Mate to the Demon Kings by Lacey Carter Andersen
16
Alec drove slowlydown the dirt road that led into the sanctuary. It was late at night. Only the brightness of the moon lit his path. He wanted to be home in bed, curled around Sharen, but he couldn’t. She might be able to believe these demons were capable of turning over a new leaf, but he couldn’t stop hearing the old man’s words. He couldn’t stop seeing the girl hurting an innocent animal.
And something had to be done about it.
“What if this doesn’t go the way you’ve planned?” Ryder asked, breaking the silence.
Alec’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “It has to.”
He’d thought over their options again and again. And this was the only thing that made sense.
“Sharen won’t be happy.” Ryder sounded…uncertain.
“When I told you the plan, you agreed to come with me. You wimping out now?”
Ryder turned and glared. “Not a chance, old man. I just wanted to make sure you thought this through.”
“Geez, do you have a better idea?”
Ryder shot him a dirty look. “If I did, would I be here?”
Alec was sick of moments like these. Where there was no good option. Yet, that’s how things usually seemed to go—always stuck between a rock and a hard place.
As they came to the brick fence, he unrolled his window and typed in the code. The gates opened with the smallest squeal. They continued as quietly as they could down the dirt road
His instincts were on high alert as he scanned the trees on both sides of them. Were demons watching them even now?
They stopped the car while still in the woods. Cutting the engine, they sat in silence.
“What if we’re wrong?” Ryder’s question surrounded them in the darkness
“We better pray we’re not.” He opened his door and grabbed his sword from the backseat.
Ignoring his brother, he silently closed his door, then headed toward the manor.
There were no sounds in the woods. No soft chirps of night birds. No fluttering of wings. As his ears strained, he didn't even hear creatures skittering about the forest floor.
His stomach sank. Have they killed everything?
When they came out of the woods, he paused for a second. Across the neatly trimmed lawn, the manor stood tall and silent, its windows dark. For some reason, whether because of their mission or because it was night, the building looked sinister, almost threatening.
They proceeded cautiously across the lawn. When they were nearly to the manor, he caught a flicker of light in the woods. What is that?
His eyes narrowed and his steps faltered. To the strange light or to our mission?
Every instinct within him screamed. Something was wrong. And yet, he continued toward the manor.
“Alec,” Ryder whispered his name.
Alec shook his head. There was no time to second-guess themselves. They’d search the woods after they killed their enemies.
The concrete steps didn’t make a sound as they started up them. At the door, his hand shook as he pushed his key into the lock. But instead of it clicking solidly into place, the unlocked door opened on its own.
Someone left it open. Why? Do they know we’re coming?
They stepped into the hall.
“The floor,” Ryder hissed behind him.
Alec’s gaze moved down and he tensed. Blood had dried on the floor, leaving a small streak and a few drops leading toward the kitchen.
His pulse raced. What the hell is going on?
They checked all the rooms on the first floor, swords clenched tightly in their hands. But they found no one. Upstairs, they searched one room after another. All stood empty.
What the fuck is this?
Ryder turned to him. “This isn’t good.”
“No shit.”
He turned, then hurried down the stairs and back outside. Turning toward the light in the woods, he moved with quiet but sure steps. He wasn’t sure whether to pray they found the demons or not. If they left, they would likely create such chaos in the world that he would regret it for the rest of his life. But if they were in the woods doing some kind of sick ritual?
I’ll have to kill them all.
As they moved closer and closer to the light, it became obvious that it was a massive fire. Another few seconds passed, and they heard the murmur of low voices.
Please let me be wrong.
As they came to the edge of a clearing, they peeked out from behind a tree. He froze. The demons were…roasting marshmallows?
He stood a little taller.
Some of the adults were leaning over the little ones, helping them make s’mores. Others sat on fallen logs that had been dragged to encircle the fire. A man and woman kissed in the shadows. A mother nursed her baby on another.
“They don’t look all that dangerous,” Ryder whispered.
“No shit,” Alec said.
They resheathed their swords. But still, he felt confused as hell. In his mind, he couldn’t quite connect these demons with the dangerous ones the old man had warned him about.
Speaking of which…he didn’t see David anywhere.
Coming out of the shadows, he waited for a few of them to notice him.
“Alec! Ryder!” A pretty blonde rose and hurried toward him, carrying a sleepy-looking toddler in her arms. “What brought you two here in this hour?”
Alec took a deep breath. “I need to talk to someone.”
Her happy expression faded, replaced by a tense one. “Of course. Shall I go for a walk with you guys?”
He nodded.
She walked back and handed her little one to an older woman, who smiled and held the baby gently in her arms, rocking him. The joy in her face shone as she stared down at the toddler.
“That’s Crissy,” Ryder explained. “She’s the unofficial leader of the refugees.”
Alec nodded, grateful that his brother knew these people better than he did.
Crissy returned, and they all silently started through the woods. When they’d gone a distance from the others, she spoke. “So what’s this about? I’m guessing it’s not good.”
“Why’s that?” Ryder asked.
She smirked. “You guys are wearing all black. I can tell you’re packing some extra weapons, unless you’re just that happy to see me. And you both look like you’re about to do some bad shit.”
Ryder sighed. “I guess we’re pretty transparent.”
“How well do you know the people here?” Alec folded his arms over his chest and turned to face her.
She stopped walking. “Even though it’s only been a couple months, they’ve become my family.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Her brows rose. “I know them.”
“Then tell me,” he locked gazes with her, “who are the good ones and who are the bad ones?”
Her brows rose even higher. “The bad ones? What the fuck does that mean?”
His jaw twitched. “Cut the crap.”
“Alec.” Ryder stepped between them. “Crissy, he just wants to know which of them are having the most trouble ignoring their demon side. Who is struggling with blood lust? Who feels the need for chaos the strongest?"
She stared at them for a ridiculously long time. “Is this a joke?”
“Do I look like I’m laughing?” Alec narrowed his eyes, daring her to lie to him.
“Fine.” She put a hand on Ryder and slowly moved him back from them. “Let’s do this then. None of these demons are bad. They are Level 10 demons. They were good people in life, and they’re good people in death." She stopped talking as if she expected him to be satisfied. Alec stared at her until she continued.
"Yes, they are struggling not using their powers. Yes, they are struggling being educated on everything they’ve missed since being dead. Some of these people have been dead for hundreds of years, and you can bet that seeing televisions, cellphones, and computers is a transition. Now, excuse me if I sound pissed, but I am. You guys saved us. You guys brought us here. How can you stand here asking me this right now?”
Is she lying?Alec studied her face. If she was lying, she was a damn good liar. “What about David?”
Wrinkles formed on her forehead. “Who?”
He scoffed. “The old demon. He told me the truth about this place. About your unquenchable desires. And what all of you are capable of.”
She laughed. “Two things. First, never say ‘unquenchable desires’ to a woman. It’s freaking creepy. Second, there isn’t a demon named David here. And third, and I know I said I just had two things, but I’ve thought of a third, we’re just like you. Why the hell would you be worried about us?”
His head spun. “David. The old man with the long white hair. And the sharp teeth.” He turned to Ryder. He knew these people. He had to know David. “The old man…”
Ryder shook his head. “I don’t know him.”
Maybe I should’ve given him more details about my conversation with the man.“But…well, how do you explain Becky? I saw her ripping legs off a squirrel. I saw her eyes were red. She hissed at me.”
Crissy shook her head. “Bullshit. That little girl did no such thing.”
He uncrossed his arms and advanced on her. “I saw it.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, but you’re wrong.”
Alec turned to Ryder. “Have you seen anything? Anything weird about the girl?”
His brother shook his head. “She just seems like a sweet girl.”
Nothing made sense. He grasped for understanding. Something that would make it all make sense.
“What about the blood in the foyer?”
“Blood?” She stared for a second, then her mouth formed into an O. “One of the boys fell off the wall and got a good crack on the head. If he was human, he would’ve needed to be stitched up. But even though there was a lot of blood, we got him all taken care of. He should be fine by the morning.” She looked a bit embarrassed. “Everyone was kind of in a rush to get out here before it got too late, so we did a crap job cleaning up. We figured we’d take care of it when we got back.”
Ryder turned to Alec, raising a brow. “Well, that explains everything.”
“Not what I saw,” Alec whispered.
He’d seen the girl. He’d spoken to the old man. He didn’t understand what was going on, but there was something very, very wrong.
“Listen guys,” Crissy said, some of her attitude leaving her voice. “I can say with absolute certainty that everyone here is good. Not perfect. But these are good people.”
Ryder nodded. “I believe you.”
What? Even after what I told him?
The thing was, Alec’s mind was screaming that his brother and this woman were wrong. But his heart? That was the issue, because his heart begged him to believe them.
They stopped by the fire. Ryder ate a s’more and checked on the kid with his head wrapped. Even dressed in black and decked out in weapons, Ryder seemed to join the group with an easy smile that put everyone at ease. Within minutes, he was laughing, telling jokes, and talking to the group as if he was their best friend.
How the hell does he do it?
People shot Alec a few curious glances, but otherwise, left him alone. So he used the opportunity to watch Becky closely. In all ways, she seemed to be a sweet little kid…ridiculously hyper on sugar, but a sweet little kid.
Something is rotten here, and I’m going to figure it out.
When they got into the car later, Alec didn’t turn on the engine. “What do you think?”
Ryder spoke, his voice low and threatening. “Someone wanted to stop us from helping these people. Maybe even get us to hurt them. And we’re going to find out who it is.”
“The old man.” Alec’s instincts tinged. “I knew there was something off about him. But how is it possible he was here? How is it that no one else knows him or has seen him?”
Ryder shook his head. “I don’t know. But I think our plan for the evening was doomed from the start.”
Find the old man. Question him. And kill him.
His sword suddenly felt heavier on his back. Whoever that man was, even if they could question him, Alec was certain they couldn’t believe his answers.
“So what do we do now?”
Ryder buckled up. “Now? We tighten security around the refuge, and we watch our backs. Because even though we thought the hunters and the angels were our only enemies, I have a feeling the ones we don’t know about are even more dangerous.”
Alec felt sweat trickled down his back. All this on top of changing our world forever.
Switching the car on, they started back down the quiet road. As they turned back onto the main road, he caught a motion out of the corner of his eye just before a massive truck slammed into the side of their car.
Alec blinked awake.Was the world tilted? Warm blood ran into his eyes, but he couldn’t lift his hand to wipe it away. The smell of gasoline and smoke filled his nostrils. Air bags clouded his face. But with great effort, he turned his head toward his brother.
Ryder’s head had gone through the window. Blood coated his head and face. His eyes remained closed and his chest was still.
He tried to reach for him, but his body wouldn’t obey him.
Outside his brother’s window, there was motion. It took him a second to spot the two dark-winged angels. His heart sank.
We’re dead.
