Evil is... (Once a Demon Book 2)

by P. S. Power

  The kids didn't hate each other or anything, but they were siblings and not the creepy kind that cuddled and wrestled all the time, in a hormone filled mess of social taboos. That they sat near one another on the sofa was mainly about their unease over what was going on that night. Strange people coming, with vague promises of possibly making them look a bit better.

  Which, interestingly, no one had mentioned to them that night at all. Probably in case it didn't work or fell through. A million dollars for each change was a big deal, when you had nearly that much debt already and nothing much else to show for your economic life time achievement.

  The kids, like their mother, were both short. Sam was going to start growing soon, but would probably only reach about five-seven. His sister was already done growing and was only an inch taller than Keeley presently was. That made her about five feet tall, more or less. Both had a nice coating of fat on them, though.

  Sue was lean for an older looking woman. Aged beyond her years by the stress of having her children cooked alive. The kids had probably started out as pretty normal, for the modern age, having gained some pounds after the fire. It wasn’t like they needed to watch their figures, given all the scarring. Finding comfort and joy in bon-bons and twinkies seemed reasonable enough, given that.

  Rebekah smiled at them. She looked cute doing it, since her dimples showed sweetly as she did.

  “Hey, kids. This is Keeley Thomson. Um… She, her powers allow her to make changes in people. Only in looks, but I asked her to come and see if you wanted to give it a shot? You don’t have to, of course. It doesn’t hurt or anything. She did the work on me, so, you know, it works. Really, it feels kind of funny. Like shrinking or growing a bit.”

  The woman didn't move for a moment, as if she was afraid the kids were going to scream no and refuse to change at all. Mara, sounding perfectly normal for a teen girl, smiled. It carried through the scars really well.

  “That’s… Really nice of you! I don’t know what you can do, but thanks for coming anyway. Ah… What do we need to do?”

  She nearly told them to strip, since seeing what the damage was would seem important to most people. Keeley only needed the end point however, which got her to tilt her head from side to side. What they were wearing would be fine for that, as long as they both slimmed down enough.

  “Stand up and kick your shoes off. Especially you, Sam. I’m thinking we should make you a good bit taller. Why don’t you go first?” The kid was brave after all. On a level that most people would never learn about themselves, even if it was the truth.

  Glancing around, Keeley decided what she wanted him to look like, which would be darker haired, since that worked on men better than blond did. His eyes were already brown, which was good enough. It would be mainly about the bone structure, size and of course, fixing the scarring. That and making sure his dick was bigger. That kind of thing was almost a preoccupation for a lot of men. Doing the work and not setting him up that way would be nearly mean. Not as much as making him smaller in the pants would, but enough she didn’t really consider doing anything else.

  A thing that she didn't mention to the room. After all, he was fourteen and wouldn’t if all went well, be using that with anyone else for several years.

  The kid stood, a bit stiff and slow seeming, since part of his damage went deeper than the surface. The girl was better off that way. Her wounds were all over her body, but when she got to her feet, taking a step away from the sofa, the movement was smoother.

  Keeley held her right hand out, and used a bit of magic to make the air in front of her glow, while producing a small humming sound. None of it was needed. The whole show was simply to give them something to think about, while the changes took place.

  Sam seemed to thin, melting and growing at the same time. He was young, and while she wanted him to be tall enough, there was no need to push him beyond what women would find attractive. That meant he was six-four after a few moments. His skin smooth and brown hair short, being well above his collar. He wasn’t made to seem like a body builder, though he certainly was left athletic enough. Not super human, though honestly, if he went to the gym at all, the kid was going to be a world class athlete without all that much effort.

  Then, that was up to him. If he wanted to gain a hundred pounds and be a couch potato, that was an option as well. In the moment he was left looking good. Easily enough to get a date to the prom. Possibly enough to get a date with most of his female teachers and half the girls at school.

  Turning and not waiting for a reaction, Keeley did Mara as well. That one was easier, really. She got to be a blonde, since it was her natural coloration and wouldn’t make her seem too soft. She also got to be a bit taller as well, since being about five-nine would serve her pretty well that way, if she was going to be highly feminine looking otherwise. Her hips were wide enough to be attractive, and her eyes shifted from brown to a pretty deep blue color.

  After fifteen seconds of work, it was done. The girl was gorgeous, of course. Easily that nine that Darla had paid for the work. Sam was probably in that range as well. Women didn't judge men fairly though, so his level of looks would be called an eight by a lot of women. The biggest trick was, even with the difference in coloration, you could still tell the two people were related.

  The problem there was that their mom looked a bit like she’d kidnapped them as children, now.

  Everyone gasped a bit, and the kids ran off to look in the mirror, the band going along with them. Ravi as well. He seemed amazed enough and genuinely pleased with the work that had been done. Only Will, Sue and herself were left in the room after a moment.

  The mom was crying. Happily, which was the only appropriate response if tears were going to be involved.

  “Thank you! I can’t ever repay this. If there’s anything I can do for you…” The words were far too close to being a deal for Keeley, and she actively had to fight to not take the woman as a slave. Her powers were too sensitive that way for certain kinds of words or even feelings to be expressed.

  Rather than let her talk, she pulled back on the buzzing sensation that meant the woman was about to lose her free will and glanced at the room where the kids were.

  “No. This is just a thing. You don’t have to pay for it at all. No one does. Um…” She shrugged then. “Is it all right if I do you, too? I kind of made them not look that much like you. Sorry about that. You don’t really match as a group now though.” Not that she was, really. The work had been done with a specific end in mind.

  Sue tried to demure, and started to say she didn’t really know if that was the right thing to do. Except that her mind tattled on her, telling Keeley about how she secretly wanted to not envy her children for the rest of her life. The thoughts were loud, too, meaning the woman was consciously aware that it would be happening, if she was still herself in the morning. Even as she was pleased on a level that was impossible to measure, for her kids.

  The damage was gone and they weren’t just normal again, they were better.

  It took as much effort to make the light show and sound effects as it did the physical changes in the other woman. When it was done, she looked very different, though still vaguely recognizable as herself. Just enough that her I.D. wouldn’t have to be changed immediately. She was a few inches taller, which would mean getting new clothing. A thing that her job at the temporary agency she worked for, setting up jobs for other people, wouldn’t be enough to pay for. No one was going to whine about it, of course.

  Will smiled at Keeley, as the woman fled the room herself, going to join her kids in front of the mirror. Even with her new face, Sue was more grateful for her children than anything else. For the fact that they were going to get to have a very different life now. As long as the work held.

  Which it would. If anything, she was going to need to find Sam in a few years and make certain he aged up enough to not seem like a kid for three decades. Mara was fine enough that way, since she looked about eighteen at the
moment. Also like she could be in movies. Sam was, to be honest, just on the edge of too good looking for that.

  They had to stay for a bit, with Keeley being asked several times if they could do anything for her. Each of the others and Scotty, of all people, had to be rejected as slaves, due to the offers they were making. That, not taking them, was much harder for her than merely changing their shape had been.

  Ravi took her hand on the way out. Smiling at her.

  “That was wild. Here I figured the part where my date was flying and people were dropped from the air were going to be the big thing of the night. That was really nice of you. What you did for them.”

  Holding onto his hand tightly for a moment, she let herself smile a bit.

  It really had been kind of her. In a real way, that felt odd. Like she’d been being good or something, instead of like herself. Instead of being truly and clearly evil, like she’d thought she was, for so very long.

  Chapter six

  Everyone needed to go back to Tyler’s first, even if Keeley was planning to move part of the party back to her place after that. A very small, select portion of it. After all, Ravi wouldn’t make a very good rebound guy if she didn’t sleep with him on the first date. Plus, that way, she could make certain that the man at least got something out of putting up with her for the evening.

  After the world’s worst first date, or at least one in the top few thousand or so, he deserved some kind of treat. She understood that he was going to be impressed with the magic that had been used, the line travel and all that. Even just being there to witness the kids being transformed was probably enough to wow him a bit.

  The issue was that she’d taken him along to what was essentially a business meeting that had turned into being a humanitarian project. It was a little bit like taking a dude out to a soup kitchen, to watch her work, for their premier exposure to one another.

  Which, she had to admit, still made her look better than she probably would have otherwise. After all, from what he’d said, Ravi had both worked out that Wise One, in Ancient Greek was Daemon. Which, when you thought about it for half a second, wasn’t hard to work out at all as to the modern meaning of the word.

  Instead of going back inside with the others, she took his hand, when she got the last person into place, which was Will for the moment. He’d driven from the embassy to Tyler’s house, so didn’t need to go inside, either. Leaning into Ravi, Keeley nudged him with her shoulder against his arm, gently.

  “Hand those cards that Jonas made you out? Most people won’t call, but you never know when something will come up. Plus, this way you can hook up with Rebekah or Calley, if I’m out of town.” She was being too pushy and there was an obvious trap for a Human man in her words. At least if she was going to play by lame Human rules.

  It was either her sending him toward the other ladies to get rid of him, or a set up, to get the poor man to prove that he was willing to sleep around on her, even on their first date. It wasn’t meant as either of those things, though. Any of the women there were good choices for that kind of thing, and making contacts was important for the man. He worked at a grocery store, after all. All of them either ate food or knew people that did that kind of thing.

  Knowing the right person that way might actually come up for some of them, at some point. Instead of going in, everyone came out to say goodbye. Ravi didn’t make any plans with the ladies there in particular, even if she’d planted the idea in his head. Really, he made certain to not even look at any of them with more interest than was strictly proper, which was well behaved of him, she had to admit. Probably a bit cold seeming on his part, though no one called him on it. Then, they wouldn’t.

  Will got the last card being handed out simply based on where he was standing, near the edge of the driveway, over by the cars. Indicating that he was planning to leave as well.

  There was a card for Ravi, too, from the taller, more muscular man, as well as a slap on the shoulder.

  “Nice meeting you, Mr. Pendar. Thomson, I’ll see you in the morning? You technically get more time off.” Which was simply true. They weren’t supposed to work more than sixty hours per week, for the time being. Will was breaking that rule constantly already, of course. Then, she had been too. One of them didn’t need to sleep though and could manage stress with magic, if it came up.

  “You know it. We need to not talk about certain topics there, until after we take care of things. We’ll need to cut back on work hours for you and Ravi in six weeks, if you both make the cut for the line walker program. I’ll put some feelers out, to see if we can manage that. I know, it’s hard work and will take time. The thing there is that having two line walkers in with us here is worth the risk that way. Even if neither of you make it, the skills translate to a lot of other things. Steve York put the idea out there, earlier. He’s in the current program, so has an in that way. We can go over that in the morning. I’m not certain how many people we can arrange that for. It’s high powered stuff, if we can get anyone in for it.” Which was both true and her being manipulative, at the same time.

  Really, Ravi had no clue what she was talking about, and Will Dern understood her words, without having what he thought of as the time to get things like extensive training done. Neither of them would understand just how very long the real training would take. Not even if told.

  A thing that she didn't mention in the slightest, just taking her date’s hand again. It was late enough that he should be getting home soon. Even if he didn't work until nearly noon the next day. Humans needed sleep. She murmured goodbye, then stopped and looked at Ravi for a moment.

  “On three, hop into the air? That way I won’t have to pick you up each time. It looks better. Let’s try it?” She waited for a nod, and felt slightly impressed when the man actually managed to do it correctly. She bobbed a bit as she counted it out for him, then stepped and pulled him across space with her, all in one motion, while he was in the air.

  Stepping out onto the other side meant being just off a county road, about six miles from the mansion. There were no other houses out where she lived, since she owned most of the acreage around her for a good long way. About a mile in most directions with it being two and a half heading off to the left. Rather than mention that, she merely walked.

  “My house. I live alone and there are no close neighbors, so it will bug your brother a bit less if we make lewd noises for a few hours. Come on.” The place was dark, since leaving lights on was wasteful. Inside it was exactly how she left it, without any surprises appearing at all.

  Part of her honestly expected a knock to come at the door or for Zack to walk into the front room while she and Ravi were having fun. So, as soon as the door was shut, she turned, went up on her tiptoes and kissed him. His dark flesh pressing against her lighter colored skin. He wasn’t a giant, but still had to lean down to reach her.

  For the better part of an hour they did the normal kinds of things that people did on dates. Kissed, awkwardly got their clothing off and scrambled for a condom. She didn’t tell him that they wouldn’t really need one. He was being responsible and it was their first time. Plus, if it had been her and some woman she didn't know had claimed that she couldn’t get pregnant, she wouldn’t have bought the story. Not without verifying it first. Since Ravi couldn’t do that, using a bit of latex only made sense.

  In all, it was nice enough.

  The man wasn’t a hero in bed or anything and she kept what they were doing to a limited palette of options for the evening. After all, they needed to hold something back for the second date. Sure, she could do her share, being a lot more flexible than he was, as well as able to take on almost any shape, man, woman or other, that he wanted to get freaky with.

  The truth was that they weren’t taking it slow, strictly speaking and she wasn’t planning to be done with him that night. Even if he ended up being her rebound guy, which was about a seventy percent chance, the man needed to think of her well.

  Long term,
they needed to be friends. The easiest way to do that would be for her to have sex with him without ruining all other women for him. Then, when he was bored with her, or he got too annoying, they could claim it had always been a booty call situation and go their separate ways.

  Even she understood that would hurt a lot less than another break-up would. Not that she was trying to use him that way. The truth was… Keeley simply didn’t get to wait to be ready to have another relationship. Not like a Human woman would. At least she didn't think that was an option. True, no Greater Demons would be hunting her down for feeling sad for a few weeks. The problem was that her feelings were already starting to turn kind of evil on the topic.

  She’d been angry at Hally for leaving her earlier that it had shaken her on a deep level. In her world, that kind of feeling was dangerously close to hurting or even killing someone. A part of her would want to make certain that she never hurt anyone that she loved. Another part had already started to move from love to hate, as a self-defense mechanism. In order to make everything work out in the end, she kind of needed to distract herself.

  A new honey or three might be a good way of doing that.

  For which, even if he was kind of normal for her world, Ravi Pendar was far from the worst she could have done that way. The worst would have probably been Eve, her old friend. Not because they couldn’t work together at all that way, either. There had always been a bit of a spark and even as a Greater Demon, Keeley had kind of loved the girl. Then, she’d felt that way with most of her friends at the time, even if it had been suppressed into oblivion back then.

  Eve was a poor choice because it would be too obvious to the world that she was trying to fill a Hally-shaped hole in her life with Hally’s old best friend from high school.