Page 6 of Demon Heart: The Complete Series

One prick left.

“You bastard…” Beard Guy spat, his tone rich with terror.

“This all could’ve been avoided,” I responded. “You just had to be a tough guy, didn’t you?”

“Who are you?”

“The grim reaper.”

A flare exploded into the air. A reddish pink streaked across the sky, hissing away, drawing too much attention.

Someone lurking in the shadows of the Royal Albert Hall had fired the poxy thing.

Beard Guy yelped, stumbling to get away.

Oh, he was so dead. I readied my dagger, aiming for the base of his spine.

“Leave him alone!” the figure, a woman, cried.

Sirens cut through the night, the flare having trigged the police and possibly the Anti-Demon Unit (ADU).

Great. Fresh hell served with a side of frustration.

The woman fired another flare. It would be minutes before the cavalry arrived.

I saw her run for Beard Guy as he lumbered closer to her, her face hidden by a silver scarf and hat. She helped him limp away into the shadows.

Time to go.

I made for Hyde Park, hopping over the corpses, passing the?—

“Please…” The now conscious demon reached for me. The sleeves of his loose blue tunic shirt fell back, revealing what looked like two jewels embedded in each wrist.

Sirens roaring closer. It was bad enough Beard Guy got away, him and his helper knowing my face, and that I’d had to kill like this. Being caught by the ADU would be another ball ache I could really do without.

“Help me…”

Run. Leave him.

“Please…” So weak, so broken.

I caught his scent, a strange combination of cinnamon and violets. It glued my feet to the asphalt, my body swaying, rainbow swirls of color behind my eyes.

What the hell?

I snapped out of it, shaking my head. “What was that?”

“Please…” The demon pawed at my ankles. “You can’t… You can’t leave me…”

Get out of there. Now!

Every part of me demanded I run, to leave this pleading monster to his fate.

Yet the smallest part of me, a corner filled to the brim with potent curiosity, took his hand. So warm, so smooth. I bent, throwing his arm around my shoulders. Hefted him to his feet. He grunted, his face a mess of blood and cuts, his weight not the easiest to lift.

I stood at six-one in height. He was easily around six-five.

“Come on,” I said.

He worked with me, moving his legs as quickly as he could despite the obvious weakness ready to consume him.

What was with this lingering lemon scent?

We moved into the trees to the right of The Albert Memorial, not fast enough for my liking.

“I’m sorry,” the demon whispered, his body so hot and sweaty against mine.

That scent. My God, that scent. Not the lemons, but the cinnamon violets.

I shook off the enticing aroma, focusing on an exit plan. We’d have to cross Hyde Park, a tedious move of avoiding trenches in the dark, taking me further away from my goal of taking out Keith and those brutes.

What are you doing?

Yeah. I’d love to know.

“I can’t…” The demon’s legs gave out. He locked onto me, dragging me to the wet ground like an anchor. “Please…”

No. No. No. Taking breaks brought the drama.

But he slumped against a tree, limbs devoid of energy. “I’m… I’m sorry, human…” His eyes fluttered, his breath raspy.

“I need you to move,” I said.

“I’m sorry…” His head rolled to the side.

Out cold.

Shit!

Now was the time to leave him. Wish him well, disappear into the night and call Princess Piper.

Let this poor error in judgment stay here in the dark park.

Because that’s all it was, a human slip.

We all made them, even guys like me trained to never fuck up.

Hey, beauty always tripped up the best of us.

Just read through a history book and check out the scandals, the wars sparked by lovers dabbling in some forbidden romance.

But I was better than that.

I cast the diversion spell on myself and the demon, clearly not leaving him behind. Pain now throbbed in every finger, my hands a few spells away from throwing in the towel for the rest of the night.

The ADU and police arrived in a flurry of blue lights, torch beams bouncing as they searched the area.

Despite being trained as an ADU agent at one time, and being the Queen’s Shadow, I could still be arrested. And it would be a disaster, especially in this instance with so many dead bodies, my cover blown. I’d have to keep quiet until the queen, with no other choice, arranged for my termination.

I didn’t receive immunity for screwing up.

Beard Guy and Flare Woman knew my face, a pair of pesky witnesses to eradicate. I added them to my hit list.

Keeping my phone screen on the lowest brightness setting, I messaged Piper with a succinct explanation of my screw up.

She fired back thirty seconds later with: Guess I’m not sleeping tonight.

Me: I’ll send you a gift basket.

Her: Idiot. I’ll fix it.

Me: Seriously. Thanks.

Her: No worries.

Of course, I left out the demonic details of my tale, still unsure of my next move with Mr. Yummy napping on the grass.

I found myself staring at him, the bee-stung pout of his lips, lashes long and dark against the paleness of his skin. And that hair was nothing short of incredible. I reached out a shaky hand, fingers inching closer.

What am I doing?

Footsteps. I pulled my hand back, dagger drawn.

“Did you see that?” a man whispered.

I knew that voice, and it didn’t belong to any ADU agent. In fact, they weren’t moving into the park, congregating around the dead bodies in the road.

“He’s gone,” another man replied.

The men came closer, all three of them carrying guns.

Keith and the bodyguards. What were they doing here?

“I don’t like it,” Keith said. “And I swear I recognized the witch.”

“Who drags demons into parks?” the big guy on the left responded.

“Takes all sorts to make a world,” the other added dryly.

Shit. Another mess to clean up.

Keith narrowed his eyes, standing only a few feet away from me and the demon. “Was it really you?” he muttered.

“We should go back in,” the left guy suggested. “Don’t fancy my ass sitting in a cell tonight.”

Keith looked everywhere but at me, the cogs of his mind visibly turning.

“Lee,” he whispered. “Was that you?”

He plucked his phone from his jeans, tapping on the screen. My reflexes had my finger on the power button before he could connect. Yes, his suspicions would go through the roof, but I couldn’t risk the buzzing of my phone possibly hindering my spell.

“Off,” Keith said, returning his phone to his pocket. “Let’s go back.”

I watched them leave. When they reached a short distance away—approximately one-hundred feet—one of the guys lifted a hatch disguised in the grass. Interesting. I knew where I’d be visiting shortly.

But what about the demon? What did I do with him?

The men disappeared, sinking as if descending stairs. As soon as the hatch closed, I switched my phone on.

Two messages came through. The first from Piper saying the ADU and police would be moving out of the area any moment now.

Thank goodness for that.

The other message was from Keith, simply asking if I was okay.

I didn’t answer. I’d have to feign sleep and a dead battery when I next spoke to him. In order to make part of that lie land, I set for his calls to go directly to voicemail. A temporary fix seeing as I’d be breaking into that hatch shortly and taking him out, steering this night back on track.

The demon groaned.

If only the night had been about crosswords, tea, and my rat bestie’s favorite movies.

The demon opened his eyes, lids blinking as he came to.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Why do you care?

Another groan, his tongue peeking out from between his lips. “Water…”

“I don’t have any.”

“Brandy.”

“What?”

A slight quirk at the corner of his mouth. “Thought I’d check.”

“I hate brandy.”

“Let’s not focus on that right now.” He sat up, sucking in air between gritted teeth.

“Where does it hurt?” I asked, wishing my feet would launch me out of there.

“Everywhere.” The croaky tones in his voice began to fade, replaced with something deeper, something smoother and inviting.

“Can you walk?” I asked.

“I’ll have to.” He rubbed at his temples. “Fucking wankers.”

“Who were they?”

“Wankers.” He got to his knees. I went to help him. He gripped my arm with terrifying strength.

Strong enough to rip my skeleton from my body.

“Thanks for not leaving me behind,” he said.

“I’m not sure why I didn’t, to be honest.”

He nodded. “Understandable.” He sighed, the sound as seductive as his face. Even covered in demon blood, it didn’t diminish the unreal beauty of him. I’m talking a face built for smoldering, for ripping your underwear off with merely a glance. Just looking at those sharp angles made my groin hot.

“Can you manage getting home?” My voice went too high. I cleared my throat, taking a few steps back.

“Home is compromised,” he said.

“Right.”

“I need shelter for the night.”

Alarm bells wailed in my skull. “Shelter?”

“Yes.”

“Shelter.”

“Is the needle stuck?”

“Huh?”

“You said shelter twice.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry, I was just thinking.”

It was then I remembered he still held my arm, pleasant warmth at our connection point.

“You don’t have to help,” he added. “I know taking a demon home isn’t exactly a good idea for witches. But it will only be one night, and I can hide my eyes.” He demonstrated by shifting them to an icy blue.

Demons could disguise their eyes as well as bury any other demonic traits to hide in society and from the demon towers.

I glanced at the area with the hatch again. Torn, when there was no need to be. I was working, I knew where my targets were, so I had to go for the hatch.

Right?

I stayed with the demon.

“I can’t,” I said, traces of his scent tickling my nostrils again.

“Please, human. I’m so weak. I won’t hurt you.”

Dammit. This should be an easy decision to make.

“Believe me,” he added, “I hate begging as much you hate lingering with indecisiveness.”

I stopped myself from responding, taken aback by the shimmer of those icy orbs, his piercing gaze sucking me in.

My breath hitched, my sense of reason fractured under the weight of confusion. Heat pulsed hotter in my groin, every inch of my skin flushing with curious desire.

No. No. No. Shut this shit down.

My eyes moved from the hatch area, to him, to where the ADU and police were still working.

“Please…” came the demon’s voice again.

I closed my eyes, an alien sensation taking hold of me. Well, more like an old friend I’d cut off many years ago.

Hello, panic.

Where did it come from? I’d not only cut panic off but locked it inside a titanium box, tossed it into the Mariana Trench area of my mind—a place for unwanted things.

I didn’t panic, I didn’t let any pesky feelings get in my way. Yet here panic was, back on the surface, flipping me the bird.

Okay, time to think. My hands were pretty much done in from the magic use. I needed to rest up a bit. Going in that hatch with a handicap wouldn’t be smart. Skulking back to my flat for a recharge was. I’d get back on the case tomorrow, and offer the queen so many apologies.

Man, she would be furious. But I wouldn’t let her down completely. I’d fix this.

Keith saw me…

“Fine,” I told the demon. “One night.”

Erm, that hadn’t been part of my new fixing plan.

I helped him to his feet.

“Thank you,” he responded softly.

I shook my head, letting him lean on me. “God help me.”