Keeley Thomson (Book 4): Demon Trap

by P. S. Power

  If she could manage that, not a lot of people would be able to easily pry the data from her, would they?

  Without speaking, he rose and left, using the door and then taking the inroads once outside. That meant she got to her room in time to find Becky in a pink nightshirt that had a pony on the front climbing into bed. She looked a bit scared for a second and Keeley wondered if she thought it was time for the sexy porn music to start, but her thoughts revealed that she just didn't know if they were sharing the bed or if she was supposed to sleep on the floor.

  Keeley smiled.

  "I'll get the lights in a bit. Just let me change first..."

  The other girl, mercifully, was a deep sleeper, which meant that half an hour later Keeley could get up and arrange the presents, then start making the rolls for breakfast. It was mainly just something for her to do, but she managed to keep busy enough until the others got up, at about ten in the morning. Sherry looked nearly panicked, but Keeley, being a great daughter, had realized that Bertha had needed to be packed up and had done that earlier, letting her sleep in a bit.

  "Oh! That's so sweet of you. This is a last minute thing, but I'm supposed to meet Clara and Glen to get a mid-afternoon party set up." She didn't even look toward the tree on her way out. Keeley quelled the slight sense of disappointment and smiled at her back as Becky watched from the doorway, clearly feeling awkward.

  Keeley winked at her.

  "Orange rolls and eggs, then we can open some presents."

  The other girl made a face then, and sighed.

  "I didn't know that I'd be here, so I didn't get you anything."

  It was a delicate situation, since things like that needed to be balanced, more or less. Otherwise people would feel weird about stuff.

  "I only have one for you. Most of this is for everyone else."

  They ate and listened to music for a while then opened the packages that were for them, both of them being filled with clothing. It wasn't a giant haul, but it worked well enough and looked nice. They stayed together for most of the day, chatting about nothing all that important, but at about six, Keeley actually had to go, since there was a thing. One that was in a different state. She didn't want to leave the girl behind, but taking her to a party with mages, Vampires and Greater Demons didn't seem like a great plan, to tell the truth.

  The hard part was letting her know that without hurting her feelings.

  "So, I have to go soon." There was no great way to do it and the truth was right out. She lied then, hoping it wouldn't be too uncomfortable for anyone." I have that thing with Dan? You're welcome to come. I don't think you should though, not this time. Everyone will think we're dating. I'm game if you are though." She smiled and batted her eyelashes a bit, then held the girls hand. "What do you say, sweetiekins?" The girl laughed and shook her hand free.

  "Hah, I can tell when I'm being sent away. Seriously, this was fun Keeley. Way better than what I would have had, anyway. Thanks." She got up and collected her things, seeming pretty happy about it and waved on the way out the door. "If there's a New Year's Eve party, make sure and invite me to that too?"

  She nodded.

  "First on the list, as far as I know. We should do that."

  It was actually a great idea.

  Keeley had searched through the memories that she had from Zack to find his place before, so she was there on his doorstep shortly after Becky drove off. She had presents for him, and a few for the others that would be there. Lenore and Troy, his roommate. It was the other man that answered the door, looking clean and smelling a little too much of some trendy cologne or other. Not that bad, but with all the Vampires in the room, and the few shifters that were already there, it was probably going to be a bit strong. She'd have to warn him about that, if they got a chance later.

  He looked at her and smiled, recognizing her but not really understanding that she wasn't just some hot girl his friend knew.

  "Kelly, wasn't it?" He held out his hands to help with the packages at least, even if he couldn't remember her name.

  Sighing she handed them over with a headshake.

  "Seriously Troy? And here I thought we had a connection and everything. Keeley. Remember it, or next year I won't get you a present."

  "Sorry. Oh, hey, this one actually has my name on it. Keeley, marry me."

  She nodded.

  "Alright, but I'm only sixteen, so I have to ask my mother for permission."

  The smooth guy took that news in stride and stepped out of the way easily so that she could enter the room. It was a bit dingy and had the look of people that didn't have a lot of money on hand for decorating. That wasn't really the case though now. Zack just didn't know he had it yet, she didn't think. That would change soon. Really it was surprising that no one had gotten him new furniture and carpeting yet. People had to be panicking more than a bit, trying to find things to trade with him.

  "Look everyone, Keeley's here. We're getting married, but I'm sure she's good with open relationships, so don't let that stop any of you other ladies from flirting with me." The words were, she realized, pure genius.

  He'd just informed the whole room that he was valuable to other women. It was clearly a joke, since she was too young to get hitched, but several of the others turned to look at her and then him with renewed interest.

  She touched his arm a little possessively, doing her part to sell the whole thing.

  "That's true." She didn't explain which part of it, but Zack rescued her, laughing.

  "Keeley, here, you should meet everyone." There was a knock on the door then, so Troy had to dump the presents and let Darla in. Finias was with her, but that didn't stop the slightly Hispanic looking guy from flirting with her too. That seemed to be his thing.

  Then there were those introductions that Zack mentioned. He seemed relatively happy about it all, his voice smooth, for him. There was a good variety of people and beings there too. Some that Keeley had to search her memories to find out about. Elth, were easy, since they were so small and cute it made them distinctive. Basically elves really, though that was considered an insult to their kind to call them that. Hsreth were represented as well. They looked almost identical to Glen and Clara, which made sense. They reproduced asexually after all, so they were all directly related. There were others too.

  A large female that shook her hand very carefully. She was very hairy and stood nearly seven feet tall. Her name was given as Hilda, though that wasn't her given name. All her thoughts were different, since she clearly wasn't human at all either. She had a pleasantly musky scent though.

  Finias and Darla moved across the room to talk to Zack's grandparents, because that wouldn't look funny at all, if anyone was paying attention. Lenore moved in next to them, her body language both frightened and protective. It was all the Greater Demons causing her to worry, of course. After a few minutes Troy came back and put his arm around her in a way that had to look like he was trying to pick her up. It would have felt like it too, except that he was actually trying to make a Vampire girl across the room jealous. Unfortunately that wasn't happening, because the other girl and Keeley had met before. She just looked really upset, instead.

  Cutely so though.

  "So, Keeley, do you go to school near here?" He was good at small talk so she let herself answer honestly. About a third of the people in the room knew who, and what, she was after all. There was some instrumental music in the background and people stood and mingled or sat and chatted with only a little bit of discomfort. There was even a table with snacks on it, she noticed. Nice ones too, probably brought by the Elth and Hsreth.

  "No, I live in Arizona. You'll have to move when we get married." She winked at him, and then added more. Lenore was listening after all. "I'm just kidding of course. We can live anywhere you want."

  Her tone got him to chuckle a bit, but it was an uneasy sound, since she'd deadpanned the whole thing. Zack moved in alongside of them and started nodding. That didn't last long, since he couldn't
lie at all.

  "You're too young to marry. You too Keeley. Be careful though, or he won't believe it and you'll end up in bed. I haven't even had a chance at you yet, so that would hardly be fair." The words should have made his girlfriend mad, but she was a Vampire, so as long as she'd had him first it really wouldn't bother her overly. Keeley avoided thinking about the fact that he was probably her nephew. She couldn't explain it after all, and sleeping with him would be a good enough reason for them to keep being friends.

  That was what she was thinking when there was another knock on the door. This time it was firm, almost a pounding sort of thing. For some reason she turned to look as Troy moved in, a smile on his face. He was a naturally friendly person it seemed. Also, he had an arm around her, still trying to make it seem like they were together enough to generate interest from some of the other women. That meant she was walking toward the door as well.

  In a way that was a good thing, she realized.

  After all, if she hadn't been there to take the blow that came, just managing to get Troy out of the way in time, he would have died. As it was she ended up flying backward, collapsing the drywall next to the kitchen door, some fifteen feet away. It wasn't a pleasant trip, but it had given her time to start healing, even before she hit anything else, and to find the forty-five's handle and start firing, trying not to miss, since she didn't have that many bullets in the weapon.

  The really strange thing though was that the person she was shooting at, who was hit over and over again in the chest, even before she could stand up, looked familiar.

  "Very good, Keeley." The girl waved her right hand and not only did the bullets pop out of the wounds and hit the floor, but the clothing repaired itself perfectly.

  It was a deep brown outfit that looked simple and very plain. It was the kind of tunic and trousers get up that Greater Demons wore when they were going to challenge another of their kind. In this case she had to assume that whoever it was had come for her.

  After all, they were wearing her face at the moment.

  It pretty much had to mean something.

  Putting the gun back into place so she wouldn't lose it, she stood and grabbed her sword by the handle, freeing it as she rushed what seemed to be herself.

  As she brought the blade down across the neck of the being in front of her, there was an annoying laugh. It sounded just like she always did.

  Chapter thirteen

  In Greater Demon society, in some very formal situations, you marked your power and station above others by wearing a darker shade of brown than the person you were facing. It was a way to basically tell them that you were more important, stronger, or more intelligent than they were. Generally you went a tone or two darker than what they were wearing, if you really wanted to rub things in. There were hundreds of shades though. The one that the fake version of her had on was so dark it was nearly black.

  Apparently that wasn't just bragging either.

  The sword slammed against the pale flesh of their neck, and did no damage at all. She didn't stop, but realized it wasn't even distracting whoever this was. On the good side she was nearly certain it wasn't Xenses. After all, if that was the case, she'd be dead already, or at least being raped. This person just stood there, smiling at her.

  After a second she just stood back.

  "Wow, is my smile that creepy all the time?" Keeley shook her head then. "Well, that didn't work. How about this, you can do anything you like, and be my slave? Just breathe or try to hold your breath to indicate-"

  "Agreed. If you can win it." The contest of wills didn't last long at all. About five seconds. She used all the energy she had, slamming her stores into it, using everything available in an attempt to overwhelm whoever this new comer was. It just... sort of slipped off. There was no return attempt to take her at least, which was nice, since she would have been a slave then, instead of just falling to her knees in exhaustion.

  "No? Too bad, it would be a nice respite from my responsibilities. Do you have anything else to try, or should I just kill you now? Or..." The other version of her looked around, her pretty face turning ugly in its apathy and lack of expression. "I know, a different sort of bargain perhaps? I'll tell you what, I'll let you go, unharmed and unmolested, and kill one of these others in your place. Let's see..." The voice didn't get to say a name, since a chair was suddenly hitting them with all the force that Troy could muster.

  It didn't do anything, not even break the old metal thing that was being swung like an awkward club. On the third blow the other Keeley took it away, and set it down in a single, very fluid, motion. There wasn't even a click as it touched the carpeted floor.

  "Stop that. Not you anyway, Troy Lopez. No, I think... Her." The slim finger pointed across the room, directly at Lenore.

  The Vampire went incredibly still then.

  "Yes. That one. Will you trade her life for your own? It's a good bargain at the price. She isn't even one of your people. You've barely met as a matter of fact. What do you say, Mistress of Souls? Will you give her over to me?" There was significant eye contact as Keeley got to her feet, still inside the other being's arm's reach. The device she pulled out next had been right there and she nearly got it activated before the other being noticed it happening at all.

  It wasn't perfect, but it was pretty smooth.

  "I don't trade my friends to monsters." It even sounded good. Strong and powerful, instead of scared beyond all reason. She didn't have time to waste on controlling that part of herself, and just had to act, even if she was pretty certain she was about to die.

  Then she pulsed a bit of power into the device in her hand, the Demon Trap. The world folded around them, and after ten seconds they were alone together, hidden in the dark. The device was gone, leaving them locked in place. For a moment at least.

  "What do you think this is going to accomplish. I doubt those others will even have time to flee before I'm out."

  She shrugged, knowing that the other being wasn't really speaking, but not caring at all. She answered the same way.

  "I know that. You know what I don't know though?" She worked her hand into place to grab the little crystal bomb that Darla had traded her. "I don't know what this thing will do in a space like this. Do you? Let's see..."

  She activated the thing and dropped it, stepping back, flaring power behind her, so that she could, for a while, move into the space she carried with her. Her own little pocket universe. Handy in a time like this.

  It didn't do enough to protect her, and the world faded for a bit, her thoughts going fuzzy under the pressure as the tiny space bowed around her, putting more force on her frame than it could easily handle. Then it all went away, for a long while.

  When she came to, there were people standing over her. Darla and Finias were there, as was, to her surprise, Zack. Next to him stood...

  Her.

  "Crap. You didn't die? That's pretty inconsiderate of you." She felt like someone had let elephants tap-dance on her head, and this jerk looked clean and pretty still. The only thing that had changed was that she was wearing a white version of the outfit from earlier. It took a minute for her head to work, as she fought to her feet, but it occurred to her that the challenge was over at least.

  She'd lost, naturally, but was still alive. That was something.

  It was Finias that spoke first, his voice calm, and palms up, showing they were empty.

  "It was a test, Keeley. Nothing more. There is no loss of place or pride here. In fact, you did very well. Don't you think so Tarsus?"

  The other her smiled.

  "Much better than expected. You still lack strength, but your use of what skills you had was adequate. Getting that Demon Trap into working order was a nice touch as well. I barely slapped it together. Your work Technician?" He wasn't really asking, but Darla nodded anyway.

  "She traded for it, as an adult."

  The other her nodded.

  "As expected. Very good. This was the first Crucible. As has
been stated, you passed. When you're older you must pass the other two, but this is the first step to adulthood. Proof that you can hold your own against even the strongest of us. You actually had that accomplished when you survived Gregor's little radioactive gift. This was mainly to demonstrate that you have a bit further to go still, so you won't stop working. Congratulations."

  She stood up, searching through the information that this being had placed in her head, finding it easily enough, now that she had a name for it. The Crucible. The testing to destruction.

  "I see." She locked down all of her emotions then and nodded at the far wall. "You should fix that. I appreciate the idea, but this is the household of the human line walker, not mine. Nor was this testing expected. I wouldn't have come here today if I'd known it would end in damage to another's property."

  The elder Greater Demon looked around, but didn't throw out an insult about the decor.

  "Of course, forgive me, Line Walker. It will be seen to directly, at my expense. Now, I should take my leave, before the Mistress of Souls loses composure and attacks again. You did well girl. Most die during the testing at this point."

  He left, using the inroads, as if he was actually afraid that she'd attack again. That wasn't happening. Tarsus had well and truly kicked her butt. Without apparent effort either. It would have been more humbling, but she was pretty certain that the Crucible wasn't normally started until a person was closer to several hundred years old, rather than sixteen.

  Darla tackled her as soon as the other Demon left.

  "Keeley! You passed! This is so incredible. That they even sought to test you this young is amazing. You must have really impressed some people. I can't believe it. I mean I can, of course, since it's happened, but this is huge." She stood back then and chuckled. "Also, before you start hitting people, I want to point out that I had no way of knowing this. I'll admit that I was starting to wonder a bit, but it was about fifteenth down on the list of things that might be happening. It was far more likely that some old enemy of mine was using you to threaten me, or even Finias." She looked at Zack, but didn't include him really. It was also just possible that someone had been trying to get to him after all, like Xenses. That it hadn't happened yet didn't mean it wouldn't.