“Not even in Dante’s Inferno?” Dora’s grin widened when his face became animated with frustration.
“Don’t even get me started on that book,” he muttered and slugged down his drink in one shot. “Come on. Let’s go to the fair. It’ll keep you amused.”
“Ooh, that sounds fun.” She stood up before turning to Kieron with a wink. “Not that this wasn’t entertaining.”
He replied with an ominous growl before putting his hand around her waist and guiding her to the exit.
Dora stood at the counter of the ‘Shoot ‘Em Up’ stand in the Demonique Fayre. She peered up at the garish coloured stand. Fluffy demons hung from a rack, emitting helpless squeaks and squirming to be free. The brightly painted sign above the mini demons read; ‘Win a Cuddly Toy’.
Kieron was concentrating hard as he stared through the sight of the crossbow, taking aim at the target on the back of a marketing executive’s head. He had promised her he would win her a cuddly toy, but to be honest she wasn’t sure she wanted a cute, helpless demon—although they were adorable.
“So the banks here are full of stinky cheese?” Dora blurted as Kieron released the trigger on the crossbow. Her question made him jump as he took the shot. The arrow wobbled in the air, darting at a skewed angle before embedding in the rotund backside of a marketing executive. She sniggered. He’d hit the guy who had invented ring tones.
Kieron scowled at her. “You did that on purpose.”
“Maybe.” She flashed him a sweet smile. “Is it my turn now?”
“Yes.” He took a step back. His eyes narrowed to slits as he gestured for her to take her turn.
She glanced back at Kieron. She didn’t trust him. She was certain he was going to do something behind her back. He stood behind her with his arms folded, staring intently at her. When he noticed her looking, he arched an eyebrow at her in a challenging manner.
Dora shrugged at him and turned to face the weapon. She bent over the crossbow and peered through the sight, aiming at the nearest target. Her target of choice was the man who had sold cancerous food to kittens via marketing. She aimed the arrow at the centre of the large round target on his back and prepared to pull the trigger.
She jumped and gritted her teeth when Kieron’s large, warm hand slapped her on the ass and remained there.
Oh, nice try loser.
She ignored his hand when it squeezed her backside and took the shot anyway. The arrow hit the target, dead centre. The marketing executive exploded with a pop, splattering blood and guts all over the other targets.
Dora straightened up and glanced back at Kieron’s hand, which was still on her ass.
“Ahem,” she said.
“What?” He looked innocent.
“Remove your hand, or I’ll shoot you in the ass.” She picked up the crossbow and threatened him with it.
“Oh!” He looked down and removed his hand, wearing an innocent expression. “I don’t know how that got there.”
“Sure you don’t,” she said, shaking her head.
“No, reall—”
“A cuddly toy for the lovely lady,” the carnie demon said. He was a blue demon with perfect abs and little horns. Judging by his face and horn size, Dora guessed he was a teenage demon.
“Which one do you want?” the carnie demon asked.
Dora examined the rows of tiny, cute demons. Some were fluffy, and others had big sad eyes. Most of them were wriggling and squeaking at her. “Pick meeeee, pick meeeee!”
However, one of them was hanging limply from its hook. It was a pooey brown-coloured demon with straggly fur and a squashed face. It stared at its feet and mumbled to itself. Dora strained to hear its words over the happy begging demons, blocking out the high-pitched squeals to hear what this one was mumbling.
“No one ever picks me.” It grumbled.
“I’ll take that one.” She pointed to the straggly defeatist demon.
The carnie widened his eyes in surprise. “Are you sure?”
“Yep.” She nodded.
The little fella looks as if he needs some hope.
The carnie shrugged, lifted the grumpy demon off its hook and handed it to Dora.
She peered at the prize in her hands. The little guy was only about a foot tall, and he was still grumbling. “Only picked me out of pity.” He complained.
“Exactly.” Dora told him. “And now you’re my pet, and I’m going to have to name you.”
“Why bother? You’ll probably eat me next week.” He grumbled at her, folding his arms in a huff.
“I’m not going to eat you.” Dora put him on her shoulder.
He held onto her hair so he wouldn’t fall off. “Not even good enough for dinner,” he mumbled in her ear.
“What are you going to call … er, it?” Kieron asked.
“I’m doomed, why bother?” it muttered.
“Pooey,” she said. “His name is Pooey.”
”Oh great, now I feel even more like shit,” Pooey said.
Kieron smiled as he walked down the endless halls of Castle Lascher. He’d had a fantastic date with Dora last night and was pleased she was finally enjoying Hell. He’d worried at first because there had been a melancholy look in her eyes since her parents had tried to burn her, but on the date she’d been playful and fun again. Oddly, even the defeatist demon, Pooey, cheered her up. He complained and made her giggle a lot.
Kieron followed the lit torches to his father’s office door. He paused outside of it and frowned with concern. He had a daunting suspicion his father had summoned him here to talk about Dora. It was Sunday today, which was one of his father’s busiest days in the office, so Kieron assumed he’d been summoned here about something important.
He knocked on the mahogany door, and the bang echoed through the castle.
“Enter,” his father shouted.
Kieron pushed open the door before stepping into the large onyx chamber. At the centre of the room, he found his father sitting behind a granite desk on a steel throne. The high back of the chair loomed around Lord Lascher like an intricately carved frame.
Kieron glanced at the thick iron doors of the family vault behind his father. Magic swirled around the closed vault door in the form of purple and green smoke. He knew from experience that the curses engraved on it were unbreakable, magical locks.
He walked over to the desk and took a seat opposite his father, glancing down at the blood-signed scrolls and piles of dark soul-chips littering the surface before peering up at his father, who watched him with interest over his glasses. Lord Lascher studied Kieron in silence for a few moments before removing his glasses and placing them on the desk. Kieron recognised his father’s sharp black suit, and the devilish gleam in his eyes.
He looks as if he means business today.
“I got your summons.” Kieron broke the silence.
“Yes, I see,” his father replied, giving nothing away.
“What do you want?” Kieron wanted to go back to hanging out with Dora and had no patience for his father’s games today.
“It’s about Dora,” his father said. “She will be starting school tomorrow, and I thought we should discuss the long terms plans for her.”
A bubble of panic expanded in his chest. Long-term plans in Hell tended to mean eternity.
“What are your thoughts?” Kieron asked in the calmest voice he could manage. Please let her stay.
“I’d like to make her stay with us more permanent.”
Kieron frowned. It was what he wanted, but he didn't like the look in his father’s eyes. “Why?”
“I like her. She’s a nice girl. You two make a cute couple, and I approve of her for you.” His father smiled, and the tips of his fangs slid over his bottom lip.
It was everything Kieron wanted to hear, and that worried him. In Hell especially, if it sounded too good to be true, it usually was.
“That’s good,” Kieron replied, after careful consideration. “But she can’t stay in Hell forever as a human.”
His father waved the comment away. “We’ll worry about that when we come to it. For now, we need to get her past Judgement Day, and to do that we need her to start learning evil.”
Kieron nodded in agreement, but there was a sinking feeling in his chest. It was okay when he had been sneaking Dora into Hell, but his father’s sudden interest in her worried him.
It could be jealousy because I don’t like how he looks at Dora.
No, that makes no sense. He just said he wanted Dora to stay to be with me. I agree with everything he’s saying, so why is this conversation creeping me out?
“Why do you want Dora to stay in Hell?” Kieron blurted out. He’d never been very subtle.
“Because she’ll straighten you out!” His father bellowed.
Kieron sat back in his chair in shock. “What?”
“She’s perfect for you. When you’re with her, you break the rules, you get in trouble and you use magic like a demon should. For years I’ve worried you’ll get kicked out of Hell with all your caring and worrying, but with her around you act like a true Lascher. She’s making you into a demon I can be proud of.” Red fire burned in his father’s eyes as he spoke with passion. After a few moments, he calmed down. His eyes simmered down to dark blue. “And, I like her. She’ll be a wonderfully fun daughter-in-law,” he added with a smile.
“Okaaaaay.” Kieron stretched out the word while he considered his father’s comments. He had never connected with his father, not that his father hadn’t tried.
Fishing trips had turned into battles of will over the souls they fished out of the lava, always beginning with an inevitable argument about whether the souls should be returned to the drink or saved. Of course, Kieron had always wanted to save them, which had disgusted his father.
This was the first time he and his father had agreed on anything, and maybe that was the problem. More than anything else in the world, Kieron wanted Dora to stay in Hell with him. But if his father wanted it, he wondered if it was the wrong thing to do.
“So, um, what happens to Dora if she learns to be better at evil?” Kieron asked, attempting to sound casual about it.
“She takes the test and passes. Then she can stay in Hell,” his father replied just as casually. But he didn’t look Kieron in the eye, he peered at one of the scrolls on his desk instead.
“So, she’ll stay in Hell as a human with a soul?” Kieron asked, still unsure of the details.
“Hmm.” His father nodded.
“Was that a yes?” Kieron persisted.
“That was a yes, yes.”
Kieron smiled, but a moment later he narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “The ‘yes’ I said was a yes, but was the ‘hmm’ you said a yes?”
“My boy, you’re making no sense.” His father continued reading the scroll and smiled.
Kieron scowled. “Will Dora’s soul be safe?” He demanded.
“Yes,” his father said.
Kieron sighed, but he couldn’t shift the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. After a few seconds, he wondered if this was another trick. “Will it be safe inside her body?”
“Hmm?” His father took no notice of him.
“Her soul, will it be safe in her body?”
“For the time being, yes,” his father replied.
“What do you mean for the time being?” Kieron’s scowl deepened.
“She’s human. They all die eventually, you know.”
Kieron sighed. That was true. Humans didn’t live for very long. Perhaps she was better off in Hell, after all.At least here she’ll never die.
“Okay, I’ll try and help her do well at the Academy tomorrow,” he eventually said.
“Good, good. I’ll help too, in my own way.”
“What does that mean?”
“Oh, you know, study guides and things.” The vague wave of his hand made Kieron worry again.
“I’ve got all these contracts to go over, so that’ll be all for today.” His father dismissed him.
Kieron stared at his father for a few more seconds before standing and walking out of the room, feeling uncertain about everything. He shut the office door behind him, glancing briefly at his father before it closed. His father’s eyes glittered as he watched him leave the chamber.
In the gloomy hallway, Kieron tried to make sense of the confusing conversation. On one hand, he wanted Dora to stay because she made him happy. He didn’t know if she made him a better demon, but he knew he was happy when he was near her. On the other hand, he didn’t trust his father or anyone in Hell. Dora didn’t belong here. If she stayed, would she remain the same? Would she remain human?
The more he thought about it, the more confusing it all became. In the end, it was easier to stick to what he did know. He knew Dora was good, and that wouldn’t change. Now he knew she was going to be able to stay with him, which was a good thing, right?
Kieron walked down the corridor towards her room, his smile back in place as he thought about seeing her, but the skin on his arms prickled with goosebumps. Something wasn’t right.
“Come on, Pooey. It’s not my fault!” Dora called out. “I don’t have time for this,” she muttered, looking under her bed.
Where is he?
“I’m not staying here.” Pooey’s sad voice echoed through her bedroom.
“I can’t take you with me. I have to go to school today.” Dora sighed. Pooey had been cute all weekend until he found out she was leaving him to go to school this morning.
“If you leave me here, they’ll eat me alive!” Pooey cried.
“No, they won’t. I’m sure they won’t.” She frowned. She wasn’t entirely sure Pooey would be safe here. Lady Lascher had given him a funny look when Dora had brought him home.
The clock on the nightstand ticked louder than normal. Dora knew she only had a few minutes before she had to set off.
Screw it.
“Okay, here’s the deal, Pooey,” she said, peering around the room. “You can come with me if you can find somewhere to hide, so no one can see you.”
Pooey’s head popped up out of the side pocket of her backpack. “Will this do?”
“How the hell did you get in there?” She blinked in amazement. She’d been packing the bag when he went missing and had no idea how he’d managed to hide in it.
“Ninja skills,” he said in a bored voice.
Dora laughed and picked up the bag. She threw it over her shoulder and shook her head. “Great, a Pooey ninja. Okay, let’s go to school.” She let out a sigh.
Today is gonna suck.
Dora turned when she heard a light knock at the door. It opened to reveal Kieron standing in the doorway, wearing a black robe. He looked ominous and almost scary under the dark hood. “Where’s your robe?” he asked. “You can’t go dressed like that!” His panicked expression made him appear less frightening and much cuter.
“Oh, we have to wear the uniform?” Dora asked, glancing down at her new black miniskirt and blood-red tights.
“Yes.” He nodded several times as if to establish the importance of it.
“Can I put it on over my clothes?”
“Yeah, just make sure you’re wearing it or the professors go ballistic.”
“Okay.” She dropped her bag off her shoulder and onto the floor, wincing when she heard a tiny ‘oof’ sound coming from the bag. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she draped the heavy black robe over her clothes.
“It’s okay,” Kieron replied, clearly unaware she had been apologising to Pooey.
“Does it look okay?” She spun around with her robe swishing around her ankles.
“Perfect.” He winked at her. “Let’s get going. They do awful things to you if you’re late.”
“Okay.” Dora grabbed her bag and swung it over her shoulder.
“Oh, don’t do that, or I’m gonna barf.” Pooey’s tiny voice grumbled.
“What?” Kieron asked.
Dora coughed. “Huh? Oh, I just had a tickle in my throat,” she attemp
ted to cover-up Pooey’s complaints.
Kieron narrowed his eyes and shot her a suspicious glance before nodding and turning to leave the room. She shivered as she followed him. The first day of school—even outside of Hell, it sounded frightful.
Kieron gazed across the classroom at Dora.
Why is she studying her nails? Crap! Is she even paying attention?
They were sitting in Professor Kazaik’s class studying power and persuasion. It was one of the most important classes in the curriculum. There were two reasons why this was the class Dora needed to pay attention to. Firstly, Kazaik was beyond evil. He’d cut her head off if she didn’t know the answer. Secondly, it was the subject most likely to be on the exams.
A knot of worry tightened in Kieron’s stomach, making him feel sick. If Dora got her head cut off for messing around in class today it wouldn’t grow back! His worry became panic when she yawned and studied her fingernails instead of the blackboard.
I should have sat next to her, damn it!
“If pure evil comes from power, how do we attain it?” Professor Kazaik asked the class.
The entire class stared at him, giving him their full attention, except for Dora. She appeared to be drawing a smiley face on her middle finger instead.
Kazaik’s black eyes settled on Dora with a dangerous glint in them.
Kieron helplessly watched in silence.
Please, please look up.
Dora didn’t look up. She grinned at her finger artwork and wiggled it at herself.
Kazaik narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together until they became a thin line. He was a tall and pale man with long black hair whipping around him in snaking tendrils. He was the highest warlock in the level. Dark magic flowed through every inch of him. As a master of magic, he could do just about anything. He was a first class professor of power, which meant he was the most powerful demon in the school.
Kieron’s stomach muscles clenched in fear as Kazaik strode down the row of desks towards Dora. Magic swirled in the air around him, leaving a trail of blood-red smoke in his wake.
He stopped at Dora’s desk, staring down at her with fire burning in his eyes.
Demonic Dora Page 9
