by Kat Cotton
Before they could remove the body, though, Kisho lunged forward. He implanted his stake into the Vampire King’s heart. Even though the King was dead, he still crumpled to dust.
I wasn’t sure if Kisho had thought they’d perform some kind of vampire necromancy, or if he just wanted the closure, but it was over, and we’d won.
We’d won. Damn it all. The world was safe for humans and good vampires, and for eating cake.
I wanted to get out of there and have a good shower.
I glanced at Kisho. Was he angry that I’d kissed his dad again? It’d been for a good cause, but then it had been last time, too. I don’t know if I could cope with all that coldness from him again.
But Kisho rushed to me and twirled me in his arms.
“I love you, my Clem.”
Chapter 41: Demon Fighters Council
When we got back to the house, I didn’t speak to Nic or any of the others. I needed to shower and get all this manky shit off me. I’d kind of hoped Kisho would join me, but he didn’t.
He was waiting in my room when I got out, though.
“I was really worried about you, Clem,” Kisho said.
I only a had towel wrapped around me, and even that was too much when Kisho was this close to me. He took me in his arms, and I wanted to stay there forever.
“You were worried about me? You were the one in all the danger.”
“Not so much danger, thanks to Vlad.”
“Damn that guy, being all mysterious. Why didn’t he tell us he was also the King’s son and could kill him? That would’ve saved me a lot of sleeplessness nights and gray hairs.”
I couldn’t be too angry, though. I had Kisho here beside me. Alive, and as sweet as ever.
“Apparently, I had to renounce my father before Vlad could kill him,” Kisho said. “That was also part of the prophesy or something. If I’d known that part of the prophecy, apparently it wouldn’t work.”
“You were magnificent, saying all that to him.” I kissed him on the cheek.
“I didn’t do anything.”
I kissed him again, light butterfly kisses all over his face. “You did everything. Do you really think you’d have gone dark?”
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine ever inflecting harm on you or the pack. Clem, I want to protect you forever.”
As he said that, my door burst open. Kisho couldn’t imagine inflicting harm on me, but inflicting harm seemed the only thing Nic was interested in.
“You used my purple marker!”
We’d won, and that was all Nic cared about? Sheesh, he needed to straighten out his priorities.
“I needed to,” I said. “It was pivotal in saving the world and freeing you. You should thank me. I’m an awesome leader.”
“You left the top off. It’s gone dry. I’ll never find another marker as good as that one.”
He really wanted to kill me. Over a stupid marker.
“Oh, I think that was Jeb, not me,” I said.
I was pretty sure Nic didn’t believe me, but he let it go. “Don’t push it, Clem Starr. If you hadn’t rescued me today, I’d take this a lot further.”
“Oh, Nic, I ate your cake too.” I pressed my face into Kisho’s side so Nic wouldn’t see me smile.
Nic rolled his eyes. “Come downstairs. The mayor is on TV. He’s claiming credit for everything.”
“What? No way. He sided with the King. He set that trap and got you captured. He’s pure evil.”
“That might be true, but he talks a good story for the media.”
I don’t know why I was shocked. I hated the mayor. Sure, everyone in the world might think he was a swell guy, but I knew the truth.
“Oh,” Nic said. “Put some clothes on first.”
When I got downstairs, the entire pack had gathered and was watching the TV.
The mayor stood outside a café. “City rebuilding,” the caption at the bottom said. Huh? It’d been what? An hour? The mayor had paid that café to reopen so he’d look good for the story.
“Liar!” Andre shouted at the television set.
“Bastard!” Shelley added.
Luis screwed up a piece of paper and threw it at the mayor’s face. “Rogue. Scoundrel. He does have great hair, though. How would I look with wavy hair like the mayor’s?”
“Stupid. Does that café have cake?” I asked. “Because why bother killing evil and all that if you don’t get cake? The mayor should actually bring us a cake.”
“I wouldn’t take the mayor’s cake,” Nic said.
Yeah, he could say that, but I’d like to see him follow through.
Kisho tightened his hold on me. I kept grinning. It made me so happy to see everyone gathered together.
Tabia was sitting next to Jeb, grinning at him. Luis and Shelley discussed Vampire Diaries. Andre kept checking out Francine.
“Hey, Francine, how did it go?” I asked her.
Her face lit up. “We got one of them. He came rushing out the door. I think he was trying to escape the Germans, and, bam, I got him right in the heart.” She grinned from ear to ear. “Maybe I should train to become a demon fighter.”
“You really should. All you girls should. It’s easy money. Most of it’s just jealous husbands wanting to get rid of horny incubi.” Why was I encouraging her? I didn’t need competition. “What happened to the Germans, anyway?”
“They dropped by, picked up their money and left.” Andre grinned. “Oh, they said it was a fun time, and if we need them again, they’ll give us a discount.”
“Well, Clem Starr, what’s next for you?” Nic asked. “No need for you to hang around here any longer. I’m sure you have your own life to lead.”
Typical Nic. No thanks. No offer of cake. Just throwing me out again. I wouldn’t take it personally, though. I grabbed hold of him and ruffled his hair.
“Nic, you are so full of shit. You want me here. You’d cry if I left. No need to hide your feelings.”
He tried to push me away, but I was having none of it.
“Clem should stay, but I have to leave,” Vlad said.
Was he going to do it? Was he going to make a shimmery portal to go through to his weird unicorn people? I hoped so. I really wanted to see that shimmery circle.
“Hey, Vlad, are there really unicorn shifters?” I asked him. “I want to meet one.”
“No, you really don’t,” he said. “Don’t ever underestimate unicorns.”
“You weren’t born half-vampire like Kisho?” Luis asked. “You were human?”
“I didn’t inherit the vampirism from our father. Just the power.” Vlad held out his hand, miming the zap.
“But you were still part unicorn. That would’ve been totally cheating if you’d made the Olympics,” I added.
Vlad just arched an eyebrow. “Any other questions before I go?”
“Are you coming back?” Nic asked.
“I’m not sure. Maybe. I have a brother now.”
Suddenly, Nic grabbed hold of Vlad, pulling him into a bear hug. “You can’t leave. You’re my unicorn baby. I need you here.”
I gave a little cough. “Ah, Nic. That was as creepy as hell when the kid was a kid. Now, it’s just really fucked up.”
Nic didn’t let go. He just squeezed Vlad tight. In the end, Shelley and Luis had to pry him away from the kid.
“Just let him go,” Shelley said.
The iridescent shimmer appeared. It was even more beautiful than Nic had described, and I could barely stand to look at it. It made my stomach queasy, but a wonderful kind of queasy. And there was music that I couldn’t quite hear. All the things Nic had said.
Before I could farewell Vlad, my phone beeped. Damn phone.
The Demon Fighters Council. They must be messaging to thank me. Maybe even to say they were creating a new award just so I could win it. Awesome. I’d have all the kudos in the world. I mean, I’d been instrumental in saving the world from an interspecies war. I’d been self-sacrificing and brave and awesome.
I deserved to be flooded with kudos.
It wasn’t a message just for me, but a general broadcast.
“In light of the recent increase in evil, the Council plans to implement tougher measures against all paranormal creatures. Henceforth, all vampires must be killed on sight.”
Bloody hell. I’d missed Vlad leaving for that. I passed my phone to Nic. Maybe it was a good time to get out of town. This was not good.
Nic and I exchanged glances. He grimaced. We’d need to discuss this real soon. Not today, though. We’d fought, and we’d won. You have to celebrate every victory in this life.
I grabbed Kisho’s hand and pulled him to me.
“Come on. We’re going upstairs.”
All the shit in the world could go down with the Demon Fighters Council, but for now, I needed some serious Clem and Kisho time.
THE END
Want to read Sex Demon, the prequel to the Clem Starr series? The only way to get a copy is to join my mailing list. You also find out first about new releases, get special subscriber only bonuses and other awesome stuff.
If you want to read more in the Clem Starr: Demon Fighter series, you sure can. Season two will be out in early 2018. When you join my mailing list, you find out first.
The complete Clem Starr: Demon Fighter series:
Demon Child (book 1)
Moonlight Virgin (book 2)
Incubus – the pre-prequel short story from this series is also available on Amazon.
About me:
After writing romance under a pen name for the past few years, I decided I wanted to write something where the girl does something more than fall in love. I wrote the short story, Incubus, a long time ago and my sister always nagged me to write more in the same world. That’s how the Clem Starr series was born.
I write character-driven Urban Fantasy with kick ass chicks and pretty boy vampires. I also travel the world, visiting weird and macabre places.
You can connect with me on facebook or by email [email protected].
