by Tarisa Marie
Darrel takes a step towards me and embraces me in a hug. In the corner of my eye I notice Kade stiffen uncomfortably.
Darrel turns back to face Kade. “Darrel.”
The two men stare at each other for a long second before I break the tense situation by speaking up. “Darrel, Kade is my temporary roommate, a friend of the family.” It’s not exactly a lie, is it? Well, I wouldn’t say Daniel and Kade are friends exactly, but this is the first thing that comes to mind.
Darrel continues to study Kade and vice versa.
“Kade, Darrel was Jane’s boyfriend,” I explain, knowing he’s already well aware of this.
The following silence is unbearable as they study one another.
“Darrell, has a date been set for Janes funeral?” I ask seriously and begin mixing some punch in the kitchen.
It takes a moment for Darrel to pull himself from his staring contest with Kade and answer me. “She didn’t want a funeral so there won’t be one. She’s being cremated.”
I stop stirring the juice and glance at him in disbelief. Jane not wanting a funeral? Not one part of me believes this for a second.
“Where are you from?” Kade asks Darrel, interrupting our conversation and leaving me to stew in my thoughts. Jane was the most extroverted, outgoing, attention seeking woman I knew. How could she have not wanted a funeral?
Darrel clears his throat. “A small town in Minnesota.”
“Oh, I’m familiar with Minnesota. Which town?” Kade wonders. I know exactly what he’s up to. He’s comparing Darrel’s answers with the information he found on him and received on his fake police investigation call, which wasn’t too much.
“Oh, it’s called–wow I love the colour of those...” Darrel trails off pretending to become distracted by my blinds. This sends warning bells blaring in my head. The last thing Darrel cares about is home decor. I could blame this strange behavior on his loss, but something is off about that as well. He really doesn’t seem as sad or grieving as he should be in this situation.
Kade gives me a dubious look before looking back at Darrel. “What was the population?”
“The town was pretty small about 400 people so not many people have heard of it. You wouldn’t know it.”
“Try me,” Kade tests him.
Darrel leans on the counter next to me. “Cheyenne.”
Kade cocks a brow and taps his fingers on his chin lightly. “I swear your police report said you were from Alabama.”
Darrel’s jaw slackens.
“Oh, I’m a cop. I was on Jane’s case a few hours before I was pulled off of it due to conflicts of interest, seeing as May and Jane were close.”
Darrel purses his lips before managing to say, “Oh, well I was born in Cheyenne but raised in Alabama.”
Kade smiles. “Who are you really, Darrel? Where’s Jane?”
Darrel flinches and stands up straight from his position at the counter.
Kade nears us.
“Jane is dead, you asshole. Who do you think you are?” Darrel suddenly snaps. I’m super good at reading people and I can tell that Darrel is panicking. He’s been clearly caught in a lie, one he wasn’t so good at hiding. How didn’t I see through him before? Maybe because I wasn’t looking for a flaw in his story.
Kade chuckles. “Her host is dead. I know Jane isn’t human and neither are you. Now you’re going to explain yourself, explain everything and maybe I won’t kill you for good.”
Darrel’s eyes enlarge to the size of saucers and he nods quickly. “Yeah okay uh...so yeah, I lied. I didn’t kill Jane, though, I swear. I didn’t hurt her either. She’s okay. She’s just out of town. I’d never hurt Jane.”
“What do you two want from May. Start there,” Kade demands in an impatient tone.
Darrel nods quickly. “Yeah, sure. Uh...okay, so we don’t really want anything from her, though. We’re just doing our job. We were told to protect her with our lives, but then these vampires came out of nowhere the other night. Like I mean nowhere and tore up Jane really badly. I got out of there while I was only scuffed up. They tore up Jane’s body so bad she had to leave it and go in search of another.”
“Who are you protecting her from exactly and who sent you?”
“We aren’t privy to that information and no one’s tried to attack us before. Well, not until those vampires came.”
“You’re young,” Kade mutters. It’s not a question.
“Yes, sir, this is my first job and Jane’s second.”
I can’t get any words out, so I just slump into the counter behind me, so I don’t collapse.
Kade nods slowly. “Is there anything else you can tell me?”
“I overheard someone at our last meeting say that May’s father requested she be kept in the dark about everything for as long as possible. I don’t know what that means but that’s all I know really. Oh, and we were instructed not to follow her to Montana. Which was odd because they usually don’t let us let her out of our sight. We’re never more than a few hundred feet away from her at all times. We’ve been watching you come and go from here. Jane said you were a family friend of hers. We were concerned of course, but she seemed fine and you never seemed to want to kill her so we kept our distance.”
Kade shakes his head. “You could get killed for not following orders and not protecting her. What if I were a vampire or one of the people you’re supposed to protect her from?”
Darrel groans. “I know. Report me, Jesus. I don’t always follow rules, okay? Look, she’s fine. I care about her, alright? I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. If I thought she were in danger, then I’d be at her side doing my job, but nothing has even tried to get her in seven years. She’s fine.”
“The vampires attacking you weren’t a sign that maybe you should be watching her more closely?” Kade sounds absolutely pissed off.
Darrel groans again. “No, man, I’m pretty sure they were after Jane and me. You know, just trying to rattle us. They just came in and tried to kill us, didn’t ask anything about May at all. May is our friend, if we thought she was in danger, we’d be watching her closer.”
“Why would you want to be friends with a human? That’s not your way,” Kade hisses.
Darrel glances to me then away from me quickly. “May is more important to us than our own lives.”
Kade sighs deeply. “I want to say that I don’t believe you, but my gut is telling me you’re being honest. Mostly because I’ve established that you’re not very good at lying.”
“Hey, May never suspected a thing, did she?” Darrel rebuts.
Kade changes the subject. “So Where is Jane right now?” Kade rubs his temples.
“Waiting for some girl in the cancer ward to die so she can take their body,” he answers as if this is perfectly normal.
Kade cocks a brow. “Why does she need to die first? I’ve seen demons possess many living beings.”
Darrel stiffens. “Not all demons are psychotic, uncaring assholes you know, guy.”
Kade appears about to argue but instead changes the subject again. “And you have no idea why May needs protected?”
Darrel shakes his head and shrugs. “Nope. Not a clue. We’re just following orders. Why do you get to ask all the questions, guy?”
I finally get annoyed enough that I snap out of my daze. I really have to stop doing that. “His name is Kade, Darrel.”
The boys both look at me as though they forgot I was even here.
“Guy, what questions could you possibly have about any of this?” Kade asks with clear snark.
Darrel ignores him. “All this time, we worked to keep this secret from her and now I find out she knows about demons? That would’ve been fricken awesome to know. I hate this damn body. Look at my hair?” Darrel ruffles his brown locks. “It’s so gross and greasy. Humans are so ick. No offence.”
“I just found out about demons today actually,” I answer vaguely and pour myself some punch. “A few minutes ago.”
�
�And you’re not the slightest bit freaked out?” Darrel asks dubiously and grabs an empty glass I set out on the counter and pours himself a glass as well. He pokes my arm and scowl at him. “I always thought you’d have a mental breakdown if you ever found out.”
Kade answers for me. “She’s known about the Bryxx for a few weeks, so it wasn’t a huge shocker.”
“Did you tell me that if I didn’t know about them they couldn’t hurt me, and I couldn’t see them? I can see him.” I recall. “I’ve been able to see him for years.”
Darrel answers for Kade, I see Kade purse his lips in frustration. “Yeah that’s true but only when we’re in our true forms. While we’re possessing a body, that doesn’t work. As for the hurting you thing, we only have access to the abilities that the body were in can use. As I’m in a human body, I’m pretty much just human. If I were in a Bryxx body, then I’d be faster and stronger and all that.”
“If you’re supposed to protecting her, shouldn’t you be in a stronger body?” Kade asks. “You are so incompetent. How did you even get this job?”
Darrel shrugs. “Again, I’m just following orders. If needed, I could always jump out of my meat suit. Not the end of the world. As for how I got this job, that I’m not really sure. My uncle probably put in a good word for me. He’s high up somewhere.”
“That makes no sense unless whatever you’re protecting her from can’t sense what you are in a human body.” Kade shakes his head and crosses his arms.
Darrel chuckles. “Well the only thing that would be is a vampire obviously.”
Kade clenches his jaw and nods. “A vampire. Why would a vampire be after her, though? That makes no sense.”
“The only thing those leeches want is blood. That’s all they care about,” Darrel growls. “Those little bastards are a pain in my ass. A pain in everyone’s really. I’m not sure why we don’t just get rid of them all.”
I can’t help but have flashbacks of my encounters with vampires. They’re definitely not very friendly.
An awkward silence fills the air for longer than necessary before Kade shrugs. “I have nothing. My inference is that something about her blood must be special but that’s all I have.”
“Me too,” Darrel agrees. “Hey, what are you anyway? Obviously not a demon the way you bash us, you Bryxx?”
Kade nods slightly, his expression emotionless. “You can’t tell?”
“Nah, too young. What are you doing out here? Don’t you guys travel in packs or something? I’ve never run into a Bryxx thank god, but that’s what I’ve heard.”
Kade rolls his eyes. “I got kicked out. They think I killed someone.”
Darrel stiffens. “Why would they think that?”
“I’ve been under suspicion or watch I guess for a few years after an altercation and this murder has a lot of evidence that corresponds with that altercation and so I was first to be accused, and since I didn’t have an alibi, and I wasn’t working where I was supposed to during the murder, I was accused.”
“But you didn’t do it?” Darrel asks, his eyes turning into slits.
Kade growls in his chest. “Of course, I didn’t.”
“So, uh, are you going to kill me? Isn’t that what Bryxx do? Kill us,” Darrel sputters, all his anxiety coming out at once.
Kade heaves a sigh of annoyance. “No. You mean no harm, keep an eye on May and I will, too. You don’t need to be by her side all the time because I will be. But if I need back up, you better be close. You’re a harmless, sad excuse for a demon, kid. You’ve been around her for seven years and not hurt her so be glad I’m not feeling like killing you today.”
Darrel nods once, and I watch as he slowly approaches the front door. He’s making his escape.
“Thanks for stopping by, Darrel,” I mutter and take a sip of my juice.
He nods once. “I’ll be around.”
Chapter 9
“Could you not? There’s not going to be anything left to bake!” I scold Kade as he shoves a glob of cookie dough into his mouth whilst smiling.
He chews slowly, savoring it. “I can’t help it. It’s so good,” he says through a full mouth.
I slap his shoulder playfully and put the last pan of cookies into the oven. I’m so distracted that my finger makes contact with the singeing rack for a brief second. I jerk my hand away and throw the oven door shut. Then I rush to the sink and run it under water. Kade is at my side in a mere instant shoving my finger into his mouth and sucking.
Taken aback, I just stare for a moment before realizing what’s going on. The pain radiating from my finger eases into nothing and he releases it from his mouth. I hold it up in front of my face. There is so no sign of a burn. For that I am thankful because burns are the absolute worst.
“You have magic spit?” I observe.
“It’s not as strong as my blood but it will heal small wounds,” he affirms, grimacing. “You should be more careful.”
“You distracted me,” I accuse him.
His lips press together in a fine line, one side slightly curled up, but I doubt he knows I’ve noticed.
“Can we get out of this house? I know it’s dangerous, but I’m in danger here as we’ve found out. It’s been almost two weeks since the last attack. Let’s go grocery shopping tonight or something,” I plead.
Kade chuckles. “If you could get out of the house to do one thing, it would be to grocery shop? How about we go for lunch.”
“But we’re running low on groceries,” I explain.
“Well, how about both then?” he decides and switches the song playing on the speaker from some rap song to a country music station.
“Sure. Country?” I’m not sure why his taste in music surprises me.
“I love country. If you don’t like it, I can change it,” he says meekly.
I shake my head. “I have no problem with it. I love this song.”
Kade joins one hand with mine and wraps the other around my waist, swirling me around to the music as if I weigh nothing. I’m not good at dancing but he is amazing. Our eyes meet and something I can’t explain passes between us that causes me to shiver and grin. I haven’t been as happy and content as I am now in this moment in years.
We dance in silence until the timer beeps and interrupts us. The cookies are ready.
After pulling out the cookies and leaving them on the stove top to cool, I head to the shower before warning Kade that if I come back and the cookies are all eaten, he’s going to be in major shit.
I am almost surprised when I return to the kitchen and see that he’s already put the cookies in a container and he sits on the couch ready to go, dressed in slacks and a dress shirt.
“I didn’t know we were dressing up,” I ramble, looking down at my sweats and t-shirt.
He chuckles. “You look perfect. Come on. We have a reservation downtown.”
I gape. “I can’t go in this. I thought when you said lunch you meant fast food or casual dining.”
He smirks. “You look fine. Come on. I’m driving.”
“What time is the reservation?” I ask in a panic. Do I have time to change? I’m not even wearing makeup. My hair is pulled up in a bun.
“Soon. Come on. It doesn’t matter what you’re wearing,” he says enthusiastically.
I clench my teeth. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. Come on we’re going to be late,” he insists.
I make a mental not to scold him later for not giving me notice but now is not the time. I follow him out the door and get into the passenger side of his car.
We’re both silent as we drive. He turns the radio onto none other than a country music station.
We drive by a large park and he parks the car in a parking space. I look around, looking for the restaurant.
“Where are we going?” I ask again.
“It’s a surprise,” he answers blandly and begins walking into the park.
Moments later he stops in front of a concession stand. “W
hat would you like?” he asks.
I can’t help but burst out laughing. Here I was picturing some fancy restaurant. When I finally stop, the teenage boy running the cash register is looking at me as though I’ve lost my mind. “A hotdog please and a water.”
When we have our food and we’re looking for a spot on the ground to eat, I giggle again. “You said we had a reservation.”
“Are you disappointed?”
“No. I love hotdogs and sweat pants.”
Kade chooses a spot under a tall maple tree and sits down first. “Good. Me, too. I don’t take you for someone who wants six forks and eighteen courses of overpriced food for lunch.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t even know what to do with the forks. Why does everything need a different one?”
Kade shrugs. “That’s what I’ve always wondered.”
“Are you not some kind of Bryxx royalty? Shouldn’t you know these things?” I tease and take a bite of my hot dog.
He shrugs. “I was royalty but that doesn’t mean I agreed with everything that comes with that. I don’t know why there’s so many utensils. I know what they’re each for, but I don’t know why they have to be there. One fork is enough for me.”
“Me, too. Do you miss home yet?” I ask before I can stop myself.
He automatically shakes his head. “It wasn’t home. I feel far more at home here in Seattle with you than I ever did living with the Bryxx. I never fit in there.”
“On the drive to the airport, Daniel told me that you’re a really good fighter, well, and I’ve seen for myself. How’d you get to be so good?”
He bristles. “I was never taught to fight more than minor self-defense, but from my bedroom window I could see where other Bryxx trained. I watched for years until I decided to go for it. I asked my dad a thousand times, but he always said no, so when I made up my mind to go against him, I knew I’d be in trouble when he found out. I told him I would be taking extra tutoring in the new year and I’d be busy. He didn’t really notice me, so it took months for him to realize that I wasn’t being tutored in math or law, but instead I was out learning how to fight. My trainer kept it quiet and told one, just as I did. When my dad found out, he was so angry that he made me quit. A few weeks later there was an attack and all sorts of demons got into our house. If I hadn’t have been trained, both me and my father would’ve been dead along with our guards. I saved his life and in return he let me continue training in secret. Eventually, after years of training, I worked up the courage to leave my royal position and take a place as a guard. My father wasn’t happy and wanted me to be no longer be recognized as his son nor royalty, but the council voted in my favor. It was a close vote, but it did the trick. I couldn’t do quite the job I wanted, but at least I was allowed to do what I loved.”