“Is he a demon?” Skye asked in confusion.
Kane smiled fondly, “No, I happened to have found him during a very dark period in my life and… changed him accidentally. As far as I can tell, Scrappy will never grow old and never die… though he does seem quite happy with the arrangement.”
“So he’s a Sun God’s familiar?” Aurora asked curiously having seen demons take on animals in much the same way.
Kane and Michael looked at each other with thoughtful expressions.
“It would make sense,” Kane said with a shrug of his shoulders. “He’s just always been Scrappy… I’ve never thought of it that way.”
“Would either of you care for something to drink?” Michael asked but his eyes were on Aurora.
Kane raised his hand and wiggled his fingers, “I’ll take some of the best alcohol in the house.” He grabbed his ribs where Michael elbowed him and wheezed, “Never mind… I can wait.”
Aurora shook her head at their playfulness. “Not right now… but I’d really like to see your library.”
Michael smiled at the obvious glint in her eyes and gave her a slight bow, “Right this way my dear.”
When Aurora took Michael’s offered hand Kane leaned in close to him from the other side.
“Laying it on a little heavy aren’t we?” Kane asked in a stage whisper.
“You are just jealous because you didn’t think to try kindness as a way to woo Tabatha,” Michael shot back with a wicked grin.
“That was different,” Kane whined chasing after Michael and Aurora with Skye bringing up with rear laughing quietly at him.
“How was it different?” Michael asked with playful curiosity.
“Tabatha is my boss.” Kane stated with authority. “I had no choice but to fall for her charms and stalk her to the ends of the earth.” He paused for a moment and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “Then again… she is my soul mate so I guess an eternity of servitude to the loveliest sexiest woman in the world is worth it.”
“Touché,” Michael muttered deciding Kane’s nonsense sometimes made perfect sense.
Aurora’s eyes widened again when Michael escorted her into the huge library. The room was circular with high windows all around and there were bookshelves filled from floor to ceiling with nothing but books of all shapes and sizes. Comfortable overstuffed chairs and loveseats were placed around the room accompanied by small elegantly carved tables.
“Oh wow,” Skye whispered and wandered over to one of the shelves. He ran his fingers over the bindings as he skimmed the titles. All of the ones in this section seemed to pertain to the laws of physics with everything from Plato to Albert Einstein and even more recent works from Nassim Haramein.
“Is something wrong?” Michael asked when he saw the overwhelmed expression on Aurora’s face.
Aurora let her gaze drift around the room trying not to feel intimidated. “Where… where would I even start?” she said and suddenly smiled remembering that Skye had said the more she read the less childish her reactions to things would be. She’d argued that she wasn’t a child but secretly, she knew Skye was right. She lifted her chin not wanting Michael to think she was childish.
“I actually picked out some of the fairytales for Skye to start you out with since that’s what most human’s read when they first learn how,” Michael said and leaned closer as if sharing a secret, “it’s the magic of fairytales that make most people fall in love with reading. I’m not sure what his teaching method is, but if he was able to learn how to read in such a short span of time then I’m guessing it will work the same way with you.”
“Skye,” Aurora called him over hoping Michael was right about how quickly she could learn to do this. “Can we start with these?”
Skye moved away from the shelf he was looking at and approached the stacks of books Aurora indicated. “These are good ones to start out with,” Skye agreed seeing some he had really enjoyed and a couple he had yet to read.
“Oh goody,” Kane said and rubbed his palms together. “I get to play with Michael while Aurora has her reading lessons.” He grabbed Michael by the arm and dragged him out of the library leaving the door open in case Aurora or Skye needed them.
He smirked at the slowness of Michael’s steps and the way he cast a longing glance back down the hall. “Come on lover-boy, you will only distract her from her studies. You want her to make straight A’s don’t you?”
Michael turned his head and gave Kane a mock glare, “I know how to behave.”
“So says the man that has sex in subway tunnels,” Kane shot back with a grin having read Michael’s wishful thoughts of bare skin before he’d even opened the door.
Back in the library, Skye shook his head when Aurora started flipping through the pages of one of the books, her eyes bright with curiosity. He sat down on the floor beside the stack of books Michael had set out and pointed at the spot in front of him, “Right here bright eyes… and bring the book.”
Aurora giggled at Skye’s choice of words and sat down facing him to where their knees were touching. She held the book out to Skye anxious to get started and wondering how he was going to teach her. However, instead of taking it from her, he gently pushed her hands down until the book was lying on the floor in the little circle between them.
“The first thing I want you to do is touch the book with your fingertips,” Skye instructed and smiled at her when she instantly obeyed. “Now, remember what we used to do when I’d go hunting or exploring with the boys from the tribe and you had to stay behind with the girls?”
“Yeah,” Aurora said with a conspiratorial nod. She leaned toward him and lowered her voice as if it were still their little secret. “You used to show me your memories when you got back. The memories were so vivid that I always felt like I’d been with you… sometimes I could even feel the rain on my face or smell the flowers.”
Skye nodded, “That’s right, and that’s exactly how I’m going to teach you to read. I’m going to give you my memories of learning how. Clear your mind and come into me.”
He smiled when he saw that she’d already closed her eyes. Reaching out, Skye laid his hands over hers and let his mind drift back into the past… more specifically to when he’d first found the storage room under the library. He felt Aurora’s hands flinch when she felt his loneliness but he couldn't hide it from her.
He was lying on the old dusty sofa that had been stored in the basement of the building and out of boredom started flipping through pages of one of the many books that had pictures in it. His eyes snapped up when he heard the door above him slam followed by footsteps. Skye had promptly hid in the darkness on top of one of the high bookshelves as an elderly man came downstairs with a stack of books.
He listened as the old man muttered to himself, complaining about the wonderful classics being hidden away like something obscene and set his load of books down on one of the many boxes, coughing when a small cloud of dust rose from the impact. The man stood there a moment before lifting the top book from the pile and reading some of it out loud.
Skye was mesmerized by the spoken words enough to let his aura stretch out and touch the man’s mind while he read. Hearing the words and learning to navigate the letters using the intellect of the old man, Skye realized he’d opened a whole new world of vast information and contentment.
After the old man left the large storage area, Skye approached the stack of books and began to look through them more closely this time. It was no longer the pictures he was interested in. He’d spent the following days teaching himself to merely understand the contents of the books word for word just by letting his aura reach for the books the same way he’d reached for the man’s mind.
The words flew through his mind like a breeze of knowledge. The more he did it the faster he became until he could read an encyclopedia within the span of a few minutes and then topped it off with a work of fiction to stimulate his imagination.
“Oh wow,” Aurora breathed as she absorbed Skye’s knowledge through their link.
Skye left the past behind him and opened his eyes, “Now I want you to try it.”
He smiled again when Aurora tilted her head to the side and turned her attention to the book under her fingers. He quickly came into her mind and shared the experience as the first words she’d ever read began to drift through her mind and into his.
Chapter 4
Needing something to do, the boys had made their way to the kitchen where Michael poured both of them a glass of red wine.
Michael inhaled deeply, still feeling a slight rush of power from the demon hunting he’d done earlier in the day. He smirked in satisfaction knowing he could give that rush a boost as soon as he got the chance to get back out there among the demons. He glanced up and caught Kane watching him closely then frowned when the blonde quickly lowered his eyes to the drink and picked it up.
“So,” Michael picked his own glass up becoming suspicious, “how is it that you showed up at the same time that Aurora and Skye were coming to visit?”
Kane shrugged, “Kriss and Dean invited Tabatha and I over for dinner and they showed up so we turned it into a dinner party. They mentioned they were headed over here and I figured since I haven’t really had a chance to talk to you I just wanted to… check in.”
Michael frowned, “You weren’t getting smokes this time?”
“Not this time,” Kane answered with a grin but his humor abruptly vanished. Since Michael was already becoming paranoid he might as well do a little fishing. Not one to beat around the bush he opted for the truth. “Dean told me he saw you earlier today.”
“Yeah, he did,” Michael said evasively, already not liking the direction the conversation appeared to be heading.
“He also said you were drinking from a demon,” Kane said bluntly and set his glass down. “When did you start doing that?”
Michael didn’t miss a beat with the lie, “When the thing decided to bite me first.”
Kane’s lips parted to say something but what could he say to that? Picking his glass back up, he took another drink while he thought about that one.
Seeing Kane’s sudden frown Michael laid it on a little thicker by adding some of the truth. “I caught the thing watching Aurora when I went to visit her earlier and followed its scent into an alley. I figured it would be an easy kill so I didn’t exactly have my guard up. The next thing I knew, it had latched its teeth in to my shoulder. It pissed me off so bad that I decided to bite back… I don’t think it was expecting that.”
“Probably not,” Kane murmured trying to hear Michael’s thoughts but the only feedback he was getting was a sense of guilt and craving which was kind of confusing so he quit trying.
Michael smirked as if the whole thing was funny. “It just so happened that its blood healed my wound almost instantly so I drank until it was dead. Problem solved.”
Kane cocked an eyebrow and saluted Michael with his glass before tipping it back and draining the rest of the red beverage. It sounded like a reasonable explanation but it still didn’t answer the question of why he’d been such a hard ass with Dean. He started to ask Michael what the demon’s blood had tasted like but decided to hold off for now. Besides… if he wanted to know bad enough, he could just bite one himself and find out.
For some misguided reason Misery’s rotting face flashed in Kane’s mind and he had to turn his back to Michael to keep his brother from seeing the disgusted expression that was twisting at his lips. He headed toward the refrigerator to find something that would wash the imaginary flavor out of his mouth.
Michael slid onto one of the barstools when he felt cold chills crawl across his body and he inwardly cursed when a thin film of perspiration formed on his forehead.
Talking about demon blood had only given him the urge to hunt and he desperately needed a distraction. He ran his hand through his long bangs hoping he hadn't just given Kane the idea of drinking demon blood. He could handle the power surges from it just fine but there was no telling how Kane would handle it and the last thing they needed was another breach between LA and the demon realm.
Michael shook himself out of his thoughts and turned his head to see Kane’s butt sticking out of the refrigerator.
“What the hell are you doing?” Michael demanded.
Kane reappeared with a pile of lunch meat, mayonnaise, mustard, black olives, lettuce, and a ripe tomato. “You have food… we’re eating.”
“I thought you just ate at Kriss’ place,” Michael growled still craving something much better than a sandwich. He wiped his sleeve across his forehead and focused on calming himself.
“Yeah, now I’m hungry again… and from the looks of things you’ve dropped a few pounds yourself,” Kane retorted seeing a little bit of Michael’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality switch.
Hoping the very old and potent wine would at least take the edge off, Michael poured them both more while Kane busied himself with making food.
“So, anything else on your mind?” he asked not liking the heavy silence.
Kane frowned as he arranged his stash on the bar, “Actually yeah, there is. Dean’s been hurt and I don’t think it’s healing all that well. It didn’t look too bad when he first showed it to me but as the night wore on I began to feel the sickness inside of him.”
“Samuel did manage to stab Dean with his Demon Blade,” Michael offered knowing they were both there to witness the hurting that blade had put on Ren. “Is that the wound you’re talking about?”
Kane nodded, “I’ve been thinking. If a Fallen Blade can kill Samuel… or any demon for that matter, then it stands to reason that a Demon Blade can kill a Fallen… right?”
“Right,” Michael nodded having found his distraction.
Kane started slicing the tomato with obscene speed, “We both know the mess that same Demon Blade made out of Ren, but Ren isn’t a Fallen and Dean is still alive. We cured Ren with the Fallen Blade which I’m assuming Dean and Kriss have since they are Fallen. But, if that’s what it takes to heal Dean then they would have used it by now and they obviously haven’t… so, a Fallen Blade must not be an option when it comes to healing a Fallen.”
Michael’s emotions stretched between anger over Samuel’s attempt on Aurora, and worry for Dean’s survival. “Samuel’s intent was to kill Aurora with the Demon Blade so yes… it’s safe to assume a Demon Blade can kill a Fallen.”
“You and Dean seem to have lot in common these days,” Kane informed Michael, glaring down at the masterpiece of a sandwich he was making.
“And what would that be?” Michael asked.
“You are both pretending that you’re fine when you are not,” Kane said bluntly.
“Okay Doctor Feel Good, but I’m not the one dying so you might want to focus on Dean and let me take care of myself.” Michael pointed out and gripped his glass a little tighter.
“True,” Kane said with a sigh. He knew he’d pushed Michael enough for the moment and he was probably right about Dean needing the most attention.
“How are Kriss and Tabatha?” Michael asked to change the topic.
“Kriss is getting better,” Kane smirked holding the knife up. “He doesn’t flirt with Tabatha anymore which is a good thing for his continued health. As for Tabatha…” Kane sighed dramatically and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Don’t want to know,” Michael held up his hands in defeat.
“You would if you had more sex,” Kane said coming to the quick conclusion that if Michael turned all of his attention to Aurora then whatever this demon thing was would probably be history.
Michael smirked and toasted Kane with his drink, “In an elevator… earlier today.”
Kane slammed the knife down on the counter and stared at his younger brother. “Okay, first it’s the subway, then the roof of Love Bites, and now you’ve had sex in an elevator? Who are you and what have you done with my Michael?”
“Michael has been converted into a sex fiend,” Michael answered with a straight face and stole the sandwich Kane just finished making.
“No,” Kane grumbled, “you’re an exhibitionist and a sandwich thief.”
“So, make another sandwich,” Michael offered then looked down at the one in his hand. “This is really good.”
Kane inwardly cheered that Michael was taking in something besides demon blood. He briefly played around with the idea of moving himself and Tabatha back into the house but quickly discarded the notion. If they did move back in, it might cramp Michael and Aurora’s weird sex fetishes.
Scrappy sat on the floor between them looking back and forth. When he felt they’d ignored him long enough he barked. They had food and he wanted some of it.
Kane looked down at Scrappy, “You want some of this roast beef don’t you?”
Scrappy twirled around in a circle on his hind feet while giving Kane a pitiful look.
“Here you go,” Kane said and dropped four thick slices on the floor which Scrappy began devouring right away.
Michael had just finished his sandwich when he heard Aurora’s light laughter coming from the library. He closed his eyes in enjoyment. The sound of her laughter was exactly what this cold and empty house had needed.
“What to go check on them?” Kane asked not having to be a mind reader to know what Michael was thinking. He smirked when Michael got up without answering and headed toward the door.
The two men walked back into the library and paused just inside the doorway when they saw an illumination surrounding the two Fallen where they set facing each other on the floor. There was a book hovering in the air between them and both were touching it but their eyes were closed. They couldn't see Skye’s face at this angle but Aurora was smiling with small changes in her expression as if she were watching a movie.
Kane leaned back against the wall while Michael stood there entranced by what he was witnessing. The glowing light slowly imploded back toward their fingertips and the book descended to the floor.
Aurora’s lips parted in awe as she opened her eyes to focus on Skye. “But he left her there at the window,” she said feeling happy and confused at the same time. “Won’t they miss each other?” she grabbed the book up and hugged it as if she felt sorry for the people inside.
“You can already read?” Michael asked not quite believing his eyes.
“We kind of cheated,” Skye answered with a grin. “But to make sure she truly gets the hang of it, we started off with some of the fairy tales. Like all little girls… Disney seems to be her favorite.”
Michael approached Aurora and squatted down behind her so he could look over her shoulder at the book. His smiled softly once he realized exactly which book she was reading.
“Peter Pan. That’s always been one of my favorites,” he said gently, understanding it was probably the little boy she had felt sorry for.
Aurora smiled up at him and placed a kiss on his cheek, “Thank you for letting us come here and read your books.”
Michael was about to respond when Kane’s face was suddenly looking over her other shoulder. He scowled at the blonde wondering what he thought he was doing.
“Is that the copy I bought you in London?” Kane asked with a tilt of his head.
“Yes it is,” Michael answered. “Now please stop leaning over her like that.”
“Oh, it’s okay… I don’t mind,” Aurora said. “I still owe him for throwing him down the stairs.”
Skye frowned not having heard this story yet and leaned back on his hands trying to picture Aurora taking on the blond Sun God who was powerful enough to open portals into the demon realm.
“No worries about that love,” Kane informed her gallantly. “Michael will eventually realize I’m making a complete nuisance of myself on purpose and threaten to kill me while chasing me around the house with one of his broadswords.”
The words had barely left Kane’s mouth when the tip of such a sword appeared under Kane’s chin. He arched an eyebrow and slowly stood up, looking over at Michael as he did so. The two brothers stared at each other for a moment before Kane suddenly swatted the sword aside and ran like hell out the library door.
“Get back here!” Michael yelled.
“NO!” Kane yelled back. “You’re gonna hurt me and I bruise easily.”
Aurora and Skye remained in the library listening to the sounds of thumping before the sounds moved upstairs and more noise commenced. The Fallen looked at each other before they burst out laughing.
“Those two are funnier than I thought they’d be,” Skye admitted. He hadn’t really known what to expect when they’d first showed up. “You pick out the next book,” he instructed nodding toward the stack.
Aurora looked through them and finally picked one that had a castle on the cover of it. Out of curiosity, she started flipping through the pages looking for pictures. She frowned not seeing any and quickly closed the book, hissing when she received a paper cut due to the quickness of her motions.
“Ouch,” she frowned remembering getting such cuts from the sharp blades of grass she used to play in as a child. It had always amazed her how such a tiny little slice could sting so much.
Skye smirked watching her glare at her injured finger. “You know, the pictures you see in your mind are a lot better than anything you would find drawn in the pages anyway.”
Upstairs, Kane found himself pinned to the wall in the game he and Michael were playing. He guessed he was wrong in thinking Michael was having trouble because he seemed just as much fun as he usually was.
“You bruise easily huh?” Michael mocked.
“I can still kick your ass into next week,” Kane said cockily.
Michael smiled and released Kane, letting him fall to the floor. They looked at each other, Kane from the ground and Michael slowly landing on his feet. They started laughing because neither one of them had realized Michael had actually been holding Kane off the floor.
Kane was about to get up when a tantalizing scent reached him. He frowned when he noticed the obsidian color suddenly overwhelm the amethyst of Michael’s eyes. He watched in morbid fascination as Michael inhaled deeply and looked over his shoulder toward the stairway.
Michael swallowed when he smelled Aurora’s blood. It was a small amount but still enough to send his momentarily forgotten craving flooding back with a vengeance. With the next heartbeat, Michael traced down the hallway and disappeared from Kane’s view.
All of the fun drained right out of Kane and the humor vanished from his face. The only time he’d ever ran across eyes that dark he’d been staring into the face of a demon.
“Well… that can’t be good,” he pointed out to the empty hallway.
Just as quickly, Kane was on his feet and following Michael down the stairs. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what that sweet scent was and where it was coming from. He stepped into the library just in time to see Michael kneel down in a blur beside Aurora and take her hand in his.
Aurora flinched when Michael suddenly appeared beside her and took hold of her hand. The action broke hers and Skye’s concentration and she wondered what he was doing until he held up her hand to inspect the small cut she’d gotten from the thin page of the book. A single drop of bright red blood had welled up and she frowned wondering if he just didn’t want her to get it on his book.
Looking up into his eyes she was startled to find only small flecks of glowing amethyst scattered within a sea of darkness. “Michael?” She whispered knowing something was wrong with him.
All movement stilled as Michael slowly brought the injured finger to his lips and kissed the injury. Unable to resist the temptation, he drew the tip of her finger into his mouth and sucked on it sensuously. He wanted more of her flavor and let the edge of his fang gently glide across the cut.
Aurora gasped as heat began to spiral through her core and pool between her legs. The sensation of his tongue rubbing erotically against her finger caused her to whimper softly and she bit her lip when his sharp teeth grazed the injury, stinging and soothing at the same time.
Skye remained leaning back on his hands also watching the Sun God with rapt attention. The connection between him and Aurora hadn't completely been broken and he was inadvertently siphoning off some of what she was feeling… and it was amazing. He tried to hide the fact that his breathing had quickened by taking shallow breaths.
Michael closed his eyes and savored the small rush of power until it turned into an overwhelming craving to drain demon after demon. Noticing the deafening silence, he looked up to find Kane watching him closely from the entrance of the library. He inwardly cursed knowing he’d just given his weakness away to his very observant brother.
Kane knew for certain that Michael wasn’t in his right mind but this was way out there. The moment their eyes met, Kane could see Michael’s hunger as though it were something tangible… contagious and addicting. His brother had recently drained way more than just one demon and had lied about it.
His mind searched for answers and it suddenly made sense as to why Michael was drinking demon blood. If only a few drops of Fallen blood could cause this kind of reaction… then being able to drop all restraint and completely drain a Fallen’s spawn would be the equivalent of dark chocolate.
Kane moved his gaze to Aurora seeing the high color spread across her cheeks and the way her breathing had become shaky. She was becoming aroused from Michael’s lips on her, not understanding that if he lost his restraint then things could turn very dangerous for her. She was an innocent in all of this even though she’d inadvertently caused Michael’s strange addiction.
‘More proof that love is blind,’ Kane thought to himself.
The floor vibrated through Kane’s boots but he paid it no mind until he saw one of the books beginning to tremble out of its spot on the shelf. Glancing around the room, he noticed more than a few of the volumes shivering in place. Kane lifted his hand to push the book closest to him back in when he saw the lamp on the table near Michael start sliding across the polished surface toward the edge.
“Michael,” Kane's soft whisper sounded loud in the silence of the room.
Michael could hear the warning in Kane’s voice and he flinched realizing what he was doing. Drawing away from Aurora’s injury, he placed a soft kiss on the tip of her finger before releasing her and forcing himself to calmly back away.
“You should be careful, sometimes the pages of these old books are sharp,” he smiled distracting her from what he’d just done.
Aurora slowly drew her hand back and closed it, still feeling the heat of Michael’s lips on her skin. She brought the hand to her chest and protectively shielded the wonderful feeling with her other hand before nodding at Michael with bright eyes.
“I promise to be careful,” Aurora said shyly and Skye nodded his agreement. Neither one of them had noticed the vibrations in the room because their attention had been riveted on Michael’s seductive kiss.
Much to Kane’s relief, the light vibrations immediately ceased and the lamp stopped sliding less than an inch from its edge.
“Aurora, Skye, we will leave you to your reading while we go scout the area for anything that may pose a danger to the humans,” Kane suggested, praying Michael would take the hint and come with him. “Besides, if we stay here we’ll just be a distraction.”
“I’d say.” Skye’s eyes widened realizing he’d just said that out loud. He smirked when Aurora giggled at him.
Michael was inwardly cursing himself and decided that Kane was right… leaving the room was the best idea for the moment. What he was not looking forward to was the fact that Kane would follow him and that was the last thing he needed right now.
Turning toward Kane, Michael smiled and added, “You can take the east while I search the west end of the area.”
He stalked past his brother intending to do exactly as he’d just said and hoped the demons were stupid enough to be close by. He made it to the porch before his brother caught up with him and grabbed him by the arm jerking him around.
“What was that?” Kane demanded in a low hiss. “It was just a small injury, hardly worth that kind of attention.”
“She was bleeding,” Michael growled as though that would be answer enough… it wasn’t and they both knew it.
Kane actually glared at him, “Bleeding…” he shook his head. “That’s not going to do it Michael. You’re acting more and more like an addict looking for their next fix and it’s her blood you’re addicted to.” Kane steadied his gaze now that he’d figured it out. “That’s why you’re bleeding demons dry. Their blood is doing something to you,” he accused.
Michael’s face contorted with anger and he turned on Kane unaware that his eyes were now solid black. “You kill demons your way and let me kill them my way. Everyone’s killing demons or haven’t you heard about the damned war you started. Stop babysitting me. In case you’ve forgotten, I can handle myself… I did quite well while you were in the ground and nothing has changed.”
Kane’s eyes narrowed but he said nothing as Michael shoved away from him and stepped off the porch. He could overlook the insults but what he couldn't overlook was the blackness of his brother’s eyes. This was the Michael Dean had been trying to warn him about.
Scrappy sat next to Kane’s feet and whined low before looking up at the blonde man.
Kane looked down at the puppy and sighed wearily. “I know, I know… follow brother and spy on him. You and Syn must have a mental link I don’t know about.”
He didn’t want to leave Aurora and Skye alone but he figured they’d be fine since the house was so heavily warded and luckily it looked like Michael had completely forgotten about them… at least for the time being. Deciding he’d given Michael a good enough of a head start, he traced after his brother using the blood he’d given Michael just a couple days ago as a tracker.
It didn’t take Kane long to catch up, but when he did he observed discretely from a distance. What Michael was doing was wrong… well… not the killing demons part but the way he was going about it. He was using their blood like a drug and as with any drug you weighted the side effects to see if it was worth taking the pill. So far, the side effects were not looking so good.
Kane crouched on the apex of a slanted rooftop and glanced down at Michael who had slowed his pace to a brooding stride on the empty sidewalk. He felt a powerful presence behind him and stood up with a sigh.
“Will I need to interfere?”
Kane shook his head, “No papa, I’ve got it covered.”
Soft laughter reverberated around him, “You just don’t want to see Michael killed again, do you?”
“Not really,” Kane sighed and looked over his shoulder. “I owe Michael this much.”
“Sometimes awakening from death puts things in perspective,” Syn mused but he would not take this feeling of redemption away from Kane unless he had to.
“We’ve tried that twice already,” Kane felt the need to point out. “Tell Mom I said hi.”
Syn nodded and vanished, leaving Kane alone on the roof. Turning back to Michael, he saw his brother walking up onto the porch of an old rundown house beside the railroad tracks. Kane tilted his head to the side wondering what Michael was up to.
Chapter 5
Michael was in predator mode, bypassing several low level demons that didn’t grab his interest when he suddenly slowed his pace near an old house. There… he felt it… a demon with a fair amount of power was lurking somewhere inside among the stench of rotting corpses.
A wicked smile appeared on his face. Michael approached the front door and politely knocked.
An elderly man wearing a stained shirt and frayed dress pants opened the door as far as the latch chain would allow. He eyed the well-dressed man up and down. “Whatever you’re selling, I ain’t buying,” he slurred and brought a bottle of cheap liquor to his lips intending to spit it in the salesman’s face.
Michael suddenly hit the door with his palm, breaking the chain lock and reached for the disguised demon. In one fluid movement he jerked him out the door, tossing him into the front yard like a rag doll.
Kane frowned when the old man looking every bit in his late eighties practically cart wheeled across the grass and slammed against the trunk of a tree. When he crumpled to the ground like any senior citizen would have, Kane started to stand up thinking maybe Michael had either lost his mind or made a horrible mistake.
He slowly lowered back into a crouch when the arms and legs of the body reminded him of a contortionist as broken bones righted themselves and popped back into place. The old man persona literally melted away revealing something that looked almost like a human sized bat, minus the wings.
“Gonna do that right here in public are we,” Kane breathed knowing Michael was usually a hell of a lot more discreet than this when fighting demons.
The creature looked like it was made out of worn leather, its skin stretched taut over a wiry body showing a thin but defined muscle structure. The upper body appeared almost too wide for its legs to hold it upright and its fingers and toes sported long black claws. Its head was the worst, no hair whatsoever with two long pointed ears and what appeared to be a pig-like snout above two tiny rows of sharp teeth.
“Holy shit batman,” Kane whispered and almost laughed at his own humor. Yeah, it was an old and cheesy joke but he didn’t care… this was the perfect moment to use it.
Michael arched an eyebrow when the demon leapt at him, pushing him back against the front wall of the house with a bone jarring thud. The brick crumbled around them and Michael smirked in its hissing face.
“You’re just the snack I’ve been looking for,” Michael said and let the smirk widen so the demon could see his elongated fangs.
“We will see who eats who vampire,” the demon’s voice was full of conceit.
Grabbing the demon by the neck, Michael rolled against the wall but had to quickly release it when the demon’s mouth opened and clear liquid began to drip hitting the sleeve of his coat. The liquid burned through the material like acid making Michael hastily discard it. He tossed the coat aside and watched, fascinated when the acid ate huge holes in the thick material.
Michael jerked his gaze back towards his opponent and growled knowing that’s exactly what the demon had been up to when it had started to spit in his face.
The demon laughed and suddenly came at him, this time swiping its sharp claws through the air. Michael winced when they caught him on the arm and he could feel an intense burning where they made contact. Grabbing the demon, they tumbled down the steps and back out into the grass as they rolled, both trying to gain dominance.
The demon’s acid was eating through his skin but he was healing just as quickly as the wounds could start. Michael let himself enjoy the pain and the fact that picking on the more powerful demons was definitely a learning experience and a hell of a lot more fun than the quick kills.
Michael caught the demon by both wrists in a tight grip and twisted until the bone shattered and crunched under his fingers. The demons head snapped forward with intent to bite but Michael beat him to the punch by grabbing the head and sinking his teeth into the demons neck. The demon screamed and tried to scratch at him with its broken hands doing very little damage.
He hadn't had time to completely drain the demon when somewhere below the pitch of the scream he heard a soft whimper from behind him and jerked his head back to look toward the source of the sound. Michael’s black eyes widened and some of the amethyst resurfaced within them when he saw a young boy standing under a street lamp holding a soccer ball and wearing a sport uniform.
Michael relaxed his hold on the squalling demon when he noticed that it was him the boy was staring in horror at… not the deformed monster in his clutches.
Kane quickly rose to his feet glaring at the demon that had reverted back to its human disguise and was now crawling across the grass. “Don’t even think about it ugly,” he hissed softly hoping the demon would hear him.
The kid couldn’t have been more than ten years old and since this was a rather safe neighborhood by human standards, he was probably on his way home from a friend’s house. He regretted the fact that the humans weren’t aware of the demon population. If they were, then they would know to keep better watch over their children this late at night.
A feral snarl erupted from Kane’s throat when the demon ran toward the child obviously deciding the boy would be a good hostage to put between him and the vampire he was losing the fight too. Kane moved at the exact same moment Michael did. He traced from the roof hitting the sidewalk and took up the child just as Michael tackled the demon to the ground and pushed its ugly face into the pavement.
“I don’t think so,” Michael couldn’t control his rage… it was one of the reasons he despised demons. Their need to prey on children was sickening to him and those that had taken the lives of the innocent deserved the most painful death imaginable.
His fury only fueled his blood hunger and Michael bared his fangs in a primal smile before sinking them into the back of the demons neck. He growled in satisfaction when they actually grazed the bone of its spinal cord.
The demon thrashed on the ground, acid dripping from its claws in a vain attempt to get away. They made deep grooves in the sidewalk accompanied by the hissing noise associated with the corrosive substance.
“Shhh, it’s all right. I’ve got you,” Kane murmured softly and pressed the frightened boy’s face against the arc of his neck so he wouldn’t see any more than he already had. Just the sounds that the demon was making was probably enough to give a grown man nightmares… no need to add a visual.
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