Fox Among the Demons

by Trudie Collins

  “Let me help,” Komi said. He slipped one arm under her knees and the other around her back, just under her arms. He easily lifted her up and instructed her to place her arms around his neck.

  “And he’s strong,” she heard Jane say. “This one is quite a catch.”

  Recognising Natasha’s bag on the floor, Komi opened his right hand and Jane placed the handle in it. It was not going to be easy carrying both Natasha and her bag, but there was no way he was going to put her down now that he had her in his arms.

  Melanie escorted Komi to the lift and pressed the button for the ground floor. Jane got into the lift with them. “In case he needs help getting Nat into the car,” she said.

  “I’ll be fine thanks,” Komi said. “I brought someone with me.” Melanie held the lift door open until Jane got out, then moved out of the way so Komi and Natasha could descend alone.

  “You really don’t look good,” Komi told her.

  “I don’t feel good.”

  “Don’t worry. We’ll get you home safe and look after you.” Natasha wanted to ask who ‘we’ were, but was too tired to do anything other than lean her head on his shoulder and close her eyes.

  Fox was waiting outside for them. He had parked his car in a no-stopping zone so was glad that they arrived before the police were called. He opened the door and Komi placed her gently on the back seat before throwing her bag in beside her. He did up her seatbelt then shut the door and walked around to the other side. He moved across to the middle seat so he could put his arm around her and she could use his body as a pillow.

  “Close your eyes,” he said. “I will wake you when we get you home.”

  Before pulling away from the kerb, Fox looked behind him into the rear seat and smirked. “She really is sick.”

  “What makes you say that?” Komi asked.

  “She’s not pushing you away.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Natasha was not pleased when Komi shook her awake. She had been expecting to be taken to her home, not his.

  “I want Lukine to take a look at you,” Komi said when she complained.

  “There’s no need,” she insisted. “I have the flu. I just need plenty of rest and fluids, preferably hot. And the tablets I am taking won’t hurt. Take me home. I can look after myself.”

  “No chance.”

  She was glad that he was being so unreasonable when she tried to get out of the car and her legs wouldn’t support her. If not for Komi, she would have fallen. She’d had mild flu on a number of occasions, but only once had she had it this bad and she remembered it well. It was going to be an unpleasant few days.

  Komi carried Natasha upstairs to the room that was now designated as hers, while Fox went in search of Lukine. He planned on ignoring Natasha’s wishes as much as Komi was. He found him with Bolene and told them both what the situation was. Bolene had heard of this Earth illness before and knew that Natasha was right; there was nothing that Lukine could do to help. She instructed Fox to make a hot drink and went to see Natasha.

  She was lying on the bed, shivering, when Bolene entered the room. Komi had removed her shoes, but that was all. Bolene could see he was filled with indecision as to what to do next.

  “Go and find the largest t-shirt you have,” Bolene said. “She needs something to sleep in.”

  Grateful that someone was taking charge, Komi obeyed. He was not gone long and when he returned, Bolene took the garment he handed to her and then told him to leave.

  “But−” he started to say.

  “Now,” Bolene said before he could finish his sentence. “I’m going to help her get changed and I’m sure she would prefer you not to be here.”

  Finding no reasonable argument for him to stay, Komi left the room to look for Trey; someone needed to contact Lucy to let her know where Natasha was and that she was being looked after.

  Natasha was tucked up in bed, asleep, by the time Fox arrived with her drink. Bolene instructed him to place it on the bedside table, then they both left her in peace.

  A few hours later, when Fox took her another drink, just in case she was awake, he found her lying in the bed with her eyes open, looking frustrated as well as ill. A book lay on the bed beside her.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked as he placed the steaming mug beside the untouched cold one.

  “I can’t sleep, but I’m too tired to do anything else. I have tried to read, but I have just read the same page three times and I still have no idea what it says. I shouldn’t be having a problem with this book, seeing as I wrote it. I took it to work with me this morning and tried to read on the train. I knew I wouldn’t be able to concentrate and this one I don’t need to pay much attention to.”

  Fox picked up the book. The bookmark showed that she had only read the first few pages. “If you don’t mind starting from the beginning, I’ll read it to you. Listening to me might send you to sleep.”

  “Shouldn’t you be teaching?”

  “I had a rush order for weapons that I had to finish so I cancelled today’s lessons. I had just handed them over when Komi received your call, so I volunteered to drive.”

  Natasha was lying in the middle of the bed, leaving just enough room for Fox to sit on top of the covers beside her. He held out his arm and she nodded, giving him permission to cuddle her.

  She felt warm and protected in his arms and when he started to read, his voice was soft and soothing. It was lulling her to sleep and she only managed to hear the prologue before she could no longer keep her eyes open.

  A few hours later, there was a knock on the door and Bolene walked in with another drink. The demons had no idea when Natasha would be awake so they intended to keep a supply of hot liquid by her bed. Lukine was putting spells on the mugs to keep the contents warm for longer.

  As soon as her eyes fell on Fox with his arm around Natasha, she stopped and stared. “Is she asleep?” she asked once she had recovered from her surprise.

  “Yes. I was reading to her and she drifted off. This is one of the books she wrote. I didn’t want to risk waking her and I am quite enjoying it, so I decided to stay and continue reading.”

  Bolen’s face turned serious. “You’re taking a big risk, making a move on Komi’s girl. He’s not going to be pleased if he catches you.”

  Fox was not concerned. “Firstly, I am not making a move on her. She needed looking after and I don’t see Komi here doing it.” Komi had gone out. He was worried that whatever Natasha had was contagious and as soon as he heard that Lukine could not cure it, he left, wanting to keep as far away from her as possible.

  “Secondly,” Fox continued, “Nat is not Komi’s girl, as she keeps making perfectly clear. She is not interested in dating him.”

  Bolene didn’t disagree. Natasha may now be unattached, but she had not done or said anything to make Bolene believe she was interested in her brother.

  “It makes no difference,” Bolene said. “Even if nothing is going on, Komi won’t be happy if he finds you here.”

  “Fine,” Fox said and moved his arm from around Natasha. As he eased himself off the bed, he gently moved her so she was lying on the pillow instead of his body. She didn’t stir.

  Bolene was concerned. While she believed Fox had not lied to her, she was sure that he was not telling her the full truth.

  “Fox,” she called out once they were both out of the room and the door was closed. “Are you sure you don’t have feelings for Natasha?”

  What Fox told her to do with herself she was sure was not anatomically possible.

  Anniversary

  The next morning, Trey got a call from Lucy, requesting that he drive over to see her, saying that there was something they could do that might cheer her aunt up. When they returned, they were laden down with a TV, DVD player and a number of DVDs. Fox had no idea what was going on, but Natasha seemed pleased with what Lucy had brought over from her house.

  It was the midd
le of the afternoon when Fox checked to see if Natasha wanted anything to eat or drink. He found Lucy and Bolene sitting on either side of a sleeping Natasha; both were glued to the TV screen.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  Lucy picked up the remote control and pressed pause. The scene on the screen froze and she turned her attention to Fox. “This is one of Nat’s favourite TV shows. I thought watching it might cheer her up, seeing as she’s too sick to do anything else.”

  “Alright. That I understand, but why are you and Bo here?”

  “To keep her company, of course.”

  “This is a really entertaining show,” Bolene said. “It’s about vampires. Nothing like reality. There are these two really attractive vampire brothers, both in love with the same human.”

  Fox held up his hands to interrupt her. If he didn’t, Bolene would happily tell him everything that had happened from the very start. “I don’t want to know. I thought this was for Nat. Why are you watching it while she sleeps? Won’t she mind missing it?”

  Natasha’s eyes fluttered open. “Hey Fox,” she said. She sounded worse than she had the previous day. She had heard what he had asked. “I’m not sleeping exactly, just drifting in and out. They promised to wake me when Stefan turns evil. He is so much hotter when he stops being good.”

  “Damon is evil from the start so is much more attractive than Stefan,” Lucy said.

  “Is not,” Natasha said.

  Fox didn’t want to hear any more. “Women are insane,” he said and left them in peace. He found Lukine in the library. “Do you know what your wife is doing?”

  “Getting hot and sweaty watching young men on TV?”

  Fox winced. “That’s not quite how I would put it.”

  “I made the mistake of going in the room earlier to check on them. I more or less got thrown out when I said I couldn’t understand what was so attractive about the lead characters.”

  Fox took a seat opposite the wizard and leaned forward. “Can you explain something to me? Why would a man become more attractive if he turns evil?”

  “You’ve been talking to Nat,” Lukine said. Fox nodded. “Women are the same no matter what realm they are from, it seems. They like the bad boys. There is excitement and an element of danger. They want to settle down with the nice guys, but want to have some fun and a bit of adventure with the wrong sort of man first.”

  Fox shook his head. “I’m never going to understand women.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  The next day, Natasha seemed a little better. With Komi’s help, she made it out of bed and joined the rest for the midday meal, but had to go straight back to bed afterward. Over the following few days, she recovered her strength and her appetite. On the Saturday night, she asked Fox if he would give her an evening lesson. He glanced at Komi first, then Bolene. Each nodded their agreement. If he thought it was a good idea, they would not stop him.

  “Alright. But if you start to feel tired, you have to tell me.” He followed her to the schoolroom, walking close enough to catch her if her legs started to give way again, but staying far enough away so as to not make her feel he didn’t trust that she was now able to walk by herself.

  Before the lesson started, there was something that he wanted to talk to her about. “We need to discuss something you said the other day.”

  He rushed to her side and grabbed hold of her hand when she went pale. “Are you alright?”

  “What did I say?” she stammered. “Was I talking in my sleep?”

  Fox breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t having a relapse; she was just worried about what she might have said while she was sick. He couldn’t help grinning.

  “What are you afraid that you said? Something about Komi?”

  “No.” She didn’t find the question amusing.

  Fox decided it was best not to tease her any further. “I’m concerned about your comment about one of the characters in that show you watched being much more attractive when he turns evil. I’m worried that you won’t see the creatures that we kill as the enemy, that you will feel some sort of empathy toward them. If there is any risk of that, then it will be too dangerous to take you out on a ‘kill’.”

  “There’s nothing for you to worry about. I don’t plan to ever go on a ‘kill’.”

  “Komi has other ideas.”

  “I don’t care what ideas Komi has. I do what I want to do, not what he wants me to.”

  “Really? Remember your first walk in the river? I’m pretty sure you didn’t want to do that.”

  “That was different. Why are we talking about Komi anyway? I thought I was here for a lesson.”

  She was still recovering from her illness and Fox didn’t want to push her, so he dropped the subject. “Alright, have it your way. Pixies today I think.”

  The lesson had been going for less than an hour when Fox ended it. Natasha was looking really tired and he could see she was having trouble concentrating. He was glad he had chosen the subject matter which he had; if he had given her another history lesson she would probably have fallen asleep. As a demon, she needed to know the history of her people, but he knew she didn’t enjoy it.

  “Will you need help getting up the stairs?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” she lied.

  Fox didn’t believe her, but didn’t tell her so. If she wanted to struggle on her own instead of asking for his help, he wasn’t going to interfere.

  She paused in the doorway and turned around. “Fox. You really don’t need to worry about what I said. I was talking about fictional characters. Real life is different.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Natasha stayed at the hotel one more day, then felt well enough to go home. At Bolene’s request, she left the television and DVD player in her room. There were still three more series to get through and Bolene wanted to watch them all.

  “How are you feeling?” Lucy asked when Natasha entered the house. She had been visiting each day so knew that her aunt was on the mend, but was concerned that she was coming home too early. She had been well looked after at the hotel.

  “Getting there. I’ll probably give it another day or two before I go back to work.”

  Later that evening, Lucy needed to have a serious talk with Natasha. While she had missed her aunt, she had enjoyed having the house to herself. She started the conversation by asking Natasha how she liked staying at the hotel and casually brought about the subject of her being old enough to be left alone more often.

  It took a while, but eventually she plucked up the courage to suggest that Natasha stay there each Friday night. She could have an additional evening lesson, then spend all day there on the Saturday. She assured her that she would invite a friend over so she wouldn’t be alone.

  Natasha suspected that Lucy was just trying to get her out of the house, but still thought it was a good idea. She contacted Komi who, predictably, instantly agreed to the proposal, so the following Friday she began her new routine.

  Nobody noticed that Trey was away each Friday night after that, or if they did notice, they never made the connection.

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  The weeks flew by and Natasha became more and more settled staying at the hotel. It started to become like a second home and the people living there more like family than friends.

  When she arrived there after work one Friday night, she appeared agitated. Nobody asked her what was wrong; they already knew. Lucy had told Trey, who told everyone else. It was the anniversary of her brother’s death. She had intended to stay home that night, to be with Lucy, but Lucy insisted she was better off being with her friends and that Natasha would be happier being at the hotel. She didn’t mention that the ‘friends’ she was talking about was just Trey.

  After her lesson with Fox, Natasha had a training session with Komi. She
wanted to wear herself out so she would sleep. She was getting quite proficient with some of the weapons, though she stuck to the training drills only; she refused to practice on a real person, or even the dummy the demons sometimes used for their own training.

  When the session was over, she asked Komi if she could continue for a while longer on her own; she wasn’t exhausted enough to sleep. Komi had no objections, on the condition that she put the weapons back in their proper place when she had finished, and left her to it.

  The house was quiet by the time she headed up the stairs; everyone had already turned in for the night. She opened her bedroom door and froze. Komi was in her bed and the pile of clothes on the floor suggested he was naked.

  She should have been angry, but she was too tired to feel any emotion. Opening the door had not woken him, so she silently withdrew and closed it once more. Unsure what to do, she looked around and her eyes fell on Fox’s door.

  She walked up to it and nervously knocked. There was no reply, so she turned the handle. It wasn’t locked and she eased it open, calling out quietly as she did so. The room was empty, but the noise coming from the bathroom told her that Fox was in the shower. She sat on the bed and waited for him to finish.

  He walked out a short while later wearing just a towel, wrapped around his waist. “What in the Creator’s name are you doing here?” he asked when he saw her. “And how did you know I wouldn’t be naked when I came out of the bathroom?”

  Natasha shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t really think about it. It wouldn’t have bothered me if you were. I have seen a naked man before.”

  “It would have bothered me.”

  He walked over to his chest of drawers, holding the towel firmly in one hand in case it slipped. With his back to her, he opened a drawer and took out a t-shirt. Natasha got a clear view of the scars covering his torso and winced. He hadn’t been exaggerating about their severity. He slipped the t-shirt over his head then told her to turn around so he could put on some pyjama shorts. She did as requested, keeping her head averted until he told her he was decent.