Page 38 of Demon Loved
That does it.
Any delusion I had about remaining mature and grown up pops like a soap bubble. “Oh, you’d rather he end up like you? Heartless and oblivious? Someone who can just abandon their children for weeks at a time—”
“She’s getting hysterical. Let’s just go,” my mother says, interrupting me, and bends to pick Adam up.
“No! You’re not taking my brother!” I shriek.
My mother glares at me, and Adam starts to wail. “See what you did,” she hisses. “You’re making him cry.” She shushes him and gets him to start playing with the sound effects on his toy.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
They’re going to take Adam from me. My little brother, my only family, the one person who’s been my whole world for years. I feel like the assistant to a magician who brought a real saw to the show and is cutting me in half in front of an audience. Pain. So much pain, I can hardly see.
Raz’s low, gravelly voice reaches me through the shroud of agony I’m in. I hear him say, “Felony child neglect is a pretty serious charge.”
I blink away the tears that have formed on the bottom rim of my eyes to stare at him. He’s not attacking. None of my demons are fighting like I thought they would.
But Raz’s words immobilize my parents.
Kastros signs something, and then Raz speaks again.
“Abandonment. I’m pretty certain the Bar Review Board would like to know about that.” Raz’s lips curl into a furious smile.
My father tries to counter. “He was with an adult over the age of eighteen—”
Kastros demonic signing interrupts Dad’s retort, his big hands moving so quickly and arms waving so widely that he nearly jabs my father with an elbow. I’m disappointed he doesn’t. I’m also disappointed I don’t understand demon sign-language yet, because I’m not certain what he’s saying.
Raz gives Kastros a single nod before turning to my father. “What about your history of illegal drug use?”
Dad’s face nearly turns purple. “I have not—”
Raz snaps his fingers, and a thick stack of photographs appear in his hand. He tosses them across the floor. And it’s clear to see that in them, my dad is bent over a coffee table, snorting something from its glass surface.
“Those are fakes,” Dad growls.
“Are they?”
Mom is suddenly staring at Raz with new eyes. “How did you do that?” she whispers.
“Mom, I told you. They’re magic, duh,” Adam responds as he continues to make his Godzilla light up and growl.
Raz and Mom have a stare down, and the tension in the room ratchets up like this is some Western saloon and there’s about to be a shootout.
“It’ll end your careers,” Raz promises in a low growl.
Apparently, that’s a shot to the heart. Because it makes Mom and Dad exchange a look. And then slowly, Mom sets Adam back on the floor.
Her expression isn’t defeated though. It’s a look I’ve seen on her face before, when she’s had a hard day at trial and is going to stay up all night, fueled by caffeine and hatred, to prep a closing argument that will sway jurors to her side.
Mom and Dad walk out without another word, her heels clicking in the tense silence.
Adam turns to me, only realizing they’ve left after the front door has slammed behind them. “Wait. Katty. Aren’t we supposed to go with them?”
I rush forward and kiss the top of his head. I hug him too hard, and he exclaims, “Ow!” But I can’t help myself. I don’t let go until Kastros gently pries me off my brother so that my guys can sweep Adam into hugs.
I look up at my giant of a demon, and while the graceful and grateful thing to do would be to sign,Thank you, I end up asking,How did you know what buttons to push?
Kastros’s mouth is set in a grim line.A vengeance demon always tries to do what will hurt their enemy the most.
