Promise Me Anthology (30 page)

God, all he’d done since he got here was
think and learn magic and have meaningless sex. Maybe that was all
Balt wanted out of his life but Terian wanted more, even if Sundown
and Sar weren’t part of the picture.

Everyone wanted something from him. Monica
wanted him to change the world for the greater good. Balt wanted a
play buddy, someone like him to share women with and spend time
talking about their inevitable doom while getting hammered on
alcohol. His lovers wanted some exotic boyfriend or lover and
nothing more. And Colin...Colin wanted Terian’s help in killing
Balt before he became a full demon, so his brother’s soul would get
a chance to go to heaven.

And how long after I helped kill him would
Colin take to decide that I was also better off dead?

Terian didn’t want any of those things.
Moreover, he wasn’t going to do them. He’d been playing at life for
too long. The time for acting was over.

He’d stay until he learned the last tome of
magic, the fourth volume. Colin said he was making phenomenal
progress, so it should go quickly. Then he’d go back East, and try
again with Sundown. They had loved one another once. Maybe it could
work, if he didn’t push her so hard.

Sar...he’d always love her, but she was happy
with her soul mate now. Even though that hurt, at least she had to
be safe from Danial now. Being friends would have to be enough.

* * * *

Several more weeks passed as Terian flew
through the fourth volume of magic, learning some elaborate spells
of defense, including one for ripping apart hearts
metaphysically.

“I don’t know why you’re bothering with that,
when you easily have the strength to rip out a human’s heart with
your own hand,” Balt said dubiously, studying the page.

“Because it’s easier to kill without making a
mess,” Colin said, looking up from his own book. “There aren’t
allowances to kill someone if they’re evil under human law. This
way it looks like a heart attack, at least from the outside.”

“If they open the body, though, they’d see
the heart was destroyed,” Balt replied. “So if you’ve got to
destroy the evidence anyway, why bother making it clean?”

“I’m not learning this to murder people,”
Terian said, annoyed. “I’m learning it in defense, as a case of
last resort.”

“Okay,” Balt said, holding his hands up. “I’m
just making an observation.”

“An undue one,” Colin added, glancing up in
reproach.

Balt laughed, then pushed Terian’s book down
just a bit, getting his attention. “Do you have some time this
evening? There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Terian rolled his eyes. “The Naughty Nymph
get a new girl?”

“Yes,” Balt said with a big smile. “And she
wants to make your acquaintance tonight at Happy’s.”

“Sure then,” Terian said. “About eleven?”

“That’s fine,” Balt said.

Terian waited at Happy’s later that night,
kicking himself for having agreed to come. The bar was crowded with
Saturday college kids, as well as regulars. His supernatural
hearing was almost on overload, the crack of pool balls melding
with the loud talking, live music, and pretzel crunching to create
a din.

“Here he is,” Balt said at Terian’s back.
“Terian, meet Patricia.”

Terian turned. A gorgeous woman stood there,
her expression bemused and seductive. Her platinum hair was cut in
a pageboy style, her outfit a very low cut business suit. “Are you
supposed to be a nympho CEO?” he asked.

The woman laughed loudly. “You’ll make a
great demon when the time comes. You’ve already got down the
humor.”

Terian went motionless, staring at the woman.
She smiled back, her gorgeous blue eyes flooding with red, an ocean
of black evil flowing out of her.

She was a demon.

“Don’t look so spooked,” Patricia said
kindly, the evil feeling dissipating. “You’ve heard the worst about
us from the bible thumpers. Being demon can be a lot of fun, so
long as you stay on the right side of Hell’s rules.”

“Which you’re going to tell me, right?”
Terian said, letting his own heat and blackness billow forth.

“Only if you want to hear it,” Patricia said.
“Hell’s awash in demons, and we aren’t soliciting for more. But
you’re part of the club already, because of your lineage. It’s my
calling to seek out those on the fence, so to speak, and give them
full disclosure.”

“Really? Where were you for the last fifty
years?” Terian said curtly. “I didn’t recently become a half-demon,
you know.”

“No, but you kept to yourself,” Patricia
countered. “You knew only very low level magic and you didn’t want
any part of the human world. Contrary to popular belief, Hell
doesn’t want just anybody; we want the go-getters, the hard
workers, the ambitious and driven. You came to our attention
recently, when you began learning more magic—”

The demon prattled on, praising Terian, but
he tuned her out. This was just another person wanting something
from him.

“There are added benefits,” Patricia said
with a pointed smile, slipping her finger into her cleavage and
stroking slightly.

“What, besides you?” Terian said bluntly.

“What do you want?” Patricia said, still
smiling. Her red eyes gleamed like fresh blood in sunlight. “Or
who, should I say? I understand that you came out here because a
relationship didn’t work out—”

“Leave me alone,” Terian said, dropping his
human mask. He snarled, baring his rows of pointed teeth. “Get out
of my sight!”

There was a sudden scream, one of the college
girls pointing at Terian. He resumed his mask, but others had
already seen him. There was a mass panic, people running for the
exit, some of them shouting there was a fire in their confusion. A
girl screamed, then went down in the melee, the wet crunch of her
broken neck echoing in Terian’s ears.

“Lovely,” Patricia said with glee. “And she’s
not remotely devout, either.” She turned, heading for the body as
the last patrons shoved their way free into the night air. Balt
followed her, curious.

Terian stood as Patricia knelt, then jammed
her hands into the girl’s body. The demon leaned backwards, pulling
hard. Then a ghostly figure came free of the body, the indistinct
form emitting a whimpering sound.

“None of that,” Patricia said with relish.
“You had your whole life to make a decision, to believe. It’s too
late now.”

The ghostly figure began to shriek, then
writhe as Patricia pulled it close in an embrace.

A shot rang out. Patricia crumpled, cursing.
The ghostly figure swayed, then fled back down into the motionless
body on the floor, disappearing.

Four hooded men came through the door in a
rush, guns drawn and pointed. They surrounded Patricia, while one
covered Terian and Balt. “There was only supposed to be the one
half-demon,” one of them said in confusion.

“Doesn’t matter. Do the exorcism, Father,”
Kyle said, throwing back his hood to reveal himself.

Another hooded man produced a small
electronic device and began to read off it, the language Latin.
Kyle threw something on Patricia. She flinched, then cursed them.
“Do it and see what happens,” she growled. “Next time I return it
will be for you and your team!” She let out another scream as more
holy water hit her.

Balt took a step, and Terian stopped him.
“Don’t help her.”

“That could be us,” Balt said, shaking him
off. “Don’t you get it? They didn’t come for her. They came for
me.”

“That can’t be,” Terian said. “You haven’t
done anything.”

“Haven’t I?” Balt said, his tone
chilling.

“You haven’t done anything bad,” Terian said
stubbornly.

“Don’t move,” the man holding the gun
warned.

“You’ll shoot me as soon as she’s dead,” Balt
said. Then he launched himself at the man, toppling him and
knocking him on his back. The man fired seven times in succession,
blowing a huge hole in Balt’s back, distracting the priest and Kyle
from the exorcism.

Terian watched, wanting to help but not
knowing what to do.
If I try to break it up they’ll both fight
me.

Patricia rose, her taloned hand slashing out
to slit the throat of the priest. Then she went for Kyle, gashing
his side as he leapt backward. Balt was on his back, fighting the
man who’d traded his gun for a machete.

Sar wouldn’t stand here and watch a friend
be killed.

Terian uttered the beginning of the spell to
tear hearts, then saw the long blade descending. Moving fast, he
shoved the man off Balt, then punched him.

“Thanks,” Balt coughed, pulling out the tip
of the blade.

Terian turned slightly to reply, then felt a
heavy blow. He went sprawling, twitching slightly. Balt roared,
then came the sounds of scuffling. Patricia was still howling and
cursing.

Why can’t I move?
Terian tried to move
his arms, his head, his legs, and couldn’t.
Am I dead?

Patricia lunged for Kyle and he parried her
with a table, breaking it on her shoulder. She dropped, then
staggered back up immediately, bloodied. “You can’t send me to hell
without your priest, hunter! I’ll be eating your soul tonight—” She
lunged again at Kyle. He shoved another table in front of her,
blocking her.

“So afraid,” she snickered evilly. “But then
that’s why you hunt us, isn’t it? Because you’re afraid—” She went
rigid, cutting off her words then whipped around as undulating red
and black fire washed over her. Patricia let out an unholy screech
of agony, then danced wildly, setting fire to everything she
touched, even plastic and metal. Then she darted for Colin, who was
standing, yelling furiously, words to conjure more fire as black
and gold flames formed in his left hand.

“No!” Balt yelled. He darted toward Colin,
getting between the burning demon and his brother. Patricia knocked
into him, Balt letting out a howl as he wrestled with her, flames
rapidly running up his arms. Colin finished the hellfire spell and
flung the ball of fire at Patricia, knocking the burning demon off
his brother. She convulsed again with the second blast, then
collapsed, burning brightly.

“Outside!” Kyle yelled. “The place is going
up!”

Terian watched Kyle and his remaining man
flee, still struggling to move himself. He managed with effort to
finally turn over, straightening his spine. Suddenly he felt the
healing return, the feeling come back to his arms and legs. He used
a table to pull himself upright. Colin was struggling with Balt,
trying to get him out of the rapidly escalating conflagration.

Terian grabbed Balt’s other arm. Together, he
and Colin dragged the prone giant of a man out of the burning
building. They set him down on the wet gravel of the parking lot,
rain pelting their faces. Steam rose up from Balt, the remaining
flames on him quickly extinguished.

“Always saving my ass,” Balt groaned. “Why
can’t you ever manage to get there before I’m hurt?”

“Be quiet,” Colin said, stripping off Balt’s
shirt. It came off only partially, the left side melted into his
flesh.

Terian looked down at the seared and
blistered flesh. “Do you want me to help you get him to your home?
What do you need? I can bring it here.”

“No,” Balt said. “Leave it.”

“You’re not dying here in this fucking
parking lot,” Colin screeched out hysterically. “Terian, get the
car.”

“No,” Kyle said from behind them, brandishing
a gun. “You aren’t saving him so he can kill someone else.”

Terian hid his left hand, then began to
murmur the words to create blue fire as Colin stood and faced Kyle
down. “He’s my brother and I’m not letting him die.”

“He killed a stripper last week,” Kyle said
coldly. “He’s on the verge of becoming demon, Colin. I know he’s
your brother, but that can’t matter.”

“You don’t put aside your blood,” Colin said,
advancing. “If you had any family you’d know that.”

“I did have a family,” Kyle said bitterly,
his gun unwavering. “I had a sister. A demon killed her. He was
half, just like your brother, until the night he raped and murdered
her.”

Terian braced himself, murmuring the words as
fast as he dared. The fire was forming, but it needed a few more
precious seconds.

“I can save him,” Colin said, edging toward
the car.

Kyle fired, striking Colin in the chest. The
man went down hard on his back, his left leg twitching.

The blue fire finished forming, the sheer
heat of it making Terian sweat. He braced himself to throw it at
Kyle, then felt Balt take hold of his arm, stopping him. “No,” Balt
whispered. “He’s not lying. This is easier...for everyone.”

Terian looked down at him in horror. Balt
gave him a faint smile, then closed his eyes, relaxing back into
the mud.

Kyle walked to Terian, holstering his gun.
“Is he gone?”

Terian checked for a pulse. There was none.
“Yes.”

“I’ve heard the rain being called God’s
Tears,” Kyle mused. “But I’ve never heard of it putting out
hellfire before.”

Terian didn’t answer.

There was the wail of sirens in the distance,
coming closer.

“Good luck,” Kyle said to Terian. “I’m sorry
you got in the middle of this, but—”

Everything froze, including the raindrops
which hung suspended, millions of them glittering. Then slowly
Colin sat up, his eyes glowing red.

“No,” Kyle breathed. “You aren’t demon, you
were faerie half-breed, like me—”

“Not all demons are born in hell,” Colin
said, baring his rows of pointed teeth. “Some are made from the
hells they’re forced to endure.” He stood carefully, then began
murmuring a spell.

Kyle thrashed, trying to flee, but he only
wobbled, his feet not lifting from the ground.

“You have hunted for years, unrelenting and
unmerciful,” Colin said darkly, “I curse you now to be hunted
yourself, forever.” He spoke a word, and Kyle recoiled, holding his
head and screaming. “Run all you want, and you’ll be found.”