The Demon Queen

by Brandi Elledge

  I shuddered as a crash sounded in the living room area. If Austin wasn’t so high and mighty, he could have asked us for help. We could have figured out a way to get the answers he’d needed from Sarah, and she wouldn’t be breaking my personal belongings right now.

  Tally lay on my couch. “I haven’t seen this much drama since the Fae Prince stole the key right from under his grandfather’s nose.”

  “Hmm.” I wasn’t really listening. Everything had grown quiet, and that made me even more nervous.

  There was a brief knock on the door before Austin let himself in minus Sarah. He had red scratches on his face that healed in front of my eyes. Add that to his bag of tricks. I sat there with my eyebrows arched in question, waiting for him to tell us why Sarah had grown so quiet.

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “I teleported Sarah to a Caribbean island. I gave her enough cash for the night and then put a sleeping spell on her, but soon she’ll wake up and contact her sister, and then we won’t have the element of surprise, so we need to head out now.”

  “It didn’t cross your mind to have her stay here in a dungeon, so her sister wouldn’t be privy to our plans?”

  He scoffed. “You would have left her here unchaperoned with demons?”

  “Whatever you say, cuddle bear.”

  Tally coughed into his hand to hide his laughter. Austin glared at me. I held up both hands. “Hey, I would think that if retrieving the key is as big of a deal to you as you say it is, then you wouldn’t have: one, took the time out to coddle a woman into believing that she can share information with you; and two, let her escape knowing dang well she is going to alert her sister. All I’m saying is that makes no sense.”

  “I hadn’t planned on telling her I was using her. By the way, thanks to both of you, my plan was ruined. I was going to escort us right to her sister.”

  “Ahh.” I nodded in appreciation. “Trojan horse style. Yeah, that would’ve worked.”

  “Is that an apology?”

  “Eww. Yeah, I’m not really good at those. But I am really good at deflecting and manipulation, so what I can say is this is your fault. You should have shared your plans with us, so we didn’t ruin them. But we forgive you.”

  I thought Austin was about to blow. I snickered as he looked down to the ground, like he was trying out a new meditation pose.

  Tally flew over to my shoulder. “She does have a point.”

  If Tally kept this up, I was going to insist we get matching B.F.F. tattoos.

  Austin’s blue eyes narrowed. “None of this really matters.” He held up his hands and made quotations. “Oh, but ‘the evilest being in the world’ vowed to me she would retrieve the key for me. I do not worry about who is alerted.”

  He was mocking me. Obviously, someone doubted my evil ranking. Ignoring him, I asked Tally, “Did you hear the title he bestowed upon me?” I fanned myself. “Aww. He likes me. Really likes me.”

  “We leave in ten. I’ll be waiting in the living room,” Austin said, right before he slammed my door.

  “Evilest being in the world?” Tally squinted at me. “There was such shade in that comment, and I’m guessing he doesn’t even know you rescued a kitten.”

  “Shut it, bug.”

  Ten minutes my perfect little butt. I headed to the bathroom to take a shower. This time a long one, just because I didn’t like taking orders. As I climbed into a leather outfit that I thought would suit my new frame better, I made a promise to myself I would find this stupid key soon and be back here reading in front of my fireplace in no time. Austin had looked at me with disgust because I was a demon. I was who I was, and he needed me to retrieve the key. Whatever he assumed me to be, I was going to try my hardest not to disappoint. In fact once the key was found, and he had no more use of me, at that moment, right before he stripped me of my powers, I would look him in the eye while I buried my dagger into him, so he could see how evil I could be up close and personal.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I looked at the old houses that sat in a row in the historic downtown. They were all painted different colors. Guess that’s where the name ‘Rainbow Row’ came from. I heard and smelled two rivers running on opposite sides of the peninsula. Hooves beat the pavement as a horse and carriage clamored down the street. The weather was excellent, even for a demon. “Charleston, South Carolina, is where the coven is?”

  Austin shrugged. “What were you expecting?”

  “I don’t know. Detroit. Or New Jersey. Definitely not charming Charleston.”

  Tally snickered from my shoulder. “Remind me to work on you with your judgmental problems.”

  “Remind me to flick you.”

  I filled my lungs with the salty air. It helped with the dizziness Austin’s teleporting brought. I would ask him if he had a plan, but since his last plan got thwarted, I thought it might be a touchy subject.

  “Well, this is the house, but it doesn’t seem like anyone is home,” Austin said.

  I studied the bright, buttery yellow house. He was right; no one was home, but there was a protection spell surrounding the house. I could feel the energy pulsating off it.

  “So, I say we hang back. Maybe later tonight, we go to The Battery to see if there is any action.”

  Austin’s face showed frustration. “Fine. I’ll rent us a room somewhere close by, and then we will come back around dark.”

  Now, it was my turn to be disappointed. We were in sunny Charleston. The last thing I wanted to do was be stuck in a hotel for the next several hours. “I say we enjoy ourselves a little.”

  His blue eyes drilled holes into me. “What do you mean by enjoying ourselves?”

  Oh, my gosh. For fifty seconds, you’d think he’d forget to quit hating on my imperfect demon self. “Oh, you know, just the normal, run-of-the-mill demon things, like torturing kindergarteners and only allowing grocery shoppers to have plastic instead of paper.” I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? Chill. I was thinking we could hit a swimwear shop. Go jump in the ocean. You know, live a little.”

  Austin shot me a dumbfounded look. “Why? This isn’t a vacation.”

  “You know as well as I do these witches aren’t going to open a portal until way late, if they do it today at all. I mean, hello, civilians and all that. So, you do you, honey, and I’ll do me. I’ll meet you back here around dark-thirty.”

  I turned on my heel to walk away when an arm reached out and dragged me roughly to a stop. “No, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

  Two emotions rushed through me. Anger that he grabbed my arm, and an emotion I’d rather not think about. There was no way I lusted after the enemy. No way.

  “Tally, sweetheart? Can you go wait on the bench? Mommy and Daddy are about to have a domestic dispute.”

  Tally chuckled as he flew off my shoulder. Austin glared at me, and I innocently batted my eyelashes at him. I refused to be the first to speak. His eyes roamed my face and zeroed in on my lips.

  Forgetting my vow of silence, I nervously said, “I’m going. We have time to kill. I’ve never been to the beach, much less in my own form, and I want to enjoy these next few hours. You know as well as I do these witches aren’t going to open a portal in daylight. They’ll wait until the city is sleeping, and then they will cast some kind of privacy spell around the park before opening a portal. We can’t go storming into their house because they aren’t even there, so we have to be patient. Plus, it’d be better to catch them in the act and then take the key. I’m going to the beach.”

  He nodded. “I didn’t say you couldn’t go. I just said you weren’t leaving my side. I don’t trust you.”

  “I gave you my word.”

  “Yeah, but how good is the word of a demon?”

  “Low blow, ash-hat.” I jerked my arm out of his grasp. “Not very good because if you grab me like that again, I’ll kill you. There will be no retrieving the key, and for breaking my vow, I’ll probably be sentenced to a fate worse th
an death, but I think it’ll be worth it.”

  I heard his laughter as I strolled away from him. He must think his imminent death was funny, and they called me crazy.

  Forty-five minutes later, I smiled from ear to ear. Austin had given me a black credit card and told me to do my worst. Obviously, Austin was making some money. I knew this was going to be a fantastic day when I saw a faux leather bathing suit hanging on the wall. I bought the cutest little cover-up, colorful beach towels, a cooler, and a bag for my crown, not because I was getting the strangest looks ever, but because I didn’t want to get sand on it. I also purchased a couple of surprises for Austin. I changed in the waiting room and left what I originally wore in the dressing room. I had no need for leather pants while in sunny Charleston. I slid my new sundress on and took the tags up to the cashier. Twenty minutes later, I headed towards Folly Beach. I hid Tally, who was currently snoring in between bottles of water and a couple of peaches in the cooler.

  Handing Austin the bag I had gotten for him, his hand grazed mine, and a wave of heat flicked up my body. His hand tightened on mine, as if he were equally affected by my touch before he asked, “What’s this?”

  Pretending not to be affected by the merest skin-to-skin contact, I shrugged. “It’s for you if you decide you want to have a little fun for a couple of hours, and I used your money, so don’t bother thanking me.”

  Without waiting for a reply, I headed towards the sand to stake a claim on some prime real estate as close to the water as I could get on the crowded beach. I needed some distance from the Power Eliminator. My mind screamed at my body. She was a traitorous bench.

  After a few minutes, I noticed Austin had decided to partake in the fun. He sported his new bathing suit and lay on the new towel I got for him not too far from me. Not close enough to look like we came to the beach together, because heaven forbid, but close enough he could keep an eye on me because I was a good-for-nothing, trifling demon. Not that I would admit it to anyone in a million years, but I felt hurt he was so disgusted by who I truly was.

  I didn’t have time for silly emotions. I was at a beautiful beach with laughter all around me. The ocean rolled in, creating a pretty picture, seagulls flew up above, and children built sandcastles nearby. This was the happiest I’d been in a while. Maybe ever.

  I leaned back on my elbows, as I dug my heels into the sand, loving the rough feel on my skin. I only had a few hours of beach time before it was back to securing the key. Then, unfortunately, I would have to kill Austin, or he would have to kill me, because I wasn’t letting him take my powers without a fight, but I wasn’t going to think about that right now. Not when my super hearing picked up on everything the group of boys down the beach said. They could almost make a girl blush. Almost. From the look on Austin’s face, he could hear them as well, and he wasn’t pleased by their locker room banter.

  How could he possibly take them seriously? Human boys were comical. The pack of college boys threw a Frisbee like it was an Olympic sport. With every wild catch, they would immediately puff out their chest. I rolled my eyes. Silly boys, kill an elite guard of demons, then you can act like a peacock. That thought made me cast another glance at Austin. The human boys started slowly migrating closer and closer to my towel. Every once in a while, there was a bad throw, which was utterly intentional, sending the Frisbee flying towards me. One of the boys in a dramatic, heroic move would throw their frail bodies in front of me, trying to protect me from the flying disc. I could break all their bones with a flick of my wrist, and yet they attempted to protect this damsel from a plastic object. It was cute. Occasionally, they tried to strike up a conversation with me, but I wasn’t interested in either of their games.

  I studied Austin’s profile, as he glared at the rowdy group. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes were narrowed at the young human male closest to me. Austin must have felt my gaze. His eyes held mine for a moment before he reclined back on his towel.

  I buried my heels in the sand, as I thought of what emotion had briefly crossed his face. Possession? No, I must be losing my demon touch. Why would he send a possessive look my way? That made no sense. A little boy broke me out of my thoughts when he started crying because his sister jumped on his castle on purpose. In all fairness, his castle screamed underachiever, as it was just a mound of sand with one lone seashell on top. He wailed on and on about the unfairness of it all while his sister skipped back to her parents, who were two sheets to the wind, hiding under an umbrella.

  I shot a quick look over to where Austin lay still on his back. He had his arms tucked behind his head, creating a pillow, and his eyes were closed, as he baked in the sun. His abs glistened, and they were on full display. I quietly climbed to my feet and made my way over to the small child. My only intention was to shut the kid up. He was ruining my first beach trip. It was not because his tears hurt something in my heart. That would have been super lame.

  His sobs came to a stop as I loomed over him. He was probably having a “stranger, danger” moment, so I waited to see if he was going to kick me in my shins before running to his parents.

  He wiped the snot from his nose. “She ruined it on purpose.”

  I plopped down beside him. “Yeah, siblings can be mean like that.” I thought about my own brother who I had never been close with because Father made sure we didn’t have a relationship. You’d think siblings would try and have each other’s back. Mine tried to stab me in mine. I had more issues than Cosmo. I raked my hand over the squished mound of sand, making it level again. “You know, I’ve never built a castle. Maybe we could build one together?”

  His brown eyes twinkled. “Really? Why have you never built one before?”

  I shrugged, as I started packing sand into an empty cup that used to have alcohol in it from the smell of it. His parents must’ve given it to him to build with. “I don’t know, buddy. My childhood was just different. I say we make up for it now, though, and build the best sandcastle ever.”

  His chubby cheeks squished together with a smile. “Okay. What do you want me to do?”

  “Hmm. How about you pack the cups as tight as you can with sand, and I’ll work on building us a moat around the castle?”

  We had a good system going, and before I knew it, I had created a heck of a moat, if I did say so myself, complete with a sand alligator to guard the castle. Or as Parker said, “From meany sisters.” While we built, Parker talked a mile a minute. I noticed his parents had taken in the situation and deemed me harmless. His mother had given me a friendly wave at one point. If she knew her four-year-old, cute-as-a-button son was building the world’s best sandcastle with the most powerful demon ever to live, she probably would have had a stroke.

  Two hours later and we were done. His parents came over to congratulate us and even asked to take a picture of the two of us in front of our masterpiece. I agreed after Parker begged. His sister pouted off to the side. Whether it was because she didn’t help build the castle or if it was because she couldn’t pounce on it with an audience, I wasn’t sure.

  After a few pictures, I reached out and touched one of Parker’s cheeks. “You might need some more sunscreen, bud.”

  “Yes,” his mom said, “and some dinner. You ready to go, sweetheart?”

  I was completely shocked when Parker threw himself at me, wrapping his little arms around my sandy legs. “Thanks so much. I love you.”

  My heart swelled with some unidentifiable emotion. “Sure, buddy.”

  “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “You never know.”

  He smiled big at me. “Bye, Carmen.”

  I watched them with remorse as they headed back to their umbrella, where they started to pack up their things. I was not going to miss that kid because that would be weak. The first step was to stop gazing at his little head. I did an about-face and headed towards the ocean to wash the sand off me. This was the first time I had ever been in the ocean. I smiled as the waves rolled over my ankles. I was really sta
rting to enjoy water. I made a mental note not to let demons find out that tidbit. I was already different. What an exciting day this had been. I waded into the cold water. There was a sign warning us it was jellyfish season. Please. Jellyfish didn’t want none of this. I dove into the water and started swimming with the current. There was a splash behind me, and I felt someone closing in on me. Great. One of the college boys was an Olympic swimmer. I stopped after a few more strokes to explain to them I wasn’t interested, even though I was slightly impressed with their aquatic skills. Austin’s head popped up in the water right next to me. Instead of treading water, I sent my wisps of smoke outward to keep me afloat.

  Before I could ask what he was doing, he said, “You built a castle.”

  “Um, yeah. Is that against the law?”

  “First, you come out and smile at all the couples holding hands then you built a castle with a kid.”

  Had I been smiling like a lunatic? “So what?” I snapped.

  “So, that’s not normal demon behavior.”

  My blood boiled. I was tired of people telling me I wasn’t normal. Looking at me like I wasn’t fit to rule. So what if I built a dang castle? My powers were muffled in the water, so very slowly my wisp snaked out and curled around his legs. He registered a moment of shock before they pulled him under. I was going to hold him under until I saw bubbles coming up. Normal demon. I’d show him. First, I couldn’t be trusted because I was a disgusting demon, and then he sounded weirded out I wasn’t what he constituted as a “normal” demon. There was no winning with this guy.