A Demon Made Me Do It (3 page)

Tatiana slowly chews her food, and for
a moment I think she might not answer me. I know how much it
bothers her to always be stuck in the middle of the two of us.
Finally, she dabs at the corners of her mouth with a napkin. “I
will speak with Her, but I believe she is just reacting to the
recent events and heightened danger. Perhaps she is staying close
to the surface as a protective measure.”

“
She’s not
protecting
me; she’s
getting me in trouble!”

“
You know She has
difficulty distinguishing the difference. What is right for her may
be entirely wrong for you.”

I make a noise that’s
something between a cough and a snort. “That, right there, is the
understatement of the
century
, Tatiana.”

“
I will have a word with
her...”

“
Yes, please tell her to
butt out of my life. If she does it one more time, I’ll find a way
to wake up during
her
time and make her say and do something really stupid. See how
much she likes it.” My threat is hollow and Tatiana knows it. She
knows I do everything in my power not to wake up at night and
witness the world my demon half inhabits. The only thing that keeps
me from going
completely
insane is not knowing anything that happens from
dusk to dawn. Blissful ignorance being my only saving grace in this
twisted situation.

I return to my meal, but Tatiana
fixates her compelling gaze on me. Great.

“
What?” I mutter. If she’s
still going to give me a hard time about leaving even after I
explained what had happened…

“
Your energy is
conflicted…you speak with anger and frustration, yet there is a
happy glow deep within you that was not there before. I am curious
as to what caused it.”

I gulp, close my eyes, and pray
Tatiana can’t sense how hot my face flushes.

“
It’s nothing, really,” I
mumble. Oh, please. Who am I trying to fool? Might as well spill
it. “There was a new boy there today. Guess his uncle works out at
the mines, so he’s going to go to school here. He’s nice, is all.
Sorta cute, too.” I shove a heaping spoonful of stew into my mouth
and lower my head.

She nods and tilts up her chin. “Ahh,
yes. The new arrival. I sensed him several days ago. However, I was
unsure as to his exact purpose, and if, in fact, your paths would
meet. Destinies have yet to be written, and he is only a half,
bound by the dark and embraced by the light. Free will is his, for
he shan’t be at the mercy of any master if liberty is within his
grasp.”

I let out an exasperated sigh. That’s
the thing about Tatiana. She’ll be perfectly normal one minute, but
start speaking in nonsensical riddles the next. I take a swig of
some apple juice and glance out the window.

“
Do you know what She’s
doing tonight?” I ask, eager to change the subject.

“
Taxes,” Tatiana replies.
“Should be uneventful. Humans only.”

“
She’s not going to be
happy about that. You must know she’s completely obsessed with
hunting the Amazèa demons ever since she heard they were in the
area. Even when She’s not surfacing I can sometimes hear her
thoughts…she’s seriously gunning for a battle. I don’t think she’ll
stop just to collect some money.”

“
She will, because her
search is futile for now. The Amazèa have already left our
territory…”

Her words fade away as the first waves
of fiery tingles flush through my weakening body. My time is over.
I try to push my remaining food away from me, but it’s too late. My
arms have already gone limp. They are no longer mine.

My fork clanks on the floor.
Everything goes dark.

When I open my eyes I’m sitting at the
table across from Tatiana. She gives me a small smile.

“
Hello, Lucky.”

Chapter 2.
Lucky

A pungent odor assaults my
senses, and I look down in disgust. Even when I
could
consume human food I’d always
been a strict vegetarian, unlike Liora, who insists on fueling our
body with animal carcasses. It’s one thing to try to ignore this
revolting fact—quite another to wake up to it staring me in the
face.

Electric fire races through my veins
as I raise my arms to obliterate the offensive sight. But Tatiana’s
words stop me cold.

“
Please don’t, dear. I’m
particularly fond of those dishes.”

I scowl at my guardian, but allow the
dancing flames on my palm to extinguish. “I know she did that on
purpose. She knows this garbage makes me sick. You’d think she’d be
a little more appreciative after what I did for her today.” I kick
my chair back with more force than necessary and move to the other
side of the room.

“
And what was that?”
Tatiana asks as she clears away the plates.

“
Some idiots were giving
her a hard time in school. I took care of it. And I was
nice
about it. All smiles
and sweetness… mostly. Why do you insist on making her go to that
horrid prison, anyway?”

Tatiana says nothing and
takes the dish towel from her shoulder, using it to wipe the
counter. I glance down at the clothes covering my body and moan.
“And for the love of Lucifer, please tell me why she has to wear
these trash bags
every day.
Gah
,
it’s a good thing
one
of us has some taste.”

“
I think Liora has been
more depressed lately.” Tatiana dries her hands and follows me into
my room. She perches on the corner of the bed and smoothes her
Victorian-styled dress over her dainty knees. “Lucky, why have you
been taking over when it’s not your turn?”

“
I’d be depressed too, if
every time I looked in a mirror I saw a ridiculous emo goth moping
back at me. I mean, the black nail polish is cool, but
seriously
…that girl needs
to add some color to her wardrobe and lay off the raccoon eyeliner.
Please tell her that
funeral chic
is over,” I say as I remove her makeup and reapply
my own.

“
You didn’t answer my
question.”

I hunt through the closet and retrieve
my selection before responding. I can tell Tatiana’s mad at me, but
I have a very good reason for showing up today.

“
Well, someone has to be on
point, especially now. I can’t let my guard down for one second
with the Amazèa back in town. And Liora, she’s so weak. If they
wanted to get me, what better way than to go through her when I’d
be unprotected and utterly helpless? Thankfully, she’s been making
it much easier for me to pop in… she just sorta mentally
checks out
and
wants
me to take over,
even if she won’t admit it.”

Leave it to Liora to blame me for
everything. If she hadn’t really wanted me there, I wouldn’t have
been able to break through. But as usual she failed to acknowledge
this tiny little detail.

Tatiana takes a moment to consider
this. “Perhaps you feel that to be true, but it has an unwelcome
effect on her well-being. I’m going to request you not interfere in
her life unless it’s an extreme emergency. A matter of life or
death.”

“
Why? I don’t hurt
anyone…not
really…
.well, nothing permanent, usually. And I need to make sure I’m
safe—”

“
You know perfectly well
your vessel is safe while Liora has possession. Demons dare not
cross over the sacred land where her school resides, and
Light-angels cannot sense her true nature as long as she is in her
pure human form. When you arrive uninvited, especially after she
has left our realm and entered the domain of Man, you put her—and
yourself—at risk. And it bothers her. How would you like it if she
showed up and took over while you were on a hunt?”

I can’t help but laugh at the thought.
“That would almost be funny if it wouldn’t get us both killed. I
can picture her now… ‘Ahh, a scary demon, help! Eeeks, a smelly
vampire, somebody call 911!’ That is if she doesn’t fall off Diablo
and break her ass first…

“…
But okay, okay,” I say in
response to the stern look on Tatiana’s face. “Her pathetic life in
Sapie-land is Boresville, anyway. I’d much rather sleep through
it.” I give her a playful wink and pat her tiny legs. The fiercest
of fire-demons don’t faze me one bit, but I’ll never risk facing
the wrath of a witch, especially one who can summon more powerful
forces than I can imagine with just a few utterances from her
withered lips.

“
Thank you, Lucky.” Tatiana
retreats to her room.

I push Tatiana’s reprimand and Liora’s
pathetic tattle-telling from my head. Right now I have more
important things to worry about. As I strip off Liora’s shapeless
disguise of black rags and change into skintight, red leather pants
and a matching vest, my blood churns with heightened
anticipation.

How long have I dreamed of this
night?

After throwing on my
favorite black riding cloak, I fasten it securely at the base of my
throat with my Boumeaux—the sacred jewel of my tribe that I wear
with pride. Only those of us belonging to the royal order of
demonia angelis
can bear
having the stone in our possession; imposters will instantly burn
to ash if they so much as touch it. It also allows me to enter the
Land of Thiberoux, the mystical realm of the Dark-angels. Most
importantly, however, the black diamond broach serves as a warning
beacon to the presence of Light-angels, even cleverly disguised.
The enchanted jewel will glow brightly, alerting me mortal danger
is nearby. Fortunately, I’ve never had mine light up, but I know
others who have. It allowed them to barely escape with their
lives.

A final coat of cherry red
lip gloss and a quick brush through my ebony hair and I’m ready to
go. Tonight is the night…I can feel it in my bones. I was
so
close to catching the
Amazèa last night, but they eluded me just as dawn approached.
Tonight those bastards are all mine. Although it’s my sacred duty
to deliver Justice, and I do it nightly, this mission is different.
This is revenge.

This is
personal
.

Tatiana is in her room, elbow deep in
her cast-iron cauldron. She performs this ritual every night,
whether it’s finding me demons to hunt, humans to torment, or
simply keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding lands.

“
Where are they?” I demand.
No need to say who ‘they’ are; she knows exactly who I’m talking
about.

She swirls her hands through the pot’s
murky waters. A cool steam rises up over her serene, ageless face.
“The Amazèa have left our realm and are now safely within the
territory of the Belith tribe. As you are strictly forbidden to
cross over to their lands, tonight you have another
task—”

“
Wait…Hold up.
What?
What do you mean
they
left
?” I feel
like someone just whacked me in the gut with a troll-hammer. “They
just got here a few weeks ago…”

“
I do not know…Perhaps they
knew they were being followed. Perhaps they were called away.
Nevertheless, you know you cannot hunt outside the territory,
especially in one protected by such a hostile clan. You must bide
your time until the Amazèa return. For now, there are two humans in
need of a visit. They both agreed to exchange favor with an
Uliminiti demon for power and riches. One man will soon be elected
a state senator, and the other is an actor who will win a major
award. Both are home and alone, so there will be minimal
conflict.”

I stare at Tatiana, my
mouth agape. Surely, she’s not serious. I’m gearing up for slaying
and demon carnage and she wants me to go
toll collecting
? And not even from
some low-level demons, but pitiful Sapies? So
not
cool, and not even in my
job-description. As an Aequitas demon, it’s my duty to torment and
inflict Justice on those who deserve it. I’m good at my job.
I
like
my job.
Extorting money from greedy Sapies is Tatiana’s deal; she just uses
me as the muscle. I admit, I enjoy it sometimes. I get a kick out
of seeing the Sapie’s faces when I announce who I am and why I’m
here…

But not tonight. Tonight the only
creatures I’m interested in tormenting are the evil monsters who
murdered my best friends—right before they cast their wicked spell
that split my precious soul in two.

I’ve been so patient. Not that I’ve
really had much of a choice. I’ve thought of little besides revenge
every night for the past five years. Five years, four months, six
days and two hours to be exact. But the creatures I sought have
always been out of my reach, for I’m restrained by the jurisdiction
of my tribe’s influence and the unnatural limitations on my
time.

But finally, after all this
time—after years of training, plotting, waiting, seething…
finally
, the Amazèa had
returned to my hunting grounds. The end to my nightmare was in
sight. I would kill them once and for all, lift the curse that
binds me to the night, and deliver Justice for my fallen
friends.