The Trouble with Demons Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  The Trouble with Demons:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  About the Author:

  DEMON TROUBLE TOO

  THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS

  Book 1

  (Demon Guardian Series)

  Terry Spear

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Terry Spear

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

  Copyright 2010 by Terry Spear

  Discover more about Terry Spear at:

  http://www.terryspear.com/

  The Trouble with Demons:

  Witches and warlocks hide their true identities from the rest of the human population, while three teens with demon heritage living with human families become unlikely companions in a race against time to deal with a demon threat to humankind in their own quirky way.

  Alana Fainot, a witch and half Kubiteron demon, witnesses a Matusa murder his summoner, and she knows he’ll target her next. Raised by her mother, she has no idea who her demon father is. But when she’s pulled to a demon portal, she meets Hunter Ross, half Matusa, half human, who returns demons to their world, but who’s been poisoned by a Matusa and is more dead than alive. His human mother gave him up for adoption, and he doesn’t know who either of his birth parents are. His friend Jared Kensington, full blooded Elantus demon, less powerful than the Kubiteron, is a whiz at electronics and helps Hunter track demons in the city, but was abandoned by his parents on Earth world for reasons unknown. He’s determined to find help to save Hunter. Alana knows aiding any Matusa is a mistake, but when she learns Hunter is half human, she makes a deal—he protects her against the Matusa who will come for her, and she helps find his dad in the demon world to save Hunter’s life.

  Often at odds, the three teens work together to stop the plans of a group of Matusa to take over the human race before it’s too late.

  DEDICATION

  Thanks to Jack London and his White Fang and Call of the Wild that made me see wild creatures in a different way.

  Also Available by Terry Spear:

  The World of Fae:

  The Dark Fae

  The Deadly Fae

  The Winged Fae

  The Ancient Fae

  Dragon Fae

  Hawk Fae

  Phantom Fae

  The World of Elf:

  The Shadow Elf

  The Darkland Elf (TBA)

  Blood Moon Series:

  Kiss of the Vampire

  Bite of the Vampire (TBA)

  Night of the Vampire (TBA)

  Demon Guardian Series:

  The Trouble with Demons

  Demon Trouble, Too

  Demon Hunter, coming 2015

  Vampire Chronicles

  The Vampire…In My Dreams

  Non-Series for Now:

  Ghostly Liaisons

  The Beast Within

  Courtly Masquerade

  Deidre's Secret

  The Magic of Inherian:

  The Scepter of Salvation

  The Mage of Monrovia

  Emerald Isle of Mists (TBA)

  Chapter 1

  “Why did we have to do it here in this stinking, filthy place?” a woman whispered. “Why not on the outskirts of Baltimore, somewhere in a field or something?”

  “For the atmosphere. How can we summon a demon without having the essential mood?” another responded with derision.

  Using white chalk, the two women drew a pentagram inside a circle against the black asphalt, over grease spots and globs of old gray chewing gum. In accordance with the summoning ritual, the third woman lighted the remaining fifty candles in the darkened alleyway between two brick buildings. A slight, humid breeze fussed over the flames, threatening to blow them out.

  “Smells like rotting garbage. The heat and humidity have made my hair spaz. This long gown is making me sweat, and I’ll have underarm stains for sure. Real ambiance. Let’s hurry and get this done. I’ve got half an hour before I watch The Shining with Dennison,” the first said.

  The second snorted. “Kim, after the demon does what we tell it to, maybe you won’t want to go back to mind-numbing Dennison.”

  “Having the demon kill Clint at Saveway Grocers is the only reason we’re doing this, agreed? We get a new manager, end of story. Then we send the demon back.”

  “Until we need him for another gig, Lillian,” the third one said, raising her brows to emphasize her wish.

  Lillian cast them a wicked smile. “Yeah, that two-timing louse, Johnny Cantos, is next on my list.”

  Kim didn’t look like she approved, but then changed her mind when the other two seemed adamant. “Sure, whatever.”

  They pulled black hoods over their heads, then with their voices raised high, and the candlelight’s flames reflecting in their eyes, the women chanted, “Stirrus, Demononus, Seplichus, Protinalium, Horrita.”

  The portal opened, filling the alley with shimmering blue-green light, and a brisk wind snuffed out the candles. Their gleaming teeth shown in giddy grins, and they began the rest of the chant. “Demon of Seplichus, we command you…”

  ***

  Alana Fainot saw them in her mind’s eye and heard the women’s voices chanting in her head. They were attempting to bring forth a demon. Alana gritted her teeth, fighting the pull from the restaurant where she and her mother were celebrating the end of her junior year at high school. The portal opening somewhere down the street from where she sat sent a surge of energy rushing through her, and the roar of the wind filled her ears.

  Everything faded—the Spanish music playing overhead, the aroma of Mediterranean dishes, steaming spicy paella and garlic chicken, making her mouth water. Conversation and laughter disappeared. The sound of her mother’s worried voice and the sensation of her hand patting Alana’s vanished.

  She struggled to center herself, to return to the safety of the restaurant, but it was like a part of her melted away from her physical being, floated in pitch blackness, shifted into something surreal. Like a magnet, the demon gateway’s energy drew that disembodied part of her into the narrow alley.

  Silence cloaked her like a deadly veil as her astral projection drew closer to the portal. An innate fear warned her if she got too close, the vortex could suck her into the demon world.

  Transfixed in place several feet from the shimmering light, the three women she’d seen in her mind’s eye stared at the gateway. Wearing ankle-length, black dresses, their hair dyed the same color half hidden under matching hoods, and sable shadow covering their eyelids, the women appeared to be Goths in their mid-twenties. Not witches. Foolhardy Goths.

  Their mouths coated in grim-reaper ebony lipstick curved up, giving them a demonic appearance. The portal’s illumination danced off their eyes, completing the hideous look.

  Rotting garbage overpowered the smell of burning candle wax. Something scurried in the dark close to one of the brick buildings—a c
at, maybe, or a rat.

  The women chanted, “Demon of Seplichus, we command you, come unto us. We command you…”

  Ice spread through Alana’s veins. In her astral state, what could she do? Nothing! She couldn’t save the demon from these women if it were one of the lesser ones, and if it was not… She shivered.

  What if…if she pretended to be the demon they summoned…

  She moved out of the shadows, but stopped. They couldn’t see her. She couldn’t prevent them from calling a demon. What was she thinking?

  Then a demon stepped through the portal, his look amused in a sinister way. Long hair the color of bittersweet chocolate whipped across his chiseled face, half-hidden in shadows with the portal’s light at his back. His head held high, he commanded obedience.

  Alana’s chest tightened as if a wall was crushing the breath from her. A Matusa, one of the Dark Ones. Shrinking back into the shadows, Alana shivered.

  The gateway shut with a whoosh, silencing the brisk wind. Streetlamps stretched measly tentacles of light between the century-old buildings, replacing the portal’s light.

  The women’s apparent fear mixed with heady elation. They had called forth a demon. They would wield the power of a dark lord. But not this demon. Never a Matusa.

  Alana expected bedlam, and her heart shriveled. She couldn’t save the women, destroy the summoning book, or send the demon back. Why was she drawn to the portal if she could do nothing to help?

  To witness the suffering? To show her how useless and insignificant she was? To prove once again she was some kind of freak?

  The woman closest to the demon recited new words from the book, seeking him to do her bidding. The creature’s eyes glowed red, and Alana’s heart hitched.

  He reached his hand out to the woman, tore through her dress, dug through her flesh. Her high-pitched scream died on her lips.

  “Oh God, oh God,” Alana said under her breath, the blood pounding like thunder in her ears. Go, go, go! she screamed at herself. Paralyzed, she couldn’t shake loose of her astral projection.

  The woman’s body slid down against a brick wall, but the demon continued his work. Crouching before her, he broke through the ribs with a crunching sound until he held her beating heart, still inside the chest cavity.

  Sheer terror swept through Alana, the loss of control, the futility, the meaninglessness. Immersed in a horror flick—only it was way too real—she had no escape. A scream rose to her throat, and she clasped her hand over her mouth, tears filling her eyes, blurring her vision.

  The Matusa ripped out the woman’s heart, rose to his full height, and held it up for the other women to see. His prize. His proof they couldn’t control him. With eyes blazing like fire, a smile curved his lips.

  One of the women fainted. The other collapsed on her knees, begging for mercy.

  Alana wanted to dissolve into the pavement.

  The Matusa took a step toward the sobbing woman, tears running black rivulets down her colorless cheeks. The copper smell of blood now mixed with the candle wax and putrid rubbish wafting in the air. A light breeze stirred. The roar of a lion at the nearby zoo drifted overhead. But none of these took his attention from the woman.

  None of these, except for Alana. He turned and stared straight at her, as if he could see her standing there in the dismal place. As if something about her had called to him, distracting him from his mission.

  Holding her breath, she prayed he couldn’t see her, but his dark look bored straight into her, his fathomless eyes capturing hers, holding her hostage. Frigid fear stabbed her heart. Her astral form had morphed into something else.

  Now, the danger knew her.

  ***

  “Alana, Alana,” her mom called to her in the noisy restaurant, the chatter and Spanish music finally reaching her ears.

  Alana opened her eyes, then blinked a couple of times, unable to clear the horrific vision from her head.

  “Were…were you having another one?” Her mother wore her blonde hair swirled in a bun and faded blue jeans and a T-shirt, her usual look when she spent the day dealing with poltergeists.

  “Yes, Mother.” Alana gave her an annoyed look, but her heart was still beating so hard she could barely think straight.

  Poking at the garlic chicken resting on a bed of rice, her mom anxiously watched Alana. “I think you should see someone about it.”

  “Who? I mean, come on, Mom! Get real.” Rubbing her frigid fingers to warm them, Alana hoped the astral out-of-body experiences wouldn’t get worse. She shook her head. A week ago, the summoners or summoned demon didn’t see her. This time…

  Her mom gave one of her long-suffering looks. “I know you’re still mad at me about this.”

  “Right. Why didn’t you tell me before what was wrong with me?” Alana scooped up a spoonful of rice and shrimp, determined to enjoy her dinner, celebrating the end of eleventh grade. At this rate, it could be her last. Her stomach rolled with nausea. She couldn’t eat. She set her spoon down on the plate and made another sour face. “You wanted to wait until when to tell me? Next year, when I turned eighteen? Another couple of years when I’d already gone completely mad?”

  “I didn’t know any of this would happen. How would I have known? You were perfectly…” She stopped speaking and glanced up at Alana, her clear blue eyes worried.

  “Normal. You can say it. I was perfectly normal until my seventeenth birthday.”

  “It’s not like I’d know what might happen. I haven’t had anything to do with your…your father since…since, well, you know.”

  “Since you summoned him to do it with you.”

  Her mom’s brow creased. “That sounds rather crude.”

  “You summoned a demon for what reason then?” Alana asked, keeping her voice low.

  Demons, witches, ghosts, none of those things existed except in writers’ over-imaginative minds and a few misguided souls’. At least that’s what most people thought. Though before she turned seventeen, Alana hadn’t believed in demons either. Yet, she should have known demons existed just like witches did. After all, didn’t every culture write about them from the earliest of times? Sure. And like witches, maybe demons had been just as maligned. Or not.

  Shaking loose from her gloomy thoughts, she frowned at her mom. “You summoned a demon to have a new friend? To kill someone you didn’t like? Come on, Mom! Why did you summon one, then do it with him?”

  “Some of my girlfriends from college and I found an old text that was supposed to summon demons. Except the other girls got spooked and left the party.” Her mom put the rest of the garlic bread back on her plate and licked her fingers. “You know me. I have to finish what I start.”

  Alana rolled her eyes. “And that’s how I came to be. So what happened to Daddy Dearest?”

  “I told you.”

  “You told me he left, but not why. I thought when someone summoned a demon, he or she controlled the demon. Except for the dark lords. Anybody unfortunate enough to summon one of them is worse than dead.” The image of the demon holding the woman’s bloody heart assaulted Alana and an internal shudder rippled up her spine.

  “I summoned a demon who, well, thank God was not one of the bad kind.”

  “He left you pregnant.”

  Her mom’s cheeks colored.

  “You were drunk, right? What else? Don’t tell me you had a boyfriend who had just dumped you for your best girlfriend.”

  “No. Andy Carver dumped me for the girl I hated most at the University of Baltimore.”

  “So you summoned a demon to fix Andy Carver and his new girlfriend.” Alana didn’t really think so, but she was tired of her mother hiding things from her.

  Her mom’s brows furrowed, and she stabbed another strip of chicken. “You know me better than that, honey. I was just fooling around with my friends. Sure, I was down about Andy, and sure, I’d had a little too much wine. But we were bored during spring break and playing around with the book like it was a game. We never th
ought anything would happen.”

  “A game.” Alana shook her head, wondering if the woman the Matusa had murdered had thought it was just a game, too. “How come Daddy Dearest left?”

  “Your father was very handsome and charming, but after he made love to me, he forced me to recite something else in the book.” Her mother focused on her meal, avoiding Alana’s glower. “It sent him back to his world. I think. He vanished, and it was the last time I ever saw him.”

  “And you never wanted to call him back?”

  Her gaze caught Alana’s, then she looked away. “Sure, I wanted to. I knew I shouldn’t have loved him, but I did. No man has ever measured up to him since.”

  “So why didn’t you? Call him back, I mean.”

  Her mom poked at her half-finished meal. “I couldn’t force a demon to stay with me if he didn’t want to.”

  “Right. He does it with you when you’re drunk, gets you pregnant, then disappears, and that makes him the perfect soul mate.” Alana wiped her fingers off on her napkin. “We’ve never lived around witches, and I can’t have normal human relationships. And I sure can’t have demonic friends.” She sighed, then drank the rest of her water, but nothing quenched her bone-dry throat. “I’m an abomination, Mom. Worse, I’m afraid a Dark One will soon come after me.”

  Her mom’s attention shifted from her dinner to Alana. “Why?”

  “I watched him murder a woman, and he knows it. I didn’t hang around to see him kill the other two.” Thank God she’d finally managed to yank herself from the alley before he finished his work. She’d have nightmares about it forever.

  Speechless, her mom stared at her.

  In one way, Alana wished she didn’t know what was wrong with her. How in the world was she supposed to deal with something like this? “So I guess you don’t know what powers I might have.”

  “No, honey. I’m so sorry. If I could, I’d make it up to you. I’d take back what I had done. I was so stupid. We all were.”