Page 1 of My Demon Husband
CHAPTER ONE
“WHAT DO YOU THINK?”
There’san art to getting married.
At least, according to the magazines, websites, ads, and Reddit forums that seem to have infiltrated my life in the past month.
One would think you’re preparing for an apocalyptic event instead of a joyous occasion. One might be right.
“And this, right here, is the house where the Millers died almost fifty years ago. It was a Tuesday, like now, when John Miller was…was overcome with emotion, when his whole world shifted. He grabbed the gun from his bedside drawer and went through his house, killing each and his daughters and then his wife. When he was arrested, he told the authorities that they had all been possessed by demons and he needed to get rid of the evil inside them.
“He spent his entire life in prison and was released on good behavior thirty-nine years later. He picked up his possessions, walked out of prison, and wandered the streets. When he got back to this place, to what was once his home, he climbed the stairs, lay in his bed, and died of a broken heart.”
Several of the humans around us gasp. A couple of them wipe tears and cross themselves.
Lucian looks at me and smirks.
I don’t know how much of the story is true, but if my tingling witch sense is any indication, the tour guide is magical, as is the house we’re parked in front of.
It’s old and dilapidated, a less than shiny juxtaposition to the rest of the neighborhood, which hasn’t been gentrified but is in a far better condition than the Miller house.
“It’s said that his spirit still haunts his residence. Eyewitnesses over the years claim they see him looking out the window, trying to escape. Trying to save himself from the demons that possessed his family, but no one can save him.”
The tour guide looks at one of the windows at the top and narrows his bright brown eyes. He’s young and handsome with dark hair and a beard. The hairy bear type with a large physique to match.
He’s dressed in black with a tan trench coat and a beret. He definitely looks like the part of a supernatural detective. His black-and-yellow leather gloves, however, break that illusion.
He purses his perfect pink lips and, after a moment, turns away with a shudder.
I wonder if he can see the ghost of John Miller. I wonder if he’s a medium. Kudos to him if he is. I can’t imagine anything worse than putting myself through haunted places for a quick buck every day.
Or every Saturday and Sunday, to be precise.
“Right. On to the next stop. Follow me. It’s just around the corner,” he says, and a cute brown girl with shiny black hair squeezes his shoulder and whispers something in his ear.
She’s been following him around like his assistant, but aside from a few directions, she hasn’t helped with the ghost tour. She’s also magical. I can feel it. Lucian has helped me tune myself into the frequency of magic, and I can sense it everywhere around me.
Which is good because, considering how many people have hurt me in the past, I need to be aware of any new potential threats before things go pear-shaped.
The guide and his friend start walking and everyone follows. Lucian stays back, hands in his pocket, looking at the haunted house.
“Everything okay?” I ask him. “Please don’t tell me you want this place.”
I put my hands in my pocket also. I don’t know what’s with the weather lately, but it’s pissing me off. It’s been so cold when it’s supposed to be sunny and spring-like. I’m ready for this motherfucking cold to do me a solid and fuck right off.
“No.” Lucian slowly looks back at me and smiles. “I was just thinking. Perhaps he was right.”
“Who?”
“John Miller. Perhaps his family truly was possessed by demons and everyone just thought he was out of his mind.”
I grimace and stand shoulder to shoulder with Lucian, digging my hand into his pocket and linking our fingers for extra warmth.
What on earth do I have a hell-demon as my fiancé for if not to keep me warm?
“I thought you said the kind of demons who require human hosts have been locked away for centuries.”
Hell-demons are the one type who retain their body when summoned to Earth, so it would make no sense.
