Page 84 of Demon's Desire
I walked through the dining room with my phone against my ear and paused. There was ringing coming from Kelly’s room. Her door was closed, but I recognized her ringtone. I stood still for a moment, but she didn’t actually answer. Was she still asleep?
I hung up and set my coffee cup down on the table. “Kelly?” I called as I walked over and knocked on her door. Nothing. “Kelly, honey, you’re late for work.”
No answer. She was going to be pissed at herself. She hadn’t been late to work in years. I grabbed her doorknob and pushed her door open to wake her, but I froze in the doorway.
Kelly was sitting on her bed, her face red and her eyes puffy, staring at me where I stood. Sitting beside her was a large creature who vaguely resembled Soul. And I do mean vaguely. Rather than a sort of iridescent purple, his skin was a pale blue color. His hair was black and only hung down around his jaw and his eyes were a bright yellow, but unlike Soul, he had two healthy, unscarred eyes. Come to think of it, there were no scars on the other demon, whereas Soul’s body was littered with them. The other demon had black tattoos on him as well, but I could only see them on the sides of his waist and his arms. There was nothing across his chest like Soul. His chest was also bare, but he wore looser black shorts. Noticeably, his horns weren’t curled like Soul’s. They stuck straight out from his forehead and then turned at a right angle, more like a bull’s than a ram’s.
“Mia,” Kelly whispered, her voice shaky and tearful. “Where is Soul?”
My eyes didn’t leave the creature. I kept a cool expression, despite the fear in my heart. “Soul is in my room. I’m going to scream, and he’s going to come in here and rip your throat out, so you should leave.”
The creature laughed, throwing his head back. When he did, I recognized it as the same laugh from last night. He reached over and ran his claws through Kelly’s hair, making her wince. “You think you’re quite clever, don’t you?”
“I have my moments,” I snapped. He knew. He had to know.
“Soul left,” he scoffed, dropping his hand from Kelly as he stood up. When he did, she retreated to the back corner of her bed, pulling her legs to her chest. “What a childish name. Would-be King Suldeargan reduced to a human girl’s pet. I always knew he was weak.”
“Who are you?” I demanded.
The demon took a step toward me, a smirk on his face. “Now you’re asking the right questions. But I’d prefer a more proper introduction, Mia. Why don’t you introduce yourself, like a polite young lady?”
“No,” I spat. “Tell me who you are. Now.” I knew he wasn’t from Soul’s family. Soul said their tattoos were like markings. Everyone from his clan had the same piece on their chest. This demon was different. Yet, he knew Soul.
He rolled his eyes and sighed. “I did want to do this the proper way. But if you insist on being so vile.” Suddenly his hand was around my throat and he pushed me into the wall. I gasped and Kelly screamed. I could feel his claws poking at the side of my neck, but it wasn’t the same as when Soul did it. It wasn’t playful. It was threatening.
“My name is Tiernan,” he said coolly, as if he weren’t about to kill me. “And here’s what’s going to happen. We need to find Soul. Ideally, without any humans getting hurt, so my partner is out looking for him right now. But in case he doesn’t find Soul, I’m here as a backup plan. Because I suspect that wherever you go, he goes, so the simplest option is to just take you with me. Right?”
“Yes,” I agreed, trying to remain as calm as possible.
“What?” Kelly asked.
“I’ll go with you,” I told him. “If you leave Kelly alone and promise never to come back here, I’ll go with you, and I won’t fight.”
“Mia!” Kelly stood up, but I held my hand in her direction to tell her to stop.
“It’ll be okay,” I said to Kelly, never looking away from Tiernan. “Don’t worry. Call into work and say you’re throwing up, then stay here. When Soul gets back, I’m sure Tiernan would like you to tell him what’s happened.”
Tiernan smirked again. “So you do have your moments.”
“M-Mia… Are you going to be okay?” Kelly whispered.
“I’ll be fine,” I promised her, glancing in her direction and giving her a weak smile. Honestly, I didn’t believe that. “Tiernan, can I say a private goodbye to Kelly in case I never see her again? I’ll just be a minute.”
He chuckled and dropped his hand from my throat. “Hm. Only because you’re making this fun.” He stepped outside her room and stood in the dining room, watching us.
I didn’t bother to shut the door. I knew he probably wouldn’t let me. Instead, I rushed over to Kelly and pulled her into a tight hug. “Kelly,” I whispered as quietly as I could, “tell Soul to run. Don’t tell him to follow me. Tell him to run away as far as he can.”
“What will he do to you then?!” she cried.
“He’s going to kill me,” I answered honestly as clarity struck me. The words got stuck in my throat and, for the first time, my eyes started to sting with tears. But I didn’t cry. I wouldn’t. Not in front of Kelly, and not in front of him. “When he does, I want you to move in with Mica and Torie. Mica really, really likes you. He’s been wanting to ask you out for years.”
“I don’t give a fuck about Mica!” she sobbed as she held me close. “I won’t let–”
“You have to!” I cut her off. “Tell him to run. Move in with Mica and Torie. And tell my family that I love them… and that I’m sorry I didn’t call more…” Kelly stayed silent for a moment, just crying into my shoulder. “Kelly…. Even if Soul comes for me, Tiernan is going to kill me, anyway. Then he’ll kill Soul too, and I’m not willing for us both to die for this. I’m not coming back… So I need you to promise me you’ll do this for me…”
More silence. Tiernan sighed behind me. I was about to continue to urge Kelly, but she finally pulled away, looking me in the eyes as tears streamed down her face. “I promise.”
I gave her a sad smile and squeezed her hand. “I love you.”