Keeley Thomson (Book 4): Demon Trap (2 page)

"Eat up, we have that party tonight and you can't afford to go in half starved looking." There was a hint of disapproval in her gaze, which got Keeley to stop eating, still hungry or not.

"I agree. You know what works to keep me looking like a real girl and not an anorexic? Not
starving
me. At least I hear that's the way it works for everyone else. We could give it a try maybe?" She didn't sound bitter about it, since the extra training in shape shifting had proven very useful, and she was even good at it. The fact was though, it took massive physical resources and Darla had been pushing her so hard she hadn't had a chance to build up any kind of reserve at all. It was part of her punishment.

Keeley figured that, in a short thirty or forty years, Darla would forgive her for what she'd done. Maybe. The sad thing there was that her loving big sis was actually being soft and kind to her, by Greater Demon standards. Enough so that the others really would make fun of her if they found out how gentle she was being about it all. Even the nice ones would have killed her for taking them over like she had Darla.

In a way it meant she was loved. It felt nice.

Darla smirked at her and then pointed to the food.

"Eat and stop whining. If you want to have enough energy, I suggest you learn to use that which is around you finally, and stop acting like a child that needs to be lead around by the hand." She waved at the air to her right, then held a single palm up to it. After a few moments, the world warped a bit, much like when a path onto the inroads was being summoned, but different. Energy started to move in toward the delicate hand, and then became one with the Demon, who kept doing it for a while as Keeley ate and watched in silence, trying to figure out how it was done.

It was complicated, requiring a good half dozen complex processes at once.

Darla didn't explain them all, but the demonstration lasted until the last of the meat was gone.

"When you learn to do that, no one will easily be able to starve you again. It isn't a full replacement for food, you'll need that as building blocks for cells still, but it can be stored within you and used to power most of the magic you'll need to use, day to day. Then you pretend not to be a glutton all the time." She made it sound easy, and as if Keeley was expected to whip the trick out on her own at any moment.

Because, of course, she
was
. Her real age was sixteen, but their lie, the one meant to protect her from the others, involved her pretending to be at least a hundred years old. That was
still
a kid, as far as her kind was concerned, but it would be enough to keep anyone from just trying to destroy her outright.

Maybe.

Holding up her hand she tried to replicate the process that her sister had just shown. After a moment the warping happened, and the energy flowed. She was even able to move it into her body well enough, and then try and start the six different processes that would let her drink in and store it all. That didn't happen though. She felt a tiny bit better for it, she thought, but it was a failure as far as a usable technique yet. She'd tried it before, several times, and this was the best that Keeley had actually managed yet.

There was a gentle clapping from across the table then. Positive reinforcement for a job not really done at all. It was so obvious Keeley made a face at the cheerleading captain.

Darla was smiling though.

"Good. By tomorrow I expect you to have that down. Unless you plan to spend the night with your new human pet? The Line Walker. That sounds almost like a Greater Demon name, doesn't it? Are you certain he isn't one of us?" The question wasn't just making conversation, even though the woman across the table could have gotten the information herself more directly, with a simple visit to Zack at his store.

"Pretty certain. I could be wrong. Barb showed me that at least some Greater Demons might be able to fool me like that, but I really don't think so. Finias doesn't think he is. Or, if that's the case, he isn't telling
me
about it at all. I wasn't planning to sleep with him though, since, you know, virgin. Me, not him. He's doing fine that way." She knew that for a fact, having kept tabs on the man since their last meeting. Zack and Lenore the Vampire ambassador were hooking up. Not that the idea bothered Keeley. She liked the man alright, but it was in a friendly manner really. That didn't mean she wouldn't have sex with him if it came up, but she wasn't going to go loopy and fall in love with him either.

Not until after she knew that Xenses was really out of the picture.

That got her to shrug.

"If Zack turns out to be a Greater Demon, then the only thing I can think of here is that he's actually Xenses's child. The one that he thought
I
was. How that worked I don't know. Maybe he figured that I was Zack? He had him as a child for months and kept him on the inroads the whole time, abusing him horribly. I mean, things that nearly had me tossing my cookies when I picked it up from him. Eating humans, horrible sexual abuse, things that would have had me going after Xenses even if I'd liked him before learning that. Zack is totally insane though, so..." If he were a Demon, then that would mean they'd probably have to kill him in the end. Insane Greater Demons were kind of a risk to the world.

Darla shrugged, a sensual movement that seemed almost like she was getting ready to invite someone to the bedroom. Keeley got the idea, she was subtly threatening her, with
rape
, because she was still angry over the little deal that they'd had. Her words didn't reflect that though.

Not at all.

"Well, I'll try to see what I can find out from him tonight. I have a little more experience with this kind of thing than you do. Either way we should form a strong wall around him. Finias seems to want him alive, for what that's worth, and if Xenses is still around, then he'll come for the kid when we show an interest in him."

That was her plan in a nutshell. Zack was the bait in that given trap, a more alluring thing than even using herself would have been. Greater Demon or not, insane or perfectly normal, those things didn't really matter at all. Her older brother would want his toy back if anyone else started playing with it, and if he was still able to, that meant he'd come to collect him directly. Possibly that night.

Given that, Keels ate more, her body craving carbs again, since they were used for quick energy by preference. As she ate with her left hand, she started reworking the complex magics that would allow her to take some of the energy of the world around her and incorporate it into herself. She did a little better, but not enough to be a substitute for food. She didn't stop though, struggling with it, focusing hard while she was handed individual snack cakes by Darla, who was amused by the whole thing it seemed. Helpful though.

She had to spend hours doing that, just eating, and absorbing energy poorly, before Darla finally called a halt to the experiment in adventurous eating.

"Almost time to go. You'll need to fix your face and reposition some muscle. You look a bit asymmetrical through the shoulders." There was only a little humor in the words though. It wasn't mocking really, just slightly aware of how things looked.

They were headed to a party after all, so that kind of thing needed to be perfect. Especially if Bente was going to be there. The Pristine wasn't called that because she was slovenly and often out of sorts. It would be embarrassing to be seen looking lumpy and misshapen by her.

It took some work in the bathroom, first arranging the muscle mass, which was several hours of work, even if it was minor stuff really. A full transformation could take over a day to get right for her still. Then she did the work on her face, making it look like her, but slightly older, the jaw line just a touch heavier, a slight shadow of lines near the eyes. Around the mouth some lines formed too, as an afterthought. Then she hid it all with make-up. It made her look like a twenty-eight year old trying to pass herself off as being in her late teens and
just
failing by the tiniest amount. When she came down the stairs again, she found Darla had changed into an outfit almost identical to her own, except with a bright red shirt. It was a Christmas party after all.

One being thrown by a Demon, as if that made sense. Finias did love his parties though, and was kind of known for them. It was odd to think of him as her father still, though biologically that was the truth of the matter. The man that had raised her, the one that she'd thought of as "dad" her whole life, Charles, was dead now. Decapitated by Xenses for some reason that only made sense in the insane Demon's own mind. Something about him loving her.

Not in the wholesome incest kind of way either that she might have been able to put up with, but in a horrible, deluded and torturous kind of way. The thought wasn't a fun one for her, but she made it go away, since dwelling on that kind of thing wouldn't help her at all. That was the brilliance of being a Greater Demon. Never having to feel anything she didn't want to. As long as that ability wasn't being taken away from her as a punishment.

She had to resist rubbing her neck and then block out the idea of Darla's handy little collar even existing for a bit. It was made to only work on her, and if she had enough energy it couldn't actually hold her forever, but the fact that it existed was a threat to her. Not just because of the occasional beating it promised either. If anyone else got a hold on the thing, she could be left almost helpless, magically speaking.

The Greater Demon in front of her smiled and then gave her a single, slow wink.

"You look ready to hit the bars. We should do that soon. Go out with Sherry and see about picking some guys up." There was a dark and far too delighted manner to the words, as well as a very close examination of her face.

Sherry was her mother after all. It would be really hard for Keeley to go out and watch her hitting on men like that, and Darla was relishing the fact. It was kind of a bitchy thing to say really, but there was only one correct answer, and Keeley knew that for a fact.

Locking down her emotions she shrugged.

"That sounds like a plan. Next weekend? If we aren't busy with other things, I mean." Then she counted the days up and shook her head. "The one after that. Friday is Christmas."

She already had her presents for people wrapped and tucked away in the garage. There was enough to make a small family feel like they'd won the lottery, but there were simply a lot of individuals to take note of this year. Luckily money wasn't a problem. The hardest person to shop for had actually been Darla, since the woman both had most of what she wanted and wasn't nearly as materialistic as she let on. In the end it had taken a lot to find the item for her, a thing she wasn't even willing to think about, since that might give it away. Darla was perceptive and watching her like a hawk at the moment after all.

The smile on her sister's face was sickly sweet then and she nodded enthusiastically.

"Definitely. Well, shall we go to your place, I don't know if your new boyfriend can find us here." She meant Zack and was trying to needle Keeley on the fact, but she didn't rise to the bait, which had to be getting old. That was the idea at least.

"Right, he's been there before. Shall we walk?" That meant putting on coats, but they had the time, and frankly it was too short a distance to drive. Just starting the car would take nearly too much gas to make it worthwhile. It was cold out, but only in a chilly way, not a bone freezing thing at all. They weren't dressed for it, but both had long coats and could warm themselves if they needed it, using their powers. Except, Keeley realized, when she went outside, that wasn't needed. She barely noticed the chill at all. Her sister clearly didn't either.

That was a new thing then. She'd felt it on the walk over earlier. It probably had to do with her strength finally starting to kick in. She was simply adapting to the world instantly and not having to force it all the time.

That meant the trip was pleasant and didn't take long at all. In fact they had to wait for the others to get there, Keeley risking another snack. She didn't offer Darla anything, which was on purpose. The party would have food and they could eat all they wanted, since everyone would know who and what they were there, but at her house it would take negotiation to offer sustenance. Given the time frame it wasn't worth the bother.

Just as the last bite of chocolate muffin vanished and she washed her hands in the kitchen sink, she felt the node start to open. It was interesting, but the feeling of a being walking on the inroads was different this time, a strange thing that caught the attention for sure. She'd felt it before, so knew it was Zack, but Darla stood near the front door, a copper and crystal gadget in her left hand.

"Our guests?" The device was pointed at the front door, and didn't drop when Keeley nodded. Not even a little bit. She smiled though, trying to make herself relax, since she was a little nervous.

"Yes. Try not to scare them. He's a nice person."

That got a slow nod and reluctantly the weapon was put away. They were expected after all and even if two Vampires were coming along, it looked weak to seem scared of your own visitors.

The knocking was gentle and polite, but Keeley opened the door quickly, her face moving from interested to delighted.

There were, as planned, three of them. Zack was in the front, since he was her date, and for some reason wasn't afraid of her at all. Behind him stood his girlfriend, Lenore, who looked about nineteen, and had a slightly roman nose along with a classical cuteness that would have looked just about right on a nineteen twenties flapper. She was much older than that though, it was clear. Keeley had touched her before, so knew that the woman was closer to four hundred than not.

Next to her was an adorable, totally bald little man with a big nose and ears. Bey Transmorguir. One of the rulers of the Vampire Counsel.

"Welcome!" Keeley said the word happily and even meant it. "Thank you all for coming. You look wonderful." They all did too.