Page 9 of A Daemon’s Alliance (Daemons & Lumens)

Michaela

I was absolutely not going to behave. All I ever did was behave.

Lie low, listen to my father, don’t make friends, don’t do this and don’t do that.

I wasn’t originally planning to sneak out tonight, but that little speech got my blood boiling.

There was a warehouse party happening not too far away, and now that I was on the warpath to be very, very bad, I would be going to said party.

My father wouldn’t notice. He rarely noticed when I snuck out.

Or he did but didn’t have the strength to stop me.

Either way, it hurt. Every time he did nothing, it hurt.

Sometimes I thought Seraphina was better off being on her own.

At least she didn’t have a parent sulking around and barely acknowledging her existence.

After Father told me everything he knew about daemons and lumens and I got access to mother’s books, he basically shut down.

Like nothing mattered. Like I didn’t matter.

And the only thing loud enough to drown out all the terrible feelings was music. Loud, pulsing, electronic music and sweaty bodies moving to the beat. Father wouldn’t know I was gone, and neither would my daemon babysitter.

I made an easy pasta dinner for us then retreated to my room for the evening.

This wasn’t unusual. Before I knew all that I did now, we would have dinner together.

He would smile at me and tell me bedtime stories.

We would bake cookies together. He was everything to me.

But as I grew older, I asked more questions about my sisters.

My mother. And he hated giving me answers.

He did, though. I remember taking in all that information, trying hard not to run screaming from the crazy person telling tales.

But I knew he wasn’t lying. Some small corner of my mind remembered that night.

The screams of my sister and my mother. The feel of the air, electric with some force, some otherworldly power.

Their screams still rang out in my nightmares. The music was the only thing that could drown them out. And since my ridiculous daemon left me for the night, to the party I would go.

I changed out of my jean shorts and T-shirt and pulled out a box from the back of my closet where I kept my rave clothes hidden.

Not that Father would snoop, but I liked keeping this side of me a secret from everyone.

I pulled out a bright-pink bra and matching boy shorts.

Then I slipped a mesh, neon green bodycon dress over the set.

I grabbed my high-top sneakers and slipped them on.

I wasn’t really interested in heels. But I loved the skimpy clothes and how the neon colors shown in the black lights.

I curled my hair in soft waves, fluffing it up a bit with hairspray.

My hair wasn’t thin, but it was fine and never looked as cool as my sisters’. Lailah and I had similar body types, long legs and slender frames, and our mother’s blonde hair. Seraphina had more curves and better tits. She also had thick, beautiful red hair. I was always jealous of her looks.

After I finished applying my sparkly eyeshadow and hot-pink lipstick, I crept out of my room to check on Father. He was passed out in his recliner with some football game blaring on the TV. He would be there all night. I grabbed my purse and the keys to his Jeep then slipped out the door.

We only had one vehicle. The Jeep Wrangler was older, something from the early 2000s.

Joseph Bronwen was a car mechanic when he first met Aurora Valdis.

He had his own shop back in Maine. They met when she brought her car in for service.

And the rest, as they say, was history. I suspect Aurora knew him already.

How could such a pairing come about by chance?

The warehouse was only about thirty minutes from our town.

We generally lived in smaller cities or rural towns, and this particular home we’d stayed in longer than any others, which meant I was able to make a handful of friends.

I wasn’t allowed to have a cell phone, but Father didn’t know I kept a prepaid phone for this very purpose.

Penny sent me the address for the party and details to get in.

She was one of those girls who had connections everywhere.

The parties always required tickets, but not for Penelope Lirakis, which worked out really well for me.

I parked my Jeep close to the exit of the massive parking lot.

One of the things you learned being on the run and hiding from bad people was to always know your exits.

I was familiar with this venue, as I had attended several raves here over the last two years.

I knew all the building exits and best spots to park.

I could hear the music and the base pulsing as I walked toward the building.

There were dozens and dozens of people waiting in line to get in.

It was always a rush to walk past them all and up to the two bouncers, one for checking the VIP list and one to be the “muscle.”

I walked straight up to the bouncer with the clipboard. “Hi. I’m on the list. Lara Croft.”

One of my favorite fictional characters of all time was Lara Croft from Tomb Raider .

She was an absolute badass and took no shit.

I aspired to be like her. The bouncer raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

He looked down his round nose at the list and nodded to the meathead bouncer at his side.

I grinned and saluted them as I skipped down the hall and into the warehouse.

I passed people decorated in glowing body paint handing out glow stick necklaces and bracelets.

I grabbed several of each, wrapping them around my arms and throat.

There was a massive, makeshift bar along the far wall of the open floor warehouse.

A second level held tables and couches for those who wanted to escape the dance floor.

Not me, I thrived on the dance floor. Penny would be upstairs, though, so I found the staircase and made my way to the VIP area.

She was holding court with a small group of people.

Penny was shorter than me and blessed with the perfect hourglass figure.

She had long, dark, curly hair and green eyes.

Not a single man or woman could deny she was gorgeous.

We met, randomly, at a thrift store. Tonight, she wore a bright-blue, pleather bodycon dress.

She paired the dress with Converse low-tops, which made me love her more.

Penny could pull off some seriously high heels, but she was a sneakers girl at heart, like me.

She was mid-sentence when her eyes turned up and she noticed my approach. She squealed and jumped up from her couch. “Lady Croft!”

I laughed as she barreled into me for a hug.

Penny was the only friend who knew my real name.

She didn’t know all the crazy details, because how could you tell someone about daemons and lumens?

But I told her a version of my story. She thought I was in Witness Protection because some crazy gang was after my family.

“I’m so glad you came!” Penny exclaimed, kissing my cheek and certainly leaving behind red lipstick.

I squeezed her hands and smiled at my friend. “Of course. How could I say no?”

She grinned. “Want to meet some people? There’s an absolutely delicious boy over there I think you’d enjoy.”

I shook my head and blushed, my thoughts immediately going to my daemon. “I’m ready to hit the dance floor.”

“I’m going to find you a boy toy eventually, Lady Croft.” Penny winked and turned to her group. “It’s time to dance, y’all!”

The others stood, downing their cocktails as they walked by us.

Penny’s arm snapped out and pulled a cute guy aside. “Gavin, meet my friend, Lara.”

Gavin turned to me with a dimpled smile, and okay fine, he was cute. He had curly blond hair and pretty blue eyes. He looked like a surfer from California.

“Hey, Gavin. Nice to meet you.” I stuck out my hand, and he took it instantly, lingering a little too long.

“Penny’s been talking about you all night. Pleasure to finally meet you, Lara.” Gavin’s British accent caught me off guard. Definitely not a surfer dude from California.

I laughed, because I had no doubt Penny did just that.

Before I could respond, Penny grabbed my hand and ordered Gavin to follow us.

The crowd parted as we made our way to the middle of the dance floor.

The DJ spinning tonight was excellent. I closed my eyes and let the music take me away.

My hips swayed to the beat, and I smiled, feeling some tiny bit of peace.

An arm wrapped around my middle, and my eyes popped open.

For a split second, I thought it was Gavin and I was ready to push him off, because I preferred dancing on my own.

But when I gripped the muscular arm and electric heat shot through my veins, I knew who was behind me.

I looked straight ahead at Penny. Her mouth was wide and her green eyes were bulging, confirming what I already knew.

Morax was here.