Page 76 of Demon Kissed
Van snorts, shaking his head in pity, before jumping over the edge and joining Kastros.
“You just pushed a dead body behind a plant,” I state dumbly after I’ve regained control of my faculties. Akor flashes me a sheepish smile.
“You can say that Iplantedthe evidence.” He snorts at his own joke, and from down below, Van breaks into laughter as well, no doubt having eavesdropped on our conversation.
“I don’t even…” I shake my head once. And then again. And then a third time. Because, really, there could never be too many head shakes in this situation. “I think I’m hanging around you five too much,” I confess. “This is becoming…normalto me.”
And it’s true.
Just a week ago, I would’ve been screaming in terror at what I just witnessed. Hell, my classmate is a fucking zombified dog-man, and I’m still here.
But why am I still here?
Why did I bring Adam here?
Those two questions haunt me like a malevolent poltergeist as I twist towards my brother, surprised to see Zolroth and Raz still taking the time to play with him. It’s odd to see men as large and as masculine as those two talking in unnaturally high-pitched voices as they move their toy soldiers towards Adam, who giggles uncontrollably. My heart swells with…something. The undefinable emotion lingers just out of reach. But when I try to grasp it, it slips through my fingers like a warm spring rain.
The front door of the house bounces open, ricocheting off the wood, and all of my demons jump to their feet instantly, wings extended and eyes burning a garnet red. Zolroth and Raz stand protectively in front of Adam, while Akor, Kastros, and Van push me behind their muscular bodies.
“Well, well, well,” a sultry,femininevoice says, amusement evident in her tone. “What do we have here?”
25
I tense andlook for the nearest weapon, which happens to be the remaining detached arm from Jason’s chew toy. I snatch it up and wield it like a baseball bat, not caring what I have to do to protect Adam.
Is this Center? Is this the bitchy asshole demoness who’s been terrorizing my demons?
My mind races a mile a minute, my eyes darting wildly.
And then Raz does something completely unexpected. He smiles and throws his arms wide in greeting.
What. The. Hell?
I drop the arm when Raz moves forward and embraces this woman and her entourage in the doorway. I step closer to Adam so I can protect him, but I crane my neck to look at this woman’s arm as it lingers just a little too long on Raz’s wings.
When she steps back, I can clearly see she is a female demon who isn’t trying to disguise herself as human. Unlike the guys, whose wings are pretty Batman-esque, this female demon has wings that only go from her upper arm to her wrists, as if they’re made specifically for gliding. They are a beautiful, bright fuchsia. But it’s not her wings that catch my eye most. It’s not even her Maleficent-worthy black horns. It’s her video-game sized breasts. There is no way her body should be able to support those monsters with her waist size.
“She’s an envy demon, isn’t she?” I whisper to Akor, who’s sidled up on my right side. She has to be, with the way she’s making me feel so jealous that my pupils are probably slitted like cat eyes right now.
“Actually, she’s a scorn demon,” Akor replies, tossing an arm around my shoulders loosely. “Don’t piss her off, okay?”
“Wasn’t planning on it.” Unless, of course, she hugs all of them the way she just hugged Raz.
“Yeah, I know, but fair warning, you know what they say? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. That saying came about because of her kind.”
The female demon looks Raz over from head to toe in a way that makes me ball my fists. Akor plants a soothing kiss on my neck.
“You look like shit,” the demon woman’s voice is low and husky, the epitome of sexy. Dammit.
She points at Raz’s face and asks, “Did you get into a fight with a meat grinder?”
Raz shrugs. “Attacked. I was going to ask if you guys have seen anything.”
“Yeah, actually, I heard a flock was in the area.”
“Shit. That might explain it.”
I whisper to Akor. “What’s a flock?”
