Demon Child

by Patti Larsen

  “Bastard!”

  Nicholas scowled at us. “I’ll kill the brat,” he said. “She isn’t worthy of my blood. Your choice, witch.”

  There was no choice, not anymore. Still trembling, tears standing in her eyes, Mom let me go. I turned to her, knowing what she was going to do. But there was still time, and Quaid was still out there.

  My resolve crumbled. He must have known there was nothing he could do. I’d have to leave the circle to help him and doing that would put me in Nicholas’s grasp again, maybe mean Meira dying instead of lying there unconscious. Mom was right. I should have stayed home.

  Another fine mess I’d gotten myself into.

  Mom leaned over and kissed my temple. I grasped her hand, tried to hold her and for a moment I won. She clung to me as I clung to her, her endless shudders finally subsiding. When she leaned back, she smiled a wavering little smile, her power wrapping around me and holding me close.

  Don’t worry, she sent. I’ll be fine. Take care of your sister. And whatever you do, don’t let him take you too.

  Tears clouded my vision as Mom stepped up to the edge of the circle.

  “Meira first,” she said.

  Nicholas bent down and grasped my sister by the back of her pj’s. He hefted the unconscious girl with about as much care as a sack of laundry and shoved her forward. Meira moaned softly, the movement rousing her, but not enough to make a difference. He held her, hovering just on the other side.

  “Don’t,” I whispered. “Mom, please don’t.”

  I’m not sure how Nicholas managed it, but the moment Mom lurched the last step forward he tossed my sister through the shield. Mom was instantly surrounded by vampires, far more than six, as they melted out of the darkness, appearing in fluttering shadow.

  Meira tumbled to the ground in a heap. I rushed to her and knelt at her side, lifting her limp body into my arms.

  “Syd,” she whispered, “is that you?”

  Tears poured down my face as I kissed her very gently and wiped at the blood on her upper lip. “I’m here, Meems.” I stood, her head on my shoulder and watched as Mom made her way through the gathered vampires. They parted like water before her, but I knew they would never let her go.

  Mom finally came to a halt in front of Sunny. The beautiful blonde vampire just looked back at her.

  “Sunny,” Mom said, “I welcomed you into my home, my life, my family. You have been a dear sister and friend. But for this, I will see you dead.”

  Sunny flinched like Mom hit her.

  “How sweet,” Nicholas said. “Time to go.”

  Mom turned to us, her majesty never leaving her. I felt the other witches gather behind us. A weathered hand slid into mine as Gram watched with a tilted head and a mournful expression on her face. And then, in a rush of shadow, Mom was gone.

  Sunny remained. I was surprised she had the nerve to do it. Alone, she didn’t stand a chance against us. Her eyes lifted to mine and held them for a long moment before she too vanished in a flutter of black.

  I felt Quaid enter the circle and turned to see the rage and frustration on his face.

  “I should have attacked,” he said.

  “You would have been killed.” Erica sighed. “We need to trust Miriam in this.”

  Celeste looked angry. “I agreed to the exchange, but only because I assumed Miriam intended to fight. This is outrageous. We need to go after them immediately.”

  She was right, for the first time ever. And yet, there wasn’t much we could do.

  “Syd,” Meira’s eyelids fluttered. “Where’s Mom?” The fear in her eyes as her awareness returned told me she already knew.

  How could I lie to her? She deserved to know. “We’ll get her back,” I whispered.

  Meira’s face twisted, a fresh line of blood flowing from her nose. “Is Mom going to be okay?” Meira’s amber eyes were full of regret and tears. I hugged her so hard she squirmed.

  “Yes,” I said with as much ferocity as I could muster. “You bet.” I leaned back to look at her. Already she seemed better. Thank goodness for our demon blood. She was much tougher than a normal nine year old. Though I knew Nicholas must have pulled his punch. ”Hi,” I said. “How are you?”

  “I’ll be okay,” she said in a voice that shook. “He hits like a girl.”

  No she didn’t. I giggled. There was nothing funny about the situation, but I couldn’t help myself.

  “One good thing,” she whispered. “No more nightmares.”

  I hoped she was right about that.

  ***

  Chapter Twenty Three

  Erica took over while the rest of us just stood there and tried to figure out what to do next.

  “Miriam left me with instructions,” she said. “I have work to do. And so do all of you.” She turned to me and Meira. Gram still clung to us like she was lost. “And you.”

  Mom left me a job to do? Wicked. Finally.

  “Go home,” Erica said. “And stay there.”

  I scowled at her, opened my mouth to protest.

  “Syd,” she said, softer, with great feeling, “someone has to protect the house. Your sister and grandmother. Your father. It was Miriam’s order.”

  I hated it so much when she was right.

  “Fine,” I said, “but you better keep me informed.”

  Erica smiled a little. “I will,” she said. Saw my look of disbelief. “Honest.”

  Best I would get from her. Hopefully she remembered the little talk we had in the kitchen. I wouldn’t be ignored.

  Speaking of being ignored, my demon was ripping mad.

  We could have saved her.

  I didn’t answer. Because at this point, there was nothing I could do about it. Besides, I was already beating myself up over it. I didn’t need my demon doing the same thing.

  Quaid looked troubled. “I’m sorry.” He seemed uncomfortable, almost awkward. It was so not like him, Mr. Poised and Perfect.

  I found it oddly endearing.

  “Not your fault.” I set Meira down. She clung to me, still a little wobbly. Gram practically hung off my hand. Erica and the others moved off, having a whispered, heated conversation.

  “I have a question,” he said. “Why didn’t Sunny turn me in, too?”

  I wondered that myself. “Probably knew there wasn’t much you could do on your own.” I hated the thought she betrayed us. Hated it. I thought I knew Sunny, trusted her with a lot of intimate stuff over the years.

  I had another question. Why did she tell me she loved me just before she turned me in?

  Shadows fluttered on the other side of the barrier. I forgot it was still up. If Nicholas had the nerve to return I wasn’t holding back this time.

  Uncle Frank charged forward instead. Anastasia was close beside him, flanked by a small army of vampires. They pretty much filled the rest of the clearing.

  I had no idea the blood clan was so big.

  “A little late,” I snapped even as I realized that wasn’t fair. I remembered Mom making Sunny promise not to tell. Not that she would have anyway, it turned out.

  “What happened?” Anastasia tried to cross the barrier, but a bolt of blue fire put an end to that. Gram’s wrinkled mouth screwed up into a pucker, thin index finger pointing right at the vampire.

  She wasn’t impressed.

  “Was that necessary?” Anastasia smoldered, and not just from the fireball.

  “Considering Sebastian’s brother just took our coven leader,” Erica said, stepping up, “I’d say yes, Anastasia.”

  She shuddered as if struggling for control over her fury. “I see,” she said. “And why was I not informed of this little meeting?”

  “Miriam chose to act on her own,” Erica said. “From what we understand you’ve been told in the past to keep Nicholas alive. She didn’t want any interference putting Meira at risk.”

  Nice, Erica. Fresh tears trickled down my sister’s face. But she was right.

  “Fools,” Anastasia snapped, cold w
hite power flooding her eyes and flickering around her hands. “You know not who you deal with. Nicholas is too dangerous for mere witches.”

  I really, honestly thought she was wrong. The only reason Nicholas was still alive was because he had a hostage. I know my demon would have loved the chance to see just what kind of a mess she could make of him. And I was right behind her.

  “Why did she do it?” Uncle Frank looked so distressed I wondered how he knew about Sunny. And spoke up.

  “She said she couldn’t resist him any longer.”

  Uncle Frank looked confused. “Miriam? What connecting did she…” Understanding dawned, broke over his face which crumpled in grief. “This is Sunny’s doing.”

  Oops. Well, he would have found out sometime.

  “No,” he shook his head, backing away from us. “She wouldn’t. She was free of him.” He looked at Anastasia, so much naked despair in his eyes the vampire’s power drained away, leaving him with only a grim and regretful expression. “She wouldn’t.”

  The blonde vampire met my eyes, not Erica’s, as if she considered me to be in charge.

  “I failed you,” she said as she gestured at my sister. “I told you and your mother I would rescue Meira from Nicholas. I am happy to see you safe, little one.”

  Meira stuck her tongue out at Anastasia and turned her back.

  “I see,” she said. Looked up at me again. “This time I will not fail. Nicholas is my responsibility, one left to me when Sebastian left us.” I wanted to stay mad but there was centuries of sadness in that statement and I just couldn’t muster any anger. “The clan has assembled. We go now to retrieve Miriam.”

  Erica shocked me by shaking her head. “No,” she said. “She is our leader and therefore we are the ones who will save her.”

  Anastasia looked shocked. “You refuse my help?”

  Celeste spoke next. “We’ve had enough of your help,” she said. “We’ve seen the kind of betrayal even your must trusted members have to offer.” She shot a disdainful look at Uncle Frank I wanted to slap from her face. “Just stay out of our way.”

  Anastasia’s anger was back. “If you think I will allow you to execute a vampire, you are sorely mistaken. That task is mine and mine alone.”

  “No,” I said with more force than I intended. “It’s Sebastian’s.”

  Anastasia glared at me like I’d slapped her.

  “Try and stop us,” Erica said. She did a pretty good Mom impression. “Now I will ask you to leave. You are no longer welcome here.”

  Okay, this was going way too far. But before I could say anything, speak up, heal the rift between us, Anastasia hissed at Erica and flickered into shadow, taking her army with her.

  The only vampire to remain was Uncle Frank. I felt Gram let go of the protective spell and step forward, finally releasing my hand. She walked right up to him and gripped his face.

  “Your fault,” she said.

  I gasped. “Gram! No. Uncle Frank, it’s not. You know she’s nuts.”

  But it was too late. He seemed to shrink in on himself before the shadows took him and he was gone.

  I couldn’t believe it. That was the crappiest thing I’d ever witnessed, even when I was being bullied. Gram turned around and grinned at me like it was funny.

  “Syd,” Erica said. “We have to go.”

  Louisa tried to lead Meira away, but she wouldn’t leave me. Quaid’s hand touched mine and I stared up at him. How had this all gone so very wrong?

  “Go,” he said. “I’ll see you later.”

  He turned and loped into the dark, toward where we’d left his bike. I watched him go, wishing he would have stayed, needing his strength and no-nonsense calm very much right then.

  Because it wasn’t until the dust settled and I realized we were leaving that it hit me like a ton of very hard and very painful bricks. My mother was gone and if this was screwed up any further, if Anastasia’s vampires and the coven’s witches turned on each other in their need to bring Mom back, there was a very good chance I’d never see her again.

  Where the hell was Sebastian?

  ***

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Erica handed me the keys to Mom’s car. “I’ll follow you,” she said.

  Twice behind the wheel. Normally this would be a dream come true. Now I just wished Mom would appear in the passenger’s seat and give me a hard time about what I was about to do to her transmission.

  I impressed myself with my driving skills, actually. Especially considering life was fairly crappy at the moment. Erica didn’t even pull in, just tooted her horn on the way by. Her red Mini Cooper scooted down the street and out of sight.

  Meira helped me maneuver Gram into the house and to her room. I felt the wards waver and my stomach lurched before I recognized the feel of Quaid’s energy entering the house.

  Meira followed me back to the kitchen and spotted Quaid. “Hi,” she said.

  He high-fived her without enthusiasm from either of them. “Hey, kidski. Way to take a hit.”

  I winced. He had no tact. But it actually made Meira smile.

  “He loosened my tooth. See?” She wiggled the offender with her tongue. “I owe him for that.” Demon fire flooded her eyes. “Don’t I, Syd?”

  “You bet.” But I had no intention of letting her anywhere near him ever again. Not until he was good and dead. So she’d have to settle for second hand revenge. Maybe I’d bring some of his ashes home for her so she could flush them down the toilet.

  Meira would love that.

  Quaid met my eyes. “As truly frightening as you two are, just so you know, I’m staying the night.”

  Why did that send a surge of relief through me? I could totally take care of myself not to mention the ironclad wards around the house keeping anything nasty from coming in. Still, it was nice to know he would be there. Just in case.

  I took my sister upstairs and to the bathroom where she managed a quick bath.

  “Don’t leave, okay?” Where had she learned to be so tough and stay so vulnerable?

  I sat down outside the door. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Water splashed. “Thanks.”

  ***

  Not that I blamed her for wanting me around. Or someone, anyway. After spending that much time with a bunch of nasty vampires, I wouldn’t want to be left alone either.

  It wasn’t until I had her changed into her jammies that I realized something was missing.

  She noticed at the exact same moment.

  “Sassy.” Tears welled in her amber eyes. Her little fingers went to her mouth, her whole body scrunching up. “Is he… did he die?”

  I hugged her quick, feeling around for the absent cat. “No, Meems. He’s fine.” I located him in my room under shields so thick I almost missed him. Weird. I figured he’d be all over Meira the moment she arrived home.

  We went together into my room. He crammed under my bed in the very back, curling into a miserable ball. He whined softly under his breath, ears flat to the side, pupils so large they almost masked all of the gold. His whiskers dragged on the carpet, tail tucked under his back legs.

  I finally had to move the bed so Meira could reach him. He tried to escape but she was too quick. She had him in her arms and was hugging him tight before he could scramble off.

  “Sassy,” she said, “I was so worried about you.”

  She sat on the edge of my bed with him still firmly pressed to her. His chin hung over her shoulder, paws limp. He looked so miserable I wanted to hug him too, but I knew this was something Meira had to do alone.

  “I thought you died,” she whispered. “Nicholas told me you did. I thought it was all my fault.”

  He twitched and met her eyes. If a cat could cry he would have been bawling. “It’s my fault,” he said in a rush. “I was supposed to protect you and I failed.”

  She shook her head and kissed the top of his. “You fought so hard, I remember,” she said. A flicker of memory escaped her, one she willingly sh
ared with me. Though I hadn’t been there when it happened, her openness allowed me to be with her when the vampire called to her. I understood when I felt her response why she thought it was Sebastian. I would have made that mistake too, had I not known. I was there with her in the past as she showed me when she finally invited him in, caught in a half doze of his making. Felt the wind brush over me as the glass of the window shattered. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have let him in the rest of the house instead of just my room.” The vision flickered; she was pulled out the window, the crumpled form of the silver Persian bleeding on the sheets.

  He licked her face several times. “I tried so hard,” he whispered. This time the vision was his, fuzzy form suffused with amber light as his demon magic wrapped around him and lifted him from the bed, every strand of fur on end.

  “I know,” she said. “You didn’t have any time. I should have told Mom about the dreams. It was my fault.”

  She wept again, cheeks slick with moisture. This round of blaming had to stop.

  “Listen,” I sat next to her, stroking Sassy’s fur and her hair at the same time, “it’s no one’s fault.” I was surprised I actually believed it. “Except Nicholas. And Mom’s going to kick his ass so we don’t have to worry.” At least, that’s what I told myself. She’d make it to his stronghold or whatever and let loose her magic on him and be home any minute now.

  Okay, that I didn’t believe, not really. But if anyone could do it, it would be my mom.

  “Meira,” I said, “do you remember where he took you?” Maybe I could be one step ahead of the coven. If Nicholas had a base of operations nearby, my sister might be able to guide me.

  Instead, to my disappointment, she shook her head and showed me what she had seen. Which wasn’t much. Mostly darkness, though she used her demon magic to cut through the blindfolds they kept on her most of the time. I caught the dry, dusty scent of vampire skin and the tinge of dirt and mold. Something that sounded like dripping water was off to the left. But none of it gave any clues as to where she was. I felt her memory fight to uncover something, anything that would be of help. I lived her fear as her power struggled to wake up and contact the family.