“Humph.” I ran my tongue over my teeth. “Let’s go see if the creepy old hag told the truth, and don’t worry, boys. I’ll protect you lesser beings with my powerful self.”
Tally groaned. “Who else knew that was coming?”
“I actually think you need to stay here, Tally,” Austin said. “Now that you’ve healed, you will need to recoup before you’re a hundred percent, and without the usage of powers in the portal, it might be—”
“He’s right, Tally,” I said, and Tally flipped me the bird. “Now, Tally, that’s no way for a shrink to act. Jeez, where is the professionalism nowadays?”
“So, you two are just going to go without me? I pledge my loyalty to you, and in the next five minutes, you dump me.”
“Tally,” I said, “no one is commanding you to stay here, but …” I looked over my shoulder to see Austin listening to me intently, so I lowered my voice. “You’re my first friend I’ve had in a long time. I don’t want to lose you. Would you please ease my fears by staying here, where it’s remotely safe?”
To no avail, Tally tried to straighten his tattered clothes, as his chest puffed out. “I’m honored to be called your friend. I will stay here, my queen.”
He flew off my shoulder, his head held high, as he headed towards the metal building. Someone honored to be my friend? I rubbed the palm of my hand over my chest. My emotions were a tad all over the place. Shirt. I did love the bug. What was going on with me? Throwing my shoulders back, I gathered up the other wolf off the ground and waited while Austin inserted the key into the portal. Instantly, the portal opened, and we stepped through into a land of—what in the Tomfrickery was this shirt?
Chapter Twenty
Portal thirty-two looked like a bad Disney movie. The sky was a light purple and bushy pink shrubs, rocks, and water made up the landscape. We chunked both of the wolves over to the side, so we could study the scene in front of us better. Mermaids lay on various rocks with nothing but seashells covering their breasts. One, in particular, basked on a flat rock all by herself while other mermaids were stretched out in lazy patterns at the base of the rock. Her auburn hair flowed down her back, and round blue eyes studied us. When we walked past her, she hissed at me. Who would have thought mermaids could be evil?
“You better chill, Ariel. I will make you sushi because whooping your slippery behind is not beneath me.”
Austin grabbed my elbow. “We’ve barely made it through the portal, and you’re already making threats.”
“Hey, Flipper started it.” As he dragged me along, I glared at Ariel over my shoulder. “And just so you know, your movie sucked.”
Austin laughed before saying, “Try to remember you’re a queen.”
“Yeah, a Demon Queen, as you keep reminding me.”
“Maybe I’m reminding me,” he said so quietly I almost didn’t hear him.
Two bodies of water lapped on either side of the narrow pathway, forcing us to either walk on slippery stones or swim. Stepping from one rock to another, we walked along the path with no destination in mind. Austin never removed his hand from my elbow. Obviously, I didn’t need his help, so one would think it was because he liked having contact with me.
“Do we have a plan on how to find this Malakian?” I asked.
“We will walk to the heart of this plane and see if someone can point us in the right direction.”
“I thought mermaids were supposed to be sweet and friendly.” I looked at all of the mermaids glaring at us as we passed. “Obviously, I was wrong.”
“You do realize they can hear you, right?”
I clapped a hand to my mouth in fake shock before letting him see my smirk. “You do realize I don’t care?”
“You will be the death of me.”
You have no idea, big boy.
Every once in a blue moon, Austin would stop and ask someone if they knew of the whereabouts of Malakian. Most told us to sod off, some ignored us, and a few begrudgingly pointed towards the mountains. With no other helpful hints, we headed in the direction of the peaks that seemed farther away with every step we took. Must be an illusion. When night came, and we weren’t any closer to the range we desired, Austin let out a string of curses that made me smile with fond memories. Oh, how I missed dropping a properly, well planned f-bomb. Those were the days.
“We should just make camp here unless demons require no sleep.”
I plopped down on a rock. “Oh, wow. Another snide remark about my demon heritage. Color me shocked.”
Austin ran a hand through his hair in frustration before he took off through the woods. Ugh, and where did he think he was going? I lay back on the flat, smooth rock, wondering as I gazed upon the stars, how an awesome queen such as myself ended up here? Willingly in a portal. There was a part of me that should be concerned. No. I sat up with jerky movements. What was wrong with me? I should be really concerned. Yes, he just strolled off. Yes, he had the key. Yes, this could have all been some trick. Maybe he hadn’t talked with the soothsayer. Maybe this was his plan. Take the Demon Queen to a portal. Leave her there and never think about her again. It was a brilliant plan, actually. So brilliant that I’d be impressed if I wasn’t the poor smuck who now found herself deserted on a plane with a bunch of fish. I paced and thought. Would Tally figure out a way to come for me? My mind spun.
“What are you doing?”
My mouth dropped open at Austin’s approach. He stood there with a bundle of wood in his arms. His gaze raked over me before a smile lit his face. “Did you think I deserted you?”
“What? No.” Yeah, kind of.
“You did,” he said, as he dropped the wood between us. Dusting the bark off his shirt, he kept smiling that infuriating grin, as he got to work building us a fire.
Plopping back down on the rock, I said, “Okay, so maybe I thought you had jilted me. So why haven’t you?”
“We haven’t found Malakian yet.”
I leaned back on the rock, studying him. I wasn’t buying it. Could it be he didn’t want to leave me behind? “No, you could have gone off on your own to find Malakian and left me here.”
After the last stick was piled on, he gave me a calculating look. “Maybe that’s still the plan.”
Was it? Facing the pile of wood, I placed my hands to my lips and blew a fiery kiss. The flames landed on the kindling, making an instant fire. “Here, let me warm your icy heart with a little flame.” The fire took on a life of its own, creating an image of a crown. A simple trick but it was enough to have Austin taking a step away from the building flames. A hand rubbed over his shoulder blade where his tattoo was; his eyes never left mine. He looked troubled.
“What is it with you and that tattoo?”
His eyes met mine over the fire. “Did you read it that night?”
“Not from the angle I was at.”
“It is something I have in remembrance of my mother.” The flames cast a glow onto his face. “She was run off the road when I was little. Her injuries were pretty bad but considering she was a healer, she could have healed herself. But she was pregnant with my sister, and she decided to save the baby instead of her own life.”
“That’s horrible, but it sounds like she was a terrific mother. What does the tattoo say?”
He just stared at me. His eyes turned to narrow slits, shadows dancing on his face in the light of the flame. Why was he mad at me?
“Whatever. I don’t care.” Or at least I shouldn’t. “Back to what you said earlier, regardless of whatever your plan is considering me, be aware, I’ll be on my guard.”
He cast a glance to the fire before his eyes connected with mine again. “No, my queen, it is I who will be on my guard.”
It wasn’t until sometime that night, right before I fell asleep, I realized Austin had called me his queen and without malice in his voice. Nothing made sense anymore, especially when it came to the slightly above smoldering male companion I traveled with.
Sleep came to me fast, and what was more s
hocking was the ease in which I slept. When the sun started peeking its head over the mountains, I snuggled in closer to the warmth surrounding me. A hand tightened. My eyes flew open as I studied the arm draped over me. The forearm was golden and covered with curly hair the color of wheat. Definitely male. Austin. He was the reason I had the best sleep of my life. I tried to ease away from him, but his arm flexed, pulling me tighter into the warmth.
“Trying to escape?”
I rolled over, facing him. “You’re awake?”
He laughed. “I’ve been patiently waiting for you to wake up. I wanted to see what emotions I would get out of you this morning. Shock, denial, determination were just a few, and then there is the current emotion, anger.”
I slapped his chest. “Let go of me, you douche.”
His head tilted back with laughter. “You make it too easy.”
He thought he could read me? I would give him something even I didn’t see coming, just to watch that smirk fall right off his face. Grabbing two fistfuls of hair, I pulled his lips to mine. He didn’t even have time to register shock before our lips touched. At first it was like hitting a wall of resistance, but within seconds I quickly realized why Sarah had fallen in love with Austin if he kissed her with half of the enthusiasm he bestowed upon me. His tongue met mine in an epic battle. Moments could have passed by or centuries, and I wouldn’t have known. I flipped him over on his back. Within a millisecond, he had tossed us in the air, so he was now in the dominant position. My heart raced as his hand lightly squeezed my throat while he deepened the kiss. My whole body burned, aching with a need that was foreign to me. Just as I felt like I was going to explode, he broke off the kiss to lightly trail his lips along my throat.
In a raspy voice I didn’t recognize, I said, “See, you can’t guess everything I’m about to do.”
He chuckled before he rested his forehead on mine with a sweet innocence I’d never known. “Be careful of what games you play; you might just find out how bad of a loser you are.”
“I don’t lose.”
His lips lifted into a smile, as he stared down at me. “You didn’t send me a horrific image this time, so I consider that a win on my part, not to mention this is the third time you have kissed me. Another win.”
“You know for someone who professes his hatred for demons, you sure didn’t mind making out with one.”
I shoved at his chest. His steely blue eyes met mine, and not for the first time I saw the warrior behind his pretty-boy charm. He was deadly, and whatever his reasons for not leaving me yet on this plane were, it didn’t mean it was because he was soft, or he didn’t plan to do just that. He stood with a lethal grace. I ignored his hand, as I made my own way to my feet.
“I’m conflicted. You’re nothing like your father. I’ve realized that early on but I didn’t want to admit that you could be different. I needed to hate you.” My eyes turned to slits. I needed to get away. He grabbed my arm in a light grip, stopping me from retreating. “You’re angry. Why?”
“Really? I’ll tell you why I’m mad. You’re more like my father than I have ever been. After all it’s you who has stripped me of my powers twice now. And now I’m just thinking of how you might be trying to screw me over, again. Oh, and you needed to hate me? Why because I’m a demon or is it because of one of the millions of secrets that I know you’re holding on to? Do you want to talk about it?” Great. Now I sounded like Tally. “Do you want to tell me why you have such a strong hatred for demons?”
His hand dropped from my arm and I let out a frustrated sigh. Austin looked at me once before he stared into the embers of the dying fire. “I don’t want to discuss those things but how about I tell you what I’m thinking right now? I think you’re like a drug. I know I shouldn’t inhale you, but my body craves you. The more I’m around you, the more I want you. This arrangement started out like your soul. Black and white. Now everything is complicated. You’re right in the fact that I do have secrets and they are weighing on me heavily. One thing I never thought I would fear is disappointing you, and now it’s one of my biggest fears.”
I was shocked. I didn’t know what I expected from this warrior standing in front of me, but his feelings, however confusing they were, were a surprise. He was messing with my head more than I had ever planned on messing with his. My lips still felt swollen from his kisses, and I still smelled his scent mixed with mine. The worst part was I took comfort in all of that. I needed space and quickly.
“There was a small pond not too far from here. We passed it along the way. I think I’ll go back to it and rinse the dirt from me,” I said.
Without waiting for a reply, I started back down the path in which we had come from. If he were going to try to ditch me, now would be the time for him to do it. Also, if he really wanted to leave me here, could I stop him? Maybe. But there was a part of me that really wanted him to make that choice of not leaving me behind. Technically I still have my powers. I could overpower him, take the key and leave him here, but that thought left me feeling sick. I would rather be dead than stuck in a portal without powers and I knew the strong Power Manipulator would feel the same way. I said I was nothing like my father and I meant it. What kind of Demon Queen was I? I sounded like a hopeless romantic, instead of a ball-busting, man-eating, crown-wearing queen. Maybe I needed a legit therapist.
I continued down the rocky path until I reached a vast pond. Shedding my boots, I grabbed the hem of my Rolling Stones T-shirt and started to inch it above my torso. I looked out over the water and noticed it was translucent and beautiful. Almost as beautiful as the male sitting in the water at the far end. My hands dropped my shirt back into place as I studied the male. His tree-trunk arms rested on the bank, and his head was tilted back as he laughed. There was a bevy of pretty women sitting around him, just as mesmerized as I was by his musical laugh. Sandy blond hair was pulled back and tied away from his face while the sides were shaved. I’d never been a fan of men wearing ponytails until this very moment. He was smoking hot in a David Beckham kind of way. Not as hot as the man I was currently avoiding, but then again, could anyone truly beat Austin in a beefcake contest? What did they say about speaking of the devil and he shall appear? Without turning around, I sensed Austin behind me. He could have left me, yet here he was, seeking me out, and here I was wondering why that made me so happy. When the man in the pond’s laughter died, I realized he had caught sight of us.
His gaze perused my body before he licked his lips. “Looks like there is new fish in the sea, and who do I have the pleasure of seeing in my dreams later tonight?”
Austin bit out, “Are you Malakian?”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s asking?”
“I’ll take that as a yes. I’ve come with an offer for you,” Austin said.
The man snorted. “Sorry, I don’t roll that way. Now for her,” he said, pointing at me, “I will willingly listen to any offers.”
“Cute. But she’s not interested,” Austin said, halfway stepping in front of me. I hid my smile. Austin, whether he knew it or not, was acting jealous. “We’re here to talk business with you. Ariana, the greatest soothsayer to ever live, has sent us.”
The man gave us a calculating look before he stood. Whoa. Boy. There was no fin for this guy. There he was, in all his naked glory. Austin shoved me fully behind him. “In order to impress the Demon Queen, you’d have to sport more than that.”
The man wrapped a towel around his waist. “Demon Queen, huh? That’s impressive as hell. Pun intended.”
I poked Austin in the back. “See? Some people think I’m impressive.”
Austin craned his neck to look at me. “I never said you weren’t impressive. Can we not do this right now?”
Malakian interrupted us. “Apologies. I didn’t realize you two were a couple.”
“We’re not,” we both said in unison.
I glared at the bane of my existence. “Austin, here, has a problem with my demonic lineage.”
Malakian grinned. “I don’t. I guess his loss is my gain.”
“Enough.” Austin grabbed the bridge of his nose. Obviously, he had run out of patience. “Do you have a place more private to talk?”
After studying both of us and trying to figure out our game—good luck with that, buddy—he whispered something to the girls. After they giggled, they swam under the water, coming out on the other side of a bridge where they climbed up to bask in the new rays of the day.
I looked at the pretty scenery. “This doesn’t seem like a horrible place.”
Malakian shrugged. “It’s not. Except for the fact that everyone here is hungry. There is food and water, but if we try to eat or drink, we become violently ill. Also, there is no sleep. If our eyes close even momentarily, we are hit with an onslaught of visions we wouldn’t even wish on our worst enemies.”
I glanced at Austin. We were able to sleep last night. Peacefully even.
Austin shook his head. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”
“So yeah,” Malakian said, “it’s only paradise if you don’t miss food and sleep.” He gave a wave at us both. “So, you have privacy. Now talk.”
We walked over the round stones paving the way to where he stood. I watched where I stepped, but my head snapped up at the anger in Austin’s voice. “Stop staring at her.”
Malakian gave me another once over. “Or what? You said you’re not together. Besides, she is beautiful. It’s hard not to stare.”
Austin took three long strides, putting him nose to nose with Malakian. “Keep undressing her with your eyes, and I’ll fillet you where you stand, fish boy.”
Malakian smirked. “Yes, you’re right. Definitely not a couple.” He put his hands up in surrender. “Tell me why you are here.”
The Demon Queen Page 14