Halfling (Black Petals Book 1) (18 page)

Mason comes at him again. “That’s the thing though. I can kill you. You can’t kill me. One of these times, you’ll mess up, and it’ll end with your death. It’s just a matter of time.”

“And how do you know that I can’t kill you?” Aiden antagonizes, a slight smirk playing at the corner of his mouth.

“If you could, wouldn’t you have done it by now? You’ve had many chances.” Mason shrugs and comes at Aiden a third time. Aiden steps out of the way quickly.

“Have you ever thought that maybe I don’t
want
to kill you?” Aiden asks Mason who wears a blank expression. They stare at each other for a second, Mason must be thinking about what Aiden’s said.

“No, because you have no reason to not want to kill me, demon. I’m your enemy.” Mason says this through clenched teeth.

“Why? Because you’re a hunter, and I’m a demon? Remember that time when you fell into the icy pond when you were little and almost drowned? Do you remember who pulled your ass out and saved your life? What about that time you got lost out in the snow, nearly froze to death trying to go visit your girlfriend, who snuck out of the house to find you? I did, Mason,
I did
. Why would I want to kill you? I have no reason to kill you. Why don’t you understand that?” Aiden begs, sounding tired like he’s had this argument with Mason a million times over. If I had any doubt that they were brothers, it’s now demolished. It makes sense. I can see the love in Aiden’s eyes for Mason. In Mason’s eyes, I see hesitation. It doesn’t last long though, because he lunges at Aiden.

Aiden, if it isn’t obvious, is far faster than Mason and jumps out of the way as if he anticipates his move. If Mason, Crispen, and Aria took down eighteen of Aiden’s guards on their own, yet Mason can’t even lay a hand on Aiden, what does that say about Aiden? He must be one hell of a fighter. Terry was right. I wonder if it runs in the family, knowing that Crispen too is apparently an excellent fighter. Then again, I guess the two of them aren’t
really
related.

As if on que, Crispen comes barreling through the door, weapon in hand. I suck in a sharp breath as his blue eyes land on mine. He hesitates a moment before moving his gaze from me. His face morphs into disgust, and he leaps at Aiden at the same time Mason does. I can’t imagine this ending well.

I force myself not to blink, so I don’t miss anything. I look for a weapon, not that I can be much of any help, but I must do something other than stand and watch Aiden get murdered by his crazy brothers.

Faster than I’ve ever seen anyone move, Aiden zips around Mason and pushes him into the wall, causing more pictures to come crashing to the ground. Then, Aiden grabs Crispen by the hair and throws him on top of Mason. Mason groans loudly, and a snarl escapes from Crispen. Aiden’s expression remains blank as if this is just routine.

“Get out of my house, you imbeciles.” Aiden points to where the door used to be.

Crispen jumps up and throws a small silver object at Aiden. Just when I think it’s about to hit him, it stops in midair, and I realize that he’s caught it. Aiden just caught a knife as if it was merely a baseball being tossed to him.

Mason and Crispen share a short look before Mason jumps at Aiden, and Crispen runs towards me. I gasp and stupidly cover my head with my arms. I don’t know what else to do. I don’t have the speed or strength to do anything else. At the moment I expect some sort of impact and nothing comes, I open my eyes to see Crispen on the ground ten feet from me and Aiden on top of him.

“Try to hurt me all you want, Crispen, but you’re not laying a hand on Megan. I won’t allow that,” Aiden fumes. His elbow then collides with Crispen’s forehead, and all I can see is blood. Blood everywhere. Crispen lies still on the ground, completely unmoving. For a second, I wonder if he’s dead, but there’s no way, he must be knocked out.

“He’s just knocked out,” Aiden says, confirming my assumption. He then looks across the room. I follow his gaze to Mason, the same injury on his forehead. “So is he.”

Terry comes into the house covered in blood from head to toe. He looks like some kind of zombie or something. I try not to gag or pass out. “Oh, goodness, master, I wondered where those two went. Good work.” Terry doesn’t look surprised that Aiden took out both Mason and Crispen on his own.

Aiden grabs a paper towel from a table and wipes off his elbow like the blood on it is nothing. “What’s going on out there, do you need a hand?”

“One hunter is down. The male. The female is feisty, and she is knocking our rankings down quickly, sir.”

“Okay, Megan, stay right where you are, don’t move. I’ll be five minutes,” Aiden swears and then runs out the door, passing Terry who takes in the scene inside of the house one more time, looks to me quickly, and then follows Aiden. It took Terry long enough to come check on us. If Aiden wasn’t some sort of ninja, then we’d have been dead by now. I wonder just how full the guard’s hands are outside. How many of them have fallen?

I walk over to where Crispen lies and look at the damage to his head. I dry heave when I see the hole in his skull and can’t imagine him still being able to heal and wake up. I begin to feel dizzy, so I force myself to look away and think about something else.

Aiden stays true to his word. Within five minutes he’s in the house again, Aria slung unconsciously over his shoulder. Terry carries in the fourth attacker, a man who looks to be about thirty with brown hair and a mustache matching in colour.

“Are you okay, Megan?” Aiden asks me gently, like he expects me to snap. Inside I
am
freaking the hell out.

I nod after a moment of hesitation.

“Terry, can you take them downstairs and lock them up. Make sure you remove all of their weapons first.”

“Yes, sir,” Terry agrees and takes Aria’s limp body from Aiden roughly.

Aiden approaches me slowly. “I am
so
sorry that you had to see me do that,” he breathes. He keeps his distance from me, and part of me wonders if he thinks I’m afraid of him. Am I? No. He probably just saved my life and his own, Terry’s too and whatever other guards are left standing, if any.

“How many guards didn’t make it?” I wonder out loud, wrapping my arms around myself for comfort.

“Miraculously only five. I don’t know how these two got in here so fast. I think they had a plan in place before attacking, and I don’t think the fourth hunter is very…
trained
. Not compared to the other three any ways.” I wonder if the fourth man is the family friend Crispen talked about. What was his name? Jayden?

“I’m having Terry lock them up downstairs, until I can decide what to do. I can’t have them attacking us again. It would only take one of them and a second to snap your neck. You’re very delicate as a halfling, Megan. I can’t risk you getting hurt.”

I nod. At least he didn’t kill them. Not that he knows how. It sure doesn’t seem like any of these demons know how to kill a hunter. It seems like they just turn them into demons as an alternative. I’m not too sure about having the three of them ‘locked up’ below my feet, but if he thinks it’s best, then I believe him.

“I can’t believe Crispen is your brother,” I breathe, one hand moving to cover my mouth. “Terry told me.”

“I know, I heard him tell you.” Aiden nods and licks his lips.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“
Well
…” he begins. “Like how I didn’t tell you that Crispen killed my daughter, I wasn’t sure how to drop the bomb. My guards and servants are the only ones who know, they’re not really supposed to tell anyone about it either.” I hope I haven’t gotten Terry in trouble. “I move around a lot, but my siblings always seem to find me in time.”

“They actively search you out?”

“Yes, they really want me dead. After they found me last time, and Karly…passed away, I didn’t move again, because she is buried here. I vowed to find a way to cure my siblings of the disease inside of them. By wanting so badly to kill the creatures they hated, they’ve become just like them.” He straightens his hair and removes his bloody shirt. Underneath he wears a black muscle shirt that explains to me why they call muscle shirts what they’re called. He looks like an absolute god. I shudder. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve come to this conclusion. Every day when we train I have to force myself not to gawk, hell, every time I see him I have to force myself not to stare.

“How do you plan on curing your siblings?” As I ask this, Terry comes bustling into the room to grab Mason and Crispen off the floor. He scoops them up easily and then leaves the room as quick as he entered it.

“Well, the last ten years or so I’ve been looking for an alchemist. They did this to them, surely they can fix it.” Aiden doesn’t look as convinced as he sounds.

“I thought that the alchemists were all killed by demons.”

“They were. Well, let’s be real, there were enough alchemists back in the day that there must be a descendant of
one
alive today.” Okay, he has a point. “Even if I can find one, it’s unlikely that they’ll know what they are, that they’ll help me, or that they’ll have any idea how to do what they’re meant to do. It’s a long shot, but it’s all that I have.”

“So you’re just going to keep them cooped up in the basement until…” I trail not sure of the answer.

“They seem pretty hell bent on killing you for some reason. I mean, besides the fact that you’re half demon, and you chose living with me over them. I’m keeping them down there until I figure something out. Maybe we’ll have to move and get away from them. It’ll buy us some time,” he offers. I hate to be the reason that he leaves Toronto and his daughter. He tosses his bloody shirt into a garbage can. Apparently he doesn’t think the blood is coming out. Seeing that the shirt is white, he’s probably right.

I look down at my own clothing. Thankfully I am free of blood. “So why haven’t you…turned them into demons or killed them yet?” This is what I don’t understand.

“I’m not about to take away their souls, nor am I about to kill my own siblings. I can’t kill them, because I care too deeply for them, even if they’ve hated me for three hundred years. I helped raise them. I
love
them, Megan. It might be hard to believe, but demons
are
capable of love.
I
am capable of love.” I don’t find this hard to believe at all. I see no reason why a demon can’t love, why Aiden can’t love.

“Okay, what can I do to help?”

“Mr. Castile, the hunters are awake,” Terry tells Aiden as Aiden bites into a sandwich and hands me one for myself. I’m starving and take a huge monster-sized bite. Egg salad sandwiches are my favorite.

“Thank you, Terry, and please call me Aiden.” I don’t know how many times Aiden has corrected this, but he never seems annoyed to have to point it out again. “Just let me finish my sandwich.”

Before Terry leaves the room, he eyes Aiden strangely and looks to his sandwich. I share the same confusion. Demons don’t normally eat food, they can live fine off of souls alone, yet I’ve seen Aiden eat food a few times over the past few months.

“Why are you eating a sandwich?” I wonder, asking the question that was in Terry’s eyes.

“I stress eat,” he says after swallowing.

I squint at him as if searching for an answer, then I burst out laughing.

“I attained a taste for human food while I was around humans. I don’t need it, no, but I seem to crave it now and again, usually when I’m stressed out. I didn’t start relying on souls until I was almost twenty one, and I lived with my step parents and siblings until about twenty six, so there were a few years that I had to eat regular food to keep up a human appearance.”

“What happened?” I ask him. “I mean, I know that when you’re born a pure blood you have to kill someone before you have to rely on souls.”

Aiden looks surprised that I know this. “That wasn’t in any of the books I gave you,” he observes.

“Terry,” I answer.

He raises his brows. “Ah, of course.”

“At about age eighteen our minds start pushing us to kill and take on our true nature by making our tempers rise easily. My mother warned me about this before her death, so I was very careful when the time came. I was attacked at night, mugged, and this pure
rage
took over me. I turned, and I hit the guy out of instinct. I didn’t check my strength. I sent the poor guy flying into a brick wall and killed him instantly,” Aiden explains, monitoring my reaction.

“The poor guy? It was self-defense,” I argue.

He shrugs. “Still killed him. I had the ability to peal him off me and go on with my night.”

I shake my head. “He would’ve just attacked someone else.”

“Maybe,” he agrees. “But I don’t think he deserved to die.”

“You kill criminals all the time,” I remind him.

He nods. “They’re either killers or they harm children. I don’t have patience for either of those types of people. They both deserve death.”

I decide to change the subject. “So you’re stressed out about what’s downstairs. That’s why you’re eating a sandwich,” I state as a fact, not a question.

“Actually, no, I’m stressed out about you, your safety. I hate that you’re so fragile.” He finishes his sandwich, washes his hands, and dries them on a dish towel.

I pick up the second half of mine and bite into it. “Don’t worry about me. You have no reason to.”

“Megan, you’re my responsibility, and I care for you. Your life is important to me,” he says sternly.

“I have a question. Is Terry a guard or a servant?” I ask curiously. The question is kind of random, but it’s something that I’ve been curious about for quite a while. He performs both guard and servant duties. I’ve asked him before what exactly he is, and he just shrugged, as if he was unsure.

“Neither and both. He’s my butler sort of. I guess he’s like my right-hand man. I’m going downstairs to speak with my brothers, sister, and their
buddy
. I’ll be back later. If you’re off to bed then goodnight.”

I finish my sandwich and then delve into a book, just as I usually do before bed. It isn’t long before Aiden returns, his face expressionless.

“Crispen is asking for you. I would normally ignore him, but I think you two have lots to talk about. If you don’t want to talk to him, then you definitely don’t have to. He’s behind ruby encrusted bars, and there’s no way he can get out.”

I swallow hard, but agree because I need closure with Crispen. I need to know what the entire reason is for him wanting me dead so badly. I can’t bring myself to believe that it’s merely what he says it is.

I know where the stairs leading to the basement are, so I find my way easily to where Aiden is keeping his siblings. Aiden comes with me for what I assume is moral support or supervision.

All three of them are in the set of cells closest to where we came down. There are nearly fifty cells down here, I’m not sure what for. They’re all empty. I’ve never been down here before now. I look down the hall lined with cells and see a door at the end. I assume that this is where Aiden goes to eat all the time. I am tempted to go through that door, but when I see Crispen, still covered in blood but healed, my heart sinks. His usual happy smirk is nowhere to be seen, and he looks like he’s about to blow steam from his ears. Sharing a cell with Crispen is Mason, and beside their cell Aria and the fourth hunter share a cell.

“You wanted to speak to me,” I say blankly, keeping my expression hidden. My heart races in my chest, and I feel nervous and scared, two emotions I never thought I’d feel around Crispen. Mason stares at me from behind Crispen, his eyes full of hatred. What reason do they have to hate me so god-damned much?

“What’s wrong with you?” Crispen demands venomously.

“Don’t even get me started. I’m a bit of a wreck, but you know that.” I make sure to keep a safe distance between me and the cage bars.

Crispen’s eyebrows pull together. “You’re living with a demon, Megan.
What the hell
!” Crispen is full of anger.

“Does it look so bad? I’m safe here, I’m wanted here, I feel like I actually belong somewhere for the first time in my life, Crispen. You of all people should know how badly I’ve needed this.”

“Is that all? You’re staying here because you think you’re like
them?
” He sneers, looking to Aiden. “You think that because of your blood, you belong with them?”

“Where is this hate coming from, Crispen? It’s not you.”

“Hell if it isn’t. Do you not recall me protecting you from these very bastards for
weeks
? They were after you, wanted to kill you.” Crispen’s jaw tightens, and he looks like he’s about to explode.

I cross my arms. If he’s going to bite, I’ll bite back. “Tell me, what is it that makes demons so evil? If they were trying to kill me, then why haven’t they yet? They didn’t want to kill me. My father just wanted to find me. Blayk and Landon are my half-brothers.”

I see Mason’s eyes bulge in surprise as I mention my relatives.

“Their very existence,” Crispen snarls. “You haven’t been immersed in this world long enough to see it, but they’re all evil. They’re playing you like a fiddle. They’re as dark as a creature can possibly be. They are
hell
itself. The things I’ve seen, oh, you wouldn’t believe the things I’ve seen.” He shakes his head slowly and grimaces.

“Centuries ago, things were out of hand with the demons, brother, we were at war with ourselves, but now I can assure you that many of us are not as evil as you seem to think we are.” Aiden speaks up. “We have treaties with human world leaders, and we have rules and laws so we don’t become discovered by the majority of the human population.”

“Yes, exactly, demon, you have rules and laws so
you don’t get discovered by humans,
not because it’s morally right not to mess with humans, killing them, playing with them, torturing them, sucking their souls out, spreading demonic diseases through the population, and I could go on. Let me ask you, when was the last time you killed a human? Today, yesterday?” Crispen taunts.

Aiden swallows, glances to me, and then back to Crispen before answering, “This morning. I have to eat, or I’ll die, you know.”

“So you’d rather kill people on a near weekly basis than take your own life and end it all? That there is warped.”

“I have more control than that. I can go over a month,” Aiden argues.

Aria, Crispen, and Mason all look slightly surprised by this.

“Okay, so you’ve been alive for three hundred and some years. That means you’ve killed roughly three thousand and some humans in your lifetime alone. Tell me that’s not evil. Tell me that
I’m
the murderer here!” Crispen shouts, slamming against the bars. The ruby inside of them burns his skin, and he jumps backwards. Crispen’s words hit home
hard
.
Three thousand
people is a lot of people.
A lot
of people. Putting it into perspective like that
is
overwhelming, and I realize that Crispen has a valid point here. I suddenly feel sick at the thought of Aiden killing all of these people. “And even if you don’t kill them, and you change them into demons, guess what, they’re going to kill and create more too, adding more blood onto your hands! You have no conscience, no regrets! You’re a monster!”

I glance to Aiden who stands with his hands in his pocket in the corner of the cement room. I don’t know why, but I expect him to look unperturbed. When I look at him, I’m surprised to see defeat and pain on his face. He literally winces as if he’s been kicked in the nuts. Crispen has gotten to him. The two stare each other down momentarily, then Crispen turns to me again.

“How can you care at all for a monster like that?!” he challenges me.

I take a single step closer to the bars. “How many demons have you killed in your life time?”

He looks confused by my question. “I don’t know hundreds, maybe thousands.”

“Then what makes you any less of a murderer than Aiden?” I question.

“Let’s say I’ve killed only fifty demons. If all fifty of them lived as long as Aiden has then do the math, how many human lives have I saved by exterminating those demons?” Okay, Crispen has another point.

“Megan, don’t bother. He’s right, I don’t doubt that. I
am
a monster.” Aiden bites his bottom lip.

“Even
he
admits it, so why are you still here with him on their side?” Crispen tries again. “Do you want to end up like him? A monster?”

I focus on Aiden, making eye contact. “You’re far from a monster, okay? You rid the world of serial killers and pedophiles. You keep the world safe.
I
happen to think that’s heroic.”

Aiden’s eyes light up just enough for me to notice, then he blinks and a stoic expression takes over his face.

“If you didn’t take out those people, then they’d probably find more victims.” I turn back to Crispen. “Did you know that your brother only kills criminals, people who mean humans harm?” I smile as Crispen’s expression slips for a moment, before he can pull himself together. I can tell that, no, he didn’t know this.

Mason gets up and stands beside Crispen. Both men stare me down in silence as if they have nothing more to say, though I know that’s not the case.

“Is that true?” a crystal-like voice chimes from the cell next to Crispen and Mason’s. Aria stands now too, staring at Aiden.

Aiden says nothing but gives a small nod of the head.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Crispen voices, taking a moment to glare at Aria.

“In the scheme of things, it does not. I wish it did. Unfortunately, you’re still what you are. You still kill humans, and you still…you’re still a demon.” Aria looks at me momentarily before sitting back down.

Mason finally speaks up. “Why are we locked up down here? What do you want with us exactly? Is this some sick game to you?”

“You morons keep attacking me, and I keep throwing you on your asses. I have Megan to look out for now, and I can’t have you guys running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I can’t have you barging in here after Megan and putting her life in danger. She’s not even a fricken pure demon yet, and you’re after her ass.
Why?
”

Crispen explains that he’s after me because even though I’m not a demon, siding with one is just as bad and basically the same thing. Aiden then lips him off, cusses, and kicks a chunk of cement into his thigh.

“Why not just kill us, or do you not know how?” Crispen wonders.

“I know how to kill you, and I could make you what I am, but I’d rather not take away your souls without your permission, nor would I like to kill my siblings, even if not by blood.”

Aria squints at Aiden as if trying to see through a lie that doesn’t exist.

“He’s lying. If he knew how to kill us, he’d kill us. Demons don’t feel compassion or
love
by any means. Megan, he’ll tell you whatever he needs to tell you to convince you that he’s a good person. I hope you realize that.” Mason looks to me hopefully. “You can’t possibly trust anything that he says.”

I don’t get the chance to reply because Aiden says, “You know, I should be the one who hates you three. You attack me constantly, kill good people demon or not without even giving them a chance, and you killed my daughter.
My
daughter;
your
niece. You killed her, Crispen. You killed the thing I cared about most in my life. Is that not punishment enough for me, having to live an eternity without her?” When Aiden mentions his daughter, his level of anger and frustration rises significantly. His face goes red, and I can tell that he’s struggling to contain himself. “You have no idea how
painful
it is to know that my own brother killed my daughter. What kind of
monster
does that, hmm?”