Fox Among the Demons

by Trudie Collins

  “It didn’t though,” Fox said. “And now we have an answer as to why she can understand us.”

  “And a lot more questions,” Natasha said quietly. How could she be a demon? Her parents had a lot of explaining to do.

  “You had no right to do that to her,” Komi said, raising his voice at Fox.

  Fox raised an eyebrow. “Really. And what makes you say that? You don’t have any sort of claim on her and it was her decision to make, not yours.”

  “If you hadn’t told her about it, she wouldn’t have had to make a decision.” For a moment, Natasha thought Komi was going to hit Fox.

  “Komi,” Bolene said sharply. None of them had heard her approach. “Calm down. No harm has been done.”

  “But−”

  “No Komi. This conversation is over. Go jump in the pool or something to cool off.”

  Komi glared at his sister, then followed her advice. At least he was taking it as advice and not an order.

  “He’s right you know,” Bolene said to Fox once Komi had left. “You should not have done that.” Then she turned to Natasha. “It looks like you are one of us. That means we don’t need to get permission to teach you about us. When do the lessons start?”

  “I haven’t decided yet if I want to know more.” Natasha was more shaken than she was letting on and didn’t want to even think about anything else right then. She could not believe she was not human. Maybe the demons were wrong about the potion. Maybe some humans could drink it. She was tempted to invite Lucy’s boyfriend round to have him try, but that would be wrong.

  Lucy joined them, having heard most of what had been said. “Do I get to try that liquid now? Logic says that if my aunt isn’t human, I’m not either.”

  “No,” Fox and Natasha said at the same time.

  “Your father and me had different fathers, remember,” Natasha continued. “Whatever demon blood I have in me may have come from my dad.”

  “Can you understand our language?” Fox asked. Natasha heard the strange intonations in his voice that told her he was not speaking English. Lucy frowned at him, obviously not understanding anything he had just said.

  “That answers that question,” Bolene said.

  “What does that mean?” Lucy asked.

  “You’re human,” Natasha told her. “Which means that my demon bloodline comes from my father.”

  “Unless you are adopted after all,” Fox said.

  Natasha shook her head. It wasn’t possible, was it? All she knew was that she had to have a talk with her father, though she had no idea how she was going to start the conversation.

  Trey and Lukine wandered over and joined in the discussion. Natasha and Lucy left them to it. While Lucy showered, Natasha started to cook a meal for them all.

  An hour later, everyone was dressed once more and were sitting around the table in the garden, eating. Trey was entertaining them with tales of some of their ‘kills’, going into great detail about exploding heads and being soaked in blood. Lucy seemed captivated, though Natasha doubted that it was by the stories.

  Komi leaned over and whispered in her ear. “He’s exaggerating.”

  “By how much?”

  “Not that much actually. Our ‘kills’ can get quite gruesome. We don’t get injured as much as he is making out though and he has never saved my life.” Then Komi remembered what had happened a few months previous. “Well maybe once or twice.”

  Natasha smiled. “Your life seems very exciting.”

  “It is. You should become part of it. After all, you are one of us.”

  Natasha didn’t reply. She was still trying to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t human. Part of her wanted to know more about what she was, while the rest of her just wanted to hide away. If there was a way to have her memories wiped, she would have considered doing it. Maybe there was a way.

  When there was a lull in the conversation, she decided to ask Lukine. He was a wizard; maybe he knew a spell.

  “Lukine, if I asked you to, would you be able to alter my memories? If I wanted to forget all that I have found out today, would you be able to help me?”

  Komi stared at her, his face showing how horrified he was by the suggestion. Lukine shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t help. I’m not saying that there is no spell that can do that, just that I don’t know of one. If there was, would you really want to forget that you are a demon?”

  “I don’t know,” Natasha said. “I honestly don’t know.”

  The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, broken only by occasional whispers between Lucy and Trey. Natasha could feel Komi watching her as she thought about all she had learned since first meeting him.

  Eventually she came to a decision. “I want to know more. When do my lessons start?”

  Fox shook his head. “That’s not how it works. If you want a teacher, you have to ask me.”

  “Alright. Fox, will you teach me all I need to know about demons and the creatures they kill?”

  Fox didn’t answer immediately and Natasha wondered if he was pausing for dramatic effect. Finally he said, “Yes, I will. But it will have to be on my terms. I decide what you learn and when. You will not skip a lesson without a very good reason and I have the right to stop them should I choose to do so.”

  “Agreed,” Natasha said.

  Komi grinned widely and impulsively kissed her on the cheek. “Welcome to the family. Your life is about to become extremely interesting.”

  History Lessons

  The next morning, Komi arrived at Natasha’s house just after daybreak. She was still in her dressing gown and looked like his ringing on the doorbell had woken her.

  “Come in,” she said. She was not surprised to see him so early; he had been more excited about her taking lessons from Fox than she was.

  He had stepped into the house and closed the door behind him before he realised it was the first time he had been allowed across the threshold.

  Natasha filled the kettle and put it on to boil, then instructed Komi to take a seat in the lounge. “Lucy not around?” he asked.

  “Still in bed. I’m not expecting to see her before we leave. We had rather a heated discussion last night after you had left. She wants to join in my lessons. I told her she had to concentrate on her schoolwork and it would be too much of a distraction. She didn’t take it very well.”

  “You should have called me,” Komi said. “I would have explained to her that Fox would not be permitted to teach her, seeing as she isn’t a demon.”

  Natasha was unable to supress a shudder. It would take her a long time to come to terms with the fact that she was not human.

  “Somehow, I don’t think she wants to join me for the lessons.”

  Komi grinned, knowing precisely what she was talking about. “Trey volunteered to pick you up this morning. He wasn’t happy when I told him I couldn’t trust him to get you to your lesson on time.”

  “Children,” Natasha said and rolled her eyes.

  She made tea for the both of them then sat on the sofa next to Komi. “I rang my parents last night. They are adamant that I am not adopted and I am pretty sure they wouldn’t lie to me about something this important. For obvious reasons, I couldn’t tell them why I brought the subject up.”

  “Don’t worry,” Komi said. “We will work out where your demon blood comes from, eventually.”

  Having left his house before he ate, he joined her for breakfast. As Natasha had predicted, there was still no sign of Lucy when it was time for them to leave.

  A black BMW was parked in Natasha’s driveway. “Nice car,” she said as they walked over to it. Behaving like the gentleman she didn’t believe him to be, Komi opened the door for her.

  “It’s Fox’s,” he said as he took the driver’s seat. “I never saw the need to get my own car seeing as I prefer to ride everywhere.” He looked at her before starting the engine. “I think this is the first time I have ever picked a girl up for a date.”

  “It’s not
a date. I’m going to have a lesson with Fox. You are just the chauffeur.”

  “We’ll see,” Komi said then switched on the ignition. The engine purred softly as he reversed out of the driveway and headed for the main road.

  “Let’s see what crap Fox listens to, shall we?” Komi turned on the CD player and music sounded around the car. “What in the Creator’s name is this?”

  “Evanescence.” Natasha had recognised the song as soon as it started. It was one of her favourites. “No, please, leave it on,” she said when she saw Komi’s hand move toward the off button. “I have this album and I love this song.”

  The journey was made in silence as they listened to the music. Komi kept glancing across at Natasha. She was lost in a world of her own, oblivious to her surroundings as she softly sang along. Then My Immortal came on and Komi saw a tear tickle down her face. He listened carefully to the words, trying to work out why they were affecting her so much.

  “That song has some personal meaning to you, doesn’t it?” he asked when it had finished.

  “No,” Natasha said as she wiped her cheek dry with her sleeve. “It’s just about someone who has lost someone they loved and can’t get used to them being gone. It reminds me of my brother every time I listen to it. It’s a very moving song.”

  Natasha then looked out of the window and realised she didn’t recognise the scenery. “Where are we?”

  “About half way there. We live out in the countryside, where it’s quiet and peaceful. Outside anyway. It can get quite noisy inside, especially when it’s full of children.”

  “Children?” Natasha asked.

  “Yes. Fox has made quite a reputation for himself as a teacher and demons from all around bring their children to our home for lessons. That’s one of the reasons why you will be taught at the weekends. Fox is busy during the week.”

  As the journey continued, they talked about the demon families who lived in the area. There were a fair number of them, all trying to blend in with society and pretend to be human. They didn’t go as far as getting jobs, like normal people, as tracking down and killing paranormal creatures took up most of their time, but they did live in regular houses, paid their bills like everyone else and attended social events.

  “You would never know they were not human unless they told you,” Komi said. Natasha could easily believe that. It had taken a long while for Komi to convince her that he was not from Earth.

  “How do they pay for everything if they don’t have jobs?”

  Komi kept his eyes on the road as he replied. He was a decent enough driver, but didn’t do it often enough for him to risk losing concentration. “Magic. There are a number of wizards living in this area, besides Lukine, and they can create your paper money out of thin air. A bank account has been opened in the name of a fictitious business and regular cash deposits are made into it. Automatic transfers to the individual family accounts have been set up and if ever funds are running low, we just contact one of the joint owners of the main account and they make a transfer.”

  Natasha didn’t feel comfortable hearing this. Magically making money instead of earning it felt wrong for some reason. She could argue that they did earn it by killing the monsters preying on humans, but it still felt wrong.

  A short while later, Komi pulled off the road into a long driveway, lined with trees. A sign at the front announced that it was the Wilderness Hotel and Natasha remembered Komi saying he lived in what used to be a small hotel.

  Komi saw her glancing at the sign. “We leave the sign up as it stops the neighbours wondering why so many cars come and go.”

  He pulled up in front of what appeared to be a large country house. As he did so, the front door opened and Fox walked out.

  “Did you bring it with you?” he asked as Natasha climbed out of the car.

  She took her bag from the back seat, opened it and took out her flail. “Don’t break anything,” she said as she handed it over.

  “I won’t,” Fox said. He was too engrossed in studying the weapon to look at her as he spoke. “Komi will want to show you around, so I will meet you in the schoolroom in about thirty minutes.” He then went back inside the house, the flail swinging dangerously by his side.

  “Come on,” Komi said. “I’ll give you the guided tour.” He took her hand, but she pulled away from him. He shrugged then led her into the house.

  The building was much bigger than she had been expecting. There were twenty bedrooms, not including the two in the owners suite at the back, where Bolene and Lukine lived. The main kitchen was large enough to cater for all of the guests, when it had been run as a business, but was hardly ever used. The demons preferred to use Bolene’s small kitchen when it was only the five of them at home.

  Each bedroom had a small ensuite bathroom, as was expected in any modern hotel, with the two largest rooms also containing baths. Nobody occupied those rooms so the baths were available for everyone who stayed there.

  The owners suite was much larger than Natasha had imagined, with its own dining room and lounge. The family spent most of their time there, leaving the two lounges, bar and formal dining room in the main part of the hotel unused.

  Trey, Komi and Fox had taken bedrooms on the second floor, though not directly next to each other. Having empty rooms in between gave them more privacy. Komi took Natasha to the room next to his, opposite Fox’s. The locks had been removed so key cards were no longer needed to access the rooms and all of the televisions had been taken out. Apart from that, it still looked like a hotel room, containing a double bed, wardrobe, bedside table and a small writing table.

  “In case you ever decide to stay over,” Komi said, “this is now your room.”

  The look Natasha gave him told Komi that she had no intention of staying over. Ever. He was sure he would be able to change her mind.

  With the tour of the house complete, Komi finally led her to the schoolroom. It looked so much like a classroom in any human school that Natasha was taken aback. It contained rows of desks and even had an old-fashioned blackboard to one side.

  Fox was waiting for her. He was grinning like the proverbial cat who got the cream. “This is great,” he said as he handed her flail back to her. “Any chance you can leave it here, for safe keeping? There is a perfect spot for it on the wall.”

  He indicated the space and it was only then that Natasha noticed that the two side walls of the room were lined with a plethora of weapons, most of which she didn’t recognise.

  Komi saw her mouth open in surprise as she looked around the walls. “They’re what we use to kill the various creatures. Fox can teach you how they work and which type of paranormal monsters each has been designed for, but Bolene, Trey or I will have to teach you how to actually use them. It’s not that Fox can’t, he just isn’t allowed to.”

  “I don’t want to learn how to use them,” Natasha said without taking her eyes off them. “They look lethal.”

  “That is the general idea,” Fox said. “Ready for your first lesson?” Natasha nodded, so Fox turned to Komi. “Go. You can have her back in an hour.”

  Without arguing, Komi left the room, shutting the door behind him.

  “You have a lot to learn,” Fox told Natasha once they were alone. “I will keep the lessons down to one hour at a time, so as not to overload you, and will alternate between history and monsters, to keep things interesting and your mind alert. You can take notes, but nothing is to leave this building.”

  Natasha agreed, then took a seat at one of the desks and removed a pen and a pad of paper from her bag.

  “You came prepared I see,” Fox said as he put a book down on the table in front of her. “This book is from the hotel library. All of the books I will use are. Feel free to read any you wish while you are here. Just don’t take any away with you.”

  Fox opened the book and showed her the map that covered the first two pages. It was a reproduction of one that dated back a few hundred years and showed all of the cities and v
illages on Yong at that time. The largest was called Dinas and was still the demon equivalent of a capital city.

  Fox briefly explained the geography before turning the page. The map that was revealed was obviously of the same place, but was newer. There were more roads and less empty spaces. Fox pointed out the differences, telling Natasha what had changed and why.

  The next hour was spent looking at how Yong had changed over the centuries and what had caused the changes. Other than becoming more populated and industrialised, the biggest difference was the city where the wizards and witches used to live. After it was discovered what abominations some of them were creating, their city was destroyed and all of its residents were forced to move to other places, where those in charge could keep a close eye on them.

  “Why did they allow it to happen?” Natasha asked. “If they could use magic to defend themselves, why didn’t they?”

  “Most magic users were good people,” Fox said. “They had no idea what their brethren were doing. When they found out, they were as horrified as those without magic. If it had come to war, it would have been an internal fight between witches and wizards. The unleashing of that amount of magic could have destroyed the planet, or at least everyone living on it.”

  “So what happened?”

  “The majority of witches and wizards agreed to the terms that were set before them and helped to hunt down the rogue magic users who had caused all of the trouble. Unfortunately some escaped, taking their experiments with them.”

  “How?” Natasha had found the history lesson a bit boring, but now she was intrigued.

  “There is a spell. It’s a very difficult one and needs a lot of wizards and witches combining their power to use it. It creates a portal, we call them ‘doors’, between our world and this one. There are a few hundred in existence still, in a number of different countries, which is how we move between Yong and Earth. All are closely guarded so only those with permission can go through. The rogues had created one that nobody else knew about until it was too late.”

  There was a knock at the door, interrupting Natasha’s next question. Fox gave permission to enter and Komi walked in.