A Demon’s Touch by Ella Jade

Chapter 25

Angelo

I swam against the current of the river, fighting it. As it pushed toward me. The musky water washed over me, cooling my steamy body. The harder I fought to suppress my demon, the easier it became for him to emerge.

For the first time in my life, I wanted to be human. I liked sharing sandwiches with Harper and watching her drink too many martinis. I wanted to splash in the ocean and make her giggle. Holding her after we made love had become my new favorite pastime. There wasn’t a night that I didn’t want to fall asleep with her or a morning that I didn’t want to see her gorgeous eyes opening at the start of the day.

She had become my entire world, and I would do anything for her. I would kill anyone who threatened her and already had. Being with me made her a target. She had no idea the danger I put her in. My lies were going to catch up to me. When they did, how could I explain what I was and still expect her to stay with me?

She didn’t deserve what I was doing to her. I should have left her alone, but Duke made that impossible when he requested I look after her, mentor her, and help her find her place in this world. All I had to do was let her be my attorney. Who was I kidding? If I had to do it all again, I wouldn’t change anything. I was selfish that way. I had staked my claim on a beautiful, trusting soul even when I knew better.

Swimming to the edge of the river, where the water met the land, I hoisted myself out and sat on the muddy ground. Looking up as daybreak broke through the horizon, I allowed myself to think about my mother. How disappointed she would be in the man I had become. Would she even recognize me? How different would my life have been if she were still with me? If the demons hadn’t taken her from me, maybe I could have been a better man.

As if on cue, Koradon’s evil presence ruined my moment of retrospection about my mother. Without turning around, I spoke to him.

“Why are you here?” The frustration over not being able to kill him coiled in every nerve in my system.

“I’m always here,” Koradon said. “I’ll continue to be here until you give me what I want.”

“I won’t help you.” I stared into the black water. “Not ever.”

“Why are you so stubborn?” He sat down next to me. “Why can’t you accept who you are?”

“Whoever I am has nothing to do with you.”

“Right.” He chuckled. “You killed two of your own kind in less than twelve hours, and I’m the sinful one?”

“You left me no choice,” I growled at him. “You’ll be next if you don’t back off.”

“There’s my boy.” He picked up a rock and tossed it into the river. “You’re stuck between two worlds. You’re never going to be human. You’re too powerful for that. You can’t live a life in denial, and you can’t protect her from yourself.”

“Harper dint your business.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. She is my business.” He shook his head. “She’s bringing light to your dark soul, and I can’t allow that.”

“I don’t have a soul.”

“Son, if that were true, you couldn’t fall in love with her, but you have and now you’ve left me no choice.”

“What do you mean?” I stood, taking in my surroundings and gauging his emotions. I left David to stand guard outside the bedroom, so Harper wouldn’t be alone, so at least I knew she was protected, but my father’s words were ominous all the same. “What have you done now?”

“You’re doing it all on your own. All I have to do is threaten her and you take care of the rest. I sent the vampire after Harper, and you staked him through the heart. I enticed Terra to hire Malki in exchange for protecting her, which I had no intention of honoring, but she didn’t know that. As soon as you found out what she was up to, you threw her off a building. Nice touch, by the way.”

“I don’t need your approval.” Seeing him again in his younger form threw me off balance. He seemed more of a worthy opponent than some old, useless demon.

“Maybe not.”

“You’re keeping my soul dark. You knew I would kill them.”

“I had to see if you would do it but I wasn’t sure how it would go.”

“You knew I would protect Harper at all costs.”

“It could have gone either way. Her influence over you could have made you show mercy to Ralph and Terra, but you chose your demon half. You chose to use that side of yourself to protect Harper. That shows who you truly are. It proves your mother had no say in who you would become.”

“You didn’t give her the chance.”

“We can’t change the past, but we can set the future.” He gazed up at the stars. “We can put right what went wrong with you. I forgive you for what you did to me all those years ago. I want you to come home and stand by my side where you belong.”

“That’s never going to happen.”

“All you have to do is get me the sword, and you’ll see how powerful the two of us can be together.”

“Never.”

“You can keep battling with yourself, but all you have to do is look at the past twelve hours.” He picked up a pile of dirt and let it flow through his fingers at it returned to the earth. “You’re more of a demon now than you ever were. It’s not the underworld your human should fear. It’s you.” He glared at me with his crimson eyes. “You’re changing little by little every day.”

“No.”

“You can’t deny what you’re becoming.” He swiped his hands together, wiping the gravel from them. “Have you looked in the mirror? You appear more demon as each day passes. Your temperature is running hotter than it ever has before. You’ve unleashed another power within you by figuring out how to use that fire to your advantage. Do you know what a powerful gift that is? Burning your prey alive from the inside?”

“It’s another curse, but I can control it.” I couldn’t guarantee that. Koradon was right. I was becoming more of a demon every day. What if I couldn’t stop it.

“Your eyes are holding their red hue longer, and physically you’re getting stronger than ever. You swam against that current effortlessly. It’s time to realize your full potential, but first, you have to let Harper go.”

“I’m tired of this conversation.” I stood because I had been away from Harper for too long. She would wonder where I was. “My answer is no, and if you keep coming for Harper, I’ll keep fighting you, and I will figure out a way to bring you down.”

“You keep fighting me.” He rose from the ground. “That’s fine by me if that’s what it takes for you to see who you really are.”

I turned to walk away, but he hurried to stand in front of me.

“There’s one more thing.”

“Nothing you say will change my mind.”

“This might.” He smirked. “You can do all you want to protect your human from the underworld, but you can’t protect her from yourself. Look what happened to your mother.”

“I would never do to Harper what you did to my mother.”

“What if you can’t control it?”

“I’m stronger than you know.”

“I don’t doubt that, but what would happen if Harper betrayed you? What if she learns the truth and walks away from you? How will your demon handle that?”

“The last thing I need is relationship advice from you.” I pushed him out of my way. “Leave me alone. That’s your last warning.”

“I won’t bow to your threats. I’m in your head, that’s all the leverage I need.”

“I’m stronger than you.”

“You’ll never have a moment’s peace. She’ll never be out of harm’s way with a monster like you!” He shouted as I walked back to the house. “I won’t stop until I have what I want.”

If I could have struck him down, I would have, but my attempts would be futile. If he had been granted true immortality, he was a burden that would never go away. Not until I figured out a way to outsmart them, and until I did that, Harper wouldn’t be safe.

When I entered the house, my shorts were still wet from the river, and I was covered in dirt. My bare feet tracked in the mud and soiled the foyer. I gazed up at the staircase as Harper came down, dressed and ready for work. Her beauty took my breath away. The long, white skirt flowed down to her ankles, and the navy-blue tank top clung to her breasts and flat stomach. How distracted I would be with her in my study if I’d allowed her to stay that long.

Her mouth fell open when she got a good look at me. “What happened to you?” She hesitantly took the steps one at a time until she reached the bottom. “Where were you?”

“I went for a swim.”

“In the river?”

“Yes.”

“You’re joking.”

While it wasn’t unusual for me to find solace in the angry water, I could see how she would be confused. “Not at all, my love. I had to clear my head.”

“Are you all right?” She approached me, but I backed away. “You don’t look like yourself.”

“My impeccable self, you mean? The one that I show the world?” I laughed. “I don’t show them the violence. Not really.”

“What are you talking about?” She caressed my jaw, and I wanted more than anything to give into her delicate touch, to kiss her knuckles and carry her back up to my bed. “You’re bleeding.” She pressed her thumb to the scrape on my chin.

“It’s fine.” When I removed her hand from my face, the hurt she felt angered me because I was the one causing it.

“You’re scaring me.”

“You have no idea how frightened you should be.” I ran my fingers through my damp hair. “The things you don’t know.”

“Tell me what I don’t know.” Her frantic emotions pushed into me, causing a war inside me. Do I stop this and keep her with me, unprotected and vulnerable? Or, do I keep going, and keep her alive and away from me?

“If I did, you would leave.” Maybe I should let her leave on her own. It would be easier than doing what I was about to do.

“Are you in trouble?” She reached for my hand, but I tugged it from her. “I want to help you but you have to tell me what the problem is.”

“I can’t do this” The words coming out of my mouth shattered my own cold, dead heart if that were even possible. “I thought I could, but I was wrong.”

“You can’t do what?” Her frantic tone ripped at my heart.

“Us.”