Promise Me Anthology (29 page)

“If that happens—”

“When it happens,” Balt corrected. “Then it’s
over. There’s no healing, no going back, nothing but getting put
down like a rabid dog. Demon hunters are more prolific than vampire
hunters and werepoachers combined right now. Think about that.” He
snapped his fingers and the air rushed back, the breeze blowing,
ruffling the tree leaves.

“Hey, um—” Rhinestone began.

“I’ll walk you home,” Balt said, slipping his
arms around Rhinestone’s shoulders. “We’ll leave him to Rosy Palm
and her five sisters.”

Terian watched them walk away laughing, then
headed back inside. Colin was there, standing at the bar, chatting
up another statuesque redhead. She also moved away as Terian came
up, shooting him a shy smile. This time Terian smiled back,
enjoying the surprise in the girl’s eyes as she mouthed the word hi
at him before heading away.

“Her name is Peaches,” Colin said. “Not sure
why. You’d think she’d have chosen a stage name like Red Hot or
something instead—”

“Balt told me I’m going to turn demon
eventually,” Terian said. “Is that true?”

“You know, there is nothing subtle about you
at all,” Colin said, chuckling. “It’s bracing, yet also so easy to
deal with.” He studied Terian. “How old are you?”

“You already know I’m close to seventy-five
or so,” Terian stated. “Tell me the truth.”

“Balt is twenty-five,” Colin said, taking a
large sip of his whisky. “Already he has a tendency to be on edge
almost all the time. He enjoys violence. And every month it gets
worse.”

Did Colin count sexual appetites for
strippers among his brother’s faults? Probably not, if he was
indulging, too.
“You’re saying he’s turning into a full
demon.”

Colin nodded.

“Can’t you do anything?”

“Like what?” Colin said, wiping at one of his
bleary bloodshot eyes. “Go back and make my father not summon a
demon for a sexual plaything? Go back and not have him wish for
another son, one who was taller and stronger and faster than his
thoughtful firstborn?” He repositioned his empty drink glass. “I’m
half faerie, because my father tried that first in his quest for
power. My mother took me and left him. Balt’s mother couldn’t
leave; she was my father’s servant. She finally had him killed to
free herself.”

“How did you find out about Balt?”

“He found me one night. You remember that
priest you met outside that church?”

“Yes,” Terian said, narrowing his eyes. “He
never told me his name.”

“He prefers not to give it. He’s kind of a
local intermediary.” Colin’s voice dropped to a whisper. “There’s
more than the normal concentration of supernatural beings in the
bigger cities of the heavily populated states. It’s easier to blend
in a crowd, because no one looks too close.” He paused, as if
gathering himself. “Balt came to a small church one night. He’d
gotten drunk and beaten a man badly. He’d been in bad foster homes
and been abused himself. His control of his demon half was
slipping.” Colin faced Terian. “He was only sixteen.”

“I’m sorry,” Terian murmured.

“You and me both,” Colin said sadly.

They sat in silence for a while.

“What will you do?” Terian asked.

“I know what I should do,” Colin whispered.
“If I killed him now, he’d have a chance at going to Heaven, maybe.
If I wait until he becomes fully demon, he’s got no chance.” He
drained his glass, then looked at Terian. Tears glistened on his
cheeks. “Full demons are immortal, but all they get to do is ferry
back and forth from Hell to earth. They spend their lives serving
evil people, being tortured, and torturing others.”

“How much time is left?”

“Not much.”

Colin gave Terian a grief-stricken look,
swallowed hard, then grabbed at his new whiskey. He drank it down,
then called for another.

Terian got up and left. While he wanted badly
to comfort his friend, he was too afraid for himself to be of any
use.

You’ve never had any sign. No dreams of
carnage, no tendencies to indulge. Hell, you were a virgin until
that first night with Sundown.
Maybe some of that was due to
the parents’ inclinations toward evil themselves? Balt’s mother had
been a demon and his father an equally bad human. That had to count
for something, if both parents behaved like fiends.

You duped Sar. You betrayed her trust.

That had been innocent. He’d never have
caused her any kind of pain. He hadn’t pushed her for anything
beyond the kiss to activate the spell to know her true feelings.
Plus he’d shared in the spell himself; after the kiss Terian had
been unable to hide his own feelings.
And it hadn’t mattered
anyway...

Terian walked outside, catching Peaches
walking unsteadily to her car in her 3” heels. When she leaned on
his arm and asked him to help her home, he agreed.

* * * *

Sar, I’m okay. I’m learning a lot out here
about myself and I hope you’re doing well. Here’s my address and
phone, if you need to contact me. I hope you’re well.

Terian paused after the period, wondering
what else to write, his guilt bearing down like a fist between his
shoulder blades. It had been two full months now since he’d seen
Sar. Was she happy? Was she back together with Danial? While he
wanted badly to know, he knew it was better not to push her for
anything beyond friendship. Colin was right about that.
Just
like Bart had been about the girls at the Naughty Nymph...

“What are you writing, baby?” Rhinestone
said, leaning over one shoulder.

“A letter to an old friend,” he said easily,
kissing her rouged and powdered cheek. “Interested in a
shower?”

“I just got dressed,” she complained.

“I know,” he said meaningfully. Picking her
up, he threw her over one shoulder then walked off to the bathroom
as she laughed and shrieked.

* * * *

“Have you been practicing spells to dissipate
wraiths?” Colin said searchingly, the tinny sound loud in Terian’s
ear through the cell phone’s receiver.

“Yes,” Terian responded patiently, trying to
shift in his chair to get better reception. “I’ve learned most of
the defensive spells in volume three. If you’ll give me the fourth,
I’ll begin that one tomorrow. All I need to finish is to polish up
on conjuring the blue fire. I can get it to form now, but it takes
close to an hour. I want to get that down to a few minutes, if
possible.”

“Very good,” Colin said with approval.
“You’re making remarkable progress. Maybe you have some faerie
blood in you.”

That would be nice. Better than demon
blood, anyway.
“Maybe.”

“Have you tried healing?”

“Not yet,” Terian said, not wanting to admit
his failed attempts at healing a simple strand of hair he’d cut in
two.

“Volume four is the hardest. Demons usually
know the most magic of all the supernatural races, not counting
faeries. It’s the long lived races that tend to amass the
knowledge. Human lifetimes generally aren’t long enough—”

“What about vampires?” Terian asked. “Are
many of them versed in magic?”

“Usually none, unless in life they were a
practitioner. The most knowledgeable currently living is Sola, the
oathed one of the Vampire Ruler of Canada, Ebediah. But that’s very
rare. It’s far more common for vampires to employ sorcerers long
lived like themselves—”

Terian only half listened. Instead he
replayed his words to a woman he loved, berating himself each time
for having let them slip out.

It wouldn’t ever matter how many years had
passed, Sar. Not to me.
Why had he said that to her, with all
the things he might have said? The last thing she probably wanted
was another reminder of her mortality. It was obvious that she’d
hurried to get off the phone right after. Then to make matters
worse, she’d guessed about the potion he’d given her.

Terian, tell me the truth. Did you put
something extra in the potion for growing wings?

He’d admitted dosing her with the truth
spell. She’d taken it well, all things considered. The hardest
truth was that what Terian had done had given Sar a magical dream
of her soul mate—or an equivalent—and that person hadn’t been him.
It had been someone else.

“I’ve got to go,” Colin said abruptly. “I’ll
call you back tonight.”

Terian hung up, then looked out the library
window.

I wish I’d never done any of it. Colin was
right. It would have been better not to know.
The worst had
been Sar thanking him for what he’d done to help her find her new
guy, whomever he was.
Probably some full blood human...

“How are you making out?” Monica said, her
question breaking Terian’s concentration.

“Good, thanks,” he said, flashing her a
smile. She returned one, the slight motion putting a spark in her
deep blue eyes that heightened her beauty.

Monica had never tried for more than
friendliness in the months Terian had been here. He thought it had
to be the demon side of him; that it scared her.
Not that he’d
had trouble in the love department, as Balt called it.
Rhinestone and Peaches—as well as other girls who worked the
unhallowed poles of Papa’s Pleasure House and Naughty Nymphs—had
been more than forthcoming on several occasions. But they would
never be what Sar was to him. They would never be what Sun had been
once, either.

Balt kept saying that you had to take
advantage of what you were offered, and not pass “the willing” up.
But enjoyable as Terian’s nights were now, there was a sameness to
them that resembled the vapid conversation of Monica’s group. The
sex was great, yes, but it wasn’t meaningful.

“I wasn’t sure you’d be here tonight,” Monica
remarked. “You’ve been busy lately.”

By her tone, she meant his liaisons.
“Are you jealous?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Monica snapped.

“Then why would you care?” Terian pressed.
“What is it to you who I spend my nights with?”

Monica turned to him, furious. “You know the
thin line you balance on? Don’t follow in Balt’s footsteps. He’s
going to lead you straight into hell.”

“Aren’t I already destined to go there?”
Terian said drolly. “Being demon and all, you know.”

“You’re only part demon. You could do
something that matters—”

“Oh really?” Terian said cruelly. “Like your
self-help group of stockbrokers and desperate housewives? How is
that shifting the balance between good and evil in the world,
Monica?”

She gaped at him, crestfallen. “They can’t
help as they don’t have the talent you and I have. They’re doing
the best they can.”

“No. they aren’t,” Terian stated. “And
neither are you. Before you get on your high horse about fighting
the good fight, you might actually want to spend some time yourself
in the trenches.”

Monica blinked in shock, then flushed red.
“You bastard.”

“I’d rather be a bastard than a fake like
you,” Terian said, gathering his things. “Bye.” He walked out,
leaving Monica staring after him.

Terian put his things on the passenger side
of his truck, then got behind the wheel. He gripped it hard with
both hands.
Why did I say that to her? What is wrong with
me?

Angry at himself, Terian drove to his
apartment. He pulled in the driveway, only to find someone else was
already there in his spot, the engine of the small compact car
running.

Terian forced himself to be calm, then got
out and approached the intruder. As he drew even with the driver’s
door, it opened suddenly, making Terian jump back.

“Good reflexes,” the young man said. He drew
a gun, pointed it at Terian’s chest, and fired point blank.

There was no time to duck, no time to do
anything but scream as the bullet passed through his heart and out
his back. Terian fell to his knees snarling in pain, his hands
tight against the wound trying to stop the blood loss.

“Give it a minute,” the man said, lighting up
a cigarette. “You’ll be as good as new.”

Terian looked up the stranger with hate.

“I’m Kyle,” the man said, taking a little
bow. “Demon hunter, if you haven’t guessed.”

“Why not...just kill me?” Terian managed to
say, his panic lessening as he felt his body begin to heal the
gunshot wound.

“Because you aren’t full demon,” Kyle said,
matter of fact. “If you were, you’d be dead. I’d have dipped that
bullet in holy water, enough to knock you down so you couldn’t run.
Then I’d have drowned you in it so you burned.”

“So what is this,” Terian asked, standing
warily. “A warning?”

“Yes,” Kyle said with a smile. “I understand
from mutual acquaintance that you’re trying hard to be one of the
good guys. But I wanted to let you know that if you decide to go
over to the other side, I or one of my brethren will come for
you.”

These were the demon hunters Balt had
talked about.
“You’d be safer taking me out now. If you have
the stones for it.”

Kyle did a double take, then chuckled.
“You’re just full of self-destruction, aren’t you? That must come
from the demon side.”

“How would you know?” Terian said dully.

“Because I’ve known a lot of half-demons in
my time,” Kyle said, his voice losing its camaraderie. “They all
went over, eventually. Those with human blood go over first
usually, before they’re thirty. The ones with other non-human blood
can stave off the change longer—”

Terian didn’t want to hear this again.
Screw him, and being demon and everything to do with it.
He
turned and walked to his house, getting his keys out.

“You’re just leaving?” Kyle called after him.
“In the middle of our talk?”

“Yes. You need to shoot me, go ahead.” Terian
went inside, closed the door, then locked it. He lay down on the
couch, thinking. A new plan of action was overdue and couldn’t be
put off any longer.