Demons Amongst Us (The Book of Demons Saga #2) (2 page)

As Sam pulled the car out of the parking space, Alex caught sight of a familiar face.  A face she had seen before.  A woman she had seen jogging through the neighborhood.  She was young, with black hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.  And she was sitting in a car at the end of the parking lot, watching her.

Alex double-checked the address on the small piece of paper in her hand.  She had been scouring every library, bookstore, and magic store she could find in a fifty-mile radius for the past week.   Each time she would walk away exhausted, and more disheartened.  Her faith in her own memories was fading quickly.  She had many times tried to feel the tingle of the powers she once thought she had, but nothing came.  She had no powers, no special abilities.  She was just a normal girl.  She had thought that was what she wanted when she was in the world of Lord Balthazar, the handsome demon prince that had held her captive, and now occupied her dreams.  She thought all she wanted was to get back home, back to normalcy, away from the lavish palace and royal court of the Devas.  But now, the task of proving it actually existed was all she could think about.  This store was her last hope.  She had decided if she found no evidence here then she would give up.  She had to get on with her life one-way or the other. 

The quaint
, pink brick building was across the street from the Golden Panda, the place her and Sam use to eat at so often.  She wondered why she had never noticed it before.  The bright red sign, lit up with the words Hocus Pocus were certainly eye catching.  Her nose was assaulted with the smoky smell of burning incense as soon as she opened the glass door.  She immediately felt claustrophobic from the abundance of products that were piled on the shelves and tables scattered around the shop.  She peered around, craning her neck to see to the back, looking for an attendant. 

“Hello?” she called out into the dimly lit shop.  No response. 
She would just have to find what she needed on her own.  She went to the rows of bookshelves towards the back of the jam packed little store and began to peruse some of the books.  It didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for.  Crammed into the corner of the very bottom shelf was a tattered-cover, green book with the words ‘Demons and Worlds of Lore’ on the thick spine.

Alex snatched up the heavy tome, and began to flip through the weathered pages, her eyes skimming the quickly fading writing.  A smile flashed across her face.  She
had finally found what she was looking for. 

Balthazar’
s eyes slid open, revealing a very peculiar room to the demon lord.  A subtle pain throbbed in the back of his head and his body felt unusually weak.  He sat up with a groan, straining his eyes to see around him.  He blinked a couple of times, trying to wipe away the heavy sleep from his eyes.  The room was strange, the furniture and materials foreign.  There were smells all around him that he had never before smelled.  He ran his hand over the soft fabric of the sheet that covered him, examining it with curiosity.  It was not silk, but it was soft like silk, and thicker.  The bed too was unlike anything he had ever slept on.  It was soft, like his own feather stuffed mattress, but firm at the same time, and set high off the ground.

The door at the far side of the room cracked open and a
dark haired woman poked her head in.  She had a narrow face with half-moon shaped blue eyes that lit up as a smile crossed her thin lips.  She stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.  She bowed at her hip in greeting to Balthazar.

“
It’s good to see you’re finally awake,” the woman said, straightening to look at him, the smile beaming on her face.  She looked human, but there was something odd about her.  Something in her scent just wasn’t quite right.

“Where am I?” Balthazar demanded, his demeanor contrasting
sharply with the woman’s enthusiasm.  “Who are you?”

“
I am Pani,” she said with a short nod, “There is plenty of time for explanation, but first, you must be starving.  I will bring you something to eat.”

The woman turned to leave the room, but Balthazar stopped her.

“You will explain immediately,” Balthazar said, throwing the covers off and rising from the bed.  “Where is the girl?”

His tone left no room for argument and Pani fought the overwhelming urge to sigh.
  She would need to teach this demon lord that he couldn’t always have his way in this world. 

“Listen,” she said, turning back to him.  She had a forced smile on her face as she tried to remain polite.  “You are going to need some time to get used to this world.  I’ll explain everything. 
The girl is fine, and you can see her soon.  But you’ve been unconscious for a while. You need to eat something.”

Balthazar knew she was right, though he
was loath to admit it.  His head was still swimming from a daze of too much sleep, and he was beginning to notice the hunger pains biting at him.  He could tell Pani was at least part Devasi.  Her name was a royal name and her scent held royal blood.  Balthazar remembered Ashdad saying he had spent a fair amount of time in the human world.  He had likely sired another family here.

“
Ashdad is your father?” Balthazar questioned, wanting to confirm his suspicions.  He would no doubt need time to adjust to this world, but his top priority was Alexandra, and he had to know that she was in good hands that he could trust.  

“You met him then,” Pani said with a smile.  It was obvious she loved her father by the way her face lit up at the mention of him. “I gu
ess that would make me your aunt.”

“Half aunt,” Balthazar corrected her.  He knew he could trust his grandsire, but he had never met a
half-breed of anything and he wasn’t sure he could trust her.  “Is he here?”

“He did not return,”
Pani said, a hint of sadness in her blue eyes.  “I knew he might not.  Do you know if he is alright?”

“I do not
,” Balthazar said.  The last thing he remembered was being held by the Magi and that pathetic excuse for a demon, Aelek.  It didn’t look good for his grandsire, Ashdad, but Balthazar didn’t want to tell Pani that her father was likely dead.  He knew the sadness that accompanied loosing a father too soon.

“Well,” Pani said, perking up with forced enthusiasm.  “Father has a way of turning things around.
  I’ll go get that food.”

“I must see
the girl, now,” Balthazar said, stopping her again.

“I’m afraid that’s not possible right now,” Pani said, her eyes scanning his figure.  She had dressed him
in some of her father’s old clothes.  They were a little baggy, but otherwise inconspicuous.  Everything else about him was a completely different story though.  The ever so slightly pointed tips of his ears stood out from his stark black, shoulder length hair, and his blue grey eyes were animalistic and calculating.  One look at him would draw a lot of attention that they did not need right now.

“
I am afraid,” Balthazar said, his eyes narrowing as he advanced on Pani, attempting to intimidate her, “I do not take no for an answer.”

“Well,
aren’t you a spoiled one,” Pani said, turning on her heels, flipping a strand of black hair over her shoulder.  Unfortunately for him, she was use to her father’s tantrums, and she wasn’t the least bit afraid of him.  “You try going outside looking like that, and you’ll likely be shot.  People aren’t used to demons around here.”

Balthazar wanted to grow
l in irritation.  Again, he realized she was probably right.  He hated to admit that he was ever at a disadvantage, but he knew, at least for the moment, he was.  He didn’t know this world, and he did not want to risk putting Alexandra in any danger.  He would have to rely on Pani to help him.  He would make sure that Alexandra was safe, and then he would return to his home.  Without her. 

The thought hurt him in a way that was so intense but so foreign to him.  Why did he
cared so much about her, he didn’t know.  He just knew that he didn’t want her to be put in harm’s way.  That’s exactly where she would be if he brought her back with him.  As much as he wanted to, he just couldn’t have her.  The threats of his world still existed.  Even if he could protect her from all of them, he would not risk it.  Could not risk her life.  It was too precious to him now.  He knew what he had to do, and he hated it with every ounce of his being. 

Pani had no intentions of letting Balthazar anywhere near Alexandra.  He had already caused too much of a threat through the bond he stupidly formed with her.  Pani wanted to grunt in disgust at the whole
thing.  Sure, her parents were mixed.  But her mother was not what Alexandra was.  She knew Balthazar may not realize what he had done, but she still hated him for it.  She would play nice to his face, but her main objective was to keep him away from Alexandra.  She had to make sure the bond was severed before she sent Balthazar back to her father. 

“I knew it,” Alex said with a toothy grin on her face as she plopped a rather large book in Sam’s lap.

“What’s this?” he asked, barely even glancing at it before tossing it on the couch next to him. 

“That,” Alex said, picking the book up and handing it back to Sam, “is the proof I have been searching for.”

“I thought we agreed you were going
to stop this,” Sam said, his voice harsh as he glared at her.  It made Alex hurt to see him like that.  He had never had a temper of any kind before this.  Now he was so easy to push over the edge. 

“Sam,” Alex said, trying to calm him, “I’m telling you.  Just look.  Please.”

“Fine,” Sam said with a hard sigh, “this is the last time.  I mean it.  After this, drop it.”

“After this,”
she said, sitting down next to him and opening the book to an earmarked page, “I think you’ll believe me.”

“Where did you get this?” Sam asked.  It looked like a very old book, now that he took a moment to look at it. 
The pages were made of an odd material, thicker than normal paper, and yellowed with age.

“Did you know there is a magic stor
e across from Golden Panda?” Alex said.  Sam wanted to roll his eyes.

“This was expensive, wasn’t it?” he asked
.  He knew his friend.  She could be suckered into spending her money on just about anything by the right person.  This book was probably a prime example of that.

“That’s
not important,” she said, brushing off his concern.  Of course, it only confirmed Sam’s suspicions.  “Take a look at this.”

“Alex,” Sam stopped
her.  “Why do you want this so badly?  What could you possibly find good about that place?”

For a moment Alex was quiet, staring back at Sam.
There was only one thing that came to her mind.  There were many things about that place she had found that she missed, but there was only one thing that had an iron grip on her heart.  A stubborn, self-centered, handsome, dashing demon lord that had stolen her heart.  But how could she explain that to Sam.  To Sam, who was not supposed to believe any of this.

“You do remember,”
Alex said softly, a mixture of relief and betrayal in her voice. 

“I can’t Alex,” Sam said, shaking his head,
his jaw clenched tight to force the sting away.  “I just can’t remember.  And I need you to understand that.”

“I can’t imagine what things they must have done
to you,” Alex said, “but I don’t think we have seen the last of them.  We need to be prepared if they decide to return.”

#

It had been a long day, but Alex was pleased with the outcome.  She had finally gotten through to Sam.  He had broken down and cried like Alex had never seen before.  He still would not talk about what exactly the Magi had done to him, only to say that it was too horrible to recall.  She could give him that, as long as he wasn’t in denial about the whole event anymore. 

Alex stood from the little window bench in her bedroom that had become her n
ightly perch, opening the window a crack and crawling into bed.  Tomorrow would be another long day, but she was looking forward to it.  Now she had Sam on board, and she had a starting point to get back.  She never got around to showing Sam what she had actually found in those aged pages.  But she would show him in the morning.  A smile crossed her face.  A hopeful smile that she hadn’t experienced for a long time.  She closed her eyes, allowing her thoughts to turn to the demon she loved.  The one she only saw in her dreams.  Her cheeks flushed with a sudden heat and she kicked the covers off, sitting up in her bed.  She had been planning to get a glass of water, but the sight that met her eyes froze her in place.

“Did you think I would let you escape me so easily, girl?” a statuesque figure stood in her window, the moonlight spilling over his shoulders and casting his face in
darkness.  But Alex knew exactly who it was.

“Balthazar,” Alex whispered, as if
speaking any louder would wake her from a dream.  The corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly as he stepped closer to her bed.