Demons Amongst Us (The Book of Demons Saga #2) (3 page)

“You are mine,” he said, “Wherever you go I will find you.”

A broad smile spread across her face.  This was no dream.  Her demon lover was standing before her.  She jumped up from the bed, flinging her arms around his neck, and catching him completely off guard.  He stumbled backwards, trying to regain his balance from the assault. 

“I know you will,” she said, pulling back to look up at him.

“I see you are still severely lacking in manners,” Balthazar said.  His voice was more teasing than chastising.  Alex narrowed her eyes at him, attempting very unsuccessfully to intimidate him.  She pulled away from him, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned her back to him.

“Well you’re the one that just shows up
, unannounced, in my bedroom in the middle of the night,” she huffed.  Her momentary joy at seeing him was completely overshadowed by the reminder of just how cocky he was, and how much it irritated her. 

“I believe
you are guilty of that as well,” he said, the tease still in his voice.  He enjoyed toying with her.  She could never beat him, but he loved to watch her try.  She gave him the challenge that he had unknowingly longed for his whole life. 

“Why are you here?” Alex asked
, trying her best to feign anger.  “Did you come just to fight with me?”

“Fighting is not
exactly what I had in mind,” he said, wrapping his arms around her.  Alex tried to struggle against his hold, but it was no use.  She had wanted for so long to feel his arms around her again.  Now that they were, she wasn’t going to give that up.

“And what did you have in mind
?” she asked, still playing mad.  She turned around in his arms to look up into his smirking face. 

“Oh,” she said
softly, blushing as she realized he was here because he felt the same way about her.  His eyebrows wiggled, almost imperceptibly, upward.  The gesture seemed so absurd and removed from his usual icy demeanor that she couldn’t stop herself from giggling.

“Oh,” she said again as that realization sank in fully.  She pulled away with an indignant gasp.  “As if.”

He chuckled at her
, a deep bubbling echo in his chest that made Alexandra’s knees weak.  She had never heard the sound come from him before, and she found that she rather liked his newer, more accessible demeanor. 

Although Balthazar would have liked nothing more than to ravage her right then and there, he had come for a far more important reason. 
He didn’t trust that half breed Pani at all, and he certainly wasn’t going to wait for her approval to see Alexandra.  Now that he saw she was safe, he felt immensely better.

“I came to see you were safe,” Balthazar admitted.  His words were genuine, caring, and it struck Alex straight through the heart.  She smiled up at him, biting her bottom lip as her stomach flipped with nervous desire.  She knew he would pick up on her arousa
l in an instant, but she didn’t care.  She almost wanted him to.  She remembered the last private moment they had shared together, back in the land of demons, in a small cave, hidden behind a waterfall.  He had given her a pleasure that she didn’t even know existed and it had haunted her ever since.  A small smile curled the edges of his lips as his effect on her reached his sensitive nose.

“You only play coy, I see,” he
said, pulling her back in to his embrace.  His hand reached for her face and he held her cheek in his hand as he bent to kiss her.  His lips were strong and sure as they played with hers, and her arousal rose accordingly.  He finally forced himself to pull away from her.  He wanted so badly to continue, but now was not the time for such things.  His chest swelled with pride when he saw the small pout gracing her lips at the loss of his kiss.

“We must discuss much more pressing concerns,” Balthazar said softly, still holding her round cheek, his thumb absently rubbing over the delicate skin. 

“Yeah,” Alex said, in a mild daze from the pleasure that a single kiss from him brought.  She shook her head, blinking to snap herself out of the haze.

“You’re right,” she said,
her full awareness returning.  One look at Balthazar would send a panic through the society she lived in.  He didn’t belong here, that was clear for anyone to see.  But there was also the problem of the Magi, who were still very much alive, and it was unlikely that they were finished with her.  If Balthazar was here, they may be as well.

“Where have you been all this time?” Alex asked, realizing that he
must had been in her world for weeks now.  There was a slight pang of jealousy that it had taken him so long to come to her.  “What have you been doing all this time?”

“Has it been long?”
Balthazar asked, truly unaware of exactly how long he had been unconscious.

“It’s been almost
three weeks,” she said, looking up at him with concern.  It was so unlike Balthazar to be confused about anything. 

“I see,”
Balthazar said, his eyes hardening. His thoughts turned to his kingdom.  There was no telling the state that it had fallen to in his absence.  Things could move so quickly in his world, and it was unlikely his throne would remain empty for long.  The fact that he had left Tavi there to take care of things was of very little consolation.

“Balthazar,” Alex said, looking up at him with concern shining in he
r eyes, as if she could read the concerns on his emotionless face, “we have to go back.”

“I agree
,” he said, “but I know nothing of this world, much less how to leave it.”

“Well,” Alex said, a
smile spreading across her face, “then it’s a good thing I’ve been doing my homework.”

She sighed when she got a confused look from Balthazar.  A
ny turn of phrase was lost on the demon lord. 

“What I mean
,” she said, doing her best impression of his blank stare and trying to mock his pompous demeanor.  “I have performed my duties well in your absence.”

He couldn’t help the chuckle that rumbled
once again in his chest. It was still the most endearing thing Balthazar had ever seen.  She was a bundle of mysteries, always finding a new way to surprise him.  He hadn’t realized how much he missed her until now.

“Show me what you have found,” he said, allowing a
small smile to grace his regal lips.  He was graced with a happy smile as she hopped off to get the book she had been reading from.

“Are you out of your mind?” Sam nearly screamed
at Alex as he leveled a very serious glare at Balthazar.  “You want to go back there?”

Alex opened her mouth, preparing to state her case when Balthazar stepped in
.

“Your experiences were not
typical,” Balthazar said calmly, ignoring the daggers that Sam was throwing at him with his eyes.  He could understand why the boy was so scared to get back, and he could understand why his anger was directed at him. “It is unfortunate that you were placed in such a situation, but I can assure you, my kingdom does not conduct itself in such a manner.”

“Right,” Sam scoffed, “and I’m supposed to trust a demon?”

“No,” Alex interjected, “but you can trust me.”

Sam turned away from the
pair with a roll in his eyes.  He wasn’t going to be ganged up on.  There was no way either of them could convince him to return to that horrid place.  The nightmares he had almost every time he closed his eyes, were bad enough.  He had no intention of letting Alex go back either.  This demon may have her fooled, but Sam knew Alex was simply too trusting of a person.

“Sam,” Alex called after hi
m as he began walking away.  “Please…”

Balthazar’s hands on her shoulders stopped her from going after him.

“Let him go,” he said softly, “he will come around.”

“I don’t know,” Alex said as she chewed softly on her bottom lip.  Balthazar could see the care and concern in her eyes.  He could see how much this person meant to her.  “I’ve never seen him like this.”

“The Maracovian demons are brutal creatures,” Balthazar said, trying to help Alex understand.  “It will take time for him to heal from his ordeal.”

It surprised Alex how sensitive Balthazar was being about the whole situation.  She never would have thought he would be on Sam’s side.  But the fact that he was made Alex like him even more. 

“What did they do to him?” Alex said, her green eyes shining up at him with sadness. 

“There are ma
ny demon races,” Balthazar said, “and they are not all so civilized as my kind.  There are four great races.  Together, we have ruled over the rest, trying to impose order and civility.  But there are some that fall through the cracks, that do not follow the rules that we have set forth.  The Maracovians have always caused upset throughout the kingdoms.  They are known for there brutality and disregard for the value of life.”

“I didn’t realize,” Alex said softly.  She had assumed that all demons were like Balthazar and the Devas.  She could see now how ignorant it was of her to think so.  “All that time…he was there with them.  While I was…”

Balthazar pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly.  He could see the pain, could understand what she wanted to say, though she left it unsaid.  He hated to see her upset and wanted to do anything he could to relieve her pain.

“It is not your fault,” he said, trying to soothe her.  “You could not have known.”

“I just wish…” her words trailed off.  There was so much that she wished, but saying it wouldn’t make it so. 

“I will speak with him,” Balthazar said into her
thick black hair as he kissed the top of her head.  “Perhaps I can get through to him.”

#

“You have a strong dislike for me,” Balthazar said, finding Sam sitting alone outside on the front steps of his house.  The morning was turning quickly into afternoon.  The sun beamed down on them, but there was still a light chill in the air.  Winter was coming.

“Bravo,” Sam said sarcastically, “What a grasp you have on the emotions of others.”

“If we were in my kingdom, I would rip your throat out for such disrespect,” Balthazar said so casually it frightened Sam.  The demon lord took a seat next to Sam.

“Then why don’t you?” he scoffed, pushing his fear aside.  He wouldn’t let this demon get the best of him.
  He would welcome death.  It would give him a respite from the torture that had become his everyday life.

“Because she cares for you deeply,” Balthazar said, “and I would never do anything to hurt her.”

“Yeah, I believe that,” Sam scoffed.

“I will not give you false words of comfort,” Balthazar said.  His patience with this boy was running thin, but he forced himself to remain calm.  “I cannot offer to take away the horror that I know you suffered.  But I can offer you something
far better.”

That got Sam’s attention, and his eyes snapped up to the handsome face of the demon sitting next to him.  His eyes searched the peculiar features of the creature beside him, as if he could find the words as yet left unsaid in his face.

“I can give you revenge,” Balthazar said, his voice low.  His eyes held a gleam of coldness that bit through Sam.  It was in that moment that Sam felt something strange, something he never would have thought he would feel.  He felt a bond form with the demon lord.  He was not giving him pity or sorrow.  He was giving him a chance.  A chance to be a man and take his revenge for what these creatures had done to him.  He saw Balthazar in a different light.  He was far from the evil that those other demons were.  He was strong, he was proud, and he understood Sam more than Alex ever could, even though she had known him most of his life.  A small nod told Balthazar all he needed to know.

“W
e should probably go inside,” Sam said, as he noticed the shocked stares of some of his neighbors as they caught sight of Balthazar. 

Sam balanced a heavy tray piled with snacks and cold drinks as he carried it in and set it on the coffee table.  It was growing late and they were going to need energy.  Alex and Balthazar were pouring over the pages in the book she had procured, trying to find any kind of information on how to get back.  Sam had never been the studying, so he was leaving that up to Alex, instead lending his help in other ways.  Alex was so relieved to see Sam finally coming around, and she wondered what Balthazar could have possibly said to him.  She was surprised, to say the least, that they were not at each other’s throats.  She could have bet that they would have hated each other. 

Alex leaned back on the couch with a heavy sigh, rubbing
at her eyes.  They were beginning to go blurry from trying to read the tiny writing.  The book was a good thousand pages thick and the words were incredibly small.  The chime of the doorbell broke through the study session and Sam went to answer it.  A moment later a black haired woman came storming into the room, Sam trailing behind her.  Alex recognized her instantly.  She had seen her jogging in the neighborhood and again watching her and Sam as they were leaving the library.  The woman had a disapproving glare on her small features as her blue eyes fell upon Balthazar.