A Demon Made Me Do It (39 page)

“
I believe in us,” he
whispers in my ear.

He rises to his feet, pulling me with
him. “I have to go now. Finish this once and for all. My contract
expires at dawn.”

I almost laugh. “Good thing you’re not
cutting it close or anything.”

He wraps his arms around my waist,
pulling me close for another kiss. I don’t want him to move, I
don’t want him to leave my arms, not now, not ever. But I know I
have to let him go this one last time.

I know it’s okay. He’ll be back for
me.

For
us
.

The End

Keep reading for a preview
of
FIRE WITH FIRE
,
the next book in the Demonblood series…

Prologue

It’s cliché to say it’s
always darkest before the dawn, but in my case it’s true. There is
a brief window of time, just before I wake, when I am not
Me,
and she is not
Her
. We are together as
one, unified in our blissful state of unconsciousness.

Sometimes this sleep lasts
for a few seconds; other times, a few hours. It is during this time
that we exist in harmony, slumbering away our fears, hostilities,
our mutual disdain and resentment of each other. It is during this
time that we have a few fleeting moments of peace. Because for more
than five years, it has been
only
during this time that we are together as we should
be. As we were meant to be.

It is also during this time that we
can dream of him…remember the way he held us, kissed us, looked
into our eyes and filled us with such love.

The memory of loving and being loved
by Kieron is the one thing she and I now share, along with the
unbearable pain we’ve silently suffered since he’s been
gone.

Now, we also share the soul-crushing
fear that he’s never coming back to us.

And we are more damned than
ever.

Chapter 1. Lucky

I don’t know what it is about strip
clubs that seems to draw the nastiest types of demons, but for some
reason they’re attracted like stink on fish. To be honest, I’m not
sure which is worse—the soul sucking Lazerines who work these
places, or the scummy human men who frequent them. I swear, if one
more grubby Sapie asks me for a lap dance I’m going to rip his
thing right off.

“
Hey, sexy, want some
company?” asks a middle-aged Sapie wearing a rumpled business suit.
Apparently my disgusted glare isn’t enough to dissuade him as he
moves to the empty chair beside me and, without waiting for my
reply, begins to sit down.

I roll my eyes and swish my hand,
causing the chair to fly out from beneath him. He falls hard on his
backside, spilling his overpriced cocktail all over his cheap suit.
A few patrons glance in our direction, but quickly return their
gazes to the center of the room. They are far more interested in
the scantily clad girls moving seductively on the raised stage
beneath the pulsating lights than some clumsy drunken
fool.

The cheesy voice of the club DJ rings
out over the loudspeakers. “And now get those dollar bills ready
and help us welcome the very lovely Serenity to the
stage.”

Hoots and catcalls sound as a slender
brunette wearing a miniscule skirt and bikini top sashays out from
behind the thick velvet curtain. She begins her seductive routine,
rolling her hips, swishing her hair, and spinning herself around a
tall, metal pole. As she grabs the pole and bends backward, letting
her long hair fall free, I catch the distinctive markings on her
back under the flash of the strobe lights.

To anyone else they look like tattoos,
but I know better. They are the Mark of the Lazerine… powerful
female demons who control men’s minds through lust and desire. Only
the Prince of Darkness knows how many countless Sapies have lost
their house payments and kid’s college funds under their spell. Not
like I care about that, but Lazerines are loathsome creatures who
are particularly satisfying to kill. And right now I could
definitely use some satisfaction.

I take a few sips of my
Jack Daniels and stand up, careful not to trip over Mr. Mid-Life
Crisis struggling to get off the floor. As I make my way to the
stage, I retrieve a fistful of bills from my inside my bra.
Lazerines are addicted to money and use their powers to drain their
victims dry. The money will keep her distracted. Otherwise she
might realize that I’m a demon, and I am so
not interested
in a public brouhaha
tonight. I’ll kill her clean and easy, in the VIP room where there
are no witnesses. None who will be paying any attention to me, that
is.

The room of men turn to
gawk as soon as I start laying dollars down on the stage, their
faces aglow with carnal pleasure. Of course they love it…this is
their best fantasy right here. I’m by far the most beautiful girl
they’ve ever seen, and Sapie men are
such
suckers for a little
girl-on-girl action.

I wonder if they’d still be so turned
on if they knew I was planning to rip her heart out in a few
minutes.

“
Hi, beautiful,” the
Lazerine purrs in my ear as I lay down a row of five-dollar bills
in front of her.

“
Can I get a VIP dance with
you when you’re done?” I ask as she rubs her face against my cheek
in appreciation.

“
I’d love to. It starts at
one hundred dollars.” She reaches for the money and slips it into
the side of her tiny pink G-string.

“
Not a problem.” I flash
another thick stack of bills under her nose. Her eyes glow brightly
before giving way to a smug smile.

“
I’ll be right back,
darling.” She collects the rest of her tips before prancing off the
stage.

I return to my table and signal the
waitress to bring me another drink while I wait. When she returns,
I take several sips of my Jack Daniels and let out a long sigh. My
heart just isn’t in the game anymore. There was a time when I loved
nothing more than slaying unsuspecting demons—if not for fun, for
the practice. All so I could keep my human half, Liora, protected
from harm, and to make sure I was ready to face the Amazèa when it
came time for our final reckoning. But of course, that didn’t go as
I’d planned.

I’ve had more than my share of second
thoughts since that night in the cave when Kieron took me to face
the Amazèa—the demons responsible for killing my closest friends
and splitting my soul in half. I had a decision to make…I could
kill them, but I would lose Kieron forever. Or, I could let him
turn them in to the Legionare and we could be together.

I still blame Liora for whatever
emotional insanity swayed me to choose a life with Kieron over
killing the Amazèa like I’d always planned. Many nights, I wonder
if I made the right choice.

It would be so much easier
if Kieron would return so I can look into his eyes again…feel his
lips on mine…to give me a reason to remember
why
I’d chosen him. Why I’d
chosen
us
. But
he’s been gone for over two months, and now I’m starting to wonder
if he’s
ever
going
to come back. And the more I wonder, the sicker and angrier I
feel.

In the meantime, I have to do
something to keep myself from going completely crazy. If it’s
killing some low-level Lazerines in a seedy strip club outside of
Fairfax, Virginia, then so be it. A demon’s gotta do what a demon’s
gotta do.

“
I’m ready when you are,”
the unsuspecting Lazerine whispers in my ear as she comes up beside
me. I take a quick swig of my drink and flash her a smile as I rise
to my feet.

Together we enter the glass doors and
head to a darkened corner. “You’re so pretty,” she coos as she
leads me toward a couch in the back. “What’s your name?”

I sneak my hand down into my
thigh-high boot and remove my emerald dagger.

“
They call me
Lucky.”

~~~~

“
Cuttin’ it kinda close,
aren’t you Lucky girl? You don’t have much time until sunrise in
Sapie land. Don’t want your better half showing up and making a
scene.” Bones laughs and rubs my leg affectionately. Scowling, I
elbow him in the ribs and take another drink.

“
Last one and I’m outta
here,” I say, and spin my barstool around. Demon Bar, the place
where all demions, demons, and creatures in Dryndara come to
replenish off the Source Energy, is nearly empty. Most of its usual
occupants are off preparing for their lives in the human world,
just as I should be doing. But the nagging sense that something is
wrong has been plaguing me for many nights now, and gotten much
worse over the past several hours. I just needed a quick stop off
at the Bar on my way home, and a chance to chat with my best
friend, Bones.

Things had been pretty weird between
us for a while, so I’m glad we seem to be getting back to normal. I
hated the awkward tension between us. But it was my fault, I
suppose. In a moment of weakness, I’d given in to his irresistible
charms and almost allowed myself to be seduced by him in his
mountainside lair. If it wasn’t for the fact that, in my euphoria,
I’d said Kieron’s name instead of Bones’, who knows what would have
happened?

Actually,
I
know what would have
happened: We would have made love, it would’ve been
amazing
, and my feelings
for Bones would be more confused than ever. If I think I’m
emotionally unstable now, I can just imagine how I’d feel if I let
myself fall for him. It’s bad enough that Kieron just abandoned me.
But to watch Bones leave me every night to make love to other human
girls—many other human girls…
forever
—well, that’s a recipe for
self-inflicted torture if there ever was one.

But there are times,
despite my intense feelings for Kieron, I still can’t help but
wonder what it would be like to be with Bones. To really be
with
him. To run my
fingers through his luscious bronze hair and lose myself in the
depths of his coffee-colored eyes. To feel his intoxicating energy
flow through me and succumb to his delicious masculinity. When
Bones looks at me, really looks me, I feel like I’m softly melting
under his gaze. If he was a drug, I’d be addicted.

Just say no,
Lucky.

Things had been awkward between us for
a while. But with Kieron being gone so long, we’ve started to ease
back into our normal routine. Our playing and flirting has almost
reached “pre-Kieron” levels. As I catch Bones’ gaze, I can’t help
but wonder if he hopes Kieron never returns, just as much as I
desperately hope he will.

I swallow the last sip of my drink and
lean over to give him a light peck on the cheek as I stand up.
“Bye, sweetie, see you tomorrow.”

He rises to his full height and wraps
his arms around me, smothering me in his gentle warmth. “Later,
Lucky love.”

Once outside, I sprint across the
Bridge of Kings, barely glancing at the churning river of fire
below. Upon reaching the other side I let out a sharp whistle.
Almost immediately, my black stallion emerges from his hidden spot
deep in Dryndara’s forest. I leap onto his back and lean forward,
clutching a fist of his onyx mane.

“
Home, Diablo.”

I pause outside the cabin, half-hoping
Tatiana is in her room busy making a potion or casting a
spell…anything that’ll prevent her from seeing me and giving me a
hard time about my night.

“
Greetings, Lucky. May I
presume you stopped by the Bar on your way home?” Tatiana asks as I
walk through the door. I roll my eyes and sigh.
Of course
she’s waiting for me…when
is she not?

But I play it cool. I walk
over and give her a pat on her back. Five inches shorter than me,
older by who knows how many years, and sitting on the floor in the
lotus position with her eyes closed, my beloved guardian looks no
more threatening than an ordinary housefly. But I know better.
Tatiana is one of, if not
the,
most powerful witches around. A mere utterance
from her lips, or a well-designed potion of her making can cause
effects even I can’t believe a mere mortal can create.

“
Sorry, had to talk to
Bones.” I give her shoulder a light squeeze.

“
May I presume Liora will
be needing some of my remedy when she wakes up?” she asks, opening
one opaque eye to fixate it firmly on me. Although she’s completely
blind, Tatiana has a way of seeing things.
Too many things
.

“
She might need a few
sips,” I admit, not guiltily. Why should I feel bad about who I am
and what I need? It’s not
my
fault my human half can’t handle it.

“
Any particular reason you
drank so close to sunup?” Tatiana asks, this time with both eyes
open.

I avoid her gaze and head to my room.
“I had a nasty encounter with a Lazerine earlier,” I call out over
my shoulder. “Didn’t realize she had several friends with her. Took
a lot of energy to take them all out and then put a forgetting
spell on all the Sapies there. Was kind of a pain,
actually.”