The Demon Lord

by Nikki Frank

  The wounded snake thrashed on the ground. Man, lamia were tough. I’d given him a point-blank shot to the head. I pulled out my knife and stabbed him a couple times to finish the job. He would have died anyway but this way he couldn’t bite me in the back before I got out of there. When the coils finally stopped writhing I left to catch up with Talon and Emmett.

  At the car Talon had Emmett tucked behind him protectively. “Who attacked?” he asked.

  “A pair of lamia. One left like a good snake, the other wanted a piece of me. He lost, but took his sweet time about dying. Sorry.” I reached for the handle of the car.

  Talon burst out laughing and stepped between me and the door. “You’re not getting in my car.”

  “Why not?” Now what meanness did he have up his sleeve?

  “Have you seen yourself? You look like you’ve got purple pox. You’re completely covered in lamia gore. Not on my tan interior.”

  I glanced down at myself. He had a point. I looked disgusting.

  Emmett pulled off his T-shirt and handed it to me. “Here, you can wear mine.”

  Talon grabbed the shirt, and before I could react he’d wiped the gore from my face with it. For a second I paid attention to his surprisingly gentle touch then shook my head to clear it; his bedside manner didn’t matter. He’d dirtied my only clean option for clothes.

  I grabbed the shirt from Talon and scowled at him. “Now what am I supposed to wear? I guess you really do want gore in your car.”

  “You won’t get my car dirty. What do you want to wear? What size are you?”

  I puffed out my chest. “None of your business. You don’t know much about girls, do you?”

  The next thing I knew Talon held a piece of clothing out to me. “Here.” He grabbed Emmett. “We’ll be around the back of the car. We won’t peek. If we do, I’ll give you a free shot at us.”

  I turned my back on them and pulled off my soiled shirt. When I went to pull on the new shirt there wasn’t one, only a sundress in deep, jade green. I scowled. The last time I’d worn a dress must have been years ago. Actually, had I ever worn one? They certainly weren’t practical, nor did I feel comfortable in one. But I really didn’t want to pull my gross shirt back on, so I chose the dress. I’d argue logistics after I’d cleaned up. At least I got my shorts off under the skirt without being exposed. Once I’d finished I deliberately dropped the purple, slimy clothes in the center of the car’s white hood.

  “Talon, what the hell is this?” I waved my hand over the dress.

  “A size eight? A dress? What part don’t you get?”

  “How am I supposed to fight in this?”

  He shrugged. “It looks like you have complete freedom of movement to me.”

  “Yeah, and complete exposure if I move around too much.”

  “I think you look nice,” Emmett volunteered. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress. Or a skirt either.”

  Talon elbowed him. “You’re welcome.”

  I stalked back to the front of the car. Grabbed my dirty shirt and smeared the words “you suck” in purple gore across the hood and then climbed into the backseat and locked both the doors. I refused to sit next to Talon, and Emmett had irritated me, too. I didn’t care if I looked nice. I didn’t want either of them to get free viewing of my panties if I got into another fight.

  The boys climbed in with matching smirks on their faces. Emmett’s eyes sparkled playfully, and I scowled at him. He probably thought something stupid about girls and unnecessary pouting.

  Unfortunately for Talon’s pho craving, the drive back revealed only three choices for lunch: fast food, BBQ, and a greasy spoon café. We unanimously decided on BBQ. Talon left Emmett and I in the car and went to check out the restaurant. After a couple minutes, he returned and sent Emmett in after the food. Talon climbed back into the driver’s seat and closed his door, turning to talk to me over the seats.

  “How are you holding up magic wise?” he asked. “After the harpy and making you clothes, I need to go out tonight.”

  “If I have to take down a lamia every day I should go out, too.”

  Talon sighed and ran a hand through his blue hair. “Either we’re both always going to be tired or we’ve got to come up with a better way.”

  I leaned against the back of the front passenger seat. “Are we going to be attacked every day? Can we really keep this up for weeks, or months?”

  “Or years,” Talon grumbled. “No, I don’t think we can. We need to get Emmett a partner. Once he’s set up the attacks will stop.”

  “Yeah, but we don’t even know how to pair him off.”

  “You have to get a unicorn to seal the partnership. Once he’s got a partner no other magic being will be able to tap his power.”

  I scowled at him. “And how would you know? There’s almost no information on sources. My parents have been looking into getting him a partner since yesterday, but even they can’t find much.”

  “I know because my mother’s a source.”

  I stopped, unable to say the sarcastic words I’d been ready to spew. Instead I said, “Now I get why they assigned you.”

  “I didn’t want guard duty. Especially not with a brat for a partner. But I guess the assignment could be worse. So far, you’re proving capable.”

  “Then that’s why your father can live in the Borderlands. He doesn’t have to steal to get his magic rations. Your mom takes care of him.”

  “Yeah. And a source can extent the bond to care for a child for a while. So, I grew up in the Central Borderlands until I turned twelve. I couldn’t share magic with my mother anymore, and I’ve been living with an uncle on Earth ever since. But I go back a couple times a year to visit.”

  “How did she get paired with your dad?”

  He gave me a sly look. “She ended up with one of her bodyguards. Naturally, when I found you two in bed together, I assumed.”

  I chose to ignore that. “So, does a source have to marry their partner? I hate to think we’re picking a wife for poor Emmett.”

  Talon laughed. “No. The unicorn creates a direct link between their magic. Being bonded does pose a huge risk, though. To protect the source, the link kills the other partner if one dies. Otherwise hunters would simply kill off a source’s partner repeatedly. But the partner can be anyone the source doesn’t mind being linked with. Though keep in mind how the power transfer works. The source is getting kissed by their partner daily. I think you can guess why my mother would have been more comfortable with her partner being her husband.”

  “I’ll be Emmett’s partner.”

  “What now?” Emmett opened the door and slid into the front seat holding enough food for the three of us, plus my parents.

  I explained everything Talon had told me. Somehow Emmett took it in stride, as he had with everything else he’d been through.

  “I told Talon I could be your partner if you want. You don’t have to marry me. And if you died I wouldn’t care if I died, too. You know I’d do anything to keep you safe. This way we could skip right to finding a unicorn and fix this.”

  “Whoa there. You know it’s really hard to find a unicorn, right? Especially on Earth. I could probably take you to one in the Borderlands fairly quickly, but taking Emmett there before he’s got a partner is like taking a keg to a frat house and telling the boys not to touch. Livy, if you thought our job―”

  “It’s Olivia.”

  “But Emmett and your parents―”

  “Have known me for years and have the privilege. You don’t.”

  “Fine.” He scowled a little. “We’d never have enough magic to protect him in the Borderlands. No shortcut is going to fix this faster. You’re going to have to wait.”

  “Then let’s get to finding a unicorn.”
/>   “Wait,” Emmett protested. “Do I even get a say in this?”

  Talon wore open amusement. “What did you need to say?”

  “Livy, you don’t have to be my partner.” He blushed and looked at the floor. “I know you don’t love me that way and I don’t want you to force yourself.”

  “Then who would you choose?”

  “How about Talon?”

  Talon roared with laughter. “I’m not kissing you daily to keep your magic in balance. Sorry. I don’t like you that much. I’d rather steal.”

  “Oh, yeah. I forgot about the kissing.” Emmett sighed. “So, who do I pick?”

  Talon shrugged. “If you really don’t want O . . . liv . . . i . . . a.” He over enunciated my full name while shooting me a dirty smirk. “Then I guess you pick another female magic being. Unless of course you want a male partner.”

  “I’m good with female, but how do I find one? It’s not like I know tons of magical people.”

  “If I knew good, eligible girls our age I wouldn’t be single.” Talon gave him a derisive look. “Magic folk can get pretty spread out on Earth. There are plenty of types you wouldn’t want to be involved with and most are completely ineligible. Ask O . . . liv . . . i . . . a’s parents. Maybe they have friends with daughters.”

  “Ineligible how?” Emmett and I asked together.

  “Well, there’s a huge bias for magic folk to pair-bond with someone of a compatible type. Mixed breeding isn’t done. And on top of that, there’s a social ranking just like with humans. Could you walk into New York and get a girl from Park Avenue for the asking?”

  Talon arched an eyebrow. “Sorry, Emmett, but the best you can hope for is a girl with a bit of a dark side. I doubt you’d get a high-class, magical girl, even as a source. Not to worry, though. They won’t all be as bad as your friend, here.” He made a face and pointed at me. “There’s only a handful of assassins amongst magic folk and not all the girls are as cranky as O . . . liv . . . i . . . a. You’ll find a sweet girl who doesn’t kill people for a living.”

  Emmett fell silent, and I chewed my tongue in irritation. I so wanted to rip into Talon over the way he kept saying my name and his digs at me, but I knew Emmett needed time to think. At least this wasn’t my choice to make. I got to go back to being myself once we’d gotten Emmett his partner.

  A thought hit me like a sandbag. What if whoever he picked didn’t let me continue my friendship with him? Some girls were insecure like that. Well, no sense in worrying until he picked. I also knew Emmett wouldn’t choose a nasty type of girl anyway.

  We dropped my parent’s meal at their room and went back to ours. Talon came, churning up my irritation. Couldn’t he find anywhere else to go? Or at least stay with my parents and piss them off for a while instead? I offered Emmett the only chair in the room and took it when he refused, crossing my legs and deliberately looking away from Talon.

  The day drug on forever. My parents were in and out but never told us where our next stop would be or what step to take next with Emmett. Luckily, Talon kept his satellite link plugged in and we watched Borderland television most of the day. I found the news and programs full of magic folk who were openly themselves fascinating. Normally I had to live while hiding so much of myself. Imagine living in the Borderlands and needing to hide nothing. But that would never happen. As a being in a symbiotic relationship with humans I couldn’t live somewhere humans didn’t go.

  I managed to avoid dealing with Talon for the most part until I came back from brushing my teeth and found him in my bed. “Get out,” I snapped. I grabbed the extra blanket and pillow off the shelf in the closet and dumped them on the brown Berber carpet. “You can have the floor.”

  He yawned and lifted the covers. “You can sleep with me if you don’t want the floor, kitten.”

  “I’d rather sleep outside on the concrete.”

  He rolled away from me. “Suit yourself.”

  I grit my teeth and glared at the bed. I toyed with the idea of yanking him out and taking my spot back, but he’d probably come right back and join me. I so didn’t want to be in a bed with him.

  “Livy, come here.” Emmett patted the bed next to him. “You can sleep with me.”

  “You hog the covers and you know . . . other stuff . . .” I blushed as I remembered the mortifying morning . . . incident.

  Talon laughed. “You’d better take the floor then. You’re gonna run into that with either of us.”

  “Good God, I hope not. I never want to run into that again.”

  “Tell me you feel the same a couple years from now.” Talon gave me a cheeky wink.

  I ignored him and glanced between Emmett and the floor. Who knew what ickiness hid in the brown of the carpet. I figured I’d be safest with Emmett. Luckily, the room had two double beds, so I managed to take a little space for myself. Emmett gave me a generous portion of the covers this time and we went to sleep.

  Chapter 6

  At midnight Talon slipped out of bed and into the night. I planned to go when he got back but a hand on my arm stopped me.

  “Please don’t,” Emmett mumbled.

  “Emmett, I have to.”

  “You said you wouldn’t if your hunting made me uncomfortable. It does. I can’t stop thinking about some poor child being pulled from the bed and . . .” He shuddered.

  I patted the hand on my arm. “I don’t do anything violent. I send them to the goblins with magic. They never even wake until they’re gone. I can’t say what it’s like, ‘cause I’ve never been to the Goblin Kingdom. But I would imagine it’s not so horrible. They seem to come back largely untraumatized.”

  “And the ones who don’t come back?”

  Silence stretched between us. I couldn’t defend what happened to those kids. I pushed the thought out of my mind for the most part. I also refused to watch nature videos of young animals being eaten by carnivores. Nature was cruel sometimes.

  I hated being in one of those food chains. I couldn’t help needing magic any more than a lion could help needing dinner. In the case of the lion, dinner always died, but I got magic even when the kids came back fine.

  Being too afraid to count it for myself, I once asked my parents how many kids didn’t come back. My mother had patted my head and reassured me that I had one hundred percent recovery so far. Some of my targets had even made it back before the first night was over. We’d had that conversation a couple years ago, but I clung to the statistic of all my jobs coming back. My parents would never lie to cover an unpalatable truth.

  Emmett scooted closer. “Take as much magic as you need.”

  My face flamed. “I can’t kiss you,” I whispered in horror. “Last time I acted on an unconscious reaction to the magic. But you’re family. You might as well suggest I kiss my dad.”

  “I’m mildly insulted by that,” Emmett teased.

  I poked his ribs. “It’s not an insult. It’s a compliment.”

  “I know.” He sighed. “I want you to do this. Whatever you feel about kissing me, I doubt it’s as uncomfortable as the idea of you sending kids off to be eaten is to me. Don’t go. I’ll keep still. You kiss me, take what you need, and I promise not to move.”

  He immediately lay motionless. I hesitated. This had gotten awkward, fast. Then I remembered Talon. He would be back soon. I did not need an audience for this. Especially not one with a tongue as sharp as his. I’d never hear the end of it if Talon caught us kissing.

  Holding my breath, I leaned toward Emmett. He’d closed his eyes and relaxed his face. Grateful for the illusion of privacy, I brushed my lips to his as lightly as possible and tasted the sweetness of the magic: better than the most refreshing water on a blistering summer day. I couldn’t help myself. I pressed my lips harder as I drew power through him, finally managing to break the kiss just bef
ore I got tipsy. Too much magic at once had an inebriating effect. I didn’t want to be drunk, in bed with Emmett.

  “All better?” His voice quavered slightly.

  “Yup. Thanks. How about you?”

  “I feel a bit wobbly but otherwise fine. Though, I have to say, if that’s the way you kiss your family, your husband is going to be a lucky man someday.”

  I poked his ribs again and he squirmed and chuckled.

  “That tickles.”

  “I know. That’s why I do it.” I snuggled back into my pillow feeling satisfied. “Thank you.”

  “Mmm . . .” he mumbled, nearly back to sleep.

  I’d entered the comfortable spot before sleep completely takes hold, when someone tapped my shoulder. “O . . . liv . . . i . . . a. Your turn.”

  “I’m good,” I mumbled, swatting Talon away.

  He humphed, then crawled into bed.

  ~ ~ ~

  Three days later, I woke to scratching at the door in the middle of the night and pulled a knife from under my pillow, creeping toward the door. Warm breath on my neck revealed Talon behind me.

  “You open the door. I’ll take out whoever it is.” His whisper came so close to my ear his lips brushed the skin.

  I nodded, and he moved into position. I could make him out well enough to see him holding up three fingers, two fingers, one finger. I yanked the door open and Talon pounced. From outside came a thud, followed by high pitched shrieking.

  “Don’t hurt me.”

  “Why shouldn’t I?” Talon growled.

  I moved from behind the door. The voice speaking to Talon didn’t sound sinister. In between two cars, Talon perched on top of a tiny woman in dark clothing, pinning her to the asphalt.

  “Who is she?” I asked, letting my muscles relax. This woman gave off no aura of evil at all. I easily qualified as more malevolent than her.