by Kailin Gow
“I never wanted it to come to this, Lux,” Moore said. “I’d give anything to turn back time, to go back and have my grandparents born to human parents. I hate that we’re the descendants of a human/nephilim and succubus. I want more than anything to become as human as possible.”
“And that’s precisely what I intend to take care of,” Shayne whispered into my face. She clawed her fingers into my hair and began pulling me down the hall.
“Hold on,” Asher shouted, pushing Moore off him and coming to us. Grabbing Shayne’s wrist he stopped our procession.
“Stop right there, Asher. You might be the tough kid in town when we’re in school, but this is my turf. You want to manhandle me? Your little demon hunter here has a mom and dad in there who would just love to see what a nephilim can do? You really want to push me, Asher?”
“You can’t get away with this, Shayne,” he said, his voice calm and in control. “Besides Lux’s parents there’s Dr. Kingsley, Mrs. Bright, a bunch of students. Someone’s going to realized what’s going on.”
“Exactly,” she said with a nod. “Moore, will you stop gawking at Lux like a lovesick puppy and get Asher into the blue parlor? We don’t have all night to take care of this.”
He hesitated just a moment before doing as his sister had asked.
Asher’s eyes remained on me as we were pushed and shoved to the end of the hall. With his increased bulk and height, I knew he could easily take care of Moore, but Shayne’s threat had hit right where she’d planned it to hit. I was helpless to do anything until I could be certain my parents were out of harm’s way.
The blue parlor, aptly named for the blue upholstery on all the furniture and the heavy velour drapes that covered the windows, was a small dusty room left to abandon. The only source of light came from the small wall sconces, each harboring a feeble bulb.
After throwing me into a stiff Louix VX chair, Shayne turned to Moore. “I’ll take care of these two. I want you to take part in the auction, ensure that everything runs smoothly and that our charity auction is a great success, as always.”
“Anything to keep up appearances, huh sis?” Moore spat.
Shayne’s head whipped towards him so fast, I felt certain she’d snapped her neck.
“Yes, Moore, I will do everything it takes to keep proper appearances. If it were left up to you we’d be no better than all the dark demons Lux fights. Excuse me if I think we both deserve better than that. Excuse me if I want to show the world we are refined, elegant and, yes, beautiful. Our beauty is meant to lure our prey, build on their desire and lust until they want nothing other than to possess us. But if you’d prefer to have your skin turn to dry black leather, to have horns pierce through your scalp, and to be tracked down by the likes of her…” She pointed an accusing finger my way. “Then, by all means, ignore the social standing I’ve worked so hard to uphold and go out there and feast on a demon; become one of them for all I care.”
His eyes narrow, Moore bit down on the argument he’d been prepared to spew. Instead, he turned his gaze, filled with remorse and regret, to me. “I’m sorry I got you into this, Lux. Sorry I toyed with you. You were simply irresistible, and…” He looked down.
“It’s in our nature,” Shayne finished for him. “We’re beautiful, I won’t show any false modesty by denying that fact; and our beauty attracts a lot of admirers, some less welcomed than others, but you, Lux… you caught my brother’s attention in the very same way Brax caught mine.” She licked her lips hungrily. “How delectable that boy is.”
“Then you are demons,” I whispered in disbelief. How had I spent the last months in their presence and not sense their demonic side. “I knew there was something odd about you guys, your unearthly beauty, your spellbinding charm, but… demons? That can’t be.”
“Well,” Shayne chanted with a proud tilt of her chin, “we’re not exactly demons. We’re beautiful beings; the results of a beautiful union between Nephilims and Succubus. We’re angels, humans and deceptively beautiful demons, all wrapped up in one.”
Confused and looking for answers, I turned to Asher, but he simply offered me a reflection of the blank and stunned face I no doubt wore.
“What does all this have to do with us?” Asher asked.
Her hips swayed with sensual motions as she slowly sashayed to him and laid her hand to his bared chest. She smiled, cunning and sly; leaning in close to him until I was sure she’d kiss him.
Cold and unmoved, Asher stared her down, his jaw tight.
Shayne’s self-assured smile faltered while her fingers traveled over his skin. “I want you, Asher. I need you; you and Brax. I’ll admit we weren’t sure which of the two was the Seer and which was the angel… that is until demon slayer, Lux, showed up.”
“The sexy and enticing demon slayer,” Moore added as his eyes devoured me.
“Moore,” Shayne shouted, turning away from Asher and directing her wrath at her brother. “Can you keep your brains out of your pants for just one second? Can you stop ogling her and trying to seduce her? Your game is over. You weren’t even supposed to have such feelings for her, to fall for her. All I asked you to do was to keep her away from Brax.”
“Yeah, easy to say, huh Shayne?” Confronting his sister, Moore’s eyes narrowed in anger. “And how’s your love affair with Brax going? I mean you didn’t pursue him because you suspected he was a Seer. You wanted him, you fell for him, just like I did Lux. I guess we’re both fallible when it comes to keeping our heart reined in.”
“Brax was just a game, silly boy,” Shayne countered. “Yes, he’s attractive, and, yes, he’s sexy, but I know how to keep my eyes on the ball, Moore. The only reason I pursued him so aggressively was because he so readily turned me down.” She let out an amused chuckle. “His immunity to my charm made him all the more irresistible. His charm, on the other hand, completely reeled me in.”
Moore closed in on his sister. “Then why not scrap our original plan and make ourselves happy. Go off with Brax and let me have Lux.” He grasped her shoulders, his eyes begging her reconsideration. “We can’t keep living like this, Shayne. Look at what happened to our parents. Look at how they…”
“That is exactly why we have to go through with this, Moore.” Shayne’s resolve hardened as she pulled away. “If we don’t do something soon, we will end up just like Mom and Dad.”
“It’s too late to change our past, to change what we are. Mom and Dad made their choices, and they died with those choices. I don’t want to follow…”
Shayne’s entire body tensed as she whirled around, her face a mask of rage. Her slender and elegant hand, bejeweled and masterfully manicured, whipped through the air and caught Moore square on the cheek. “How dare you question Mom and Dad’s choices.”
“What are you guys talking about?” I interjected, confused by their antics and story. One moment they were sweet and remorseful, the next they were sly and sexually driven.
But my question only served to heighten Shayne’s wrath. Her eyes ablaze with fury, she turned and pounced on me, her movements so fast and agile, I didn’t have a chance to take on a fighting stance. She knocked me back and knelt over me, pinning me to the floor with one knee. The elegant hand that had just slapped Moore was now an ugly and deadly claw that gripped my throat.
Her lovely face, angelic, ethereal and unimaginably beautiful became distorted as her rage took over. “We’re talking about this curse Moore and I share. We are abominations.” She held her clawed hand up and stared at the ugly digits. “Circumstance has left us with no true identity, no true sense of self. Your life is so clearly defined, Lux. You're a demon slayer, and that’s that. But we’re…”
She stood, her gaze still transfixed on her demonic appendage. “Look at me. I’m as beautiful as an angel can be. As a baby, perfect strangers would stop my mother and stare at me in awe. As a little girl, I was cherished and pampered, always the favorite by all I encountered. And now…” She turned to me with a dismal gaze. “T
he older I get the more the demonic side emerges. Do you have any idea of the internal conflicts we struggle with – every day. Every day, Lux.”
The room went silent until a crazed little chuckle spilled out from her.
“You know how you hear people claiming to hear voices, claiming the devil made them do it, claiming they have a dark little demon sitting on one shoulder and a darling little angel on the other?” She shook her head, dismissing the silly tales. “It doesn’t even begin to compare with what we go through. Good and evil constantly war within us, draining us. And while angelic battles demonic, there is the human in us, and all that human being wants is to be…” Laying her clawed hand over her heart, she took in a heavy breath and quickly let out one dry sob before regaining control.
“Unless we drain the soul of an angel,” she went on with solemn conviction, “we will become more and more demonic over time. The soul of an angel would help bring us both to the lighter side. However, left to hunger, left desperate enough to ever drain the soul of a demon, we would immediate acquire more demonic attributes.”
“Our parents struggled with this.” Moore looked defeated as he elaborated. “By the time we were born their demonic side had become more and more visible. We grew up watching them go from the most angelic beings to pure demons on a daily basis. They tried to find an angel, tried to save their own souls.” He gazed at Asher. “Angels aren’t easy to come by, not easy to catch and not easy to drain.”
While I felt Moore’s pain, I couldn’t imagine sacrificing Asher in order to save him or his sister.
“Hungry and weak,” Moore went on, “worn down by the constant battles of their warring halves, our parents succumbed to the temptation of draining a demon, sealing their fate. The remaining portion of human in them was killed, and they, as demons-” He turned to me with a hesitant accusation in his eyes. “-were killed.”
“And I’m not going to let that happen to us,” Shayne said. She pulled back her shoulders and resumed the self-assured stance she always carried herself with. She gestured her hand, its elegance and beauty restored, to Asher. “We have our angel, our savior, and we have our Seer, Brax, who’ll protect the human part of us throughout the transformation.”
“If you're so intent on going to the lighter side, on destroying the demon in you, why invite so many demons to your home?” I asked.
She snickered knowingly. “It’s the little devil in me that scrawled out those particular invitations, but, as it so happens, the reliable human in me also found a purpose for them. They’re here for you, dear Lux. You need to be kept busy while all this is going on.”
“Busy? Why?”
“Lux,” Moore said. “We can’t wait much longer. We need Asher’s angelic soul… tonight.”
“No,” I said. “I won’t let you destroy him just to save your pathetic souls.”
“And that is precisely why you’ll be out there taking care of all those demons who threaten to devour the souls of so many students, faculty and, oh yes, your parents.”
“You're crazy if you think this is going to work.” I took a forceful step towards her, my fists tight with anger, and fear for my parents’ safety. “I don’t care what it takes, Shayne, but you will not take Asher.”
He came to stand at my side, his presence undeniably strong.
I gazed up at him. The bad boy at school, the tough kid who didn’t flinch in the face of a fight, now showed the same resolve as I did in the face of the evil siblings.
“So, you really are my angel,” I said reverently.
“Yeah,” Shayne said. “But not for long.”
Her words were accompanied by a storm of dark smoky forms that blew open the door.
My heart sank as I took in the sheer numbers. “They’re here,” I whispered to Asher. “Heaven help us, I’ve never seen so many. I’ve never been confronted by so many demons at one time.”
Shayne smiled victoriously at me. “Moore, now that reinforcements have arrived, you can go out there and entertain our guests – make sure the charity auctions gets started properly.” She turned to glare at him. “And remember the book. We need to get that book from Kingsley.”
“The Book of Angels?” I muttered softly.
“How astute, my friend,” Shayne said as she turned to me. “Yes, the Book of Angels; the book we need. The whole raison d’etre of this auction. Dr. Kingsley is looking to fetch a handsome bid for that ancient tome.” Without even glancing back to him, she ordered Moore, “Now go, or I’ll leave you to handle all this and I’ll go out and get that book.”
Moore’s gaze swept over me, filled with regret and… could it be? Love? No. My heart swelled for a moment as his gaze intensified. Lacking any hint of playfulness or lust, his eyes held mine with emotions that transcended sexual play. My breathing became shallow and labored, but not with the spellbound lust of encounters past. The emotions were now raw and deep.
“I’m sorry, Lux. I wish things could have been different,” he said softly. “So different.”
My heart sank to my feet as I watched him walk out. I couldn’t make sense of my conflicting emotions. He was the enemy. Even if a part of him was human, the demon in him had to be destroyed. Yet… the thought of killing him hurt more than it should have.
Chapter 18
The moment the door closed behind Moore, the demons closed in. I shot a quick glance at Asher and mouthed, “Ready?”
He nodded just as a demon rushed him. An explosive fighter, he destroyed the demon in seconds and quickly turned to take on another.
Awed by his innate ability, I had to tear by eyes away from him as a demon came to me. He was meek and mild and easily subdued, but the demon that attacked me after him wouldn’t go down so easily. With a cold hand, he shoved me to the wall and shot dark acrid smoke into my face as he grinned.
Undeterred, I shoved him back and pressed my crucifix to his rough dark skin.
Not a second passed before another raged forth. Within minutes I’d lost count of the number I’d killed, but my strength was waning. Breathless and sweaty, I turned to Asher’s cry for help.
Pinned to the wall by two mammoth demons, he struggled to escape as Shayne slowly made her way to him. Her lips pulled back, baring her teeth, baring her hunger for his soul.
I rushed to him, but was immediately halted by a demon. I kicked him in the belly then pushed my crucifix into his forehead as he doubled over. Again I tried to get to Asher, but another demon hindered my progress.
Shayne’s lips hovered over Asher’s. He thrashed about, giving all he had to release the demons’ hold on him, and when he turned his face away from the she-demon who craved his soul, her claws came out to re-align his lips to hers.
“Angels are supposed to be giving creatures,” she murmured. “You're supposed to save souls from the bowels of hell. Your denial goes against the very purpose of your existence.”
He clenched his jaw and shot me a questioning glance.
“Don’t listen to her, Asher,” I called out as I pressed my crucifix to yet another demon. “You have to fight her.”
Pressing his lips tightly together, he barred her access, but her claws fought his resistance. Digging into his cheeks, she forced his jaw open.
His eyes widened in terror.
“No!” I let out the bone chilling scream and was quickly compensated as Brax broke down the door.
Without hesitation, he pulled the heavy crucifix I’d gifted him and shoved it into one of the demons restraining Asher.
Shayne let out a feral growl and tried to keep a hold of Asher, but with only one demon holding him back, he easily fought him off and shoved Shayne clear across the room. Growling her frustration, she hopped back to her feet and charged him, forcing him to, once again, shove her out of his way.
“Get him,” she ordered the dark demons. “For crying out loud, just get him.”
As a pack of demons descended upon Asher, Brax jumped in, fighting them off like a pro, everything Lux had taught
him coming into play.
“Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?” Asher asked him when they were fighting demons side-by-side. “Why not just save yourself?”
Braxton shot me a glowing glance before turning back to Asher. “I’m not helping you. I’m helping Lux.”
Side by side, they fought, each taking over where the other left off. In tandem, they reduced the monstrous number of demons down to a dirty dozen, and that dozen was honed in on me.
They closed in, burning off the very air around me. Gripping my crucifix, I knew I couldn’t get them all at the same time.
“You're toast now, demon slayer,” Shayne said.
In unison, Asher and Brax charged the angry mob, reducing the threat to a smoking pile of ashes. Unbeknownst to them, they complimented each other, completed each other perfectly. As much as I thought Asher and Brax needed me, it turned out all three of us needed each other.
Chapter 19
“You guys make a great team,” I said.
Asher seemed uncomfortable in light of the compliment, while Brax beamed with pride.
“I’ve been fighting off jerks all my life,” Asher said. “Getting rid of these guys isn’t all that much different.”
“Except for that smell.” Brax waved his hand about, trying to clear the air.
Asher shot a funny look at Brax. “That wasn’t you? I thought you were over exerting yourself and that foul odor was the result.”
“Cute.”
“Brax,” Shayne said, coming to him, disheveled and meek. “You weren’t supposed to be here. You weren’t supposed to be a part of this, not yet. Asher is of no use to you, and my intentions towards him have nothing to do with Lux. She’ll be okay. She’ll be just fine… please. Stay out of this.”
“You put her in danger.” A light glaze veiled Braxton’s eyes as he looked at me. How much of a spell had she woven around him?
