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POE

T hunder rattles the windows, and rain pours from the heavens, making this meeting extra annoying. People talk louder to be heard over the storm. The scent of popcorn permeates my senses as it always does during our Hex council meetings.

I pinch the bridge of my nose. I’ve made a mistake. Minor compared to other mistakes, but a mistake none the less. I’ve been voted in as the leader of the council since I have the most experience of being in charge. As the king of the crossroads demons, I understand their reasoning. But I should have declined.

I pride myself on my ability to listen and mediate when needed. But Hex, Indiana’s leading council is insufferable. I know I should give them all some grace, and usually I have much more tolerance, but today irritation seeps into my pores and I’m ready to go home, kickback, and maybe watch a show or two.

“How about we wrap this up? I have an appointment in ten minutes with the crossroads council and can’t be late.” It’s a lie. I’m the one in charge of the crossroads demons. No one else. But my fellow Hex leaders don’t need to know that.

“Yes,” Trixie, a born witch, says as she stretches. “My ass has gone numb and we’re getting nowhere. We’ll pick up next week.”

Leo, the vampire, frowns. “Perhaps you’re right. We can put the safety of Hex off for another week.”

Silently, I groan. “We’ve been over this before. As long as the witches keep the wards going, Hex is protected indefinitely.”

“But the wards are old,” Leo argues.

I rub my temple as I grind my teeth. “And strong because of the bloodlines. I’ve tested them myself. Added my own magic. There’s nothing to worry about.” Not a lie. I’m as paranoid as the rest of them about intruders into Hex, so I’m always testing and fortifying the wards.

Only people that know about Hex can enter properly and see the town as it is. Everyone else just sees corn field after corn field for miles on end. We do have a few suppliers from outside of Hex, but not many. None of them are what we call normies.

Gabe’s our latest newcomer and he’s been here for a few years now. He’s a sweet nephilim bartender that’s attached to the crossroads demon with his eyes set on my job as king. Unfortunately, Van will never have my job. No one will. No one can be king other than me. That’s a whole problem I have to figure out on my own.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. What now? “Excuse me, I need to take this.” My brows scrunch when I realize it’s the phone number to Hex Grocer. What the hell? “Poe speaking, this better be good.” Screeching comes from my ear piece and I wince as I pull it away. “ Hello? I don’t have all day.” But I do. As soon as we wrap up this fucking meeting.

Someone clears their throat. “BB needs you to come pick him up. He’s freaking out in the dairy aisle.”

“Who the fuck is BB?”

“BB, you know? BB?”

“I have no idea…” Instead of continuing the conversation via phone, I teleport myself to the grocery store. The frazzled manager—Randy, he/him by the nametag—looks up at me. His wolf ears twitch with every screech between the claps of thunder.

“He’s over there.” Randy points to the far corner ceiling, where a small bat cries as it spins in its flight.

“What set him off?”

“Dunno.” Randy shrugs and shakes his head. “One minute he’s fine, stocking the dairy, then boom, he’s freaking out.”

Thunder rumbles through the store. “Did it start with the storm?” The forecast for Hex has been storms for the next three days.

“Ah, that’s it. Now, I remember something about him beings scared of storms, but I’ve never witnessed this before.” He waves up at the bat again.

“Where are his clothes?”

“Left ‘em where they fell.” Randy walks me to the dairy aisle where I find a pair of skinny jeans, pristine white sneakers, socks, and a blood red Hex Grocer t-shirt. I grab a reusable bag from the display shelf across from the dairy aisle and stuff the clothes inside.

“Has anyone tried to calm him down?”

“Don’t you think we tried that before calling the king of crossroads demons? How do you know little BB, anyway?”

“I don’t.”

Randy’s face scrunches. “Then why does he have you down as his emergency contact?”

“No idea, but I plan to find out. How old is he?” If he’s still scared of storms, then he’s probably a teenager. Probably his first job and afraid to be away from the family tree during a storm.

“He’s in his twenties.”

“ Seriously? ”

Randy looks at a piece of paper. He squints at the print. “Yep, looks like about twenty-four if I did my math right.”

“Twenty-four, and this is his reaction to a bit of thunder?” The poor boy must have some major trauma. “Is he scheduled to work the next few days?”

“Supposed to be.”

“Reschedule him. He doesn’t need to deal with this right now.” I don’t know why I know it, but I do. There’s something deeper going on here and for some reason, I want to help.

“I’ll see if someone else can take his shifts. They aren’t gonna be happy about it.”

“I’m happy to offer an incentive to anyone that helps out.”

Randy runs a hand through his hair, making his wolf ear twitch again. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t. I offered. I’ll give them triple what they’d normally earn during their shift. Just get me the info of who I need to thank.”

“Yes, sir.” His tail wags and his face turns red.

“Good. Now, I need to figure out this mystery.” Without further discussion, I let my wings out. They’re huge, and will most definitely get in the way, but they’re what I have to work with right now. I fly to the ceiling, bringing the bag of clothes with me. BB still flaps around in the corner and I can’t tell if he’s disoriented or confused or just so terrified he can’t think straight. “Hi, BB. I’m Poe, but I think you know that.”

And that does not calm him one bit. Maybe it’s my blood-red eyes. Those can be unsettling to people. Or maybe the big rack of horns. Or just the fact I’m the king of crossroads demons. His little wings flap harder and he squeaks over and over. I drop and stride back to the manager. “What does BB stand for? Maybe if?—”

“Bat Boy.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” I pinch the bridge of my nose again. “Have you all been calling him BB and Bat Boy behind his back this?—”

“He filled it out as BB. I didn’t make that up.” Randy waves the emergency contact paper at me.

“And where did Bat Boy come from?”

Randy shrugs as he wipes at his brow. “Just a joke.” He throws up a hand. “He’s a bat. And pretty young.”

I growl and I’m sure my red eyes glow. I stare up at the little bat. He has to be exhausted by now. Instead of flying up to him. I leap, snagging him in my arms, and transport us both back to my house in the demon realm. Where I know it’s not storming.

I clutch the tiny quivering bat in my arms when we land on the couch in my living room. Unfortunately, he’s not calming. I’ve probably just scared him further by bringing him to an entirely different realm. Fuck.

I cling to him as he tries to get away. His little screeches and chirps ring in my ears and make my heart ache at the same time. Who hurt him? Why is he so terrified?

“Hey, hey. Take a few deep breaths for me, please. It’s not storming here. See? Listen?” I give it a few heartbeats before shifting gears. I sigh and push to my feet. “Sorry, sweetheart. This might be harsh but…” I stroll to my ensuite bathroom and toss in the bag of clothes. “Do what you need to do to calm down. There aren’t any windows in here and you can take a shower if you want. Whatever you need. But you can’t come out until you’ve calmed the fuck down.”

I toss the bat into the bathroom and wait.