Tales of a Demonic Familiar

by Eva Brandt

  Eva Brandt

  Tales of a Demonic Familiar

  An Academy of the Devil Side-Story

  Copyright © 2019 by Eva Brandt

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  Eva Brandt has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

  Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

  Cover art is for illustrative purposes only.

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  Contents

  Tales of a Demonic Familiar

  Loyalty and Lies

  About the Author

  Also by Eva Brandt

  Tales of a Demonic Familiar

  A familiar has his own secrets and woes.

  I am Shiro, the familiar of Alyssa Michaelis. I’ve been with her for years, since she was only an epileptic girl in high school. I will follow her at The Academy of the Devil, and into hell itself if I have to.

  And if I can, I’ll teach those stupid males who keep following her around a lesson, because they really don’t deserve her.

  Tales of a Demonic Familiar is a side-story starring Shiro, the canine familiar of Alyssa Michaelis. Like the series itself, it contains dark themes, violence and gore. Each part contains massive spoilers for individual parts of the series. Do not read it unless you’ve read the book before.

  Loyalty and Lies

  The first time I died, I’d barely left puphood. I wasn’t aware of much, at the time. I remember feeling the cold, the sharp sting of the rain striking my small body, the pangs of desperate hunger, the fierce agony of random humans striking me as they shoved their way past me.

  I was afraid at first. I cowered in a small, dirty box, knowing something was very wrong, but unable to do anything about it. At one point, it felt like I stopped feeling anything at all. I was drifting into nothing.

  That was when she appeared. She must’ve heard my final whimpers, because she made her way into the alley and caught a glimpse of my white fur.

  She was shielding her body with a human device of some kind, but when she saw me, she gasped and dropped it. The rain attacked her viciously, but she didn’t seem to care.

  She rushed to my side and knelt next to me. “Oh, you poor thing,” she whispered as she picked me up. “What happened to you? Who could’ve abandoned you like this?”

  I nuzzled into her warmth, instinctively knowing that she was my savior. “I’m Alyssa,” she said. “Lyssa for my family. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you now.”

  At that moment, something fierce and powerful was born in my chest—the desire to protect the beautiful human.

  Of course, back then, I couldn’t protect myself, let alone her. Lyssa was the one who took care of everything. She rushed me to another human who made all sorts of disapproving noises over my state. At one point, I was knocked out again, but I didn’t panic. I could still sense Lyssa nearby, and I was confident that she would keep me safe.

  She did exactly that. The man whom I’d later identify as a vet treated all my injuries and released me in Lyssa’s waiting arms. She beamed at me and said, “I think I’m going to name you Shiro. That means white in Japanese, you know.”

  I didn’t care. I licked her face and happily accepted the name she’d given me. Whatever meaning it had, I was proud of it.

  Lyssa’s parents welcomed me into their home, although their reasons were somewhat different. “Maybe this will help her get over her problems a bit,” I heard her mother say, when Lyssa was out of earshot. “Besides, dogs are good at sensing seizures.”

  “Yes. I’d been thinking about getting a trained one for her, but this might work just as well.”

  Something in the voices of Lyssa’s parents betrayed their fear and tension. I didn’t know what a seizure was, but I didn’t like the word. I easily surmised it wasn’t good, and it had something to do with my Lyssa.

  I found out the truth shortly after that, on a day like any other. I was sitting on Lyssa’s bed, chewing on one of those infuriatingly taunting toys Lyssa had given me, when a strange feeling coursed over me. I couldn’t put my paw on what it was. I just suddenly knew something was going to happen.

  Abandoning the toy, I looked up at my mistress. She’d been working on something at her desk and was still there, but she’d stopped her scribbling.

  I started barking, hoping to alert Lyssa of the danger. She turned and blinked owlishly at me. “Shiro?”

  The word came out twisted and wrong, and it was the last thing she managed to say. The next thing I knew, she collapsed, hitting the side of her desk as she fell. She screamed only once, the sound echoing against the walls of the room and within my own soul. And then, as she hit the floor, her body went rigid and she started shaking and seizing.

  It was horrible. She was surrounded in an aura of wrong-wrong-wrong, but I couldn’t understand its source. I whined and cried, desperate to help her, but not knowing what to do. Her parents came rushing in, but they were almost as powerless as I was. Eventually, I was hastily grabbed and shoved into another room. Other people soon showed up and stole Lyssa from the house.

  I didn’t see her for two days and when she came back, she was visibly subdued. “I’m sorry about that, Shiro,” she told me. “It happens sometimes. But they’re adjusting my meds. I hope it’ll get better.”

  It did and it didn’t. I quickly learned that my Lyssa suffered from a strange human affliction that made her collapse in this way from time to time, but other humans were helping her control it. Some things, like fatigue or stress, made it more likely for her to get sick, so it was my job to make sure she was comfortable and happy.

  That meant that anyone who bothered her was soon deemed my enemy. Her high school was full of such dreadful specimens of humanity, and I was forbidden from outright attacking them—stupid human rules. Even so, once I grew up, all I had to do was growl a little and they started avoiding Lyssa anyway.

  The seizures began to grow rarer, and Lyssa smiled more.

  And then, her eighteenth birthday came and the car accident happened. I died the second time.

  I didn’t remember much of what happened immediately after the impact, but I did recall the crack my body made as it was thrown around the vehicle. I heard Lyssa’s parents scream, the sound mingling with the screech of protesting metal. The scent of blood filled the air, all the more nauseating because it came, in part, from her.

  I must’ve blacked out for a few moments, but when I recovered consciousness, every ounce of me was screaming with terror. I was in so much pain, but at the same time, I knew I needed to get to Lyssa. She was out of it, unable to free herself from her seat.
I was the only chance she had.

  I dragged my broken body through the twisted ruin of the car and ripped through the seatbelt. Grabbing Lyssa’s jacket, I started to pull her out.

  It was easier said than done. The door was stuck and I was bleeding badly, my strength next to nonexistent. The window was out of the question, since I couldn’t hoist Lyssa through there.

  In a desperate panic, I shoved my body against the car door. Something snapped in my shoulder, but I didn’t care. I had to save her, to protect my charge, my mistress.

  Against all odds, the door opened. I managed to drag Lyssa out of the car and a good distance away from it, far enough that she wouldn’t be harmed when it unavoidably exploded.

  After that, I couldn’t do much else but collapse on top of Lyssa and hope someone else would be able to bring help. She wasn’t doing well. I could sense the ‘wrong-wrong-wrong’ returning. But I was drained, lacking the strength to even warn her about it.

  And then, he came, the four-faced creature with eyes that burned like the sun. In some ways, his arrival reminded me of Lyssa’s. He shone too, just like Lyssa had during our first meeting. But his glow was different, ominous and blinding. I wanted to take Lyssa away from him, but once again, my body failed me.

  He introduced himself as Lucifer, the cherub who’d once been Satan, and the ghost of a memory niggled at the back of my mind. He offered Lyssa a deal. He’d save Lyssa’s parents, in exchange for her going to The Academy of the Devil.

  It wasn’t a good idea, but Lyssa’s path had already been set long before this accident. I consoled myself with the thought that I’d be able to join her and didn’t try to stop Lyssa from agreeing to Lucifer’s terms.

  For a few seconds, Lucifer brushed his wing against my prone body. His voice drifted into my mind, fierce, yet strikingly gentle. “You and I will have a private conversation soon, familiar,” he told me. “Until then, you will need to stay loyal and support her at all costs. Can you do that?”

  I nodded. I could do anything for Lyssa. “I will protect her, no matter what comes our way.”

  “Excellent. I knew I could rely on you.”

  His eyes started glowing more brightly. I blinked, and just like that, we were in the car again. Lyssa was in the back seat, leaning against the window. Her parents were in the front, enthusing about the warm weather. It was like we’d never had the accident and had never left.

  It was terrifying, but I didn’t let it get to me. Lyssa no longer had the aura of ‘wrong-wrong-wrong’, and for now, that was good enough.

  * * *

  I hated The Academy of the Devil. No one there appreciated Lyssa, and there were some rather unpleasant males who’d shown interest in mating with her. The snake who belonged to one of the males was nice enough. She identified herself as Tumblr, all the while saying how much she hated the name. “I know, it’s a terrible name,” she’d often rant. “He was drunk when he gave it to me, and to be fair, it was before the whole business with the purge.”

  I didn’t understand what she meant, but I did know Lyssa had been a fan of this Tumblr thing until recently. She’d sometimes use it when she was on the device she called a computer. I had no idea what its purpose was, but Lyssa had seemed to find it enjoyable.

  I didn’t think my snake friend would appreciate me saying that, though, so instead, I offered, “In my opinion, any name is one you should appreciate, as long as it was given to you by your master.”

  “True,” Tumblr said. “I like you, White One. Maybe there’s still hope for my Mikael. We can still convince him to mate with your mistress properly.”

  I wasn’t sure I approved of this, since Lyssa often seemed to show distress when she was around Tumblr’s master or some of his just as distasteful friends. Still, I decided to reserve judgment.

  Also, Redrum, the school’s dragon, promised me to eat anyone who hurt Lyssa, and that soothed me somewhat.

  Unfortunately, when the seizure hit Lyssa, Redrum could do nothing. The males abandoned her and started treating her like she was trash. All the students at the school turned on her and I was surrounded in so much wrongness I felt like I was suffocating.

  At night, once she was inside her dorm, she’d crawl into bed, curl around a pillow and weep bitter tears. “Why do they hate me like this?” she’d ask as she hugged me to her chest. “What have I done wrong?”

  I wanted to tell her that she’d done nothing wrong, and once or twice, I actually succeeded. But words couldn’t protect her from her illness. Every day, Lyssa grew sicker. She didn’t have the medicine that used to keep her safe. The only thing she had was me, and I was not enough.

  And then came the unavoidable day when I left her too. It wasn’t something I wanted or intended. My beloved Lyssa asked me to help her with a test, something which I excitedly agreed to, since I could sense how nervous she was about it. But I didn’t get very far before the blast of dark fire hit me in the side.

  Pain erupted over me, bright and fierce, almost unbearable. I hit the ground hard, and for a few moments, I was unaware of anything except the agony.

  Something was creeping over me, a strange parasite sliding into my flesh, into my blood. I tried to fight it off, but the same power that had once kept me from dying in the car crash was now turning on me.

  It was sheer stubbornness that kept me from letting go. And then, my Lyssa was by my side, crying, calling out my name and panicking. She dropped to her knees next to me and took my paw. I could barely feel it. “Shiro, it’s okay,” she whispered, her voice barely understandable because of the sobs shaking her slender frame. “We’re going to get you home, to a good vet. Just hang in there.”

  I wanted nothing more than to fulfill her wish, to survive, to stay with her forever. I hated the fact that my failure to see this coming had upset her. “It’s okay, Lyssa,” I managed to say. “Don’t… Don’t cry. I will stay with you. Always. I won’t go.”

  I never wanted her to be alone, to have to face the cruelties of the world on her own. But my strength was waning, and with every second that passed, the pain grew fiercer. I felt the corrupted magic tugging at my life, at my core. I knew I had to fight it, for Lyssa’s sake, but it was getting harder and harder.

  In the end, Lyssa made the choice I couldn’t accept on my own. “You’ll always be with me, no matter what,” she said. “And I’ll always be with you.”

  She was right. The bond between us could never be broken, not even by death. I might not be able to survive the blow I’d received, but that didn’t mean I’d abandon her.

  Even from beyond the veil of death, I’d still support my Lyssa.

  The thought provided me with comfort and I allowed myself to drift away. Once I stopped fighting it, the lethal magic that had hit me no longer caused me any pain. It drove me into the nothingness with almost as much gentleness as Lyssa had used when she’d snatched me out of it.

  When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer on the beach where I’d taken my last breath. Instead, I was in a large room that smelled like fire, ash, and oddly, apples. I got up on four paws and looked around, and my instincts started screaming when I saw a familiar-looking man lying on a bed, eating an apple. He appeared to be reading, and the pages of the book in front of him were flipping on their own.

  When he noticed me stirring, he looked up from his tome and shot me a smile. “Ah. If it isn’t little Shiro. You’ve been avoiding me lately.”

  It was him again. The Fallen One. The Brightest Star. The man who’d bound Lyssa to him. Lucifer. He no longer looked like the four-faced being who’d come to us after the car accident. He didn’t much look like Lenoir either, even if he’d been the one who’d brought Lyssa the invitation, shrouded in deception and masks. But his eyes were the same, shining gold, threatening to scorch my very soul.

  “You really should be more careful, Shiro,” he added. “You made me a promise to stay by your mistress’s side. You’re not keeping it.”

  I growled at him in response
, but he just laughed, unimpressed. “Come now. There’s no need to be so aggressive. I mean well. And even if I didn’t, there’s nothing you can do that could possibly harm me.”

  Yes, I did know that. He was far more powerful that I could ever hope to be. But still, I didn’t trust him. He’d coerced Lyssa into that crazy deal, and that alone meant he was my enemy.

  Lucifer must’ve guessed my thoughts, because he replied, “I’m really not. If I were, you would’ve suffered a far more unfortunate fate, and your Lyssa would’ve likely not lived long enough to become a student at the academy.”

  The silent threat made anger surge through me. I howled and leaped forward, needing to eliminate the threat to Lyssa even if it ended up dooming what little was left of me.

  Lucifer sighed and snapped his fingers. My body froze mid-air and I collapsed to the floor, unable to move a muscle. Lucifer arched a brow at me, and even if he looked human now, I’d never been more aware of his demonic nature. “You do realize that if you’re here, it’s because I wish it, right? Besides, I don’t think you’re in any position to judge, not when you are lying to her too.”

  “I would never!” I snarled at him. I’d never betray Lyssa, lie to her, or use her like those foolish males did. I’d never force her into accepting dangerous deals like Lucifer had.

  “That’s exactly what you’re doing, little Shiro. You’re using her, because she will never guess that you belong to me, and you’ll never tell her.” He smiled, a twist of lips I instantly wanted to claw off. “But don’t worry. I don’t intend to hurt Alyssa. Not in a way she won’t like, at least.”

  What was that supposed to mean? How did someone hurt a person in a way he or she liked?

  “Never mind that, Shiro,” Lucifer said quickly—a little too quickly.

  I eyed him with suspicion and forced myself to get up. Surprisingly, I was successful. “You want to mate with Lyssa too, don’t you? Like Tumblr’s male. And those other idiots.”