The Demon's Song: Paranormal New Adult Romance (8 page)

“I think we need to talk,” Draven said. “There is a lot you don’t know about yourself and I think it’s time you learned.”

Cadence’s stomach dropped at his words, but she did as he said and followed him as he moved towards one of the doors behind the stairs.

Draven held the door for her and Cadence’s worry turned to awe as she stepped into what must have been Draven’s home library. Shelves lined the walls and each one was filled with beautiful hardbound books that Cadence longed to explore. Something inside her knew that his books would be classic literature, old and rare alike.

“Please,” Draven said, breaking her focus on the books. “Sit.”

There was an old ruby chaise in the middle of the library and Cadence did as she was instructed and sat there while Draven sat in one of the old high-backed chairs that filled the space.

“I’m sure you have questions,” Draven said while Cadence sipped at the hot coffee.

“Yes,” she admitted. “But I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about with the shadows?” Draven said, but it wasn’t really a question. His blue eyes watched her reaction and while Cadence tried to hide her own concerns, Draven seemed to read her mind. “They’re getting worse, aren’t they?”

“Yes,” Cadence admitted.

“Tell me,” Draven said as he leaned forward just a little bit. “How long until your twenty-first birthday?”

With everything else going on in her life, Cadence hadn’t even realized that her birthday was only a week away. “It’s on the first,” she told him.

“Soon,” Draven nodded. “There isn’t much time left.”

“Time?” Cadence asked. “Time for what?”

“Cadence, you are very, very special,” Draven said as he leaned forward in his chair. She watched as he pressed the tips of his fingers together while he spoke. “You are a very rare kind of human and it makes you desirable to a lot of powerful beings.”

“Beings?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Cadence,” he said, his voice turning cooler. “You can’t pretend you have no idea. The shadows, the nightmares, twice you’ve been attacked. You can’t hide from what you are.”

“But what am I?” she asked, confusion pouring out of her. “I’m nothing, I’m just a normal person!”

“You are anything but,” Draven told her. “You are more powerful than you can imagine and there are those out there that would kill for your power.”

“People like you?” Cadence asked with venom on her words.

“No,” Draven said, shooting her accusation down with a word. “I am no fool. To kill you would be a waste. A seer’s power is nothing to toss aside.”

“Draven,” Cadence said, her curiosity mixing with her fear. “You aren’t... human... are you?”

“You have the power to see,” Draven told her as he stood from his chair. “Look, really look at me, and tell me what you see.”

Cadence didn’t want to do as Draven instructed. She didn’t want to see something like Andras had become, or worse, the small monster from earlier. She didn’t want to see him as anything but how he looked then. Though she couldn’t deny how attractive he was, with his dark hair and blue eyes that seemed to hold her gaze just a little too long. What she didn’t want was some demonic monster to appear in front of her.

But she forced herself to do as she was told. Her curiosity got the better of her and she couldn’t leave without seeing Draven, the real Draven. He gave her no guidance as he stood before her and it was up to her to see what he really was.

She stared, she glared, and she let her vision turn blurry, but Draven stayed the same before her. His dark hair was still lustrous as it hung to his ears. His eyes stayed their brilliant blue and he still wore the perfectly tailored black suit. He did not grow claws, he didn’t turn hallow and gaunt. He was still Draven.

“I don’t see anything,” Cadence shook her head. “You’re just... you.”

“Stop looking with your eyes,” Draven told her. “Look with your soul.”

She didn’t know what he meant, but somehow the words seemed to make sense as she tried again. She ignored what she saw and relied on something deep inside her. She let the world fall away and Draven, the real Draven, came into view.

He was the same, or at least at first. As she opened her mind’s eye, he began to change. There was no hunched back, no horrible fangs and claws. The differences were subtle at most. Before her, Draven’s dark hair grew longer and his eyes turned a bright ruby red.

He seemed larger somehow and there was a new aura about him. It wasn’t like the shadows she had seen all her life, it was more powerful and seemed to fill the room.

He’s beautiful
, Cadence thought as she truly saw Draven for the first time.

As she looked upon him, on the real him, her head started to ache. A pounding pain ripped across the inside of her skull and her vision went dark while she tried to maintain her gaze.

It was too much though and Cadence found herself struggling to see anything at all. Her fingers lost their grip on the half empty coffee cup, but with lightning fast reflexes, Draven was there by her side and caught it.

“Stop,” his voice said, though it was an eerie, beautiful purr. “Stop now!”

The urgency of his voice brought her back to the reality of the room, or the reality that most people could see. Her head still hurt, but it was already subsiding as she blinked away the last of what she had seen.

“What are you?” she managed to ask as the pain under her scalp began to fade.

“I am, like the others, like the shadows you’ve always seen, a demon,” Draven told her as he sat beside her on the chaise.

“No,” she refused to believe him. “No, I saw those demons. You aren’t like them. You’re different. You’re an angel.”

“Ha!” he laughed. “Just because I look as I do, because I do not wish to harm you, does not change my nature. I am a demon, as I have been for the last twelve hundred years.”

It was all too much. Cadence didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or scream. All she knew was she couldn’t believe it.

“Listen to me,” he said, his voice turning cold again as he put a finger to Cadence’s chin and turned her gaze back to him. “Twelve hundred years ago, I offered up my soul to the demons of hell. It was a contract, a very powerful one. In return for a life, I gave my own in service of hell.”

“In return for a life?” Cadence asked. “I don’t understand.”

In that moment, Draven’s eyes turned strangely sad. “My daughter’s,” he told her. “I was near thirty when fever struck our village. She was one of the first to fall ill and we knew she was going to die. We could hear the rattle of death in her lungs, but I wouldn’t allow it. It wasn’t her time, so I did something about it.

People used to believe in the power of demons. They would come to us as much as they would turn to heaven in their prayers. In the middle of the night, when the moon was full, I went to a crossroads. I called upon the demon that held power there and begged him to spare my child’s life. When the deal was done, I belonged to that demon. My soul was his.”

“But you don’t look like the others,” Cadence said, trying to find a way to deny his words. “You’re nothing like them.”

“They are young,” he explained. “Andras is ambitious and struck out on his own so early. He isn’t ready, but your power would fuel him. That other little cod, well, ambition will only get you so far. Though with power like yours, when properly used, it could elevate a demon quite quickly.

I look how I do because I’ve had a millennium to grow my power. I’ve adapted to the changing world and with more powerful contracts, the more powerful I become. I am still a crossroads demon, giving out contracts and granting people’s desires. I’ve just adapted to the modern world.”

“Is that what we do?” Cadence asked, horrified that she had any part in it.

“To an extent,” Draven said. “It depends on the person and what it is they desire. They wish for power, fame, glory, money, the usual things, really. I give that to them. If they choose to extend their contracts, so be it. If they are under contract when they die, their soul is mine. If they end the contract, their soul is theirs, but they will lose everything that they had originally bargained for. It is a fair trade.”

“But what about me?” Cadence asked. “I’m no one. I don’t understand what makes me different.”

“But you are different,” Draven said as he took her hands in his. “To devour you would give a demon access to your power, or some of it at least. He would elevate himself quite quickly, but older demons, demons such as myself, know that’s not the end of it. To truly take your power, to have it all, one needs to work harder. One needs connection, passion, even love.”

“Love?” Cadence almost spit out. “But... you’re a demon!”

“And yet I can know love,” Draven smiled at her. “And surely I know passion. If you give yourself to me, by choice, no other demon could have you. You’d be worthless to them as long as you were mine. You’d still have your power, but it would grow. Your sight wouldn’t hurt you like it just did. You would only see what you wanted to, and the shadows would go away. I’d protect you from the darkness, from the others, and your power would be mine to take. It doesn’t just go away, you’ll never be without your gifts.”

Cadence didn’t know what to say. Draven was attractive, there was no denying that, but to love a demon? It was wrong, it was some strange taboo that she couldn’t break. But to be safe again. Would it be so bad?

“Mr. Crane...” she began.

“Draven,” he corrected her.

“I don’t know,” she managed to say, but her voice was barely above a whisper.

“Let me show you,” he purred at her as he leaned closer to her. His long fingers tucked her short hair behind her ear before his moved his lips to her exposed throat.

He kissed her softly, delicate even, as his lips caressed the delicate skin of her neck. Her body shuddered at his touch, but she didn’t protest. Gently, his fingers found her thigh and trailed up to the bottom of her sweater before they passed under it.

A voice inside her told her to stop, but Draven was the first man to touch her like that and she couldn’t deny that a part of her wanted it. His fingertips brushed over her belly and a soft moan escaped her lips when they did.

Draven took her moan as a sign of approval and his kisses turned hungrier. He drew her body closer to his and Cadence found herself reaching for him. Her fingers found his arm and she couldn’t help but notice how strong he felt under her touch. She wanted more, she desired more and he was going to give it to her.

His lips moved up her neck and across her jaw. As he kissed her, her body trembled in his arms as his lips moved ever closer to her own.

When he pressed his lips to hers, it was more than she ever expected. He tasted strangely sweet and she obeyed as he pushed her lips open. It wasn’t until he began to explore her tongue with his own that she forced herself to pull back.

“No,” she said with a gasp as she pulled back from Draven. She put her hands to his chest and pushed herself back because she knew if he kissed her again, she wouldn’t find it in herself to stop him.

“This is all happening too fast,” she said as she shook her head. “I can’t. Not yet at least... I just...”

Draven stopped her with a touch of his fingers to the underside of her chin. He drew her gaze back to his before he spoke.

“It’s all right,” he told her. “You have time yet.”

“Time?” she stuttered, still fluttered from their brief, but passionate kiss.

“Your power will grow until your twenty-first birthday,” Draven explained. “If you become mine by then, you’ll be under my protection. But if you wait, no demon in this realm or the next will remain unaware of your power. When that happens, nothing can protect you from them.”

His warning sent fear washing over Cadence. She didn’t know what else could be coming for her, but she didn’t want to find out.

Chapter Seven

The day was getting late and though Draven had offered to let her stay, Cadence just wanted to go home. She was sure Jane was worried sick about her and the batteries in her phone were long dead.

“You’re welcome here any time,” Draven said. “If I don’t see you before though, I’ll expect you at the office at seven tomorrow morning.”

His mention of the office was a stark contrast to the brief moment of passion they had shared. He had been delicate, but Cadence was so full of need. She’d never been made to feel like that before and she knew she had to leave before she gave in to him.

She could feel Draven’s eyes on her as she walked down the short set of stairs that led from his house. She made herself keep her eyes straight in front of her while she walked. She didn’t want to show him any signs of weakness while she made the short walk home.

She didn’t make it far though. As she walked, the sun low in the sky but the rain finally stopped, she could see as shadows crept along the trees. There were more than she had ever seen and worse, she swore she could hear them.

The sounds were quiet at first. Low moans that could just as well been the wind rustling through wet leaves as they hung precariously from their branches. Soft, sickly sounds followed her as she walked down empty streets. There was no one there to protect her, but she continued to march forward in an effort to prove that she wasn’t some freak. She was normal, just like everyone else. It didn’t matter what Draven said, the shadows were all in her mind.

As much as she tried to convince herself of that, the moans grew louder and she was beginning to hear them call her own name.

“Cadence,”
the wind blew by her.
“Cadence.”

Every sound was like a warning to run back to Draven’s, but she refused. She couldn’t give so easily, she wouldn’t!

But as hard as she tried to believe it was all in her mind, there was no denying the truth as one of the shadows began to take shape not five feet in front of her. It was different from the rest, it grew and changed as it took solid shape and soon she saw the shadow grow rows of very real, very sharp teeth.

More of the shadows rippled to life in front of her as they called her name. She couldn’t pretend anymore. No rational thought in her brain could stop her as she turned on her heels and sprinted back to Draven’s house.