Page 30 of Demon's Prey
The look of elation washed off her face when she recognized the voice over the buzzer. It was her mother and father, simultaneously bellowing her name into the speaker. They must have seen her on the news.
Fuck.
“Hey Mom, what are you two doing here?” Faith forced a sense of joy into her voice. There was nothing that could harsh the buzz or post-coital relaxation like a call from mom and dad.
“What do you mean what are we doing here? Let us in!” Her mother’s voice screeched into her ear. Faith was already wishing she had ignored the buzzer. She could have said that she was sleeping. But then they could have called her endlessly. She knew how dedicated her mother was when it came to harassing her.
She pressed the button and buzzed them in. She was thankful that Kurse was away, but how would she tell them that she was living with the demon they had seen her interviewing on the news?
And she had just fucked him—sort of.
Faith shook her head. She told herself to focus on one thing at a time. She got dressed and cleaned up the apartment, hoping it didn’t reek of sex.
She waited, wondering what was taking them so long. After a long ten minutes, she decided to go check in the lobby. But as she opened the door, she almost ran into her father, his hand frozen in the air. Faith screamed and felt herself falling backward.
But her father didn’t move. Faith stood back up and stared at him. She waved her hand in front of his face. His eyes were still, and he was no longer breathing. She was beginning to panic when she heard Kurse’s voice.
“Serves him right. How dare he walk into my petrification ward.” Kurse’s voice echoed in the hallway. He is holding ice cream, which was melting and slightly streaked in blood.
“Kurse!” Faith stomped her foot. He stared at her blankly.
“What? This is what the runes are for. No one is supposed to be able to get through to you.”
Faith rolled her eyes. Of course, how could she forget?
“I wish you had told me that that was how this worked!”
Kurse threw the ice cream into the kitchen and rinsed his hands. He returned to the hallway and crossed his arms, still grinning. “Well, we were a little busy, weren’t we…”
“Is he dead?” Faith was getting scared. This was her father, and despite some of the resentment she had for him, she didn’t want him to die.
Kurse scowled, “Why do you care?”
“Kurse, he’s my father!”
Kurse’s face melted, and he placed a finger on his mouth. “Oh, oops.”
Faith clutched at her head. Kurse touched her shoulders, then went for her father. He grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him, like a feather, into the apartment. Faith closed the door behind them.
“What is wrong with him?” Faith asked, feeling petrified a bit herself.
“It’s a part of the spell. It literally stops anyone in their tracks from getting to you.”
Kurse adjusted her father’s body, placing it directly in front of him. Kurse stared at him, eyes wide, and seemed to be focused.
“What about my mother? I heard her. She buzzed up!”
Kurse raised a finger, asking her to wait. Soon enough, he widened his mouth and breathed hot breath onto her father. Faith could smell charcoal swirling around her.
Her father fell from the spell, literally curling into a ball on the floor and breathing heavily. Faith leapt to her father, attempting to console him.
“Where the hell am I? Where the hell did I go?”
Her father’s eyes wandered the eyes of Faith, imploring her in his fright, then finally caught the sight of Kurse. Kurse raised a single hand into the air and waved.
“AHHH!” Her father yelped and tried to scurry away. He slipped on the floor multiple times, and Faith tried to chase after him.
“Dad! Dad, it's okay, we’re friends! He’s not going to hurt you!”
