The Trouble with Demons Read online

  Hunter gave a harsh laugh and winced when that pained him. “She’s got to be kidding.”

  She flashed him a deadly look, her eyes flame red. Total turn on for another demon.

  Jared studied her. “Don’t think she’s kidding.”

  Hunter rubbed his throbbing temple. “Maybe she was summoned when she was a baby. All right, here’s the deal. You heal me, and Jared will let you read all about the Kubiteron.” Hunter raised his brows to punctuate his statement, but even that hurt.

  Her attention returned to the laptop, then shifted to Hunter. “Then you’ll kill me.”

  “I don’t terminate good demons. Only the ones who are out to murder me.”

  She pursed her lips. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “Try.”

  She moved closer. Then she stopped. “Tell me what hospital you’re in and what your name is.”

  “Why? As for the other, you already know my name.”

  She gave him an annoyed look. “Your last name.”

  “Don’t tell her. She’s got something in mind, and the way she tossed you from the bed as sick as you are, it can’t be good.”

  “Yeah. I can see it in her eyes. Heal me, and Jared will let you take a look at the data he’s compiled on your demon type.”

  She wavered.

  Why was it so important for her to know where he was located? Did she know someone who might try to terminate him? In his present state, he imagined even the weakest of demons could easily finish him off.

  She drew closer. Even though his sense of smell was no better than a human’s now, her lavender fragrance reached him, and he took a deep breath to breathe in the sweet scent.

  She reached out to touch his arm, and he cringed, waiting for the increased pain to kick in. But then her eyes met his. “I can’t do anything for you like this.”

  Jared objected. “It says here, of all the demons, the Kubiteron are best in the healing arts.”

  “I’m not really here now, am I? Tell me which hospital you’re at, and I can come to you in my physical state.” She turned to the portal. “And close the gateway!”

  “If you close the portal, she’ll leave, won’t she?”

  “She seems to be able to leave anytime she wants. Opening the portal draws her to me.”

  “To the portal, not you,” she snapped.

  He smiled smugly and Jared chuckled. “I’m at…” Before Hunter could say anything more, the girl vanished.

  Jared’s jaw gaped. “What the…?”

  Annoyed beyond reason, Hunter closed the portal. “Maybe her summoner caught her unaware. I’ll bring her back and tell her where I am.”

  “If she doesn’t want to help? Demons are notoriously devious, you know.”

  “Yeah, except for you and me.” Hunter gave a dark smile. “But, I don’t see that we have any other choice.”

  ***

  “Thank God you’re back.” Uncle Stephen held Alana’s hand with a reassuring grip. Nearby, another man she didn’t recognize stroked his long silver beard, his blue eyes studying her. “This is my mentor, Yolan. I called him when you went into your catatonic state.”

  “What?”

  “Do you remember what happened, Alana?” Yolan asked, his voice deep and reassuring.

  “You wouldn’t believe me any more than my Uncle Stephen does.”

  Her uncle’s face blanched. Was he afraid the family secret would get out? That she and her mom were certifiable?

  Yolan drew closer. “Tell me what has transpired. Leave no detail out, no matter how seemingly inconsequential.”

  Alana took a deep breath and told the truth. “I’m half demon.”

  Chapter 6

  Alana didn’t say anything more, just waited to see how her announcement that she was half demon set with her uncle’s mentor.

  Yolan’s blue eyes darkened, but he didn’t say a word.

  She explained how she came to be, why she thought a Matusa demon would be after her, and about her encounter with the other at the hospital. Once she was done, Yolan and her uncle left her alone in the living room and spoke privately in the kitchen. Because of her enhanced demon hearing, she made out most of their conversation.

  “I told you it was crazy,” her uncle said.

  “Yes, Stephen. But her mind was drawn somewhere, of that I’m certain. Whatever is calling her is stronger than just the spells you used to try and block it, then bring her back. In fact, the one I used to shield her mind is the strongest I know. I need to research this further, check some of my sources, call in a few experts. I’ve never seen anything like it. I fear her mind may fracture under the pressure.”

  “What about this nonsense with the demons?”

  Silence.

  Then Yolan said, “The demon is in her mind, but I fear a rebel warlock has gotten through to her somehow.”

  She fumed. How could he be so… so dense?

  “He’s found a vassal to manipulate. If he’s as strong as he appears, our protection spell won’t last long, and he’ll call her back to him. We must find out who he is and destroy him,” Yolan added.

  So her uncle did know attack spells after all. Her uncle’s library! But first things first. She had to find Hunter. She had to help him.

  She closed her eyes, waiting for Hunter to open the portal and draw her back to reveal the name of the hospital. She could still envision his lips moving when he tried to tell her the name and Yolan dragged her away from the astral excursion. But no portal opened and she felt a kind of peace, her mind wrapped in a cloak of tranquility, dark and comforting.

  Her uncle touched her forehead, and she opened her eyes.

  “Alana—”

  “Uncle Stephen, teach me some really good healing spells.”

  He exchanged looks with Yolan standing slightly behind him.

  “He wants her to heal him,” Yolan said, his eyes narrowed.

  Of course, that’s what she’d said, hadn’t she? That he was at a hospital, and she needed to help him?

  “The warlock must have been injured,” Yolan added. “But why would he pick Alana, if she isn’t already trained in the healing arts? Does she have the aptitude for it?”

  Warlock? Demon! Why couldn’t they get it through their thick skulls she needed to help a demon!

  “I’ll call her mother. I’m sure Alana knows the basic skills, but I doubt her mother brought in a specialist to train Alana in more advanced skills. Her witch’s education has been at best minimal. My sister prefers to live among humans, doing as they do.”

  “Yet she uses her witch’s training in her own job, ridding the world of poltergeists.” Yolan shook his head. “I’ll return as soon as I discover anything new.” Yolan vanished in a puff of pale blue mist.

  Yeah, and whose fault was it that her mother lived among humans? Well, her mother because she fooled around with a demon. But beyond that, magic users were narrow-minded bigots if they couldn’t allow those not of pure blood to associate with them.

  “Would you prefer to sleep here on the couch or return to your bed?” Stephen asked her.

  “It’s too early to go to bed.” Yet she felt as though she could barely stay awake.

  “It is late, but the protection spell Yolan cast on you can also induce sleep.”

  “Great.”

  “Your mind needs to rest.”

  “All right. I’ll go to bed.” She didn’t remember retiring to her room, but when she heard her uncle speaking on the phone downstairs, she realized she was tucked in, still wearing her jeans shorts and T-shirt.

  She fought the protective mind spell, attempted to break through, which only wearied her more. Then she stumbled out of bed, and found her way to her uncle’s library. Maybe, she could reverse the mind spell and learn about some attack spells, too.

  As long as she didn’t get caught.

  ***

  “You’ve got to try again, Hunter. Don’t give up,” Jared coaxed.

  With the fever raging, Hunter
’s head pounded. Every effort both exhausted and pained him. “Isn’t there any way you can locate her signature?”

  Jared shook his head. “No. It’s the oddest thing. I can track any demon within a fifty-mile radius, but I can’t see anything concerning her. Maybe she’s beyond my scope.”

  “I’ve opened and closed the portal fifteen times, and it hasn’t drawn her back.”

  “Maybe she learned how to stop you from commanding her.”

  Exasperated, Hunter finally relented, though giving up was not part of his demon heritage, and that nearly killed him as much as the sharp pains racking his heated body. “Then we have to think of alternatives. Who else do we know might be able to counteract a demon’s poison?”

  “No one I know. What about your father?”

  “What about him? He’s not aware I’m a demon any more than my mother is. He’s a doctor, sure, but…”

  Jared gave him a disgruntled look. “I meant your Matusa father.”

  Hunter shot him a seething glare. “I told you. I don’t want to ever see him.”

  “I’ve heard demons are very attached to their offspring.”

  “Right, Jared. That’s why yours abandoned you.” As soon as the words slipped out of Hunter’s mouth, he regretted it. Jared’s face fell, and Hunter knew he couldn’t have shoved a dagger any deeper into his friend’s heart. “Sorry. I know you’ve been searching for them for years. I shouldn’t have spouted off.”

  Jared gave a nonchalant shrug. “You’re sick, not yourself. But the point I’m trying to make is your father is a Matusa. He might be able to get some medicine for you from the demon world to counteract the poison in your system.”

  “And if he’s like the other murdering bastards?”

  “He didn’t murder your mother.”

  Not wanting to feel anything good about his real father, Hunter yanked his covers higher. He never wished to discuss his mother, either.

  “She was pregnant with a demon child. You can’t blame her for wanting to give you up for adoption. Me, that’s different. Both my parents were demon. I can’t understand how come they dumped me with a human family.”

  “For your safety. I’ve always told you they did it to protect you.”

  “Then why not come back for me?”

  Hunter refused to share his real thoughts on the matter. What if they’d died? That’s the only reason he could think of. “Maybe they were sent back through the portal. They can’t come and go as they please. They have to be summoned.”

  Jared slumped in the chair. “All right. Enough about me. You need help, the kind we can’t get in this world. What's your father’s name?”

  “I don’t know his name so I couldn’t summon him even if I wanted to.” And he really never cared to learn it.

  “What about your mother?”

  Hunter couldn’t squash his vexation. “I don’t know hers, either.”

  Jared’s brows lifted in a hopeful expression. “Ask your dad.”

  “No. My human parents have been good to me. I don’t want them to think I care anything about my real parents.”

  Scowling, Jared rose from the chair, stalked across the floor, then motioned to the wall. “Fine, I’m all out of ideas. Try summoning the girl again.”

  ***

  “What are you doing in here?” Uncle Stephen asked Alana sharply, advancing on her in his library.

  Her heart leapt into her throat. Sitting half hidden in the dark, reading by a low light, she hadn’t thought he’d notice the scant illumination under the door. Never having seen his face so red, she shrank back in his plush chair.

  His icy gaze pivoted to the book in her hands. “What are you reading?” he barked. He jerked the book from her hand. “A Compendium on the Healing Arts.” He took a deep breath, and she wondered if he’d worried she was looking into attack spells.

  She had to heal the demon, learn about her own demon kind, then research attack spells.

  “I couldn’t sleep.” Which was true. “I thought I’d get a head start on learning something about the healing arts.”

  He discarded the book on his desk and led her back to her room. “You need to sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll work on the mind protection spell so you can see if you can use it yourself.”

  “Can you?”

  Uncle Stephen shook his head. “Mine isn’t half as strong as Yolan’s. That’s why I called him, but maybe you’ll do better at it than me.”

  “Have you heard back from him?”

  “No. He said he’d get in touch with me in the morning.” Uncle Stephen left her at her room, his look concerned. “I’m sorry that I didn’t believe you.”

  “About the demon?” she asked, her hope rising.

  “We believe the warlock is making you think he’s a demon to intimidate you. Get a good night’s sleep. We have much to do in the morning.”

  She wanted to scream! How could a master warlock be so dense?

  When her uncle closed her door, she lifted her shirt and pulled the book out that she’d tucked behind her back.

  Advanced Protection Spells.

  She flipped it open to the table of contents. Spells, spells, reversal spells. Okay, here goes.

  After working the reversal spell, she did feel different, her thoughts freer, her mind less tired.

  But the portal didn’t open. Two hours later, she woke and found herself still in bed. For a moment, she felt disoriented. Where was she? She spied the bluebonnet paintings on the walls, and the lava lamp’s blue blobs of wax glowing as they gently flowed up and down in the water like lava. Her uncle’s guestroom. And a Matusa demon was dying in a hospital room somewhere in Dallas because she didn’t know where he was exactly.

  "Hunter," she called out to him telepathically, not sure she could connect that way with a demon. "Hunter! Open the portal!"

  ***

  Hunter woke with a start, smelled the sharp odor of antiseptic and remembered where he was… the icy hospital room. “Did you hear something?”

  Sprawled out in a pea soup vinyl chair against one wall, Jared opened a sleepy eye.

  Thankfully, the nurses hadn’t bothered Hunter of late. Jared’s ability to cloak himself invisibly whenever he needed took a lot of energy. His clothes were rumpled and a shadow of dark stubble covered his taut jaw. “Huh?”

  “Did you tell me to open the portal?”

  Running his hands over his mussed up hair, Jared blinked. “I was finally sleeping, dude.”

  “I swear you told me to—”

  "Hunter, open the portal! Hurry!"

  Hunter stared at his friend, then scanned the room. “Did you hear that?”

  “No. Are you sure you’re not delirious?”

  His heart hammering against his ribs, Hunter quickly said the spell to open the portal. The Kubiteron stood before him, her green eyes tired, her blonde hair disheveled about her shoulders. She wore a pair of pink flannel pants covered in green frogs wearing golden crowns and a green T-shirt pronouncing: Forget the prince, save the frog! Green Country Environmental Project

  She was a demon all right.

  “What happened to you?” he asked, unwilling to curb the darkness in his voice. He could have died. And would still if she didn’t hurry.

  “Where are you? Hurry, tell me before they stop me again.”

  They? Her summoners. He would take them to task—once he was well enough. “Medical City, Room 410, Hunter Ross.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can find a way.”

  “I’ll pick you up,” Jared offered, jumping out of his chair.

  She studied him, but didn’t say a word.

  He frowned at her. “I’m Elantus. We don’t hurt a soul.”

  “But you’re under his control.” She jerked her thumb at Hunter. “And his kind does kill. Then he’d know where I lived.”

  Hunter couldn’t decide whether to be amused or angry with her accusations. But the fact she had to find a way to get here made his adrenaline surge. “Jared will ta
ke you.”

  Jared’s eyes glowed red. “I’m not under his spell.”

  “Ha! Matusa don’t have demon friends who are beneath them.”

  Now Hunter was amused.

  Jared gave a smart-aleck smirk. “He’s made an exception in my case.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll find my own way.” She vanished.

  Hunter swore under his breath. “Stubborn-headed…” Hunter took a sip of water, but it didn’t sooth his dry throat or cool his fevered body. “She doesn’t have any way of getting here. What does she think? She can just fly?” He took a painful breath. “But you can track her signature once she’s been here, can’t you?”

  Jared’s eyes sparkled with demonic pride. “Most assuredly. Once she’s here in the flesh, I’ll have her signature and can locate her anywhere she goes next. Why?”

  Hunter leaned back against his pillow. “To free her and return her home. Who would be powerful enough to prevent her from coming here? She referred to her keeper as they, so there must be a couple of summoners.”

  “We don’t even know any demon who can do what she does. But I imagine her summoner forced her to return.” Jared retook his seat and crossed his arms. “We will have to destroy them if they won’t release her, and then we can set her free to return home.”

  “I’ll have to set her free. Remember? Elantus don’t kill.”

  Jared’s ears tinged red, and he lifted his hands. “We don’t always kill, except when warranted. What self-respecting demon wouldn’t?” He gave a sinister laugh.

  Chapter 7

  Alana climbed out of bed, determined to get to the hospital, but she had no idea where it was or how she would get there. If she could slip her uncle’s Mustang out of the garage, maybe she could make it. She pondered casting a sleeping spell on Uncle Stephen, just in case. But if he realized what she attempted to do, she’d be in a world of trouble. Still, her only other alternative was to let Jared come get her, but she didn’t trust him or Hunter one bit. Demons couldn’t be believed. That much she knew.

  She changed into jeans and a T-shirt, then slipped into the virtually barren garage. The smell of fresh paint lingered in the air and she noted not a cobweb anywhere. Even the sound of her shoes squeaking against the freshly swept concrete floor seemed to echo off the walls. Too bad her uncle was such a neat freak and wasn’t like most people she knew whose garages were left best unseen by friends and family, stacked to the ceiling with stuff, all of which would help to muffle sound.