The Demon Side (9 page)

For months, I had annoyed Etta by trying to peep in on her while showering or changing her clothes, but that’s all it was, just my way of trying to get her attention so I could run her out of the house. This was an entirely different situation. Etta pulled herself from under me and wrapped her arms around her knees. I’d made her self-conscious even though it hadn’t been my intention. I may be a monster who feeds off of hatred and fear, but I wasn’t a rapist, nor would I take advantage of a girl who didn’t fully understand the repercussions of such a decision.

“Etta, it’s not that I do not want you in that way, trust me. I’ve fantasized about it, but it is not a simple choice you make in the heat of the moment. Giving me permission to enter you is giving me your soul and by that, you are damning yourself to Hell. The life you know now would end.”

“Then my soul belongs to Alastor?” Concern came over Etta’s face. She thought she already damned her soul. My first instinct insisted I go with my carnal urges. If she already believed herself as damned then I could take her now and she wouldn’t be the wiser. Not only would it release the sexual frustration I’d suffered from for the past five hundred years, it would bind her to me for all eternity. She could never leave my side and I would never have to let her go. But, the look of worry on her face told me that was an existence she didn’t truly want.

“No. He took your innocence from you. You never gave him permission, so therefore your soul remains yours. But trust me, having any Demon own your soul is something you don’t want.”

“But what if I want you to? I don’t understand why, but when you’re around I get this feeling that I know you. I feel safe with you. And when you’re not around, you’re all I think about.” Her words were music to my ears, but a teenage mind could easily warp their feelings. For all I knew, it was just a phase. She could just have a crush on me because I was the ultimate “bad boy” and once she had me in the palm of her hand, she would throw me away.

“Feeling safe with me and wanting me sexually are two very different things, Etta.”

“That’s not what I meant. I feel connected to you. I realized that first day when my dad and I came to look at the house that I am meant to be with you, that you would always protect me and I would always protect you.”

“Etta Marilyn Divad, get downstairs now!” John yelled as he slammed the front door behind him before I could dig into what Etta was trying to say.

“Crap, my dad’s home. Let me go take care of him and I’ll come back up.” Etta kissed me quickly on the lips and jumped up to her feet.

“He sounds upset,” I said trying to further stall her departure from the attic.

“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll rip into me cause of what happened at school today,” Etta said with a crack in her voice.

“What did happen at school?” I lowered Etta down into the closet by her wrist. Etta’s face went white as her eyes dropped to her feet.

“He showed up in the bathroom. Lucky for me another girl walked in before he got anywhere. I ran out of the bathroom and right into the principal.” Before I could say a word, Etta skipped out of the room.

I would let Etta and John have their private father and daughter talk this time. I was almost completely drained from the physical interactions we shared, and I could use some rest before her return. I sat in the corner for a few moments with my eyes closed, reliving the euphoric feeling of Etta’s kisses when a hissing voice spoke.

“You gave me up to the Arches for a girl?” Alastor asked. “That’s just sick.”

I opened my eyes to find a bleeding Alastor leaning up against the attic wall. He had figured a way out of the golden shackles and back to the house. Gabriel must be losing his touch.

“I gave you up for nothing. You know the rules as well as I do. You are the one that caught the attention of the Arches, not me.” I stayed sitting on the floor with my hands folded in my lap and my ankles crossed so as not to show concern about his presence or my exhaustion. If it was a fight he sought right now, I needed to appear calm and rested.

“You’re a fool. It wasn’t me that caught their attention. It was the girl. She has been chosen.” Alastor sucked in a deep, labored breath. By my guess, if Gabriel’s sword had been just an inch higher, he would have taken care of Alastor permanently.

“Whatever the case is, it changes nothing. This is my house, Alastor, and I did not invite you in. You have trespassed upon it, so I am not obligated to you in any way.”

“I am in no condition to fight you this day, but trust me, brother, the time will come for you to pay for your betrayal.” Alastor held his ribs tightly. I could save some worry and just finish him now, but there would be no honor in the kill, and I was out of energy.

“If that is how you feel, then I will be waiting.” As I replied to his threat, I closed my eyes and tilted my head back against the studs.

Alastor vanished from the attic. With his wound, he was too weak to hide himself and I could sense his presence no longer lingered in the house. I will admit he left me confused. John freed him, but he attached himself to Etta. And if she had been chosen as the next virgin mother then the simple act of raping her would taint her and leave her unviable for impregnation. So there would be no need for him to continue following her. It was time for answers. I had to know what I had myself caught up in the middle of. I had to start from the beginning; I had to start with John.

Not having the energy to flash, I jumped down into the closet and walked downstairs.

In the family room on the couch sat my gorgeous Etta and René in yet another hideous bright yellow pantsuit. The woman had a thing for looking like an Easter egg. John took a seat on the coffee table across from them in his tan Marine Corps uniform. He was stressed and he wore it horribly. I couldn’t even guess what he may have done to free Alastor. Whatever it could be, he already started paying for it.

“Tell me the truth. Are you taking your medication?” A frustrated John furrowed his brow at his daughter.

“Yes. You watch me take it every morning.” Etta was a horrible liar, and John knew it.

“Then what happened at school today?” John asked Etta.

“I told you it wouldn’t be any different here, John. The girl is psycho, end of story,” René said with irritation.

“René, you’re not helping.” John clenched his fists down at his sides. The man tried desperately to keep his cool and his family together.

Etta remained quiet, staring down at her fidgeting hands. John and René studied at her, waiting for a response, as did I. She took too long thinking about what to tell her father.

“Answer your father.” René slapped Etta on the back of the head.

“René, I swear if you don’t stop…” John threatened, but caught himself before losing his temper completely.

“Etta,” I said, “tell him the truth. Tell him about Alastor.” Etta looked at me from the corner of her eyes, but said nothing. I should have encouraged her to lie, but right now was not the time to play games.

“The Demon showed up at school today and attacked me in the bathroom. But, it’s okay now. He won’t be back. There’s another Demon in the house that is protecting me from him.”

“You see, John? I told you. She’s psycho. The medications, the doctors, the weekend getaways aren’t doing a damn thing except wasting our time and money. I can’t keep feeding into her crap.” René stood up.

“René, shut up and sit down! This is a family meeting and we are going to act as a family, do you hear me?” Without waiting for a response, John turned to Etta. “Etta, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me the truth, baby. You know those things aren’t real. Why didn’t you tell me the hallucinations returned?”

“They are too real. Why won’t you believe me for once? Ask René. She used to see him until she became a drunk.”

“How dare you imply….”

“Stop it, both of you!” John kicked the coffee table from under him as he stood up and put his hands on his head.

Etta looked at me. I could tell she was confused and scared about why I asked her do this, but it was the only way I would be able to get information I needed from John.

“What did I do? What can I do?” John talked more to himself than to anyone in the room as he paced in circles around the family room. Rene gulped down her glass of vodka and began making her way toward the bar. That was my cue. I concentrated on the bar then flipped my hand forward, causing the bottles of liquor on it to fly across the room and shatter against the wall. René fell down from surprise. John jumped over the couch to her side. My smart and beautiful Etta picked up right away on my plan and jumped in, too.

“See, Dad! I told you! They’re real,” Etta said with frustration.

“She did this! She did this!” René cried out as she pointed toward Etta.

“All right, Etta, I give. They’re real. So why can’t I see them?” John asked with doubt as he lifted René off the floor. I could sense what he was thinking: time for a trip to the shrink.

“I don’t know, but one is here right now. His name is Raha-something.” Etta hoped he would sense my presence in the house by mentioning my name. I wondered how he could ignore the flying bottles.

“And this Raha-something is the one that’s been causing everything, the night terrors…the screaming fits…the hallucinations?”

“No. That was Alastor,” Etta tried to explain.

“So there are two of them?” John tone was condescending. He didn’t want to believe in a force outside of his precious Marine Corps.

“Yes! That’s what I have been trying to tell you!”

“Etta, tell him exactly what I say word for word. It’s very important.” Etta nodded her head at my command.

“Ask him if he served anywhere in the Middle East,” I encouraged Etta.

“He did. He served in Iraq and Afghanistan, a few times. Why does that matter?”

“Who are you talking to, Etta?” John stared at her as she answered me.

“Okay, Etta, I need you to ask him and let him answer. What happened while he was there? Something he did released Alastor, and I need to know exactly what he did. It had to be something very bad.”

Etta nervously turned to John. “When you were deployed, did you do something really bad?”

“What are you talking about?” John seemed irritated.

“Etta, it had to be extremely horrible. Innocent blood had to be spilled. What did your father do? Ask him!” I shouted, causing her to jump.

“Why don’t you just ask him yourself, Ra?” Etta’s eyes were pleading with me not to make her do this.

“I don’t have the energy for that now. I’ll show myself when it’s the right time. Now ask him!” I exclaimed with an exhausted sigh.

“Okay. Dad, you did something really bad. You hurt innocent people. What exactly did you do?” Etta demanded an answer from her father.

“You know what I’ve done, Etta. I was a grunt. What do you think I did over there? Sipped tea and played cards? War isn’t pretty and polite. It’s all really bad. I’m done having this conversation. Just go upstairs right now and take your meds because nothing you’re saying is making any sense. I’ll come talk to you after I get René situated.”

Etta stormed off upstairs, giving her door one heck of slam. The yelling between René and John resumed. René convinced herself that every wrongdoing, every misfortune fell on Etta’s shoulders, and John tried to defend Etta without hurting his marriage. I felt for the guy, really. He seemed to be trying his hardest to keep his family together. The way they both treated Etta gave me the urge to pop up in front of John and René to show him we Demons did exist and give them one hell of scare, but I didn’t have the energy. It would have to wait for now. Etta needed me, and I needed a break.

I slowly pushed the bedroom door open to find Etta sitting on the floor playing her guitar with her headphones on. She closed her eyes as she lost herself in the music she created. She strummed the same notes over and over. Whatever song she was playing, it was one that she knew well. I sat on the bed and watched for an hour as she replayed the song over and over again until she finally felt the comfort she needed from it.

“Oh crap! You scared me. I didn’t know you were there,” Etta exclaimed as I removed her headphones and pushed her guitar to the side. I needed to know if any feelings she had for me had changed since I got her sent to her room. My interference in her family meeting might have been enough to crack the crush she had on me and bring her to reality.

“You seemed peaceful so I didn’t want to disturb you, but I couldn’t wait any longer.” I kissed her, searching for any differences from the kisses we’d shared in the attic. I prepared for her to shy away and tell me no, but the “no” never came. Etta put her hand on my cheek. I got the answer I was looking for, but I wasn’t completely sure it was the answer I truly wanted. Pulling away from her before it got too intense again, I asked, “You really didn’t know I was there?” I hoped the question would keep the topic off of our physical activities.

“Yeah, I kind of zone out on the guitar when I’m really tense or stressed out.”

“Everything will work out. Your father will see the truth, eventually.” I stroked her back with my twisted claws.