Dead End Diner: Book one

by Bea Biddle

  "That's not possible," she breathed, "That's just not possible!" At that moment, something cut into the roof. A black blade was peeling the roof off the car like a can opener. Karen hadn't even noticed the Demon behind them getting on the roof.

  "Karen, drive! Drive now!" Cef urged her.

  "But, I can't see!" she yelled helplessly while still staring at the Demon in front of her. She was blocking her view, and when she started hammering her fist on the window to break it, Karen's arms instinctively covered her face.

  "Now!" Cef pushed her leg to clamp down on the accelerator. The car raced down the street, Karen forced her hands back on the wheel. Thankfully the street was deserted. The Demon on the back of the car fell off straight away, his weapon still stuck in the roof. The Demon on the front wasn't fazed, she kept on hammering on the window that cracked loudly. Her blood streaked hair whipped around her head, blocking Karen's view. The window caved, one bloody fist punched through and Karen hit the break as hard as she could. The Demon flew off, crashing into a wall on the side of a building that Karen hadn't seen coming. If she hadn't stopped, she would have been the one slamming into it.

  "Fuck!" Karen swore in a growl. She could feel the cold sweat running down her neck.

  "Back. Back now!" Cef pushed. Karen slammed it into reverse and backed up. The male Demon had been chasing them on foot. He was fast, so unbelievably fast. Before they could ram into him, he had jumped back on the roof, reaching for his blade. Cef didn't let him. He peeled back the roof of the car as if it was nothing but a blanket, the other Demon's Skarram firmly in his hand. He lunged at him, now on his feet on the seat. The thought that it was unsafe for him not to wear his seatbelt flashed in Karen's mind, the ridiculousness of it not lost on her. The whole situation was so unreal.

  Cef's attack missed. The Demon jumped back as the blade cut through the air, smirking viciously as he pulled out yet another Skarram from behind his back. The dark as night blades caused sparks to fly as they clashed. "Come now, Ceftion, give up and we will not hurt your little human," he drawled as he grinned. "That much, anyway. It will be fun to see how much pain a human body can withstand though." He was trying to get under Cef's skin, trying to infuriate him. Cef knew it. And it worked.

  "What do I do? What do I do?" Karen shrieked, mostly to herself. She couldn't tell what was happening on top of the car, but she sure could see what was happening up front. The Demon had gotten herself off the ground and she once again jumped the car, her eyes fixed on Karen. Karen did the only thing she could think off, she hammered her foot onto the accelerator once more. The car whined and screeched as it took off, crashing straight into the Demon, and then straight into the brick wall behind her, pinning her against it.

  The Demon fell backward off the car from the impact. Landing on his feet he sneered at Cef. Cef snorted, stepping up to the roof of the car and jumped down before him. The Demon waved him forward, lifting his blade. Cef had already taken the step. Skarrams rang out again, metal against metal, faster, again and again. Cef didn't know this Demon, he didn't know his weaknesses. From what little they had fought he could already tell this Demon was a master with the blade. He had only sporadically used a Skarram since Demons started showing up again, he was out of practice and his body tired. He wasn't going to win.

  The other Demon knew it as well. "Do not fight it, Ceftion, it will be over soon," the Demon taunted him. Cef barely managed to block the swipe he took at him, he misstepped and stumbled back against a street light. He ducked as another swing of the blade came. The streetlight landed on the pavement. So did his new beanie. "There they are. Do not ever hide your horns, they make us who we are." The other Demon continued his relentless attack, his blade singing as it charged through the night air, faster, swifter. Cef blocked and parried as fast as he could but was eventually pressed up against another parked car.

  The female Demon, pinned between the car and the wall, screamed in annoyance and clawed at the hood of the car. In her panic, Karen couldn't take her foot off the accelerator, she kept pressing her into the wall. She had no plan, no cause of action, hoping something would come to her or the Demon would get crushed from the impact. But the Demon only seemed to find it irritating and howled her agitation as her nails dug into the hood, metal screeched and caved under her fingers. A quick glance in the rearview mirror revealed Cef. And the Demon above him lifting his blade. "Dammit!” Karen cursed, “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” She stuck her head out the window. "Cef! Move!" she yelled as she put the car in reverse again.

  Cef dodged the final swing from the Skarram, it buried itself deep in the car, jumping to the side only half a second before Karen slammed the car into to the Demon, pinning his body between the two cars. The Demon's frustration was heard in the curses he let out, even in his own tongue Karen could tell by his face he was swearing. Cef lifted his own blade, in one clean chop the Demon's head rolled along the street.

  The female Demon screeched and charged at the car once again. Punching her fist through the broken window, she clawed at Karen's jacket, pulling her closer. Karen screamed. But then the Demon stopped. The Skarram protruding from her chest dumbfounded her for a second, then she realized. From behind her Cef dug the Skarram in deeper, tearing it upwards, her blood splattered on the already broken windshield and hood of the car.

  "Are you alright?" Cef asked.

  Karen grunted and desperately tried prying the dead fingers, that still held on to her jacket, off of her. Cef picked up the Skarrams and sat back inside on the passenger's seat, slamming the door shut after him. Karen couldn't breathe. She couldn't get the fingers off her jacket. She hissed and gulped, a sob escaped her as she continued to claw at the damn fingers. She had to get them off. Had to get them off that instant. When she couldn't, she started hammering her hands on the steering wheel, punching and shoving as she screamed out in even more strangled sobs.

  Cef placed his large hand on her neck, pulling her to him, resting his forehead on hers. “Relax,” he demanded softly. “Relax. Take a deep breath. You're fine. It's over. Relax. Please, relax.” She forced herself to do as he asked, closing her eyes she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Are you alright?” he asked again.

  She nodded but refused to open her eyes. “Yeah,” she breathed.

  “Yeah?” he pressed, and she answered with another nod. “You were good, so good. You did so well, Karen,” he quickly stated, pressing his forehead harder against hers. “So well,” he breathed, “You were amazing.”

  She opened her eyes to find him looking at her, his eyes burned through her. His breath was hot on her skin, her lips. She could feel the tip of his nose brushing hers. But then his gaze narrowed on the gash on her forehead and he pulled away abruptly, sitting back in his seat, letting go of her so fast she felt pushed. She didn't have time to dwell on it, the fingers that had been curled around her jacket were gone, deteriorated away leaving only dust. She quickly dusted it off her legs as she snorted in disgust. Beside her, the Skarram blades fell out of Cef's hands and landed heavily on the floor. He was breathing heavily, she hadn't noticed before. "Are you alright?" she asked.

  ”Fine,” he choked out, “I am just out of practice, out of shape.” Karen wanted to argue. He was most definitely not out of shape. He was the most in shape person she knew. He could have been on the cover of one of those ridiculous men's health magazines and people would admire him and talk about how in shape he was. She chose not to say any of those words out loud. "Drive," he said and stretched in the seat. His shoulders cracked loudly.

  Karen looked out the broken windshield, blood splattered everywhere. "I can't see," she whispered.

  "Just get out of here, now," he urged her, "I can't tell if there are others around. We need to get out of here."

  Karen pushed down on the accelerator.

  ✽✽✽

  They left the car right before the Williamsburg Bridge, managed to hail a cab to get them over it and all the way to Queens. Cef didn't speak for the entire tri
p, not a word, not even a grunt. His breathing had returned to normal, he was his old self again. But he was quiet, still as a statue as they drove past streets she was beginning to recognize, a scowl growing on his features. She was much too elevated, and filled with relief at the familiar surroundings, to care at that moment. She was going home. She felt joy tugging at her heart, could feel herself relaxing more and more the closer they got. After everything that had happened, home was exactly what she needed. She needed a welcoming space, her mom and her dad, she had no idea how much she had needed them until she was almost there. The cab stopped, and she bounded out, leaving Cef to pay the driver.

  "This is it," Karen beamed at the familiar, welcoming house. The lights were on inside. She looked at her phone, only half past nine, of course, they were still up. "Come," she said opening the gate, fighting the urge to laugh with relief. She took his hand, tugging it gently, urging him to come with her.

  But he didn't move. She let go of his hand and her smile faded when she saw his sullen expression, the way his eyebrows lowered over eyes that wouldn't quite meet hers. His hand fell limply to his side before he shoved it in his pocket. "I'll leave you here then.”

  The roughness in his voice surprised her. He sounded angry. Was he angry with her? "Do you- do you want to come in?" she asked tentatively. ”You could use a rest,” she baited with hesitation. ”Something to drink?”

  "I don't think so, Karen," he stated quickly. "As I said, I'll leave you here. Goodbye." He turned to walk away.

  "Wait," she called out, running after him. Grabbing hold of his sleeve, he stopped but didn't turn to face her. She jumped in front of him, forcing him to look at her. "What's going on? Why are you acting like this?"

  He sighed in impatience. "What did you expect? What do you want to happen now? I said I'd get you out of harm's way, and now you are. What more do you want?"

  "I just thought-" She bit the inside of her cheek. "I thought you and I- I mean, I thought we..." she trailed off.

  "We what?" he growled. Squaring his shoulders, he shook his head. His eyes narrowed at her with a snort. ”You thought we'd be together now? We fucked, Karen, that's all. We fucked. Don't entertain the notion that it was anything else. I am a Demon. You are a human. And we fucked. Now we can go our separate ways again, yes?”

  "Cef!" she exclaimed in complete shock. She wrapped her jacket around her tightly, shielding her from the cold wind. Her hair had escaped her ponytail and it whipped around her head, poking her eyes, making it hard to see. "We fucked? Really?” she questioned with a growl, ”Is that all we did? Is that how you really feel?” Cef didn't answer, he snorted, his eyes shifting down the dark street in either direction, still refusing to meet hers. ”After everything?” she asked, her voice low, drenched with disappointment. ”After everything we talked about? It didn't mean anything to you? Anything at all?” That wasn't right, the time they had spent together had been so sweet and beautiful, he had been so charming and loving, his caresses so gentle she could have died from contentment. This was not the same Demon. She rubbed her forehead, regretting it instantly when dried blood came off and it began to throb painfully. ”I mean, you said I could fucking stay at your place. You said-”

  ”I said a lot of things,” he interrupted, his voice like a slap in the face. ”It was only in the heat of the moment,” he added with a huff, “It meant nothing.”

  ”Oh, is that just Demon foreplay?" she demanded, feeling unshed tears welling in the corner of her eyes. "False promises, leading people on?" She refused to cry over him. Never again would she cry over any man. Instead, she called upon every little bit of anger she possessed to cover up her sadness. "How fucking dare you?" she yelled at him. She couldn't even wrap her head around what had just happened. In one evening Cef had gone from being the best thing that had ever happened to her, to an obnoxious, cruel ogre.

  "Keep your voice down," he hissed at her, taking a step towards her, closing the gap. "You enjoyed yourself, didn't you?" His lips curled into a vicious smile, his eyes so dark and menacing she had to resist taking a step backward. He chuckled when she stood there gaping at his question. "Yeah, you enjoyed it. You enjoyed it very much. I could tell. You got what you came for. You wanted to fuck the Demon? You got your wish. It was good, but it was only sex, little human, nothing more." He stepped back, watching the way the words sunk in. He could see it in her eyes, see the way she swallowed slowly, her whole body sagging from the impact. He could have stabbed her with his Skarrams and not done as much damage. His heart pounded in his throat, his pulse racing. Clenching his hands into fists in his pocket, he painfully resisted the urge to hold her against him, to soothe her, kiss her.

  "I can't believe you just said that," Karen whispered, crossing her arms over her chest. She shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold. It became impossible to fight the tears anymore, she couldn't contain them. They ran freely down her cheeks. ”I thought you wanted me as much as I wanted you,” she mumbled and confessed, ”I thought we had something between us, something more than- than just- just sex. I was wrong. I'm sorry.”

  The sight of her tears running down, creating little lines of clean skin on the dirty cheeks, broke his resolve. With a shaky hand, he reached for her, wiping away tears with his thumb. He sighed deeply. "Just- Just leave me alone, Karen. Stay away from me," he said much, much softer than he intended to. The gash on her forehead wasn't bad, just a scratch, but it was a reminder. That was his fault. He had put her in danger. She could have died. All because of him. He forced himself to let go, stepping back from her with a loud growl. His sneer returned. "Just fucking stay here. Stay away from all of us. What are you even doing at the diner? You don't belong there, you don't belong with us. You're not a Were, you're not a Vamp, you're the furthest thing from a Demon. You're a nothing. You have no business with us. Leave us alone, Karen. Stay here with your family. Stay here."

  "Cef, I-" Karen stuttered and stopped. She had no words.

  "I can't keep a human around to protect constantly," he continued with a spiteful laugh, yet his smile never reached his eyes, "I can't have a pet right now."

  "Are you serious?" she asked, "In case you didn't notice, I saved your sorry ass today.”

  ”Humans," Cef scoffed in another laugh, shaking his head at her.

  “Wow,” Karen breathed, shaking her head at him, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to annoy you by believing your words actually meant something. Clearly, it was my fault entirely,” she sneered with heavy sarcasm. “But don’t worry, I get it. Alright? I get it." She scoffed at him, her tears no longer flowed freely, and she managed to pull herself together, regaining her composure with a huff. "You don't have to explain it any further. I thought we had something, clearly, I was mistaken. There is no need to ground it out any more." She bit her lip, staring daggers at the tall Demon. "Obviously, my first impression of you was the right one, asshole. I just didn't realize that you hated humans so much you needed to toy with their feelings as well. Luring them into bed only to crush them afterward? That's low, even for a Demon. Everything was just fake, wasn't it?" She huffed and ran her hands through her messed up hair. "You know what, just- just fuck you. Fuck you and every other fucking Demon out there."

  Marching down the path, past her dad's neatly trimmed bushes and flower beds, his tidy mowed grass, she held her head high, hurrying to the whitewashed two-story house she knew so well, the house she grew up in and that always managed to feel welcoming. Holding herself together, she walked with carefully measured steps. Hoping that if she just pretended not to give a damn, if she could only convince herself she didn't care at all if Cef watched her go, it might come true. Her chest ached, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt so hurt in her life, if she had ever felt so hurt before. Not even Colin and his cheating had torn her heart out as Cef had just been capable of. And it hurt. How could he hurt her so much after such a short amount of time? It hurt so much she could barely walk straight.

  She opened the fr
ont door, unbelievably relieved that it wasn't locked. Stepping into the nice and comfortably familiar hallway, dimly lit for the evening. And slammed the door after her.

  sixteen.

  Cef watched her make her escape and slam the door. Groaning in frustration, at himself only, he dug his hands deeper into his pockets. It had to be done, it had been necessary, it was for her own good. The words kept repeating themselves in his head, but it didn't make it easier. In fact, all he managed to do was aggravate himself even more.

  The neighborhood was quiet. A stark contrast to the busy city he usually found himself in. Streetlights lit up the dark night, houses lining the street shone with warmth from the windows. It looked practically cozy and his treacherous thoughts suddenly made him regret not coming inside with Karen. What a ridiculous notion, a Demon like him, in a house like that. With Karen. He groaned again. Forcing himself to snort at the idea. He would have laughed at his own stupidity if he hadn't been so offended at his own reactions.

  He couldn't think like that, it wasn't safe. Least of all for Karen. Karen. The name made his regret flare up again, wishing he could have afforded to act differently. No. No more. With a snort and a shake of his shoulders, he stomped down the sidewalk. What's done was done.

  A few moments later, he heard another pair of feet falling into step with his own, walking with him, next to him. He sighed. He was not in the mood for her. "Cruel, Cef, very cruel," Alyssa stated.

  Cef didn't stop, he barely glanced at her, acknowledging her appearance. "But necessary," he grunted.

  "Alright," she said and shrugged. She followed him in silence, keeping up with his long paces down the sidewalk.

  He shook his shoulders again with a growl, knowing she was waiting for him to talk but not wanting to give in. Witches were annoying. "We were attacked," he finally grumbled. "I couldn't protect her. I couldn't fight, I was-" His brain searched for a word to describe it, he had never experienced it before. What he had felt when Karen was in danger troubled him. Every time she was in danger. It had been the same damn thing every time. "-Worried?" he finished lamely, testing the word on his tongue. "I can't fight when she is there. I can't concentrate. I can't function with her near."