How to Date a Demon

by Rose Pressey

  Unique pieces spread across the room. Artwork with the word Lagniappe printed on it hung on the wall. I couldn’t quite describe the home’s décor. It was New Orleans style… eclectic with touches of French, rustic, romantic and tropical. Soft golden silk draperies hung from the windows and pooled at the hardwood floors. The windows were open allowing the cool breeze to float through.

  A long, glossy walnut dining table was paired with rustic chairs, a black-and-white photograph and the splash of greenery. Cream-colored sofas sat adjacent to the fireplace. Many candles flickered around the room. Rich woods paired with furniture in various shades of white and pops of green and gold made the rooms comforting and homey. That feeling was an illusion though. I knew I shouldn’t feel comfortable in the home.

  We stood in the corner, trying to blend in with the crowd. Cole slurped on his drink. Yes, he’d managed to find another drink. I hoped he could hold his liquor. I supposed it would have been better if we’d been chatting with each other. But my nerves wouldn’t allow it. I was pressing back the urge to transform into a werewolf. It happened every time I was stressed.

  As we stood awkwardly in the corner, a man approached. Uh-oh.

  “Just act cool,” Cole said.

  That would be easy for me, but I wasn’t so sure about him. I could be the epitome of cool when need be. The man was taller than Cole, but not as muscular. He wore a dark suit that fit him perfectly with white shirt and blue tie.

  “Hello. I’m Derek Spencer. And who might you be?” He looked at us and I knew he was suspicious.

  I knew we needed an invitation to get into this place. He was going to throw us out on our asses at any second… if we were lucky. More than likely he’d try to steal my soul.

  “I’m Rylie Cruz and this is…” I gestured toward Cole.

  “Gilbert Williams,” Cole interrupted as he stuck out his hand for the man to shake. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  Gilbert? I almost burst out in laughter. That had been his spur-of-the-moment name choice?

  Derek slowly took Cole’s hand and shook it. Did this guy know what Cole did for a living? Did he know there was a demon hunter in their midst? Was he a demon like Cole had said? None of them looked remotely like what I’d imagined a demon to look like.

  “Which group are you with?” Derek asked, looking from me to Cole.

  Now we really were in trouble. I couldn’t answer that question and I only prayed that Cole could give a reasonable response. But by the length of time it was taking him to answer, I had a feeling he didn’t know what to say. Just say something, anything, I thought. Maybe I could fake an illness and get us out of there.

  “We’re with the Lideats,” Cole blurted out.

  My first reaction was to smack Cole, but I figured that would really give us away. I held my breath as my heart hammered in my chest. Derek didn’t speak and remained expressionless. See, I knew it. We were so busted.

  After what seemed like an eternity, Derek nodded. “Okay. Well, please make yourself at home.” He exchanged a glance with me and smiled.

  His gesture didn’t seem sincere though.

  “Thank you,” Cole said, as if we really belonged at the party.

  “It was nice to meet you. If you’ll excuse me,” Derek said with a fake grin and a nod.

  He walked off and approached a man on the other side of the room. They began speaking and looking in our direction. I shifted from foot to foot. If I needed to run, I’d leave Cole’s butt there. He’d only slow me down. He could take care of himself anyway. After all, he was supposed to be the big bad demon hunter.

  “Uh-oh. It’s time for us to get out of here,” I said.

  Cole nodded. Thankfully, he didn’t argue with me on this one.

  “We’re lucky we didn’t get our asses kicked,” Cole said as we weaved through the maze of people. “I can’t believe we made it this long.”

  When we reached the foyer, I said, “But we still haven’t found the guy from the bar.”

  He’d virtually disappeared the moment he had slipped behind the closed door. I guessed it was no surprise though with all the people. But still, we hadn’t been that far behind him when we entered the house. I figured he’d be one of the first people we saw.

  “There’s no time to find him now,” Cole said, gesturing for me to start moving again.

  We hurried for the door, but that was when I spotted the guy with the ring who we’d followed here in the first place. Where had he been all this time? We had to see where he was going or what he was doing. We couldn’t leave now.

  “There he is.” I nudged Cole with my elbow.

  The man was walking up the large staircase.

  “Come on.” I motioned for Cole to follow me up the stairs.

  Cole hesitated, but ultimately followed. “I don’t know about this,” he whispered. “I can’t guarantee that I can protect you if something happens. There are a lot of people here and just one of me.”

  I snorted. “Thanks, but I think I can handle myself. Besides, Derek Spencer didn’t see us come up here. He probably thinks we left.”

  I said I could handle myself, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little afraid. It was only natural to feel that way. With any luck I’d be able to protect myself if I had to.

  “If you say so.” He shrugged.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  How to Date a Demon, Rule #22

  Talk of the devil and he is bound to appear.

  We made our way to the top of the staircase. There must have been at least seven bedrooms on the second floor. I could have easily gotten lost. The music spilled up from downstairs, but upstairs was still eerily silent. The man disappeared down the hall. The upstairs was just as spacious as the downstairs. The hallway seemed to go on forever. Hardwood floors clicked under our feet, so I tried to tiptoe.

  “What now, genius? We’ve lost him,” I whispered, praying no one heard us.

  “We’ll find him,” Cole whispered.

  “Let’s check every room,” I said, motioning over my shoulder as I headed down the hall.

  “We can’t just go opening up every door we see to find him.” His tone grew more exasperated.

  “Who says we can’t?” I turned to face him.

  “I say we can’t. Like I said, I don’t know that I can protect your ass. If we get in a fight, I’ll kind of have my hands full.” He gestured toward the bottom floor.

  “And like I said, I can handle myself.” I continued down the hallway.

  “You’re five foot two, one hundred fifteen pounds, tops. You may be a werewolf, but that guy will pulverize you,” Cole responded from over my shoulder.

  My skin crawled with his mocking. I leaned in and listened for noise from behind a couple doors but heard nothing. All the doors were closed but one. I motioned with a tilt of my head toward the room. Cole shook his head and mouthed, “No way.” Yeah, right, like I was going to listen to him. We’d come this far, there was no turning back now.

  I stepped over to the door. After listening for noise and hearing nothing, I braced myself and eased the door open a couple inches. No one was in the room, so I pushed the door open even further. The coast was clear.

  When we stepped into the room, I scanned the space to double-check that no one was there. So far we were still safe. The room was tastefully done in shades of light blue and white. The soft night breeze blew the sheer white curtains gently away from the windows. The most luxurious-looking white comforter graced the bed’s top, with floral pillows at the head of the massive, hand-carved cherry headboard. An exquisite rug rested on the floor by the foot of the bed.

  Finally I closed my gaping mouth and eased over to the closet and peered inside. No one there either. After checking under the bed to see if anyone was hiding, I exhaled and tried to calm my nerves. At least we were alone in the room. I moved a few steps across the floor toward the window and stopped in my tracks. Cole bumped into my back.

  “What is it?” he asked
.

  I pointed to the floor. The symbol that had been on Jennifer’s ring and the ring of the guy we were following was painted onto the hardwood floor in the middle of the room.

  “Look,” I said in a shaky voice. “It’s the symbol. That’s the one on Jennifer’s ring and the other guy’s too. Why is the symbol painted on the floor?”

  Cole looked at me blankly.

  “What?” I asked. “I think that’s a legitimate question. Is it like for worshipping Satan or something?”

  His answered with a little nod, then said, “Or something.”

  A circle was painted around the symbol in black. I stepped closer to the image. Just as I placed my foot near the boundary, Cole pulled me back.

  “I wouldn’t go any closer if I were you.”

  “Why? Will the demons come to get me?” I teased.

  “Yes.” He looked be straight in the eyes.

  I was making light of the situation to try to elevate my fear. I was stronger than that though. This was no time to kid around.

  “What does the thing mean?” I asked, pointing at the depiction on the floor.

  His face turned pale. “I didn’t know that was the symbol on the ring.”

  The look on Cole’s face told me this wasn’t good.

  “What does it mean?” I asked in a panic.

  “I don’t know the exact meaning, but I can tell you it isn’t good. It is a demonic symbol. Her having that ring is putting her life in serious danger.”

  That wasn’t the news I was hoping to hear. A sound came from in the hallway. The clomp-clomp of someone’s boots.

  “Someone is coming,” I whispered.

  “We have to get out of this house. We shouldn’t have come up here in the first place,” he snapped.

  “Then we wouldn’t have seen that.” I gestured over my shoulder.

  The footfalls continued down the hall toward our direction, then stopped nearby. Just when I didn’t think I could handle it anymore, the person began walking again—the sound becoming louder and then finally easing away.

  We hid behind the door, holding our breath as the footsteps moved past the door, then ended completely. Thank goodness. Now we just had to slip back down the stairs without anyone catching us. But what about the guy with the ring? I really wanted to find him before we left. He was the key to Jennifer. If I left without talking to him, I might never find Jennifer. Not that the guy would talk to me. But maybe I could find Jennifer if I followed him.

  The room was completely silent, only the sound of our breathing. Did Cole have to stand so close? The silence was broken by the sound of my ringtone blaring loudly across the room. I yanked the phone from my pocket. My cheeks burned as I looked at Cole. I glanced down and saw that it was Jack’s number. I couldn’t answer now. Despite the fact that someone might hear me talking, I also couldn’t explain to Jack what I was doing right now. I sent the call to voice mail then turned my phone on vibrate. Cole shook his head and looked at me with a condescending smirk.

  After another couple seconds, we slipped out into the hallway. I heard my heartbeat thumping loudly in my ears. One wrong move and we might be discovered. Cole grabbed my hand and pulled be toward the staircase. I wanted to object, but it would just take up precious minutes. Did he get manicures? Why were his hands so freakin’ soft? He was a demon hunter, for Pete’s sake. Weren’t his hands supposed to be scaly or something?

  I rushed down the stairs hand-in-hand with Cole. Thank goodness Jack couldn’t see me. This would be a hard situation to explain. I tried my best not to slip on the stairs. That was the last thing I needed: to land face first at the bottom. That would be a little obvious to the crowd then. We already looked out of place. I pulled my hand from Cole’s. There was no reason for him to still be holding on to me.

  When we got to the bottom of the steps, I spotted the guy. But he wasn’t alone. Jennifer was with him. She’d changed her outfit since I last saw here. This time she had on a strapless long red gown with a slit all the way up her thigh. Her blonde tresses flowed in waves down her back.

  I couldn’t yell out to her. If I did, everyone would notice us. And that would be a very dangerous thing. I pulled on Cole’s arm.

  “There she is.” I pointed. “Jennifer is with the guy.”

  What was the ring, some kind of promise ring? Why were they both wearing it? Jennifer and the guy walked right out the front door into the night air. She’d never even noticed me. If this guy harmed Jennifer I’d have his head on a stick.

  We zigzagged through the crowd, getting some very angry looks. I accidentally knocked over someone’s drink. I had to make it to Jennifer before she was gone for good.

  “Step up the pace,” I said over my shoulder. “For a demon hunter you sure are slow.”

  “No, you are just freakishly fast. Have you ever thought about competing in the Olympics?” he asked between pants.

  “No, it would be completely unfair to everyone else,” I said as I pushed through the front door.

  When we rushed outside, I stopped on the front porch and looked around. Strangely, no one else was out there but us. Music still came from the house, but otherwise the street was silent. That was when I spotted Jennifer and her new friend as they got into his car.

  “Jennifer, stop,” I yelled, waving my arms.

  They pulled away from the curb. She didn’t look as if she was in distress. Since she had a smile plastered on her face, it looked as if she’d gone willingly with him. I watched as the taillights faded into the night. I felt deflated.

  “Come on. We have to follow them,” I said.

  “They are in a car. I know you can run fast, but I really don’t think you can run that fast. And I sure as hell know that I can’t.” He glanced back at the house then looked down at his watch.

  I shook my head. “No, silly, I mean we have to get my car and follow them.”

  “There is no way we can get your car and then follow them. We won’t know which way they went.” He looked back over his shoulder again.

  He did have a point.

  “We’ll have to go back to my apartment,” I said, marching through the gate and onto the sidewalk. “Are you coming with me?”

  Cole hurried and caught up to me, but I didn’t glance over at him. There was nothing I wanted to say at the moment. Thankfully, Cole didn’t say much as we retraced our path back to my building. The last thing I needed was more useless commentary from him. Jennifer had been right under our noses and we’d let her slip away.

  Clouds were moving in and it looked like it would rain soon. A terrible day had turned into an even worse evening.

  When we rushed toward the apartment steps, Lily was standing in front of the door.

  “Thank goodness you are here, she said. “I need you to help me with the dinner menu. Should we go with the filet mignon or just do ribs and let everyone chow down?” She looked at me with the most innocent little eyes.

  She knew I was stressed and she was still yanking my chain. “Lily, I am going to shove a rib up your…”

  Lily lunged forward and Cole stopped her before she reached me. “Ladies, ladies, ladies. Can we deal with this stuff later? Now listen, gorgeous.”

  Lily glared at him.

  “You have beautiful eyes,” he said while still holding her arms.

  She giggled. “Thanks.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  Lily glared at me, then said, “Fine. We can talk about it later.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “Now, do you mind if I go past you now?” I glared as I pushed past her.

  “Where are you going in such a hurry?” she asked from over my shoulder.

  “I still have to find Jennifer,” I said, exasperated, as I spun around to face her again.

  “What do you mean find her? She was just here, you know?” Lily waved her arm through the air.

  My mouth dropped open. “What? She was just here? Again? Where is she now? Where did she go?”

  Lily shrugged. “I
don’t know. What do I look like, her keeper?”

  “But you talked to her?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I talked with her for a little bit.” She studied her fingernails. “She was with some big dude. I think she must be on drugs or something. She was acting totally out of it. I always knew she was weird. That just proved it.”

  I didn’t have time to argue with Lily, so I let her comments go. I was so going to make her wedding planning a living hell when I found Jennifer though. “Get to the point, Lily. What did Jennifer say?”

  “She said she was moving out. That she was going on a long trip.”

  My stomach sank. What was Jennifer talking about? Not to mention she couldn’t stand talking to Lily. I wouldn’t expect her to tell Lily anything other than to screw off.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  How to Date a Demon, Rule #23

  Don’t sell your soul to the devil for a date.

  I didn’t say another word to Lily as I rushed up the stairs. She mumbled but I tuned her out. Probably something about strangling me with her veil. Whatever.

  “We need to check that book for the symbol,” Cole said, following behind me.

  “Good idea,” I said.

  “Did you just pay me a compliment?” he asked as we took the steps two at a time.

  “Don’t get used to it.” I bit my lip to keep from smiling.

  We rushed through the door and I headed straight toward Jennifer’s room. Had she taken all of her belongings? Could I report her missing yet? I wouldn’t let this guy get away with kidnapping her. She had no idea what she was doing, so in my book he was completely taking advantage of her.

  “You get the book. It’s on the table. I’ll be right back,” I said over my shoulder.

  When I reached her room, I spotted her bunny slippers by the door where she always left them. My heart felt a little lift. I hurried across the room and opened the closet door. It was still full of her clothing. Had Lily been yanking my chain? I wouldn’t put it past her. Like I said, it would have been unusual for Jennifer to even talk to Lily. Much less share information about her moving out.

  I went back to the dining area to find Cole sitting at the table with the book open in front of him.