Demon Child

by Patti Larsen

  Honestly though, she hadn’t done anything about it. At least not until the Chosen tried to kill me. Us. As much as her new independent streak worried me, I never really believed she would really try anything like this. I guess because I wasn’t sure she could.

  She’d clearly proven not only was it a possibility, she liked it. And I knew the moment I let my guard down, she’d be trying it again.

  Yes, I remained grateful. But fear skimmed back to the surface and wouldn’t go away.

  I needed to talk to her. To sort all this out. She had to know I wasn’t going to let her just shunt me aside so she could run around with my body.

  I didn’t get a chance to explore the whole thing further, at least not right then. Partly because my door slammed open and my mother rushed in.

  It wouldn’t have been so bad if it was just her physically. Mom had a certain emotional presence as well, especially when she thought I was in danger. She may be the head of our coven and the most powerful witch in a century, but she was still my mother. Sure, she was gifted with not only witch magic, but vampire, Sidhe and demon power as well. And just because she sat at the core of the family, a rock, calm and unfaltering, didn’t mean she couldn’t bring me to tears just by the touch of her feelings. And right now, she was a mess.

  I’d never seen her so afraid. Even after all the family went through, with the attacks against the coven, the undermining of some of our own members, Mom seemed like she always knew what to do.

  Not this time. She was clearly terrified, flawless face creased with it. When she saw me, she lunged forward and grabbed me, hugging me to her so hard it made me cry out in pain.

  “Sydlynn,” Mom said, pulling back, tears on her face, more brimming in her deep blue eyes. “Where have you been?”

  I opened my mouth to answer and caught my breath. Alison stood in my doorway, looking as scared and relieved as Mom.

  “Al,” I whispered. Mom spun around, her composure returning the moment she spotted the pretty blonde.

  “Hey, Syd.” Alison tried for casual, but I could see how worried she was in the way her hands and voice shook. “You missed some great camping.”

  What could I say? I scared the daylights out of my friends, obviously. I couldn’t just tell her the truth, either. Oh, right Al, sorry about that, but some psycho guy who tried to burn me at the stake decided to kidnap me.

  Nope. Not happening.

  “Sorry,” I said, feeling so lame I wanted to fall into the hole in the floor I wished would open up for just that reason. “I wasn’t feeling well so I came home.”

  Alison opened her mouth to say something, but Mom beamed a smile at her.

  “We’re just happy you’re okay.” She hugged me again, gently, while her mind touched mine. I may need to tamper with Alison’s memory.

  I hated the thought of that. I trusted my mom of course, but screwing around with someone’s mind was never the best option.

  “You weren’t here,” Alison said. “We checked.”

  “I know,” I fumbled around the rest of the lie I’d concocted right at that second. “I decided to walk home and got lost in the woods.” I looked down at myself. “Stupid, I know.”

  Alison still looked skeptical. And now a little mad.

  “You could have maybe told someone.” I could feel Mom tense beside me, ready to tamper.

  “It was a terrible migraine,” I said. “I wasn’t thinking straight, I guess.”

  Alison seemed like she wanted to say something else then rolled her shoulders in a shrug and smiled at me. “I’m just glad you’re okay, Syd.”

  I lurched forward and hugged her. “Thanks, Al,” I whispered.

  She backed off a bit and made a face. “Um, you may want to take a shower, girlfriend.”

  Tell me about it. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “Okay then.” Alison looked back and forth between me and Mom. “I guess I’ll go home?”

  I let Mom escort her out, breathing out a deep sigh of regret and released tension as I sank onto the end of my bed. It was only a matter of moments before I heard the front door slam and Alison’s car start up, followed by the soft but steady tread of my mother’s footsteps as she returned to my room.

  As soon as she stepped through the door, I burst into tears.

  ***

  The day turned colder, just enough of a misty rain coming down that I felt wrapped up in a miserable shell of wet. I shivered inside my raincoat with the hood pulled up over my shower damp hair, the scent of my favorite apple shampoo still lingering, and watched as James Crossman and Martin Vega slid down the bank and to the edge of the river. I saw deep tracks where the van had gone off the road, but the water below raced by, empty.

  My fingers slid up to my face, running over the bruise I’d discovered under the big clump of mud. Nasty. As much as it hurt, I couldn’t help but keep prodding at it. I’d take the distraction, thanks.

  Erica Plower, my mother’s best friend and second, stood next to me with an arm wrapped around my shoulders. She always tried to mother me. She and Mom were so close and shared everything, it usually felt like I had one too many parents. But this time I didn’t mind. The pretty, slender blonde with the shining bob and perfect makeup may have been a pain in the butt sometimes, but she cared and that was all that mattered at the moment.

  I leaned into her and the warmth seeping through my vinyl jacket as James turned, his concerned gaze searching my face. He held out one hand to guide my mother down the steep hill. I knew a number of the coven members blamed me for a lot of what went on the last six months or so, despite the fact none of it was my fault. James happened to be one of them, his wife Sandra still recovering from being kidnapped by Cesard. But he should have been grateful. I rescued his wife, didn’t I? Their sweet little girl Eliza still had a mom.

  Martin winked at me and gave me a thumbs up. I managed a weak grin back. At least the Vegas still supported me. Louisa and Martin adored me yet, no matter what happened.

  Still, this was the most trouble the coven encountered since the Hayle family took over about a century and a half ago. Even I was beginning to think I attracted bad luck. Celeste Oberman, one of the stronger witches, already challenged my mother a couple of times. I didn’t worry the woman could ever win. But division in the family was not easy and often ended in a very ugly manner.

  I shivered and worried and waited, hating I could be the cause of yet another reason for the family to doubt Mom. But more than that, my shaking wouldn’t stop because I knew my demon was willing to kill to protect us. The clipped together memory of the tumbling van, images flashing like stop action animation wasn’t helping much either.

  Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Mom and the two men returned and came to huddle around us.

  “There are pretty deep marks down there,” Martin said in his softly accented voice. “And more at the top here. Looks like someone already towed the wreck.”

  James nodded, hunched inside his wool coat. “For all we know the police were called. We should check the paper in the morning and see if there was an accident reported.”

  “Thank you, everyone.” Mom stepped up beside me. “We need to be extra cautious from now on. I’ll call a full coven meeting, but please pass the word. The Chosen are very dangerous. If anyone spots a member of their order they are to contact me immediately after moving to safety.”

  The two men nodded. James left without another word, but Martin took a moment to kiss me noisily on the cheek.

  “Just glad you’re okay, chiquita.” He hugged me hard, smelling of the earth and delicious food. My stomach growled, and he laughed. He kissed Erica’s hand with a wink before bowing to my mother.

  I watched him drive away, wishing things could be so simple, that everyone could look at the world with such love and grace as the Vegas. I met my mother’s eyes and knew she thought the same thing.

  “Mom,” I said, voice shaking. “What am I going to do?”

  “We’ll make s
ure the Chosen aren’t a threat anymore,” she said. I knew she meant it. The next one of the order to show up in Wilding Springs would probably find him or herself quite abruptly transformed into something horrible. But that wasn’t what I was thinking about.

  “My demon.” It came out in a whisper. As though bringing her up would stir her. And it did. I felt her stretch and yawn within me, as if waking from a nap or something. She growled in content and pushed against my mind. Without thinking, I gasped and pushed back.

  She snarled in answer.

  Mom exchanged a look with Erica before turning to me. “Syd,” Mom said, “stop fighting it.”

  I shook my head, backing away from Erica, feeling her arm drop away. Panic seized me and I pushed harder. “I can’t.”

  Mom sighed. “Sweetheart, the harder you fight, the harder it is for you. You know that, don’t you?”

  Of course she was right. The intellectual part of me understood 100%. Completely rational. Too bad I’d already tossed logic. The irrational, childish, fearful part of me wanted to kick the demon out so I could just have my life to myself.

  “Without your magic, you’d be gone. The Chosen would have killed you.” Erica’s voice was soft for once, not the overbearing tone she usually used. She sounded as worried as Mom. “Syd, you need this part of you. You’re half demon. It’s time to start accepting it.”

  My demon rumbled her agreement. Paying attention?

  I felt the blood drain from my face as my mother went on, oblivious.

  “Besides,” Mom said, “you were under the influence of a drug at the time. Who knows what kind of influence that had on you.”

  My demon tensed inside me as though she hadn’t considered that. Which made me feel a little better. Not much though. I was standing in the misty rain talking to my mom about the demon who lived inside me like she didn’t belong there. It felt wrong. She did belong there. Didn’t she? This was so weird.

  At least you see that much. My demon sounded more than a little put out.

  Mom guided me to Erica’s van and helped me in the back seat while I whined about my injuries privately to myself. My right leg ached so much I wished I was little so Mom could carry me.

  Only I didn’t have privacy.

  Stop being such a baby.

  I slumped in my seat and tried not to hear her. Or feel her as she pushed the boundary between us. I had the sudden feeling my mother was wrong. Drugged or not, now that she knew what it felt like, I knew my demon was determined to be free.

  Even if that meant getting rid of me to do it.

  Only if you get in my way.

  ***

  Chapter Three

  I found myself at school the next morning trying to desperately come up with a more plausible story than the one I told Alison, or at least to fill in the holes in my horrid lie, failing miserably even as I ran right into my friends.

  The nook by the door where we all met every morning was in full sunlight, giving me a clear view of the worry on their collective faces. They crowded around me, touching me as if to reassure themselves I was in one piece. Simon’s glasses caught the light, his thin face puckered with concern, heavy dark hair falling in his eyes over and over again.

  “Syd,” he said. “What happened to your face?”

  Stupid bruise. How embarrassing. Even more so that I had to lie to cover it up. “I think I ran into a tree.” So weak. Pathetic even. But my little friend actually winced and patted my hand.

  “Been there,” he said. I believed him. Simon was the king of klutz.

  Beth actually hugged me twice, the scent of her shampoo reminding me of my mother.

  “I saved you a smores pack.” She pressed the little sandwich bag full of graham crackers and chunks of chocolate into my hands. The simple caring behind her gesture, so very Beth, made me want to cry.

  I hugged her hard when she reached for me the second time.

  Pain hung back a little, her blue eyes wise behind the layers of black makeup. She worried me the most of all, with her bricked up talent that managed to escape now and then. Blood just grinned like a goof.

  “Righteous,” he said. “Nice color.” He gestured at the side of my face where the bruise throbbed on my cheekbone. “Hope the tree suffered.”

  I smiled weakly back. He had no idea.

  “Sorry,” I managed to stammer. “I didn’t mean to worry everyone.”

  Amazingly, they took it in stride and let it go. How cool is that? I would have worried about my mother tampering with them or something, but nope. They were my friends and all they really cared about was that I was okay.

  I felt even worse about it. They didn’t deserve to be lied to. Not like I had a choice or anything.

  Pain was the only one to stay quiet. No hugs from her, not a moment of concern for my well being. Instead, she backed off and left without a word. That bothered me way more than I was willing to admit. Even my demon grumbled about it and took it personally.

  Pain was slippery all morning, dodging my every attempt to track her down, from skipping out on English until the bell rang to going the other way when I crossed paths with her near the bathroom.

  At least she sat with us at lunch. But nowhere near me. I was starting to feel like I’d really screwed up with her and wondered how I was ever going to make it up to her.

  Determined to take my punishment and win my friend back, I waited until Blood left to dump their trays before sliding the full length of the bench and up against her.

  Humiliated but knowing I had to do it, while the others looked on with oddly horrified expressions, I grabbed her arm and held her while I gushed all over her.

  “Pain, I’m sorry you’re mad, I’m so sorry I hurt your feelings, I didn’t mean to, please forgive me, I can’t stand it if you’re mad at me.” I gasped in some air at the end of my pathetic tirade, ready to go on if necessary.

  She faced me with the same blank expression from earlier that morning. No change. Instead of rambling on further, I faced the facts. She wasn’t willing to forgive and forget. I fell silent, miserable, my cheeks flushing, wishing she would say something. Anything.

  I gasped in surprise when she lunged forward and hugged me so hard around the neck I could barely breathe.

  “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” She pulled away, blushing under her pale makeup. “Ever.”

  She lurched to her feet, her platform combats trembling under her, and bolted. Blood bent over where she’d been sitting with a shrug and a grin. “She’s, you know. Protective.”

  He left to find his emotional girlfriend. Alison sniggered while Beth patted my hand and Simon made a snuffling noise that sounded far too sad for my liking. Put in my place by my friend’s concern, I went back to class feeling like a total jerk.

  Chemistry. I hated it. Sucked at it. Witches aren’t true alchemists, though some, like the Vegas and Sandra Crossman, are in tune with natural elements like herbs and plants. But earth magic and chemistry are two different things entirely. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it and didn’t know a witch who could.

  Thank goodness Simon was in my class, the king of the Bunsen burner. And that our teacher, Mr. Prusse, recognized my ineptness from day one and paired me with my young friend so at least one of us would be competent enough not to set the lab on fire.

  I was dragging my ass to the door when someone bumped into me. My knee-jerk reaction was to apologize, but when I met the eyes of the guy who ran into me, I couldn’t say a word. Not sure why. He wasn’t super hot or anything. Kind of ordinary really, except for his lovely blue eyes. And he seemed oddly familiar, like I should know him from somewhere.

  “Hi, Syd.” He shrugged his backpack into place, a smile on his face. “Sorry about that.”

  “No worries.” I desperately hunted my brain for his name. He knew me, so I had to know him, right? Damn, I hated it when that happened.

  “It’s Benjamin.” He stuck out his hand. Who did that? I shook it, a little weirded out.
<
br />   “Right.” Nope, no bells ringing.

  “I just moved here,” he said. “I’m in your homeroom.”

  I guessed that explained it. “You in Chemistry?”

  “No,” he laughed. “On my way to English.”

  “Well,” I said, “nice meeting you.”

  His teeth shone really, really white. Like movie star fake white. I only knew they practically twinkled because he never stopped smiling. Not once. The dude was seriously creeping me out.

  “I was wondering what you were doing later?” Hadn’t I just said ‘see you’? He made no move to leave. Oh, right, he wanted to know… oh crap.

  “Um…” I prayed the bell would ring. Prayed hard.

  “I saw you and your friends at Johnny’s on Saturday.” We’d gone for burgers at our favorite hangout just before camping. “Do you go there a lot?”

  “Sometimes.” Okay, don’t get me wrong. The guy seemed okay, creep factor or not. I didn’t want to just brush him off. But if for some strange and twisted reason he was into me, I was so done. Times were tough enough balancing my recent ex-boyfriend Brad and all the tension and weird feelings I was having about Quaid Moromond…

  Speak of the devil. Tall dark and delicious—I mean, jerky—leaned against the doorframe to Chemistry class, watching me talk to Benjamin. The adopted son of the very witches who tried to destroy my family’s coven only six months ago may have had nothing to do with their plans, but he had everything to do with the pain in my ass. It didn’t help he kissed me just a month ago. Mind you, he thought he was going to die before he laid those lips on me. Still. You don’t do that kind of thing to a girl then revert to total jerkdom again after the danger is over.

  Unless, of course, you’re Quaid Moromond.

  Benjamin obviously had no idea my attention was divided, because he went on.

  “I’d very much like to join you sometime.”