Try Me (3 page)

"Sorry. I just meant that I've been talking to your mother, and she's grateful, too."

"Uh huh,” I said noncommittally, as Fang rolled his eyes. We both believed Mom was happy that her husband and favorite daughter had been saved . . . but I wasn't so sure she was glad I was the one to do it. She'd always blamed me for being a bad influence on Jen. It's why she'd kicked me out of the house and made me live on my own the day I turned eighteen. I'd been lucky to connect with Fang, Dan, his sister, and a job with the San Antonio P.D.

"No, really,” Rick said. “I'm calling to invite you to Thanksgiving dinner."

I hesitated. A week ago, I would have been thrilled to be invited back into the fold. But now . . . I wasn't sure. I stuck my hand in my pocket and hunched my shoulders. “I don't know. I'm still not sure I'm welcome.” They were all fully human. I'd finally accepted that I'm not. Fully human, that is. The whole time I was growing up, Mom had made me feel like a freak. I wasn't sure I wanted to go back.

His voice softened. “Really, Val, she's mellowed. She's even hired one of Micah's people at the store."

"You mean she'll actually have another part-demon around Jen?” Just as long as the part-demon isn't me, huh?.

"Yeah, well, but Jen doesn't like him."

Fang snorted. THAT EXPLAINS A LOT. IF BABY SISTER DOESN'T LIKE HIM, MOM ASSUMES HE CAN'T BE A BAD INFLUENCE ON HER.

True. And it might deter Jen's unhealthy fascination with all things vamp and demony. Mom wasn't being altruistic—she was covering her butt. After seeing how naive Jen was about Alejandro and the other vamps, I couldn't blame her. “I don't know, Rick. I might spend Thanksgiving with Micah and the others."

Rick sighed. “I know they probably feel more like family right now than we do."

"Not really, but at least they don't carp at me and blame me for everything wrong in their lives like Mom does."

"I understand, but Jen and I want you here, and your mother promised to behave."

I grimaced. Why couldn't she just want me to come home ‘cause I'm her daughter, too? Selfishly, I wanted her to want me there.

But that obviously wasn't going to happen. “I don't—"

"Think about it, Val. Thanksgiving is three weeks away. Really, I think this could bring the two of you back together."

Fang eyed me. DON'T DO IT. YOU KNOW YOU'LL REGRET IT.

He was probably right, but Mom, Rick and Jen were the only human family I had. Hedging, I said, “I'll think about it."

"Good, good.” Rick sounded relieved. “We'll count on you being here."

I made a noncommittal noise and changed the subject. “Hey, did Mom ever mention anything about my father being more than one kind of demon?"

"No.” Rick sounded surprised. “Why?"

"No reason. I'm just, uh, trying to learn more about my uh . . . heritage, you know?"

"Sorry, she never mentioned anything else about him. Want me to ask her?"

"Sure, if you would.” Mom was the only connection I had to my father's demon ancestry. If I have any close relatives on his side, they'd never made themselves known to me. But she might know.

"Okay, will do. Or you could ask her yourself . . . “

I grimaced. Yeah, right. Loads of fun, talking to Mom about her unwanted demon in-laws. “Hey, listen, gotta go. I have a thing."

"Okay, sweetheart. See you soon."

He hung up and Fang nosed me. DO YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE MOMMY DEAREST AGAIN?

"Not really.” But there was something deep inside that longed to be a kid again, playing with my sister, training with Rick, baking cookies with Mom . . .

. . . BEING TREATED LIKE CRAP, LIKE YOU'RE SUB-HUMAN, BEING HIDDEN AWAY FROM THE WORLD LIKE YOU'RE A FREAK . . .

I winced. Fang was right. Unless I could somehow rip out the demon part of me, my mother was never going to love me like she did her fully human daughter. I sighed. It was her problem, not mine, and I'd learned to deal.

EVEN BETTER, YOU HAVE A NEW LIFE OF YOUR OWN. AND ME.

I laughed and hugged him. “True. Let's get going so we don't miss the party."

Fang and I cruised down to San Antonio's famous River Walk on my Valkyrie, looking forward to the restaurants and crowds and romantic atmosphere, relaxing in the balmy autumn evening. I parked the Valkyrie and Fang and I walked down the stone steps. Tourists and locals mixed freely on both sides of the narrow, jade-green river, strolling hand in hand, or chatting and laughing over meals under bright umbrellas. The little twinkling lights in the trees overhanging the river made it seem somehow magical . . . in a good way. The River Walk always seemed to me like a lost world in a bubble of its own, far removed from ordinary reality. Or at least, certainly something I never knew as ordinary.

But despite being in my favorite place, I couldn't help but speculate on what other kind of demon might be lurking within me. It was hard not to wonder . . . and worry.

RELAX, Fang said. MAYBE THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO BE A LUST DEMON. MAYBE YOUR PHYSICAL STRENGTH IS INHERITED FROM YOUR FAMILY AND NOT MICAH'S. NO BIG.

"Maybe not for you . . .” What if it was something else? Like there was a demon time bomb set to go off in my body or something.

OBSESS MUCH?

"Maybe I have good reason."

AND MAYBE YOU DON'T. DID YOU READ ABOUT ANYTHING LIKE THAT IN THE ENCYCLOPEDIA MAGICKA?

No, but I hadn't read that much of it, and I didn't remember reading about anyone having a mixture of demons inside them. What happened when two types of demons mingled?

YOU GET VAL SHAPIRO, Fang said. NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT.

I grinned down at the hellhound. He did know how to make me feel better.

Ignoring the “Closed” sign at Micah's place, Club Purgatory, Fang and I entered through the front. A man at the podium glanced at us then waved us in. “They're in the Ladies Lounge,” he said.

Fang sniffed the air. THERE'S ANOTHER DOG HERE. COOL—SOMEONE MY OWN SIZE.

He bounded up the stairs, and I followed. The club looked so different with the lights turned up. Not as dark and mysterious. No crowds of swooning women watching Micah dance. Instead, the purgatory flame and devil theme seemed a little theatrical and hokey under the bright lights.

When I entered the lounge, I saw that someone—probably Micah's assistant, Tessa—had made an attempt to decorate for the party, with streamers, balloons, and floral centerpieces on all the tables. But thankfully, no stupid party hats. Could you imagine demons wearing pointy pieces of cardboard snugged with elastic under their chins? Not.

The room was full of people of all shapes, sizes, age, and ethnicity. All colors and creeds of human being could be part-demon. And most of them looked entirely normal . . . though a good sprinkling of them showed evidence of their mixed family trees.

I was used to them, now. I didn't even blink at the sight of small horns peeking from their hair, or purple skin, or vaporish clouds where their faces should be.

Fang immediately followed his nose to the other side of the room, and I smiled at Micah, who came to greet me. He glanced at the backpack. “You have the books?” he asked eagerly.

"Yep."

I handed them over. He unzipped the backpack and peered inside. “Excellent.” He glanced around and beckoned Tessa over. She looked even more elfin than normal in this lighting. Not that she was an actual elf. At least, not so far as I knew. Tessa's claim to demon fame was subtle. She went into trances and uttered mysterious prophecies. “Could you put these in the office and lock the door, please?” Micah asked.

Tessa smiled a greeting at me. “Sure.” She hefted the backpack. “That's strange . . . I didn't know I'd be able to feel the magick."

"You can?” I asked in surprise.

"Yes. Can't you?"

"Uh, no. Guess I'm not sensitive enough."

Tessa shrugged and took off with the backpack, but now that I didn't have anything to hold onto, I wasn't quite sure what to do with my hands . . . or the rest of me. I hadn't attended many parties in my lonely life, so I stood there, feeling like a total loser.

Micah must have sensed my geekiness, because he gestured toward the bar. “There's food and drink over there. Have some, then mingle, get to know folks."

"Uh, are there some . . . manners or customs or whatever, that I should know?” I didn't want to screw up or anything. Please, give me directions on how to navigate this foreign land.

"One thing—in the Demon Underground, it's considered bad manners to ask someone what kind of demon they are. Unless they choose to tell you themselves, of course."

"Then how do you know the ones who look like regular humans really are part-demon?"

"To belong to the Demon Underground, they have to register with us and demonstrate their abilities, so I know their background."

"I don't remember registering."

"You didn't have to—your father did it for you, when you were born."

"Oh.” That made sense.

A couple more people came in the door, and he waved me on. “Go, meet and mingle. Come see me afterward, and we'll go through the magick books. See if we can find out more about what other kind of demon might be in your background."

Easier said than done. I glanced around, but wasn't sure how to start mingling, since even Fang had deserted me. Thirsty, I decided to do as Micah suggested and headed for the bar to get a Coke. An attractive middle-aged Hispanic woman smiled at me as I picked up a glass. She looked like someone's mother, and I couldn't imagine what kind of racy demon she might house. She held out her hand. “Hi. You must be Val. I'm Maria Ramirez."

As I shook her hand, I wondered how she knew me. Then the significance of her last name struck me. “The lieutenant's wife?” I asked.

"Yes—Juan has told me so much about you."

Juan? Sheesh, I hadn't thought of my boss having a first name. I laughed nervously. “All good, I hope."

She smiled. “Of course, though I understand you're going through a bit of a rough time right now. If you ever want to talk . . . “

I stared down into my Coke, not sure what to say. “Thanks. I'm good."

She patted my hand. “Well, give me a call if you change your mind. Juan can give you the number.” Maria pointed to the far corner. “I think someone is trying to get your attention."

I glanced up and realized she was right. Someone stood up and waved at me. Deep hoodie hiding his inhuman face, gloves hiding his hands . . . it had to be Shade. Good—someone I knew. I smiled and waved back then glanced hesitantly at Maria, not wanting to seem rude.

"Go ahead,” she said. “It'll do you good to be with people your own age."

I thanked her and headed toward the corner. As I neared the guy who'd waved at me, I asked uncertainly, “Shade?"

He tipped back his hood for a moment and I saw the dark ribbons of light swirling in the space where his face should be. Yep, it was Shade all right. You could only see a shadow demon's features if his skin was touching someone else's. Then he looked totally normal, or rather, totally hot. I was kind of surprised Shade hid under his hood here, but maybe his lack of ordinary human features made even part-demons uncomfortable.

He was sitting at a table with four other people, and they brought up another chair and scooted around to make space for me next to Shade. “Val, these are my friends,” he said. He introduced them, and I tried to remember their names. The guy with the wavy blond hair and wide smile was Josh, and the quiet, brooding redhead was named Andrew. I reined Lola in tightly to keep her from flirting with the two guys. I turned toward the girls. The dark-haired Emo girl with the geeky clothes and glowing violet eyes asked to be called Mood and the other girl, Shawndra, had green hair, pale skin, and tons of piercings.

I felt a familiar canine nose nudge my knee, through my jeans. AND THIS, Fang said, IS PRINCESS.

I glanced down to see a beautiful little dog gazing up at me with her big, brown eyes. HELLO. I AM A PUREBRED CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL. YOU MAY PET ME.

I raised my eyebrows at her diva attitude, but scratched her smooth, silky ears as directed.

"You found another part-hellhound dog?” I asked Fang. But the answer was obviously Yes. An ordinary canine would have shied away from demons and wouldn't have been able to speak in my mind. She's not quite purebred, I thought with amusement.

YEAH. ISN'T SHE GORGEOUS? Fang stared at her in admiration, obviously smitten.

"Stunning,” I confirmed with a smirk.

Apparently satisfied by my recognition of her beauty, Princess laid down at Shade's feet, and Fang cuddled up next to her with a mental sigh of admiration.

Amused, I glanced at Shade. “Is she yours?"

I BELONG TO MYSELF, Princess said indignantly.

Oops. “I should have asked if Shade is your human servant,” I said dryly.

Princess sniffed. THAT IS NOT AMUSING. HOWEVER, YES, I AM CURRENTLY RESIDING WITH THE SHADOW DEMON.

Shade spread his hands. “When I met Fang, I realized there might be more like him, so I went looking. I found Princess holding court in the county shelter. No one else dared adopt her.” Though I couldn't see his face, I could hear the laughter in his voice.

YOU DIDN'T CHOOSE ME. I CHOSE YOU, Princess said.

Shade rubbed her head. “You did indeed.” He sounded very pleased about it. I grinned, too, glad that it gave us something else in common.

"How come we haven't seen you around before?” Andrew asked me. He said it with a smile, but it sounded like more of a challenge.

Shawndra bumped him with her shoulder. “Hey, don't be rude.” Her speech sounded clear, though I wondered how she managed with the piercings in her lips and tongue

Determined not to stare, I turned to Andrew and shrugged. “No biggie. I just didn't know you guys existed."

He scowled. “Now who's being rude?"

Huh? “No, I didn't mean it that way—"

Shade interrupted. “She just learned about the Demon Underground about a week or so ago. But she's one of us, now. Aren't you, Val?"

Was I? “I guess,” I said doubtfully. Though I wondered how many of them were surly, like Andrew. If only they were more like Josh, who seemed content to watch and smile. Mood glanced at him, too, and I was surprised to see the naked longing in her eyes. A longing that Josh seemed clueless about.