by Megan Derr
Jackie turned back to Roman even though every part of him ached to go to Ned. Kneeling on the bed, he felt Roman's pulse. Relieved there was one, if a little weak, he carefully examined Roman for other injuries, but found nothing major, just several cuts that bled a lot but would heal pretty easy. Wyatt moved to the other side of the bed and they got Roman turned over. His nose had been shattered to hell, which explained most of the blood. "He's gonna need a hospital, as much as he's lost."
"I'll take him," Ned said. "Ya'll get out of here."
"Ned—" Jackie reached out, but Ned was gone before he could grab him. "Damn it, demon."
Wyatt smiled briefly. "He'll come back." He abandoned the bed to go investigate Marion's body. "After all he's done, it seems like he should have been harder to kill, you know?"
"I'd say killing him has been pretty damn difficult, at that. Just make sure he stays dead, hear?"
"Yep." Wyatt pulled out chalk and a little pocket spritzer covered with alchemical symbols in red marker and set to work.
Jackie left him to it, not in the mood to watch a body burn. He explored the rest of the house, but found only the broken lock on the front door. How had Marion gotten past security downstairs? But that wasn't so hard, not really. Jackie could do it himself without any magic at all.
He flicked on the living room lights and opened the curtains, revealing the mess he'd missed before: knocked over lamp, couch cushions on the floor, a spilled drink, and the end table where Roman's nose had clearly been smashed. Poor bastard; he probably didn't even know why. Jackie sighed.
They waited an hour for Ned to return, but Jackie wasn't surprised he didn't. "Hell," he said, taking off his hat to rake a hand through his hair. "Get on home, Wyatt. I'm going to have a word with my demon."
Wyatt grinned. "Yes, Sheriff."
Jackie grunted in surprise when Wyatt abruptly threw himself forward and hugged Jackie tightly. Before he could speak, Wyatt had bolted off. Jackie shook his head, smiling faintly as he drew out a stick of chalk and went to Roman's patio area to draw a circle. He laid the basics and then paused, worrying his bottom lip as he pondered the directional marks—tricky when he didn't even know where Ned's house was, really. West end of the country, and he'd gotten enough of a look outside to say mountains. Compiled with what few other bits of information Ned had let slip … well, it was risky, full on stupid, but like hell was he letting that fool demon slip away.
He drew in all the marks he could then filled in the rest with runes for Ned himself. After a moment of hesitation, he added his own and the rune for consort. When he finished, he tucked the chalk away and looked everything over carefully. "Damned demon." Standing up, he settled his hat more firmly on his head, stepped into the circle, and spoke the activating mark.
Normally transfers didn't feel like much of anything—but those were normally quick, smooth, point A to point B transfers. It was a gasp of breath and the deed was done. He'd never been stuck in one that caused the spell to struggle. It probably only lasted a moment, but it felt like hours of dark and cold, like something was sitting heavy on his chest and keeping him from breathing. Terror picked away at him, then began to claw in earnest, and Jackie started to scream—and everything finally, mercifully stopped. Jackie looked around at Ned's cabin and promptly passed out.
He woke to the sound of an easy tenor softly singing a song Jackie could remember his mama singing while she worked about the house. Dragging his eyes open, Jackie stared up at Ned, who was sitting beside him in bed reading a book that looked near to falling part. "Ne—" the word broke off on a cough, and Jackie cleared his throat even as Ned closed the book and turned. Jackie sat up and yanked him close. "You stupid, goddamn demon. What the hell were you thinking running off like that?"
"I—" Ned stared at him, eyes whirling so many colors Jackie could hardly sort them out. "I don't know. He— he's dead. It's over. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm not— I'm not anything. I won't ever be, not like this."
"I outta knock that fool head right off your shoulders," Jackie said. "You're something to me. I thought I was something to you."
Emotions flickered on Ned's face—pain, want, anguish, confusion. "You're everything to me."
"Then come home already, demon, and stop hiding in the mountains cause you got scared. We can't look out for each other if you keep running off."
Ned pried Jackie's hands loose and then wrapped his own arms tightly around Jackie, face buried in Jackie's throat. "Sorry."
"It's all good," Jackie said quietly. "Just stop leaving. We ain't never going to make this work if I can't keep track of you."
"I know, I'm just not sure what to do now."
Jackie smiled, trailing one hand up and down Ned's spine, part soothing, part teasing, and maybe a touch possessive. "There's always someone needing something done, and if we happen to find a day where people leave us in peace, I'm pretty sure I can find plenty to keep us occupied."
Ned laughed, breath hot against Jackie's skin. He drew back and tugged Jackie into a kiss fit to melt him. "How'd you even get here?"
"Dumb luck and determination," Jackie said, mouth curving into a bittersweet smile. "Day my parents met, Pa wandered into the dusty town where she lived. He'd pissed off the wrong sorcerer and got dumped in the middle of nowhere. Made it through bandits and days without water, traveled on foot after he lost his horse. She asked him how the hell he'd made it. He told her it was 'dumb luck and determination, the Black family motto.' He passed out and wasn't good for much for days, but once he was better, he wouldn't leave her alone. Went to visit her every day. Got his nose and his ribs damaged for his efforts… but when the town threw a huge celebration, he went and asked her to dance. She said she never danced with anyone, but she'd make an exception for him. He was the only exception she ever made, as long as she lived."
The story didn't gain him the smile he'd been aiming for. "I never learned how to dance—and I'm a demon, so I should be good at it—but what's the point? I can't…"
Jackie kissed his cheek, the corner of his mouth, and then took a proper kiss, slow and soft and easy, not stopping until Ned's tension bled away. "I don't need to be your damned consort, demon. Only thing I need is you. If you want to dance, we'll dance, easy as that."
Ned stared at him, eyes a whirl of autumn colors. They finally settled on a dusky orange with bits of yellow like late afternoon sunshine slipping through. Then he grinned. "So do you pole dance, too, Sheriff?"
"Shut up, demon. Ain't nobody want to see my ass up on a pole."
Laughing into Jackie's shoulder, Ned took them home.
FIN
Book Five in the Dance with the Devil Series
Sword of the King
Dragons are amongst the most feared creatures in the paranormal world, nigh unbeatable and barely controllable. Every year, countless men and women with dragon potential are kidnapped and changed, their former lives lost forever. Blaze has been a pit fighter all his life, and it is a life he hates. The only thing that keeps him going is his dragon, Erie. Though pit rules say it's a bad idea to get too close to the dragons, Blaze has never been able to help it.
Ken and his dragon Nevada were once victims of the pits, sold by their parents and forced into a brutal life of win or die. Though they were rescued, the pits left scars, and despite the man who adopted them it still feels like they're always looking for a place to call home—assuming they survive their attempts to destroy the pits once and for all.
Rafael doesn't expect to survive much longer. He's already lost the woman he loved, he doesn't dare admit the love he feels for the dragon who constantly begs to remain at his side, and his brother is finding more and more excuses to beat him. Then he's ordered to investigate a strange, dragon who seems to break all the rules, a dragon that swiftly draws the attention of the other syndicates…
About the Author
Megan is a long time resident of LGBTQ romance, and keeps herself busy reading, writing, and publishing it. She i
s often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers, and can be found all over the internet.
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