Demon Child

by Kat Cotton

  “The orb,” Nic said.

  Surely the orb had no power against the King. If I had my silver blade, I might be able to do some damage. At least that would cut him. What could the orb do? Singe him to death?

  The Vampire King snarled at Nic. Nic brought his arm up to cover his face as though physically attacked.

  I tried to run, but the Vampire King swiped me with the back of his hand. He didn’t strike hard, just a swat as though I was an annoying insect, but I flew across the asphalt and landed with a painful jolt to my back.

  I struggled to get up.

  “Stay,” he commanded Nic. A command Nic would not be able to disobey.

  Shit, I was doomed. So very doomed.

  Fuck.

  This was it.

  This was how Demon Fighters died.

  Maybe I should just stay down. Get this over with quickly.

  No.

  Screw that. If I was going to die, I’d die fighting.

  Sweat stains covered my dress. My heart beat like a bastard and I thought I’d throw up. I’d die a sweaty, vomitty mess.

  I struggled to my feet. Nic hadn’t moved, of course. The look of helplessness on his face terrified me.

  Instead of going for Nic, though, the King turned to me, the bloodlust in his eyes. I’d made a fool of him and he wanted revenge.

  “Slut,” he hissed at me.

  Whoa, that was uncalled for.

  “Hey, buddy, I only kissed you. No need for that kind of primitive language.”

  I knew I shouldn’t provoke him, but seriously, the guy was a dick.

  He slammed down on me, knocking me to the ground. My head swam from the impact. I wasn’t sure how many times I could be knocked down and get back up again. My entire left side pounded with agony.

  The Vampire King spun around to Nic and raised his hand. I had no idea what that did, but suddenly pangs of agony twisted Nic’s face.

  What was Kisho doing? He just sat in the van. The silhouette of his body was visible behind the wheel, but that was all I could see from here. I wasn’t sure if he could do anything to help, but surely he couldn’t just sit there and watch us both die.

  I staggered to my feet.

  The old man had forgotten me, turning his attention back to Nic. Sweat dripped down Nic’s face.

  “Where is the child?” the Vampire King asked. His voice was low but full of threat.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Tell me.”

  Nic would have to tell him, but he grimaced as though struggling to resist.

  “I don’t know.” His answer came through gritted teeth.

  Surely the Vampire King could see the van and put the pieces together instead of just questioning Nic. He hadn’t even looked at the van. Had they done something to mask the kid’s presence? That seemed more likely than the Vampire King just being a bit dull and oblivious.

  The Vampire King raised his hand, and this time Nic screamed. The sound wracked me with the pain contained in it.

  Nic bit his lip to silence himself, but his face twisted and every muscle in his body became taut. He made no sound, but he’d bitten down so hard to contain the screams that a line of blood trickled from his mouth.

  I had to do something. Nic wouldn’t be able to keep that up much longer.

  I rushed at the King, intending to kick him in the back. A jolt like that might free Nic from the pain, if only momentarily.

  Instead, the Vampire King dodged and I stumbled past him. He grabbed my arm, twisting it behind me. His scent engulfed me as he backed me toward the van.

  The metal thudded as I slammed into it. He backed off a little. I thought maybe he’d had a change of heart until he laughed. He was just toying with his food. He’d play with me, torture and torment me into a slow death.

  His cold finger trailed down my cheek.

  Even though I knew it wouldn’t work, I figured it was worth giving the sex thing a final shot. My heart pounded and I had nothing left inside me. Not the best atmosphere for seduction. Still, I fixed him in my stare, trying to drag some kind of sex image from my mind.

  “Not so charming now,” he mocked.

  Fuck. That was my last shot.

  The orb. I had no idea what it would do. Was there some magic? Some incantation? The only thing I knew how to do was use it as a weapon.

  I slipped my hand into my pocket without taking my eyes from the Vampire King. As I did, Nic rushed toward us.

  That distracted the King.

  I had to act fast. It wasn’t like the Vampire King would be sidetracked long.

  He snarled at Nic. I waited until the exact moment that snarl finished. His guard was down. He hadn’t turned back to me yet.

  I wrapped the end of the chain around my fist, letting the weight of the orb swing free. If this failed, I was dead.

  As the Vampire King turned his head back to me, I swung that necklace with all my might. The orb sparkled as it arched through the air.

  I closed my eyes, waiting for this to fail, waiting for the full force of the King’s fury.

  Instead, he loosened his grip. Even over his screams, I heard the hiss of flesh burning. His scream became more high-pitched, and he crumpled to the ground, clutching his eye socket.

  The smell of burning meat made me retch.

  I couldn’t have done it better. The orb had smashed him right in the eye socket. I thought my silver ring did damage, but the orb fried that sucker’s eyeball.

  I’d done it. I’d done it. I’d stopped him.

  My head reeled with the shock.

  Nic grabbed me and flung me in the van. We took off, but surely he wouldn’t stay down for long, though. That eye would surely heal.

  Chapter 39: Aftermath

  I slumped against the seat, able to breathe again.

  “Are we safe? He can still get us.”

  “Not totally safe, but he’s half-blind. That will make it harder,” Nic said.

  Kisho slammed on the brakes at the light, throwing us forward. I only just managed to put my hand out before my head smashed into the back of the seat.

  “Sweet. But vampire healing?”

  “The orb is magic. It won’t heal,” Nic said. “He’ll be blind in that eye forever. He’ll be known as the one-eyed Vampire King.”

  But Nic’s voice sounded flat.

  I took off those evil shoes and rubbed my feet. I would never wear heels again, no matter what Nic said. Or a stupid long dress. I just wanted to get home and sleep for a long time. Then maybe have coffee and cake to celebrate. And a long talk with Kisho to make things right.

  It was then I noticed that the Demon Child wasn’t with us.

  “Where’s the kid?”

  “You think I’d endanger my unicorn baby to save you?” Nic said. “He’s in the van with the rest of the pack. If I’d known his exact location, I’d have been forced to tell.”

  “Is he safe? Can they control him?”

  “I told him to be good for them. You just have to talk nicely to him and he’s fine.”

  Yeah, I think Nic had a lot to learn there. The Demon Child wouldn’t be so easily controlled.

  I sat up straight. “So, how about a thank-you? Did you see that? I got him, bam, right in the eyeball. That was some amazing aim right there.”

  “You did your job. That’s all.”

  His head lolled against the seat back. The sparkle in his eyes had dulled. I wondered if the Vampire King had done permanent damage.

  “You did well,” Nic said. “You did really well.”

  I waited for the rest of it. There had to be some comeback, but nope, he just left it at that. Like a compliment or something.

  “Didn’t you think it was a bit risky, relying on my sex aura to save everyone’s life when you don’t believe in it?”

  “Kisho said it worked, so I had to trust in him. And you did it, you really did it.”

  I wanted to throw that in his face, but I lacked the energy to even gloat. My head lolled too.
>
  Kisho hadn’t spoken the entire drive home. Finally, we got to the Airbnb and parked outside.

  “So, what now? We bring down the mayor, then defeat the Vampire King.”

  Nic sighed.

  “I have to train my unicorn baby. You pack up your stuff and go do your Clem Starr thing, whatever that is. I have to clean this place up and meet the rest of the pack at the new place.”

  My stomach sunk. That was it?

  “I have no Clem Starr thing. I only have this.” I didn’t want to sound pitiable, but my voice came out all sulky regardless.

  “Sad. I’m moving to the new place, with the dungeon for the unicorn. You are no longer my concern.”

  Nic seemed to disregard that the Demon Child was only a tiny bit unicorn, but mostly vampire. That wasn’t my concern, though. A roof over my head and food in my belly became more pressing. I could stay in a hotel for a while, but that would burn up my cash reserves.

  I went to my room, wanting nothing more than to throw myself on the bed. Instead, I had a shower. I wanted to wash the grime of the Vampire King off me.

  Then I started packing my stuff. There wasn’t much other than my boots and clothes. I figured I’d be cleared of all the child killer nonsense after today. The evil of the Demon Child would be all over the news and the mayor’s campaign would gain heat. We might’ve rescued the Demon Child, but everything else had gone to shit.

  With all my stuff packed, I got my phone off the charger and went to get coffee.

  I smiled at Kisho, but no response. He did offer to make me coffee, so that gave me hope.

  “Do you need a hand?” I asked. Pressed together in that kitchen, Kisho couldn’t be so distant.

  “I’m good,” he said, looking at his hand.

  Nic came into the room.

  “Are you packed?” Nic said. “I’m going to my unicorn now and I need to lock this place up. It’s way past checkout time. Oh, the dog is coming with me too. You are too irresponsible to look after a dog.”

  “What about you? What makes you Mr. Responsibility?”

  “I take care of a whole pack.”

  I sighed. He was right, I guessed. I was homeless. The dog was better off with him. At least he had some sass back in his voice.

  “I was about to have a coffee break. I’m nearly done.”

  I checked my phone. It should be full of messages saying, “Sorry, Clem, didn’t mean to call you a child killer and other nasty names,” but it seemed those messages had gone astray.

  There was one mean message from Portia telling me I’d screwed up all their plans. Phhtt.

  One from the lousy ex-housemate saying I owed money for rent and bills. Ha, they could wait until hell froze over.

  One from the mayor. “Well done, Clementine.”

  Bastard.

  At least there was nothing from the Demon Fighter Council. Yet. I was sure there would be. Although Bob and McConchie hadn’t exactly played by the rule book either. Maybe both of them would keep their mouths shut rather than have their fooling with magics revealed.

  Ha, not likely. I had no proof of their wrongdoing. Mine had been all over social media.

  “What about Kisho?” I asked Nic. “Isn’t he going to the new lair with you?”

  Nic shrugged. “He can go hide out with the pack.”

  Kisho set my coffee down in front of me on the table. I smiled at him, but he turned without meeting my eyes. Now, when I needed the comfort of him the most, I had nothing. At least he’d made me coffee, though. That coffee was my hope.

  I picked my phone back up. More messages to check through. Why did I even bother checking my phone? People hated me.

  While I read, I took a sip of my coffee.

  Urgghh. Disgusting. I almost spat it back out again. But the coffee, the coffee…

  I glanced at Kisho, but he looked away. He hated me so much it made his coffee bitter.

  I’d never hold his hand or see his smile again. I’d broken something inside him. I had no idea how to fix that or if it was even fixable. The future stretched bleakly in front of me.

  I wanted to talk about it.

  “You know that thing with your father,” I said. “That whole me kissing him thing? You know that was work, right? I didn’t want to do it.”

  “I know.” He nodded but still didn’t meet my eyes.

  I wanted the old Kisho back. The old snuggly, sweet friend. It seemed like he had gone.

  Instead, I stared at my coffee cup. That betraying coffee. The silence stretched into awkwardness. I wanted to say more, but there was nothing to say.

  I’d been through a lot with these two vampires. With all their weirdness and all the shit they’d put me through, I’d wanted to kill them at times, well, mainly Nic. But at no point had it ever been awkward like this.

  I sat up. I’d get my bags and leave. That was for the best. Better to be gone than suffer this uneasiness.

  Then my phone beeped. I read a strange message in broken English. A job? A job in Tokyo?

  Perfect timing, but I couldn’t make sense of all of it.

  “Kitsune?” I said. “What the hell’s up with that?”

  “Kitsune!” Kisho’s eyes lit up. “Kitsune.”

  He smiled, that gorgeous smile that poked into his dimples. It only lasted a second, but he’d smiled.

  “I love kitsune,” he said.

  And I love your smile, I thought. I loved seeing it again. I’d give Kisho a kitsune as a pet if it’d make him smile.

  “I have a job in Tokyo. Someone wants me to fight a Japanese demon.”

  I sighed. It seemed preposterous. I couldn’t just go running off to Tokyo. Not now, with the mayor up to God knew what and everything else happening here.

  I waited for Nic to respond, for him to tell me that he needed me to help with the Demon Child or to fight the mayor. This was no time for heading overseas. I didn’t expect him to beg me to stay, but some sign he wanted me to stick around would be nice. I couldn’t believe he’d just dump me like this.

  “Take Kisho with you,” he said. “He’ll help you out since you can’t speak Japanese.”

  “You speak Japanese?” I asked Kisho.

  “Are you totally oblivious, Clem Starr?” Nic sighed. “You haven’t figured out that Kisho is half-Japanese?”

  How the hell was I supposed to know that? His father wasn’t Japanese. But Nic’s snarking made me strangely happy. And, if Kisho went with me, things had to heal between us.

  “I can’t just leave in the middle of this.”

  “You aren’t needed here. Think about the kitsune.” Nic smiled his golden smile. “This might be a good time to find out more about the prophecy too.”

  “I’m not going,” Kisho said.

  He tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. That gesture warmed my heart. He’d kissed me, surely that hadn’t meant nothing to him.

  “Hey, wait, the prophecy? It’s in Japan?”

  “Apparently. If we can get the original text or even some semblance of it, we’ll know a lot more.”

  “I’m not going,” Kisho repeated.

  “You’re going.” Nic didn’t argue, he just said it as though he’d be obeyed.

  “The prophecy was lost a century ago. We’ll never find it.”

  “We need it. We need it now more than ever.”

  While Nic persuaded Kisho, I replied to the message. This sounded like the perfect job, but I needed to find out how much it paid before I accepted. After all, I was running a business here. They could throw in business-class flights and a nice hotel too. I was back in business.

  THE END

  * * *

  Want to read Sex Demon, the prequel to the Clem Starr series? The only way to get a copy is to join my mailing list. You also find out first about new releases, get special subscriber only bonuses and other awesome stuff.

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  Moonli
ght Virgin (book 2) – release date 14 September

  Vampire Prince (book 3) – release date 12 October.

  Incubus – the pre-prequel short story from this series is also available on Amazon.

  * * *

  About me:

  After writing romance under a pen name for the past few years, I decided I wanted to write something where the girl does something more than fall in love. I wrote the short story, Incubus, a long time ago and my sister always nagged me to write more in the same world. That’s how the Clem Starr series was born.

  I write character-driven Urban Fantasy with kick ass chicks and pretty boy vampires. I also travel the world, visiting weird and macabre places.

  You can connect with me on facebook or by email admin@katcotton.com.

  Copyright Kat Cotton 2017

  All rights reserved

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is purely coincidental.