by Cece Rose
“Do you know what can hide from a fae’s true sight?” Nick asks me, his emerald-coloured eyes furious.
“I’ve never heard of it…so no?” I reply hesitantly, but I have already guessed the answer.
“A demon,” Kaden’s voice rumbles, answering for me. He drops his grip on me, whispering quietly as he conjures up a ball of not so harmless looking energy in his hands. Shit, this is getting so damn out of hand.
“I doubt there’s a demon here,” I say, trying to laugh it off, as I move very slowly in Adam’s direction, hoping he’ll get the hint. Just grab me and pop us out of here, already, you red-eyed mongrel. Adam sighs deeply, and then a shimmer of red floats over him.
“Who the hell are you?” Nick demands angrily, jumping back from where he was standing closer to Adam than the rest of us. Shit, why’d he have to go and make himself visible? All the guys seem to move as one, as they all move between me and Adam. Well, there goes that let’s sneak off quietly and without casualties idea.
“And what are ye doing here?” Callan adds keeping his voice calm, but I can see the tension in his stance and the way his fists are clenched. Adam straightens his stance, looking completely poised, calm, and collected, as he looks at the guys in a mixture of annoyance and disdain.
“My name is Adramelech, and I am here to collect a favour owed to me from Desdemona Nevaeh Alezaz,” he says, my full name just rolling off his tongue. How the hell does he know my middle name? I don’t even think my middle name is on my birth certificate. It’s just what my mum had always written down and called me before she’d died. Why couldn’t my mother have given me a normal name? I’m sure she was some kind of weird hippie before I was born. She always loved her flower power looking stuff. Flashes of her bright yellow furniture, sunflower paintings, and beads fly through my head. I swallow the lump in my throat, pushing the thoughts from my mind. It doesn’t matter how many years go by, you never truly get over that feeling of loss when you lose a parent as a child.
“I prefer Mona,” I mutter, drawing a few annoyed looks from the guys, who seem to have all inched closer to me. Humour sparks in Adam's eyes, however.
“Fine, I am here to collect a favour from Mona,” he says, a sinful smile taking over his face at the guys’ shared unease.
“Angel, please don’t tell me that you owe him a favour?” Kaden asks in a low voice. He doesn’t look the least bit impressed with me right now, not that I can blame him.
“Umm…” I trail off without answering.
“Damn it, M!” he snaps.
“Shit, I’m sorry. I know it’s stupid, but you don’t need to yell—”
“Don’t need to yell, are you insane?” Nick says impatiently cutting me off. Adam’s eyes dart between us all, watching it play out like a tennis match.
“Well he didn’t need to yell, I have the situation under control,” I retort angrily. Nick snorts, giving me a look of pure loathing.
“You’re even dumber than I thought. How is anyone meant to protect your stupid ass if you don’t tell us that a demon could be popping in any day to collect a damn favour!” he snaps.
“Nick, maybe now isn’t the time,” Mason says gently, giving a pointed look in Adam’s direction. But Adam looks to be making no move to attack, clearly enjoying the let’s-all-yell-at-Mona-show.
“Technically, Mona here knew it was tonight,” Adam chimes in cheerily. The look Nick gives me is thunderous as he takes a step closer to me.
“You knew he was coming?” he asks incredulously.
“Lass, why didn’t ye tell us?” Callan questions me.
“Maybe we should pay more attention to the demon in our game room,” Mason interrupts, speaking much more loudly than his normal soft tone.
“Yes, that probably would be wise of you all. It’s typical of humans to be this hot-headed, however, I expected a little better from species like yours. Although, I now see that expectation was misplaced. You’re greatly disappointing, much like squabbling infants,” he says drawling the words out slowly.
“Squabbling infants?” Nick echoes, practically spitting the words out. The guys all seem to move as one again they step closer to Adam.
“You may be a demon, but there's four of us and one of you,” Kaden goads, as he lets loose the ball of energy in his hands without warning in Adam's direction. The ball of energy flies right through Adam, not affecting him in the slightest. I feel one of the guys' hands grip my wrist.
“What the fuck…” Nick mutters trailing off as he turns around. His eyes lock onto something behind me. And I realise something. All the guys are standing in front of me.
“Shit,” I whisper, as the hand pulls me back. The Adam that was standing in front of the guys flickers and vanishes, an illusion. Mason, Callan, and Kaden all quickly turn in my direction seeing the real Adam holding onto me with one arm. None of them look pleased with being tricked. I look up, glaring at Adam.
“Don’t be like that, love. We’ll have lots of fun in the demon realm, just relax,” Adam whispers in my ear, as he slides his other arm around me. I open my mouth to object, but then suddenly I feel the pressure build in my head, as the room falls away and I lose consciousness.
Chapter 11
The sound of footsteps draws me back into the world. Groaning from the pressure in my head, I slowly blink open my eyes, thankful to find the lighting in the room is dimmed. I look around for the source of the noise, but I can’t spot Adam anywhere thanks to the material hanging from the huge four-poster bed I’m lying on. I slowly sit up, and scoot to the bottom of the bed, admiring the black silk sheets as I’m slipping out of the gap in the hanging material. I cast my eyes around the room, noticing that the bed is raised up high on a platform. It’s the central focus of attention for the room. This is definitely Adam’s room. I look again at the huge-ass bed and snort. Figures.
The walls are black, with red painted oriental style markings decorating them. The red paint seems to glow, standing out sharply against the black background. The room is large, with one door on the far side from where I am standing and two on the side closer to me. One of the doors is open, and I can see it leads into a walk-in wardrobe. I walk around the large bed, heading for the door on the far side, figuring the closed door next to the open one would just be an adjoining bathroom.
A small figure catches my eyes as I pass the bed, having been hidden behind the other side of it before. I look at the tiny kid standing there, his brown eyes looking at me curiously. The innocent, warm look in them instantly making me think of Christian, despite the shade of brown being slightly off. His hair is black, and his skin is lightly tanned. He’s dressed plainly in a grey jumpsuit, looking more like a prison inmate than a child. I step towards him cautiously, not sure if this is some kind of trick.
“What are you doing here?” I ask the boy.
“I was sent to see if you were awake, Miss,” he answers plainly.
“Oh, well, I am,” I answer, gesturing down at myself.
“You need to come with me, the master says you're already running late.”
“Master?” I ask him, and then almost choke, realising as I speak exactly what this kid is. A slave. The kid is a halfling slave and he couldn’t be older than six or seven. I can feel the rage boiling in me. Who the hell thinks it’s okay to have a child slave? Or any slave for that fucking matter?
“Master Adramelech,” the child answers, seeming completely unbothered by addressing him in such a way.
“What are you?” I ask the kid, needing to confirm my fears.
“What do you mean, Miss?”
“Are you a halfling?” I ask him softly.
“Yes, Miss,” he says, he looks down at the ground, and I notice a slight shake in his body. The rage inside me rises even more.
“Take me to your leader,” I mutter sarcastically, ready to try for another demon slaying. Despite the last one not exactly going so well, with the demon I currently want to slay, being the actual slayer last time instead
of me. He turns and shuffles to the door, opening it for me and gesturing for me to go first. I exit the bedroom into a long hallway, lit by old-fashioned looking lamps coming off the walls. I turn to the kid, waiting for him to say which way we should be going. He turns left, and I follow him.
“What's your name?” I ask him as we walk, and he looks at me like I’m insane.
“I'm not supposed to have one,” he answers when he realises my question was serious.
“But do you?” I probe smiling at him. He nods hesitantly. “What is it?” I ask gently.
“Kai, my mummy called me Kai,” he answers so quietly as if he's afraid someone else will hear him tell me and get mad.
“Well, Kai, my name is Mona. It's nice to meet you,” I say, pausing as I hold out my hand to him. He flinches slightly, and I feel my heart break at how jumpy this kid is, knowing all too well why a kid would flinch so easily. He moves forward again slowly, realising my hand wasn't going to hit him. Hesitantly, he reaches for my hand. I shake his tiny hand in mine, feeling hot tears of frustration trail down my face. Reluctantly, I release the kid’s hand and we continue down the hallway. He stops outside of a large door.
“He's in there,” he mumbles.
“Okay, thanks for showing me the way, Kai,” I say gently. He turns to leave. “Wait,” I call. He stops and turns back to me. I pull off my necklace, the one I stole for Christian years before and have been wearing since he died. I move slowly, so as not to startle him, and place the necklace around his neck. His little hand picks up the pendant.
“With great power comes great responsibility?” he reads the words aloud questioningly.
“It's a quote from a good friend of mine's favourite movie. Keep it safe,” I whisper. The kid smiles at me, the expression bringing life to his face. “I'll see you again soon, I promise.” He nods at me in response, and turns, walking back down the dimly lit hallway.
Pushing open the door without knocking, I storm into the room. I barely acknowledge the fact I’ve stepped into what appears to be a beautiful library, I’m too busy storming towards Adam, who’s standing by the far window.
“Ah, sleeping beauty awakes. Hurry up and put this on, we're already running late,” Adam drawls. He throws a garment bag at me, and I just about manage to catch it before it hits me in the face. I throw the damn bag back at him, he catches it with ease and looks at me questioningly.
“You’re a real fucking bastard, you know that right?” I snap at him.
“And what's new, love?” he comments, rolling his eyes and turning away from me as if I am some annoying, petulant child.
“Don't freaking just turn away from me when I'm yelling at you!” I grab his shoulder and pull him back around. His red eyes bore down into mine, and I step back from the fierce look in them.
“Don't push your luck, Firefly. Put the damn dress on, and let's get fucking moving,” he says, shoving the garment bag back into my hands.
“I’m not going any-fucking-where with you,” I snap. Within seconds, I’m pinned up against the ice-cold window, feeling the chill from it sink into me. I look down at the garment bag lying where it dropped onto the floor in the rush of movement.
“You seem to be under the impression that you have a choice, that would be incorrect. You can put the dress on yourself, or I’d be happy to assist you,” he says smoothly. I gulp.
“You said nothing would breach my morals,” I mumble, wanting to stand my ground, but trembling slightly from fear.
“We haven’t even bloody gone anywhere yet, kitten. What could we have possibly done that’s breached your pure little ideals?” he questions, stepping back just slightly.
“Kai,” I answer, speaking more firmly this time.
“He told you his name?” he asks, his voice hitching slightly as if alarmed.
“Yes, why wouldn’t he? You have a child slave, what the hell is wrong with you?” I snap, feeling my courage rise again with my anger.
“I’m a demon, love. What did you expect?” he says, sighing. He’s acting as if I am the unreasonable one of us two, and I barely resist the urge I have to physically shake him.
“Not a lot, but this? This is beyond morally reprehensible,” I reply.
“If he wasn't here working for me, he'd be working for someone else,” he replies, walking away from me as if done with the conversation.
“And that makes it okay?” I ask incredulously.
“No, it doesn't. But Kai is a damn lot safer here with me, than he would be in the hands of others,” he replies through gritted teeth as he walks to a cabinet across the room. He pulls out a glass bottle filled with amber liquid and two tumblers. He fills them both, downing one, before offering me the other. I cross my arms, not taking it from him. He shrugs and then downs that one, too.
“How on earth can you say Kai is safer here? He’s jumpy, in the way of a kid that knows what pain is does,” I snap.
“And what would you know about pain, dove? Living your life hidden from the dark things,” he says, an edge of bitterness creeping into his tone.
“Just because I didn’t grow up around demons, doesn’t mean my life was a bed of roses,” I spit at him. Flashes of some of the darker parts of my childhood flicker through my mind, and I shut them off. I don’t want to go there right now.
“Trust me when I say Kai is safer with me. He wasn’t always in my care, that is why he is jumpy, love. Not me.”
“One minute you’re telling me you’re a demon and what should I expect, and the next you’re claiming innocence? Do you think I’m an idiot?” I question sarcastically.
“I'm nothing close to innocent, love. But I am innocent of the pain Kai knows, of that, I can assure you. Demons don't lie,” he says, before taking another drink.
“Well, you don’t exactly tell the truth either,” I mutter.
“That we don’t, kitten. Now get ready, you can whine about my lack of morals later. We have a party to attend.”
Chapter 12
For some reason, I find myself completely baffled by the fact Adam has a car. The fact it’s shiny, black, and has plush leather seats, kind of pisses me off. As we race down the strange streets of the demon realm, I can’t help but also feel a little annoyed that my expectations for this place were completely wrong. There’s no blood rivers, no fire pits, and I can’t hear the screams of tortured souls anywhere. Instead, the demon realm resembles the human one, although, a little outdated, and in a state of permanent darkness, apparently. Well, it’s majorly outdated, and nothing looks too in line with anything else. The buildings look old, probably varying from ancient to several hundred years old, I can't say exactly how old they are, history was never my strongest subject. The streets here clearly aren’t designed for cars, and yet Adam’s supercar monstrosity glides over the roads with ease. Magic, the wonders never end.
I fidget with the sleeves of my dress. The tight-fitting red dress is ridiculous, I've never worn anything like it before. It clings to my body, fitting every inch of me perfectly. I'm slightly concerned about the fact Adam had guessed my measurements so perfectly, but then again, he did walk in on me naked in the shower only a week ago. The dress has long sleeves, which I assume are there to cover up the favour mark on my wrist, but it dips low in the front, emphasising my chest. When I'd bitched about it, Adam had insisted that me wearing something showy would distract from my terrible lying face. 'They won't be able to read your face if they're too busy looking elsewhere.' he’d said. As much as I'm not thrilled at the thought of a demon eyeing me up, it's preferable to them knowing I'm lying, and then enslaving or murdering me, but only just.
As we are driving, we pass only one other car. Most people seem to be walking, some are using a horse and carriage, I even spot one person riding a bike. Just typical that Adam would be the one driving around, flaunting this thing, whereas everyone else seems stuck in the last century. Despite being in another realm, I feel more like I've gone back in time, albeit a slightly distorted timeline. As
we drive slowly through a busier street, passing through what looks to be a small town, I spot something that reminds me exactly where we are.
A man is being dragged down the street by a purple-eyed demon. The demon in question is tugging the man along by the chains wrapped around the man's ankles. The man being dragged is covered in cuts and bruises and looks to be unconscious. The demon looks annoyed at being lumbered with having to drag him along. I turn away and catch Adam watching me intently.
“This place is disgusting,” I mutter, as suddenly my curiosity at this place has faded. All I want is to go home.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, dove,” he says lightly.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I reply quietly.
“Well, you’ll be out of this hellhole in no time, love. Provided you do exactly what I say, when I say, anyway,” he says, giving me a knowing look.
“And if I don’t?” I question.
“The other demons will eat you alive,” he answers bluntly.
“Not like, actually eat me, right?” I ask, finding that the idea of being eaten doesn’t settle well with my nerves, surprisingly enough.
“Look at me,” he commands, and I do. I stare at him, dressed in his damn impeccable suit, with his handsome face, and I feel completely sick. Only his glowing red eyes, with the vertically slit pupil, give away what he is, but being here I can’t let myself forget it. “Just do what I tell you to do, Firefly. I need you to repay your debt, and then I’ll be happy to drop you back off with your little band of men, and never see you again. Don’t you want that?” he asks, and I nod. “Then don’t mess this up. Both of our lives are on the line if you do. Mine for killing him, and yours for being what you are. If you can keep up your end and save my ass, I can save yours,” he says, as we pull away from the town and start driving up a hill.
“Fine, I just want to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible,” I snap in reply.