She turned on her heel at the entrance of the church and faced them. “Now, you’ve incurred my wrath,” she said in her darkest voice before turning around and walking back towards her room.
Time to get the fuck out of here.
Dora dashed into her room. Her heart pounded, and she could barely breathe. She and Kieron had to leave here now before the morons downstairs scraped off the bird shit and decided to try burning her again. “Kieron, we need to—” She gasped for air as panic bubbled in her throat.
“Before you get angry.” Kieron held up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean to cover you in bird shi—”
“What? Oh, whatever, I’m alive, yay. We need to get the hell out of here, right now!” She swung her hand towards the door to point in the direction of danger. Some gloopy bird crap flew off her arm and splattered across Kieron’s face. “They’ll come back for me. We need to run!”
Kieron wiped his face with his sleeve, pulling a disgusted expression. “Don’t you think you should clean yourself up first?”
“You’re right! I’ll be easy to spot like this.” She struggled out of her T-shirt as quickly as possible.
“Wait,” he said.
She glanced up to see an intense glint in his eyes. She paused pulling off her T-shirt, leaving it rucked up under her boobs and her midriff bare. “What?”
“I don’t want the first time I see you naked to be when you’re covered in bird shit,” he said, his eyes glinting with a twinkle of mischief.
“Tough, we don’t have much time.” She snapped.
“So, you're saying at some point I get to see you naked?” He grinned.
Dora just scowled at him.
“Okay, we'll discuss that later, but I have a better idea for cleaning you up,” he said. “And it’s faster.”
“What?”
“Magic.” He winked and waved his hands over her body.
She watched the white liquid disappear from her clothes and skin as something cold washed over her. When the feeling faded, she glanced down to find herself thoroughly cleaned. “Ooh, that feels so weird.” She tugged her T-shirt back down, and Kieron frowned. “What now?” she asked.
“It’s okay. You can finish undressing before me now.” He flashed a winning smile.
Dora kicked him in the shins. “We don’t have time for this crap right now. Any minute those morons are going to rush in here and burn me alive. As soon as they realise it’s just bird shit, they’ll be storming up here. So please, can we get the hell out of here before that happens?”
“Of course, my minx. Where do you want to go?”
She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She had no money and no car. Where did witches go for sanctuary? “Umm … where do unburned witches go?”
Kieron appeared to ponder her question for a few seconds. “Well, burned ones go to Hell, but unburned ones. Hmm? I think some of them work for the IRS.”
She sighed. “I’m beginning to wish we could go to Hell now.”
“Why can’t we?”
“You can’t open a portal, remember.”
“I can now. I figured it out when you were spending time with your witch burning family. When I summoned the rain and the birds came instead, it was obvious. Wait—does that mean you’ll come to Hell with me, Dora-minx?”
“What was obvious?” She panicked when she heard people shouting outside. She ran to her bedroom door and locked it before pressing her ear against it and listening. She inhaled sharply. She could hear the sounds of stampeding feet rushing into the church.
“The magic here is backwards, hence shit instead of water. Instead of cleansing you I er, made you dirty. So to make a portal here, I just need to close a portal or use the spell to close one then one will open. It’s just all backwards.” He didn’t appear concerned by the heavy footsteps pounding up the stairs.
“Kieron, we don’t have much time,” Dora cried as fists hammered on the door. She heard a key going into the lock and pushed her body against the door before it could open. She braced herself on the flimsy wood as people far stronger than her pushed on the other side.
“Do you want me to take you to Hell, right now?” he asked.
“Yes!” she cried.
“What about your parents?”
“Fuck them!” she shouted as the door wedged open behind her. Her heart was hammering. If they caught her this time, they were going to do something worse than trying to burn her.
“I’m not fucking them, but I will take you away from here, fair Dora-minx.” Kieron raised his hands into the air and muttered several words that she didn’t recognise. A ball of colourful light swirled between his palms and hovered in the air by itself when he lowered his arms. Streaks of light shot off it as he stepped back towards her. It expanded and pulsed with electricity. Wind whipped around the room, swirling around the luminescent orb.
Something hard slammed into the door behind her, and she nearly lost her balance when the force of the blow shoved her forwards. She pressed back against the door, digging her heels into the carpet to keep it shut.
The orb grew into a large portal with spikes of electricity randomly shooting off it. A shiver of fear shot down her spine, but she ignored it. Her choices were limited. What was worse, a portal to Hell or being burned alive?
A warm hand curled around her fingers, and she peered up into Kieron’s blue eyes. They appeared so honest and full of warmth. Hell was better than this life—it just had to be.
“Come, Dora-minx. It is time to leave.”
Dora tightly gripped his hand and followed him into the portal. She took one last look back at the world she was leaving behind. Her bedroom door burst open a few seconds after she left it. Several people tumbled through the doorway and landed face first on her carpet. She frowned when she saw her parents standing numbly in the doorway with a large group of angry townspeople crowding around them. They all froze with shock on their faces as they stared at the portal.
Goodbye, motherfuc—
In a blast of fiery red light, they were gone. All she could see were flashes of lava lights speeding past her eyes. Kieron’s hand gripped hers. Her body felt compacted as if being pulled through the eye of a needle. She screamed, closing her eyes and hoping it would be over soon. It all stopped when she landed on hard gravel with a thud.
She warily opened one eye. She could still feel Kieron holding her hand, and she glanced in his direction to find him lying beside her. He had also landed face first on the deserted motorway. She released his hand before rolling over and groaning. She gingerly checked nothing was broken before reaching over to him. She brushed his broad shoulder. “Kieron, are you okay?”
“Ohh, I hate that bit.” He rolled over and sat up. “I’m fine. Are you okay?” He leaned towards her and brushed some gravel out of her hair.
“I think so. Where are we?”
“The Highway to Hell.” He smiled. “You’re safe now.”
Dora stared down the endless motorway. The sky glowed red and pink through the dark grey clouds. Dusty wastelands flanked both sides of the road in desolate miles of red sand dunes dotted with spiky plants and a few skeletal Joshua trees, which were black silhouettes across the flat landscape. In the distance, flaming volcanoes sat upon the horizon.
She got to her feet and turned around. The road appeared to be the same in the opposite direction, a duplicate reflection in every way. “Which way to do we go?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Kieron replied.
“Huh?” She wondered if she looked as dumb as she felt right now.
“It all leads to the same place.”
“So which way do we walk?”
“On this road, you don’t walk.” He stood up and guided her to the side of the road. “You hitch a ride.”
“How?”
“By hitchhiking,” he replied.
“Isn’t that er, dangerous?”
He laughed and shook his head. “You humans are so weird. You’ll risk your life on what
you digest, but you’re scared of hitchhiking.”
“Well that’s when you’re most likely to meet a psychopath.” She attempted to explain.
Kieron laughed again. “Psychopaths have their own bars in Hell. They don’t waste time on empty highways. You’ll see.”
She shivered and wondered what she was getting herself into. This probably wasn’t the best idea she’d ever had. “Is it okay that I’m here?” she asked.
“What, in Hell?”
“Yeah, like, am I allowed to be here?”
“It’s a grey area, but don’t worry. I’m sure my dad can sort out clearance for you. And, Dora-minx …” He clicked his fingers, and a jacket appeared in his hands. He helped her put it on and wrapped it around her shoulders. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”
Dora studied his face. His eyes were the clearest blue, and she loved looking into them. There was something comforting about how clear and honest they were. There was something comforting about him. “Thank you, Kieron,” she said, flashing a smile.
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s get a ride.” He winked and held out his thumb over the empty motorway.
From out of nowhere, a massive black rig roared down the road towards them. Evil red headlights glowed like eyes in the darkness as it loomed menacingly towards them. It came to a screeching halt beside them with the engine growling and smoke puffing out of the big grill at the front of it.
The passenger door swung open to reveal a grizzly lorry driver leering down at them. The driver was massive. He had a few days growth of stubble on his jaw and a lit cigar hanging from his lips. He grinned down at them, holding the cigar in his teeth. “Hop in kiddies.”
Dora really didn’t want to get into the cab of the lorry. She glanced at Kieron for assistance, but he was already climbing into the rig.
She reluctantly shrank away from the lorry as the driver watched her, grinning. After a moment of being under his scrutiny, she noticed his smile slip. “Eww! No way,” he squealed like a girl.
“Huh?” She frowned and forgot her fears in an instant.
“Aww come on, man! Don’t be like that,” Kieron said.
“I may not be a demon of many rules, but I do have some standards,” the driver said.
Dora was beginning to feel like a leper.
“She’s okay,” Kieron protested.
“She’ll stink up my truck!” the driver snapped.
She glared at the driver and put her hands on her hips. “What did you just say?”
“Sugar, that stinky soul of yours needs darkening up before you get into my truck.”
Kieron rolled his eyes. “Fucking soulists!”
“Dude, your truck already stinks of rotten farts,” she replied. “I can’t make it smell any worse!”
“You try carrying sprouts across Hell and back on a daily basis, and see how rotten you smell.” The lorry driver defended his rig.
“Why sprouts?” she asked.
“About fifty per cent of humans hate sprouts, even evil the ones.” Kieron answered. “They make a great torture device.”
“That’s what this big evil-looking truck does? It ships fucking vegetables, and I’m the one with a stinky white soul here. Move over, man. I’m getting in your damn truck.” Dora shook her head and climbed up in to the cab of the rig, loudly slamming the door shut behind her.
“I sometimes ship lost souls too,” the lorry driver muttered.
“Come on, sprout man. Stop whining and put some pedal to the metal.” Dora commanded.
The driver snarled, and the lorry’s engine roared into life.
Kieron chuckled. “That’s my girl.”
“I am not your girl.” She snapped. “I am a girl.”
“I dunno.” Kieron shrugged. “You are moving in with me. That’s almost dating.”
The truck driver snorted.
“What?” Kieron asked.
“I thought that when my girlfriend moved in. She turned out to be a bloody banshee. Trust me son, keep your own space.”
Kieron appeared to consider it for a moment. “I may not be as old as you, but I’m pretty certain having a girl sleeping in my bed is a good thing. Did you try gagging your banshee?”
Dora punched Kieron in the arm several times.
“Ow, ow, what the hell? Owww!” He tried to duck the punches, but since he was squashed between Dora and the driver, he had nowhere to go.
“That is why you can’t gag them.” The truck driver commented as Dora pounded on Kieron until he begged her to stop.
“Dora-minx, why are you attacking me?” he cried.
“Gag them, are you shitting me?” She smacked him a few more times to make her point.
“I didn’t mean you! Seriously, when you meet a Banshee, you’ll understand.”
“I doubt I will.”
“No really, there is a difference. I’d never gag a succubus unless they liked it.”
The truck driver belched out a dirty chuckle. Dora flicked Kieron on the end of the nose. “Gawd, are all demons perverts?”
The truck driver wiggled his eyebrows at her, making her involuntarily shrink back against the door of the lorry. His creepiness was freaking her out.
She glanced at Kieron when she heard him growl possessively, but found herself staring at the back of his head as he turned to face the driver. “Dora is under my protection.” Kieron’s voice was cold and deeper than usual. It was guttural sounding and ominous.
“Hey, no worries, man.” The truck driver paled and widened his eyes in fear. “I’m not into girls with souls anyway.”
Dora stared the back of Kieron’s head. His blond hair was the same, but his shirt had tightened over his muscled back and shoulders.
Did he just grow in size?
She blinked and watched his shoulders sink as he slowly exhaled. “Kieron?”
He turned to face her. For a second, she could have sworn his blue eyes were glowing red, and horns poked out of his forehead. The moment passed quickly then his eyes were clear blue again. She frowned at him and pressed herself against the door of the lorry. Something weird was happening.
“It’s okay, Dora-minx.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t be scared. I’d never hurt you.”
“Yeah? That helps. What just happened to your eyes?”
“Um, I don’t know. I can’t see my own eyes.”
She felt suspicious of him for the first time. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“There are many things I haven’t told you.” He smiled.
“Like what?”
“My favourite colour is blue. I like peanuts in my cheese sandwich. Oh, and I like fluffy kittens.”
“To eat?” the driver asked.
Kieron gasped, appearing appalled by the suggestion. “No! Why would you eat a kitten?”
“Oh crap, you’re one of those vegetarians aren’t you?” The truck driver spat out the words in disgust. “I should have known!”
“Do not anger me again, driver.”
“I have a name you know.” The driver snapped.
“What is it?” Dora asked.
“That’s it! Out of my truck, now!” The driver slammed on the breaks. Both Dora and Kieron jerked forward in their seats as the passenger door swung open all by itself.
“What did I do?” Dora asked.
“Out!” the driver snarled.
Kieron nodded at Dora and gestured for her climb out. She pushed herself out of the rig and jumped onto the motorway. She heard Kieron land on the road behind her. Once they were both standing at the roadside, she turned to face the driver. “Seriously what did I do?”
The door slammed shut in her face, and the rig zoomed past them and down the motorway. She turned to face Kieron. “What?”
He shook his head. “You never ask a demon their name. You should know that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you can use it to control them.”
“But I know your name.”
He coughed and peered at his feet. “That’s a … er, a personal preference.”
Dora frowned at him. “What does that mean?”
“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” he said. “Now, follow me. Let’s go home.”
“Don’t we need to hitch another ride?”
“No, it’s just over there.” He pointed to a vast castle on a hill at the side of the motorway. Haunting black spires pointed sharply into the sky from the numerous turrets of the massive building. The onyx structure had carvings of demons littering every ledge. Fire shot out of several windows in short, sharp blasts. The entrance was the open mouth of a demonic creature with sharp teeth glinting above the large wooden doors.
“Home sweet home,” he said in a cheerful voice.
“Oh shit,” Dora replied.
Dora peered up at the sharp teeth surrounding the doorframe. They glinted with a reddish hue from the firelight reflected in them. “So this is your house?” she asked, glancing at Kieron as he unlocked the door.
“Yes, and hopefully no one’s home,” he replied as he pushed open the double doors and invited her to enter the massive castle.
She took an apprehensive step across the threshold. She didn’t know what Kieron’s parents were like.
What if they don’t like me? Parents never like me.
She stepped onto the marble tiles and entered the castle with a bubble of panic growing in her stomach.
She surveyed the interior of the opulent gothic castle. There was a large foyer with a high ceiling. The centrepiece was a sweeping staircase adorned with a thick red carpet. She ran her fingers over the red and gold wallpaper decorating the wall behind her. It was furry to touch. The castle was majestic and bizarre with an array of red, black, white or gold ornaments decorating it.
She jumped when Kieron touched her arm. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get to my room before my paren—”
Demonic Dora Page 5
