Halfling (Black Petals Book 1) (25 page)

“You don’t have to pretend you’re human around me you know. You’re not about to scare me off. I’d rather you be you than pretend to be something you’re not. I’m going with you to hell tomorrow. I think things are going to have to change.” After today, everything is going to be different. Even more different than it already is. I’m going to be thrown into a whole new world
again
.

Aiden smiles softly, the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “You can’t come with me tomorrow.”

My heart sinks.

“I can’t have that place tarnish you, Megan. You have no idea what it’s like. Please stay here. That light I see in your eyes, hell will extinguish it like nothing.”

I shake my head sternly. I thought we already made an agreement about this.

“I wish you would change your mind. I really do. Sleep on it okay? I know we didn’t get much training in, but you need your rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.”

I don’t argue. I’m tired, and I can tell that Aiden is done with training for today. Demons don’t sleep, so I wonder what he’s going to be doing all night.

I head off to bed, knowing that tomorrow is going to be a crazy day.

I wake up in the morning to a full breakfast cooked by none other than Aiden. Since the servants are all gone, he’s cooked me bacon and eggs. While I’m still groggy, he sticks the hot plate on my night stand with a note to meet him in the training room when I’m ready. I hurry through my breakfast and race down the hall to the training room.

I stop outside of the room when I see his shirtless chest. He doesn’t see me, though I’m sure that with his super hearing he’s heard my approach. I stand outside the room and watch him go at a metal dummy. I guess the plastic ones probably don’t last long with the harshness of his punches and kicks.

He moves with unbelievable speed, and his moves are flawless. I wish I could move like he can.

He finally turns around, a thin sweat breaking across his chest and brow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him break a sweat like this. He uses a thin blue towel to wipe himself off and then comes out to greet me.

“Good morning, Megan,” he says cheerfully. I can’t imagine why he’s cheerful, we’re going to hell this morning after all.

“Morning,” I say in return and follow him down the hall. “When are we leaving?”

“So you didn’t change your mind then?”

“Nope. You’re stuck with me,” I bug him. Following him doesn’t let me get a good view of his chest but his back and butt are also nice sights. Any part of him is good to look at.

He grabs a glass of water from the counter in the kitchen and downs it in a heartbeat. Then he turns to me and grins. “Maybe if I put you up in the air again you’ll change your mind.”

I pretend I’m debating it and then say, “Doubtful.”

His magnificent grin falters, and he nods back to the hallway. “Get your things gathered up, and get dressed. Anything you want to take. Leave it in front of the door, and I’ll run it out to my car once I’m changed and have my affairs in order.”

“We’re driving?” I ask him curiously. I guess I can’t be exorcised there, because I’m not a pure blood demon, so we’ll have to find the gate that’s supposedly around this area. I’m sure he knows exactly where it is.

“Yes,” he answers, humming to himself. I’ve never seen him so giddy. Is he excited to go to hell or something?

Then he’s gone. I wish he would just leave the place looking like he did seconds ago, shirtless. I don’t know why someone with such an exquisite body even bothers wearing clothing. I take off back to my bedroom and pull out all of my attire. Aiden’s bought me a fair amount of new clothing since I’ve been living with him, I guess he’s not much of a fan of my band t-shirts and sweatpants. He’s slowly been redoing my wardrobe. I can’t say that it bothers me. I’ve never been able to afford such luxuries as designer dresses and shoes. I mean, it never really bothered me that I couldn’t afford these things, but the fact that Aiden is gifting them to me and won’t take them back upon my insistence, let’s just say, that I am extremely thankful. I don’t need fancy things. I don’t need much. I grew up with hardly anything, but having luxuries isn’t something that I’m going to refuse. From what I can tell, Aiden has far more money than he even knows what to do with.

I asked him one time how much money he thought he had, and he told me that he could probably be considered one of the richest men on earth. He also told me that though it’s not a secret, it’s not something he likes to blurt out. Of course, if anyone saw his home, his car collection, and his things, or looked closely at the brands he wore, they would know that he was swimming in money.

Yet although he has all of this money and holds the position he does, deep down, Aiden is not influenced by this. He is just a regular guy, that is, if you take away the fact that he’s a demon.

I throw some of my things into my bags and then pull a few of my favorite outfits in bags from my closet. Can I take these? He said to pack whatever I wanted. I shrug and throw them on the pile. I then throw some extra shoes into one of my bags and grab some jewelry and throw it in as well. I look around the room and decide that this will do.

I put on a set of clothes I left out, and I run a brush through my hair.

I try to take both bags, and the dresses at the same time, but I get out to the hall and drop everything into a heap. I need to do some more strength training. Not that I’m weak or these bags are light, but this is pathetic.

I look down to pick up my stuff, but it’s gone. All of it. Eyebrows merging, I hear a loud chuckle ahead of me. I speed walk towards it and find Aiden standing over them in front of the door. I didn’t even see him pick them up. I stare, surprised, and he winks at me flirtatiously.

“Thanks…” I trail off, my eyes likely bulging out of their sockets.

Aiden grins wickedly, then he’s gone from the room. I stare blankly at the spot he was just standing in. Apparently he took what I said last night, when I mentioned him holding back his true self, seriously, and he’s letting it all out. No more human-like charades. It’s weird, but at the same time it’s really not.

Aiden returns a moment later with his car keys. “Here, can you bring the black car from the second garage out front?” he asks me.

I look at him like he must be joking. He wants me to drive his car? Is he insane? Even if it’s just for a half a kilometer, he must be nuts. I know by the glint in his eyes that this is one of his many fancy cars that I will never allow myself to drive in my life.

“I’m joking, Megan. I know you don’t know how to drive stick,” he says through a chuckle. “And I know how uncomfortable you are with driving my cars.”

Once he made me pull one of his cars ahead a couple feet onto some mini ramps, so he could change the oil. I think he did it just to laugh at me.

“I’m kind of surprised we’re not taking a limo or flashy suburban like we normally do when we leave the house,” I observe. Aiden’s cars seem to be more for show than anything. I can’t recall a specific time when we actually left somewhere in one of them. He uses them for work I guess.

“Would you rather take a limo? Are you afraid of my driving?” he looks unconcerned by my statement, like it would be simple to just call a limo. One of the guards usually drives it though, and we are sort of unguarded at the moment. That must be why we’re taking one of his cars.

“No, no. I’m just surprised is all,” I note.

He’s gone and back with the car in maybe a minute total. I reach down to grab at least one of my bags to haul to the car but realize that Aiden must’ve taken them out with him. What a gentleman.

I walk out to the car and Aiden shuts and locks the house door behind me, miraculously still beating me to the car.

I take a seat in the passenger seat and switch on the radio before tugging on my seatbelt. He switches something to ‘sport mode’, then suddenly we are going incredibly fast towards the front gates which have been left open without guards to operate them. How did I not guess that Aiden was such a super important man with all of this luxury? I mean really. How dumb am I?

He slows down to get onto the highway, then we start gaining speed like we’re a rocket about to launch or something. I squeal and clutch the arm rests. I take back what I said about being scared of his driving. Jesus Christ!

He
laughs
, fricken
laughs
. “What’s wrong? No need for speed, Megan?” he snickers.

I watch as the trees blur by, at least think they’re trees. I can’t really tell. I feel like I’m on a roller coaster.

“You’re going to hit a deer or something!” I exclaim, eyes as big as saucers. He laughs again but let’s the car slow down. He passes a tiny red car, then the odometer goes down to 100 km an hour, thankfully.

“I have the reflexes of a demon. Don’t worry about deer. Plus, I could spot one way ahead of time.”

“Police?”

He bites his cheek. “I can hear mortal’s thoughts when I try. I could sense a cop from miles away.”

So it’s true, he can read minds
and
warp them. “I’m half mortal, does that mean that you can read my thoughts?” I ask truly mortified.

He shakes his head. “Halflings are impossible for me to read. Same with hunters, pure bloods, changelings, and demidemons.”

I heave a sigh of relief and crank up the radio when I hear a good song come on.

Aiden wrinkles his nose in disgust and flips the channel to an old rock station. Okay, it could be worse, he could be into 1920s music or something, right?

I lean my head back and close my eyes. A thought comes to mind. “If you can only be killed by hellfire, then what killed your dad, hellfire?”

He doesn’t seem to be able to answer at first, then he nods slightly. “Yeah, it’s the only thing that could kill him. They found him murdered in his own home. I don’t know who would do such a thing, or who would be able to do such a thing. There are rumors that I’m not the last surviving sibling. You see, the hellfire must penetrate my heart or my brain to kill me or to kill my father and the only two of his children that he shared the gift of being able to wield such fire are me and one other unknown of his children. Only he knew which one. One of his children was killed with hellfire when someone threw him into it. This was just before my time, and everyone assumed that he was the offspring with the ability to wield hellfire, and that’s why my father thereafter his death conceived me with his lover and gave me abilities like his. The spawn he chooses to give such power to is supposed to be the next heir. It’s to be passed down. For example, I will pass on my power to one of my own children one day, and they will become the next heir.”

“So if just falling into this fire could kill him, then why assume he was murdered?” I wonder. Not following.

“Because he didn’t fall in. His whole body was completely fine except his heart. He was murdered, and that means that I’m not the only one who can use the fire. I obviously didn’t murder the guy.”

Oh.
Great. “So that means someone could be after you?”

“If they were going to, you’d think that they would’ve tried to find me and kill me, before I got to hell where I was more guarded. If it were someone who wanted the thrown so to speak, then why haven’t they stepped up? I’m the youngest of Lucian’s children, so they would get my father’s position merely because of their age. It just doesn’t make sense. I’d really like to know how whoever it was got passed all of his guards and into his home.”

I clear my throat and am about to say something when I stop myself, not sure if I should say it.

Aiden looks at me encouragingly as he turns the signal light on, slows down, and makes a left.

“Well, if you’re sure that you’re the only one of Lucian’s children that’s alive, then only you and he could use the hellfire. If you didn’t kill him, what if he killed himself?” I offer slowly, not wanting to hit a wrong cord. I add, “Let’s be real. I doubt his job was very fun, and he’s been doing it long enough. I can’t imagine living that long, let alone working the same job for that long,
that
job to top it off. Damn right depressing if you ask me.”

Aiden stares ahead, not blinking or moving a muscle which creeps me out a bit. It’s complete minutes later when he says, “He was acting strangely the past few times I saw him. I can imagine his life could have caught up with him.”

The rest of the ride is fairly silent besides a bit of arguing between radio stations. I win of course.

We eventually pull up to a field and stop. I expected we would be pulling up to a cemetery or something freaky. When I mention this to Aiden, he laughs and says I watch too many movies. I follow him to a patch of trees with a natural spring through them. It’s beautiful. My heart picks up its already rapid pace, when Aiden informs me that we’re at the gate. It sure doesn’t look hellish to me. I was expecting something terrifying at the gate like a gargoyle or something tacky. Instead, all there is is a rock with what I assume is some sort of demonic symbol. I remember seeing it in one of the books I read, but I don’t remember what it means. He sets all of my bags down beside him, and I suddenly wish that I didn’t pack so much.

“You’re just going to leave the car out here in the middle of nowhere?” I ask him confused.

“No, Terry has offered to take it back to my place,” Aiden informs me. His jaw clenches, and I can tell he’s debating taking me with him again. He
really
doesn’t want me to go, and I can imagine why. Scenes of fire and screaming and black demonic eyes fill my mind like in the movies. That’s really all I have to go by. Why can’t all demons wear the colour contacts that Blayk sported when I first met them? I asked Aiden that once and he told me that they itch, blur their vision, and don’t last very long, because their bodies absorb them thinking they are a foreign object, which I guess they are.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asks me seriously.

I nod and roll my eyes. “Decision has been made.”

“You’re going to see things that you can’t unsee,” he warns. “If at any time you want to leave, tell me. If I tell you to stay somewhere or do something, listen to me or you could lose your life. I’m serious, Megan. This isn’t a joke. This is literal
hell
.” He rubs the back of his neck with his palm nervously.