Demon Bound

by Chris Cannon

  “Thanks, and I will.”

  “Let’s go sit in the kitchen.”

  I followed her into the kitchen which was both familiar and not. I could smell the cleaners she used and the wine she’d been drinking last night.

  Once we were seated at the table, I said, “I’m sure you heard I drank Bane’s blood and you probably think it was a stupid move.”

  “Yes, and sort of.”

  I smiled. “His blood gave me a rush of power. I know Carol has the demon souls she keeps in jars. I’m hoping she’ll let me experiment with a few.”

  “You want to drink a demon’s soul?” Zelda asked like she might not have heard me right.

  “Something like that. If Bane’s blood gave me power, their souls should do the same thing. Don’t you think?”

  “It’s possible. What do you plan to do with the extra power?”

  “I want to even the playing field. Now that I know I can drink demon blood, they don’t seem untouchable.”

  “Are you talking about vampires versus demons?” she asked.

  “Maybe.” I scooted away from the table a little bit. “Haven’t they been in control long enough?”

  “There’s a reason for that, Jake. They are far more powerful than any other supernaturals. Going against them would be suicidal.”

  “They’re stronger because they feed on souls. If vampires fed on souls, too, then we’d be more powerful.” It made sense to me.

  “Carol might have a dozen demon souls locked in her cabinet…maybe a few more, but the supply is limited. Bane’s supply of human souls is unlimited and growing larger every day. The odds are not in your favor.”

  “What if we managed a sneak attack?” I asked.

  “Bane isn’t the only demon. He has I don’t even know how many associates. They are also powerful. Plus I don’t think you want to upset the truce between supernaturals in Crossroads. Vamps, witches, and demons used to fight for supremacy. A hundred years ago they all came together and decided to live in peace for the benefit of all. If you throw that out of whack, I don’t know what will happen.”

  “Could the witches and the vampires work together to overthrow the demons?”

  “I need wine for this conversation.” She stood and retrieved a bottle from the refrigerator. Since she poured it into a glass rather than drinking from the bottle I figured she wasn’t that upset.

  When she rejoined me, wine in hand, I said, “Do you think vamps and witches would work together?”

  “Not all witches feel the same about the demons. I bet the vamps don’t all think the same way, either, so no, I don’t think you should try starting some sort of revolution. Someone would tell Bane what you were planning and you’d be dead before you could accomplish your goals.”

  Damn it. “I hate Bane and I hate that he has his sights set on Meena.”

  “Is this about protecting her?” Zelda asked.

  “I could say yes and seem noble, but the demon blood was incredible. I want more.”

  Zelda took a long drink of wine. “That is a disturbing confession. You’d be better off thinking of it as a one-time high that won’t be repeated.”

  That sucked. “It’s definitely addictive.”

  “Which is why you shouldn’t ask Carol for her demon soul stash. You’ll run out and then you’ll do something reckless. You should keep this information to yourself. Now, I’d love it if you’d grill some hamburgers while I put together a salad.”

  Maybe a little bit of normal would do me good. “Sure.”

  Cooking and talking with Zelda made me feel more like my old self. After dinner, while I helped wash the dishes, Zelda said, “Not to push my luck, but why don’t you stay the night?”

  Should I stay? Could I drop back into my old life? I should try and find out.

  “Do you need blood?” Zelda asked. “Because I love you but not that much.”

  I laughed. “I love you, too, and no, I’m good. I drank a bag before I came over.”

  “Good. Want to watch a movie?”

  “Sure.”

  After the movie ended I had an odd anxious feeling. “Do you sense anything strange?” I asked.

  “No.”

  There was a knock at the front door.

  “Who could that be?” Zelda stood and I followed her downstairs.

  “Don’t open it unless you know who it is.” Something had my vamp senses on high alert.

  “Okay.” Aunt Zelda looked out the window and smiled. “It’s Meena.”

  Son of a bitch. “Did you tell her I was here?”

  “No.” Zelda opened the door. “Hello, Meena. Come in.”

  “Thanks.” Her eyes zeroed in on me. “I can’t believe she told me the truth.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Sybil. Sage drove me out to her house because I wanted to see you. She told me you were visiting Zelda. I figured she sent me on a wild goose chase.”

  “I’m going to read a book,” Zelda said. “And give you two some time to talk.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Meena

  I waved at Sage in the driveway, signaling that Jake was here and he could go. I figured there was less of a chance that Jake would send me away if I didn’t have a car. Sneaky, I know but at this point I wasn’t above stacking the deck. I wanted to show him that things between us hadn’t changed that much.

  “Where’s he going?” Jake asked.

  “He’s running some errands,” I lied. “Why don’t we go talk in the television room upstairs.”

  “Okay.”

  As we walked up the stairs, I hoped the good memories of us kissing on the couch would remind him of how he felt about me. I sat in the middle of the couch so he couldn’t scoot too far away.

  “Tell me what you’re thinking,” Jake said.

  I reached for his hand. He didn’t pull away from me which was a good sign. “I’m thinking that it’s nice to see you at Zelda’s, acting like your normal self.”

  “But I’m not my normal self anymore.”

  “I’d say you’re a hybrid version of yourself. Still the same person with a few tweaks here and there.”

  He laughed and his fangs appeared. “Do these look like minor adjustments?”

  “Did it take you a while to get used to them?” I tried not to appear freaked out.

  He nodded.

  “Why not give other people, people like me, the same option…time to adjust.”

  “Do you want me to glamour my teeth for the rest of this conversation so you can adjust?”

  “No. I want you to wrap your arms around me. Fangs or not. I don’t care.”

  He looked away like he was thinking about something. “I had a blood bag before I came over, so I think you’re safe.”

  “Does that mean I can have a hug?” My voice broke on the last word. Dang it. I do not want to cry again today.

  Jake opened his arms. “Come here.”

  I moved closer and he wrapped his arms around me. I inhaled, and he smelled different, like a different kind of soap. Didn’t matter, he was still my Jake. His arms felt warm and right around me.

  “God, I’ve missed you,” I said.

  “Missed you too,” he whispered into my hair.

  I wanted to stay wrapped in his arms for the rest of the night but that might be a little too much for right now. I pulled away from him just enough to look into his eyes. His expression wasn’t what I thought it would be. “What’s wrong?”

  “All this stuff with Bane,” he said. “I think I need to talk to Sybil.”

  “Now? You need to talk to her now?”

  He pulled out his cell. “Give me a minute.” He stood and exited the room, leaving me sitting alone on the couch. What the hell? How did talking to Sybil rank above reuniting with me? Was I being selfish?
I didn’t think so. Then again my brain felt scrambled from sadness that had saturated my life. Maybe I was being a little clutchy. It’s not like he was running away from me. I could wait.

  I waited for Jake to come back. Five minutes passed and then ten. This was ridiculous. After fifteen minutes I went looking for him. “Jake?” I walked into the hall hoping to hurry his conversation along. He wasn’t out there.

  I heard voices downstairs so I went to investigate and did not like what I discovered. Jake and Sybil were deep in conversation on the back porch with their heads close together.

  I cleared my throat to gain their attention. Jake glanced over and frowned. “I told you I’d be back after I spoke to Sybil.”

  “No. You said you’d call her and then you never came back.”

  “This is important,” Jake said. “We might be able to fight Bane.”

  So that was important and getting back together with me wasn’t. It felt like he’d slapped me. “Do you have any idea how much I cried when I thought I lost you?”

  “You didn’t lose him,” Sybil said, “I saved him and graciously gave him back to you, so stop whining,”

  I waited for Jake to say something…maybe come to my defense or tell Sybil to go away, but he just looked irritated with my presence.

  I didn’t need this crap. “Fine. Take all the time you need.” I walked back through the house and out the front door. I paced the front porch hoping to hear Jake coming after me.

  Fifteen steps, stop, pivot…fifteen steps, stop, pivot…fifteen steps stop, pivot and…nothing. No Jake. Not even Sybil coming to taunt me. Just silence.

  After a while the silence pressed in on me, like it was crushing my lungs, making it hard to breathe. I couldn’t go back into the house, not after I’d stalked out. The whole point of stalking out was so that Jake would follow me. It worked in all the books I read. Apparently, in real life it wasn’t a sound strategy. So now what? I had no car, no guy coming after me. I could ask Zelda to give me a ride home, but pride kept me from entering the house again, so with no other option I called Sage.

  “Can you come pick me up?”

  “Things not going well?” Sage asked.

  “You could say that.”

  I did not want to continue standing on the front porch like an idiot, so I started walking. I kept an eye out for cars as I headed down the side of the road. Ten minutes later Jake called. Too bad. Let him wonder if I was okay for a change. I’d spent enough time worrying about him.

  I saw my Volkswagen coming toward me. Sage slowed down and pulled off on the side of the road. I climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door.

  “What happened?” He made a U-turn and drove toward home.

  I explained Jake’s strange behavior and then said, “Any thoughts?”

  “Human relationships are hard for me to understand. Still, I think Jake’s behavior warrants an apology.”

  Good. It’s not just me.

  When I walked into the house, my dad was still awake watching his movie. “You’re home earlier than I thought you’d be.”

  “Jake was being weird.”

  “Love is a trap that will break your heart.” My dad toasted me with his beer. “Run while you still have your sanity.”

  “Solid parenting advice. Thanks, Dad.”

  “Just doing my job, kiddo.”

  At least he was a happy drunk.

  I warmed up some Chinese food, grabbed a book, and did my best not to glance at my phone…which meant I checked it every thirty seconds and totally couldn’t get into my story. After re-reading the same page three times, I gave up.

  Nothing in my life made sense anymore. Jake loved me. He’d told me…using those exact words. Then he’d become a vampire. Did that change his feelings about me? Had he fallen for Sybil? Was that the problem? And why in the hell wasn’t he calling me?

  …

  Jake

  “Jake, where’s Meena?” Aunt Zelda asked as she came into the kitchen where I was waiting for a pizza to come out of the oven.

  “She left.”

  “How?” Zelda asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “She didn’t have a car. Did you forget that?”

  Shit. I had forgotten. She always had her car when she visited. “She must’ve called Sage to come get her.”

  “Did you two have a fight?”

  “No…sort of.”

  Zelda sat at the kitchen table. “Did you at least call to make sure she made it home okay?”

  “I tried. She didn’t pick up.”

  “Did that demon blood addle your brain?” Zelda leaned forward and touched my arm. “This is Meena we’re talking about.”

  The timer on the oven beeped, so I took the pizza out, cut it into slices, and brought the whole thing to the table. Zelda joined me. We used napkins as plates. The pizza smelled good, but my stomach still felt squirmy, so I took a small bite.

  Aunt Zelda blew on her pizza before taking a bite. “I’m not going to lecture you, but Meena deserves to be treated better. If you’re no longer interested in her then break things off, but be kind about it.”

  I ate my pizza while I tried to figure out what was going on. Had the demon blood messed with my head? I grabbed my cell to dial Meena.

  I was about to hang up when she finally answered. “Hello, Jake.”

  She said my name like it was a synonym for jerk. Great. This conversation should go well. “Hey…about earlier…I didn’t mean to blow you off.”

  “Really? Because you did, right after my mom’s memorial which was fabulous timing…made me feel really loved…so thanks for that.”

  “Listen…Bane makes me crazy. I hate what he’s done to you and my aunt. I’m just trying to find a way to help you.”

  “It doesn’t feel like that’s what you’re doing,” Meena said.

  “What do you mean?” Of course I was trying to help.

  “Wanting to hurt him and wanting to cancel my demon contract are not the same thing.”

  “He thinks he has a shot with you. Doesn’t that make you angry?”

  “The list of things that make me angry is so long right now he doesn’t even make the top five.”

  Huh. “I thought you’d be more concerned.”

  “Sorry. I’m too busy grieving my mom and wondering why the guy who said he loved me is acting like a stranger.”

  I had said I loved her. I’d meant it at the time. But now I didn’t know. “Maybe I’m not the same person I was.”

  “When you figure out who you are, give me a call. If you’re lucky, I might be interested in talking to you.” And then she hung up.

  Damn it.

  Aunt Zelda cleared her throat. Crap. I’d forgotten she was there.

  “That didn’t go so well,” she said.

  “No. It did not.” I ate two more pieces of pizza and then headed up to my room.

  …

  Meena

  The next morning, I drove over to Carol’s house. When I knocked she answered the door in her robe. “I’m so sorry about your mom, Meena.”

  “Thank you.”

  “What would you like to work on today?”

  “Let’s try finding more information about the contracts.” Now that my mom was gone I’d concentrate on cancelling this connection with Carol. Her library was huge. I’d scanned through dozens of books so far without much success. There were hundreds more to investigate.

  Carol pointed to a box on the coffee table. “I gathered up some books that might be helpful.”

  “Thank you.” I sat, grabbed a book, and scanned for spells about contracts, partnerships, any kind of business connection.

  Whenever I came across something that might work it was always the same. A contract only ended if someone died.

  “Any
luck?” Goblin asked when he hopped up on the coffee table in cat form and started taking a bath.

  “Not unless Carol is ready to go to the light.”

  “That’s not funny.” Goblin licked his paw and then shoved it in his ear.

  “I realize that.” I grabbed another book. “Why don’t you shower as a human?”

  “Sometimes I do.” Goblin sounded defensive. “It depends on the day.”

  “Familiars are interesting creatures,” I muttered.

  “We make more sense than humans.”

  “You’re probably right.” I flipped the thick cream-colored pages of a book that was missing its front cover.

  I found a chapter on contracts. Ending a contract permanently requires ending a life if only briefly. I reread the sentence. Did that mean what I thought it meant. “Carol?”

  She came in wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Find something?”

  “Maybe.” I showed her the page. “How would you feel about dying for a few seconds?”

  “No,” Goblin said. “Absolutely not.”

  Carol sat on the couch and read the passage while she stroked Goblin’s head. “This is interesting.”

  “You can’t do it,” Goblin said. “I forbid it.”

  “I’m not doing anything yet,” Carol said. “But we need to come up with a plan.”

  “Why can’t Meena die?” Goblin asked. “That would void her contract with you.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. “Would it void the contract if I died for thirty seconds?”

  “Probably,” Carol said. “But how would you do it?”

  “Astral projection, maybe? What if I slipped away from my body…let the tether go completely for a few seconds before coming back?”

  “That might work,” Carol said. “But maybe I should be the one slipping my leash.”

  “No.” Goblin’s fur puffed up until he was twice his normal size. “You’re not thinking logically. You didn’t sign a contract with Bane. He offered. You refused. Your employment is a punishment he assigned to you. You dying might end Meena’s contract but when you came back you’d still be tied to Bane. It’s not worth the risk.”

  “You’re right,” Carol said. “There’s no way out for me, but Meena, you can end the contract between us by dying.”