes out, falling to the floor as Bella lets her go.
“That wasn’t a good idea. The poor woman,” Bella tuts as I slide over the desk.
“I’m sure she will get over it. I will send her some new magazines as a sorry,” I mutter, running towards the door. I slide inside the room and wait for Bella just outside the portal.
“Let’s go,” I say, and Bella doesn’t hesitate as she jumps through the portal, and I do the same. I step out into the field just outside the demon underground, where Azi is stood with Duna, and he closes the portal behind me with the clap of his hands. I breathe heavily, trying to shake the effect of a demon portal off me, and I have to shake my head a few times. Azi and Bella aren’t affected at all, lucky demons. Duna looks pale, but she stares up at the sky like she is seeing it for the first time, and she doesn’t seem to care about anything else. It must be strange to be above ground after being imprisoned in the ground for so long.
“Thank you for your help, Bella,” I say, meaning every word as I look back at her, and she bows her head.
“Anything for the demon queen. Though I have paid my debt now,” she says, winking at me before running off towards the barrier of the demon underground without looking back once.
“Thank you for saving me, Princess Evelina, but why did you not wait to help me when you are queen?” Duna asks, crossing her arms.
“Nothing is guaranteed, and I won’t let Connor lose his mum if I don’t get the crown. I love him too much for that,” I admit to her, and she shakily nods, before wiping a tear from her eye.
“I’m glad he has you,” she says. “I hope that you win the crown, and I can come back to the city one day. I would love to spend time getting to know the woman who stole my son’s heart.”
“You have my vow that if I have the throne, you will be welcome in the city,” I tell her. “The laws will change. I am a half child after all, and no one will be treated so cruelly for being in love.”
“You sound like your mother. She planned to change all the rules, but her husband stopped her. I know you will make a good queen who will finally change things for the better,” she says and comes over to me. Duna hugs me tightly, whispering in my ear. “Keep my boy safe while the world is very dangerous right now. Promise me.”
“I promise.” Duna pulls away, smiling at us both and focusing on Azi.
“I never did introduce myself. I’m Duna, you are?” she asks him.
“Azi. Overlord demon. Living with Evie and Connor as well,” Azi says, and Duna throws herself into Azi’s arms, hugging him tightly. I chuckle to myself as Azi flashes me a “help me” look. Duna pulls away after a little while.
“Thank you for your part in helping me escape, and I will have to thank the pink demon at some point,” she muses.
“I can take you somewhere safe if you wish. I have a house in Scotland which is in a small town. No one would suspect a thing, and you could say you are house sitting,” Azi suggests.
“Yes, I would like that, and thank you for the offer, but I might not need your help. I hope there has been someone waiting for me like I have been waiting for him,” Duna cryptically says and pulls up her sleeve. I glance at her black mark, seeing a bold circle around it before Duna covers it with her hand and closes her eyes. Azi walks close to my side as we both watch Duna for a long time, the wind and our breathing being the only sounds in the field. My hand goes to my dagger as a massive, black, smoke-like blur appears a few feet behind Duna, and Duna’s eyes pop open like she can sense it is here. Out of the shadow steps a man wearing a black cape and holding a tall scythe in his hand, the long silver metal shining in the sunlight. The man pushes his cape back as Duna runs to him, and they
embrace each other tightly. I look away as they start kissing, assuming this must be Connor’s father. After giving them a few moments, Azi clears his throat, reminding me we need to get back to our room for this whole plan to work.
“Sorry to interrupt, guys, but we have to leave,” I say, the wind carrying my voice as I meet the eyes of Connor’s father. Connor looks like him, minus the fact Connor doesn’t have his black hair or blue eyes. The reaper mark is on his neck, a scythe in a triangle which almost glows a black colour. I’ve only heard of the mark, never actually seen it before. Reapers don’t just appear for anyone, and they are the most secretive of all the supernaturals. We just don’t know much about them, and they keep to themselves. In this world, that isn’t a bad thing.
“Thank you for rescuing my mate. I owe you a great debt,” he says, his voice deep and his accent unfamiliar.
“No debt is owed. Connor is family to us,” I reply, and he smirks, much like Connor does.
“I owe you, and I see in your future you will be thankful for the debt. Be careful of death, friend of my son,” the reaper says, before holding his hand out, and a shadow swallows him and a smiling Duna who waves goodbye.
“I have never liked reapers. Always so cryptic and full of shit,” Azi comments. “And stuck-up now I come to think of it.”
“I’ve never met one before…what do you think he meant about being careful of death?” I ask quietly, because that doesn’t sound good.
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t worry on it, Vi. Reapers talk out of their asses most of the time. We need to get back,” he says, and I nod in agreement. I call a portal back to my corridor in my building and step through it with Azi following. I freeze when I hear someone shout from right behind me just as my portal disappears.
“What the hell have you done now, Evelina?”
