by KC Bellinger
Chapter 4
When I woke up, night had finally dominated the sky, and I suddenly felt alive. I blocked out what I’d seen on my way through town because now I was in the heart of the city. The nearness of the moon excited me, and I jumped out of the car. “Come on, Jaiten! What are you waiting for?”
Jaiten was rummaging through the trunk. “Get back into the car,” he hissed, reaching for my arm. “You aren’t under protection yet.”
“Well, isn’t that why we are here?” I grinned up at him as I slid back onto the leather seat. “I want to go!”
“Stop pouting. You haven’t been out of your father’s sight for a day yet and you are about to get yourself killed.” His eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared.
“You are so cute when you get angry, Demon.”
Jaiten shook his head. He never could stay mad at me for long.
“And it’s not the freedom from Hewitt I’m enjoying. I always felt Dustyn’s eyes when I was near the house.”
“When are you going to let her go?”
I shrugged. “What do you mean? She’s dead.”
“Yeah, but not a day goes by without you blaming her for something.”
“Go to Hell, Jaiten!” I crossed my arms and looked up into the black face of night. Now was not the time to think or discuss her. This was my time!
“Been there, babe, not going back.” He laughed, making me smile. He extracted a wrinkled black marbled cloak from a duffle bag. “Perhaps if you just let yourself cry it out you’d feel better. It is normal for humans to cry.”
“If I was a normal human then I’d worry, okay?”
He shrugged and handed the cloak to me. “Put this on.”
“What is it?” I asked skeptically.
“It will hide your aura. I’m not sure who or what we’ll run into here,” Jaiten explained, smoothing out the crumpled fur-lined hide.
“Where’d you get it?” I had seen a picture of the cloak before in one of Dustyn’s books.
Two of her books were gifted to me. Once the twins were born, I thought she’d take them back and give them to her children, but she didn’t. They were written in an obscure language. One book contained spells and incantations which Dustyn used to protect the house and her main spell that would bind demon spirits to the earth, so they couldn’t return to Hell. The other was more of a picture book—wizards and witches emerging from animal spirits. Being a child I enjoyed the picture book more than the lengthy hard-to-read book. I studied the drawings until I could remember every detail of the costumes. Beads from hollowed bone strung together with beastly claws adorned one such warrior. The cloak Jaiten held out for me was worn by a medicine woman with a dream catcher headpiece. Every one of her fingers bore rings of teeth or braided hair. I thought of her as a beautiful woman, though her face was never revealed. Only her jeweled hands and bare toes were exposed. Around her feet, bowls of potions, petals, and animal organs known for healing were scattered.
Jaiten shook the cloak. “Just put it on,” he said, dismissing my question.
I hesitated then walked to him.
His hand grazed my cheek as he fisted my hair and tucked it into the hood of the cloak. I shivered from his touch, but he didn’t notice. The animal must have been large, like a bear, as it was heavy on my shoulders and made it hard to move. My arms felt trapped inside the animal's skin.
Jaiten put the hood over my head, and it was like I became the animal. The heaviness died quickly, and it became a second skin. The strength I felt before was nothing to the invincibility I now felt. I smiled to myself. There were plenty of secrets Jaiten kept from me, like where he got the cloak. The past few years, I’d kept a few of my own. He didn’t need to know my skin ached for his touch and that I yearned for his approval. He didn’t need to know about my newly found strength, either.
“How do you expect me to move with this thing on, Jaiten?” I whined.
“How do you feel?” He peered under the hood.
“Ridiculous! How am I supposed to blend in with a dead animal on my head?”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t look like animal skin, really, just a heavy cloak. Let’s get going.”
“I hope it’s not far. I’m already sweating.” I felt light on my feet and even with the hood draped low over my face, it didn’t block my sight. It was like two eyes had been cut into the skin for me to see.
I took Jaiten’s hand and pretended to need his guidance. I hid my pleasure behind a grimace. Firmly, he took it and led me into the awaiting city.
Chapter 5
Tucked between two dumpsters, a metal door was painted red to blend into the surrounding bricks. Jaiten knocked timidly, and a thick man dressed in torn jeans and a frayed T-shirt answered the door. No words were said, just the exchange of red-eye glances between the two demons.
The doorman reached for my hood but Jaiten grabbed his hand. He had the speed of a cheetah and the strength of a dozen gorillas—the man would not touch me. “She’s with me.”
“Chill, man, I have to take count of the humans. If they’re tracked back here, The Protector won’t be happy.”
Jaiten dropped the meaty fist and wrapped an arm around my waist. Being a master demon, Jaiten was stronger and more dangerous than the typical demon. I knew no one would dare touch me with him by my side.
Dustyn had warned me about trusting him. She’d explained the difference between minions, spirit-bound demons, and master demons. Any of them could repent, but it was highly unlikely. Jaiten wanted something from me, she’d told me, but I never believed her. Especially now, as he tucked me further into his protective hold. I couldn’t imagine him ever hurting me.
“She’s human, and no one knows she’s here. Understand?” Jaiten hissed and pushed the fat man out of the way with the touch of a finger. His finger then found the curve of my ribs and he tickled me.
I giggled as the man lay on the floor, clutching his chest.
He looked over his shoulder to see the doorman get up onto his feet and shake his bald head. Jaiten’s face relaxed and he smiled down at me. His dimples beckoned me to touch him, and with both hands, I cradled his baby face. His loose brown curls played on my skin and I kissed him like I did every time he made me laugh hard.
***
“Excuse me, Master Demon, follow me.” A half-dressed woman interrupted us. She should have been short, but the stiletto heels made her as tall as me. She looked at me and sniffed. Her red eyes were lined in black ink with matching mascara and her lips were a brilliant shade of purple, matching the stripe of color braided in her short black curls.
We weaved through the crowd of souls, both human and demon, mingling freely at the bar. The building was cavernous and appeared to never end. Lights flickered on the walls like waning candles and led the path up two sets of stairs.
It was near impossible to see the stage, but with my night vision, I could see the outline of a drum set. Two guitars were cradled on opposite sides of the stage. This was a concert hall.
“Look, they have electricity,” I whispered to Jaiten.
He hushed me quickly.
Like the instruments, I had only seen electric lights in pictures. Of course, we had lamps at the estate but they only collected dust.
The curvy demon led us up a flight of stairs. Stopping at the door, she fluffed her hair and replenished her violet lips with a tube of gloss she pulled from her skin-tight pants. We waited patiently as she sprinkled glitter on her exposed belly and heaved her cleavage up out of her leather bra. I looked up at Jaiten but he didn’t seem the least bit interested. She put a hand up, signaling us to wait until we were called.
“Don’t speak, Whitney, let me do the talking,” Jaiten ordered. His face grew rigid and his mischievous eyes grew dark.
“Yes, master,” I joked and bowed mockingly.
Jaiten gripped my arm tight. He wasn’t playing anymore.
“Okay, I get it. Let go.”
“The Protector will see you now,” the ill-dressed wom
an cooed as she blushed and closed the door behind us.
A man lounged behind a large Cherrywood desk, exposing only the back of his head to us. His long black hair was slicked into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. There was a picture window that looked onto the stage below. He watched as instruments were being switched and new props were being added to the set. The man didn’t move. Jaiten guided me further into the room. The same candle-like lights flickered on the wall, but it was darker here than in the bar below. Jaiten cleared his throat. Still, the man said nothing.
“Protector, my name is Jaiten, and this is Whitney, my human companion,” Jaiten gulped and continued. “We have come in search of answers, and we ask for safe passage through your city.”
The man cocked his head to the side and peered further into the window.
“If it is not granted, we will leave peacefully.” Jaiten took a step back. He took my hand and pulled me under his arm.
There was something about the man, who still refused to acknowledge us, that intrigued me.
Jaiten swallowed hard and tugged at the collar of his jacket. “Thank you for your time.” He yanked me to the door.
“Wait,” I called.
Jaiten shot me a hard glance.
“Ah, she speaks,” the man behind the desk purred.
His voice was so hypnotic I stumbled on the long cloak. Jaiten had his hand on the doorknob, but the female demon blocked it closed.
“Arwyn, let our young Master Demon out and shut the door behind you. I need to talk to the …” the man stumbled for the right word, “human.”
“No!” Jaiten cried and then cleared his throat. “No, she is with me. I cannot leave her.” Jaiten’s words were filled with desperation as we were being torn apart by the mere action of a closed door.
The man turned, and his face was still shielded by a shroud of darkness. He folded his hands on the desk and a brass ring adorned his small finger. Protruding from the metal was the curve of a yellowed canine tooth. It seemed today was the day to rekindle memories of my beloved picture book. The ring he wore had belonged to a winged creature. I’d thought of an eagle when I’d first laid eyes on the picture. Could he be that being?
“I’ll be fine,” I promised.
Jaiten’s expression told me he didn’t believe me, but he had no choice. In the nature of demon hierarchy, Jaiten was below the man.
“I won’t harm her or take her from you. I merely want words meant for her ears only. I will grant you safe passage for a time. When your time is up, you will have twenty-four hours to leave my territory. You will leave peacefully, with or without your companion. It will be her decision and not yours.”
Jaiten sighed in relief. He straightened his black suit jacket, smoothed his unruly, wavy hair behind his ears, and then nodded at the demon.
Arwyn and Jaiten left, but I felt him behind the closed door. Dustyn had taught me how to touch things that weren’t within reaching distance, and I’d practiced with Jaiten since I was young.
The Protector followed my hooded gaze, and I heard the click of a lock being turned. Then a wall, thicker than night, sealed the door and walls. I couldn’t feel Jaiten anymore.
“Remove your hood,” the man known as The Protector demanded.
I shook my head. “It’s too heavy to bear without the hood,” I admitted foolishly.
“Then remove the cloak,” he advised. His hands lay clasped together and his face was still invisible.
“If I can see your face,” I bargained.
The Protector got up and sauntered toward me. His eyes were hidden behind thick, black glasses. He wore a pinstripe vest and matching slacks. Boots thick in leather and chains rattled as he stepped closer. Small cuts like healed knife wounds crisscrossed over his right cheek and jawline, but it didn’t take away from his beauty. He reached behind my head and removed the cloak with a flick of a hand. It fell to the floor like the animal had just been killed again. A sliver of sickness filled my stomach.
“If you wear it too long, it will devour you,” he explained, circling me, “It wasn’t meant to wear for long periods of time. Many have been eaten alive in that thing.” He sniffed the air around me and inhaled deeply like I was a breath of fresh air.
“How do you know?” I asked.
He smirked and continued to circle me like a predator. “Magic is a powerful force. If you hoard it, eventually, it will hoard you.” He lifted his pinky to my face and said, “I have worn this ring so long it doesn’t come off unless someone cuts it off.”
His voice rang in my ears finer than any church bell. There was a thick haze separating us and yet The Protector kept winding around me, making the circle smaller each time.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“You are too intoxicating for me to stand still,” he explained. Then he stopped in front of me. “Don’t you feel it?”
I inhaled the way he did and sulfur lurked on his surface, but there was something deeper. I stepped closer into his space and inhaled drastically. Each layer of the common demon peeled away, and I submerged myself in the cool and dewy scent of a midnight breeze. Exhilaration sparked throughout my body and I craved to touch him, taste him. I caressed his cheek, and my knees became shaky. I felt myself slip and his thick, bronzed arms caught me.
I sighed dreamily. “What are you?”
His mouth parted as did mine, and all the darkness of his secrets seemed to vanish. I reached lazily for his glasses. I needed to see his eyes. His hand snapped at mine, bending my fingers back painfully. I cried out and he tossed me into a leather chair that moved to catch my fall. With his concentration broken, the magic he secured the room with dropped faster than falling stars. He dressed me quickly in the cloak, despite my protests. I heard the pounding of feet up the stairs and then Jaiten banging on the door.
I looked up at The Protector for answers or to see the softness that once held me. Nothing was there, just the hard outer shell of an irate demon.
He returned to his seat behind the desk. “Before I let them in, Whitney, you must remember to trust me.”
I nodded automatically. I had no reason to believe him. He was a demon and I was well aware that they lie as easily as humans, but he was different.
The door flew open. Jaiten ran to me and picked me up. He looked me over, seemingly expecting to see marks. When he was satisfied, he turned to The Protector and thanked him.
“Stay for the concert, please.” The Protector returned his attention to the window and the men on the stage.
Arwyn followed us down to the bar and ordered a round of drinks on the house for us and then, fluffing her hair again, she spun on her heels and was gone.
“What did he say?”
“He told me to trust him,” I answered, leaving out all the details.
“Why?”
I shrugged and drank down the shot of whiskey. “Are you going to drink that?” I asked Jaiten. “I’m really thirsty.” Before he answered, I chugged the drink. I was trying to burn away the loss of being separated from a man I didn’t even know. “We should go. I don’t feel right in this thing.”
“How do you feel?”
“Stupid.”
We got up and noticed we were the only ones left at the bar. The stadium seats were packed and a blinding light swept the stage. Arwyn introduced the band, her voice echoing throughout the hall. I listened, dumbstruck by the speakers and the ringing of the recently plugged-in amps. The crowd went wild.
We got up to go as the band started in on its first song. It started so harsh and fast that my skin crawled with distaste until I heard his voice. The Protector’s melodic words seeped into me, pulling me away from Jaiten.
I scanned the stage as The Protector reached over the crowd of adoring fans. Never once did his face search for mine. It was only the music playing tricks in my head. Jaiten watched me. He seemed curious and a little frightened of what I might do, but I took his hand and proceeded to leave.
A tall, handsome man dr
essed in leather pants and a torn T-shirt replaced the fat doorman. His long blond hair was teased and his eyeliner made his red-eyed gaze more intense. He held the door for me and grinned sensuously. “See you around.”
“Not Likely,” Jaiten wrapped a protective arm around my waist.
“We’ll see,” the doorman chuckled. He cocked his head and reached for Jaiten. “Hey, man, do I know you?”
“No,” Jaiten snapped without looking back.
Chapter 6
I woke up in the car with a wicked smile on my lips. I gazed out the window, the sky was a beautiful blush as if she, too, were waking from a fantasy. Remnants of the night clung to the morning. The bone-white birches still held shadows like secrets, and the moon sagged in the distance. I rubbed my eyes and searched for Jaiten. He wasn’t far from the car and I felt other spirits were with him. Mentally, I touched them, trying to feel for the man called The Protector and the intruder of my dreams last night. I dropped all my defenses and lunged for the demon Jaiten was talking to.
Forcefully, I was thrown back and an invisible hand choked the sensing power out of me. I dropped the demon and pulled out the cloak I was using as a pillow.
“Whitney, what’s wrong?” Jaiten knocked on the rolled-up window and tugged on the door handle, but I had locked it.
Childishly, I hid beneath the cloak. “I’m sorry,” I apologized for being nosy. “I didn’t know where you were.”
“Unlock the door.”
I did as I was told and scooted over so he could sit in the back seat with me. There was no one with him, only the sounds of magpies and trees scraping the top of the car when the wind blew.
“I found some old friends, but I needed to make sure they wouldn’t harm you. I thought you’d sleep for at least another hour.”
I slept little anyway, but since I started packing to leave a few days ago, I hardly slept at all. “So, you just left me here, alone?” My irritability was showing.
Jaiten pulled me close and brushed my hair with the palm of his hand and the tip of his fingers. “You’re right. We need to find you somewhere safe.” Jaiten got out and looked around.
