Halfling (Black Petals Book 1) (19 page)

Aria’s head rises, and she looks between the two men. “You did what, Crispen?” Aria doesn’t know?

Crispen turns to her smiling. “I killed his demonic bitch of a daughter, just like he said, Aria.”

“You killed…you killed my niece? I was an aunt? I didn’t even
know
that. Why has this
never
come up?” Aria demands, clearly pissed off. She seems to catch herself though, because her expression smooths over, and she brushes her hair with her fingers as if embarrassed by her outburst.

“I didn’t tell you because I know you have a soft spot for kids, and you’re emotionally weak at times. I didn’t tell Mason because I knew he’d tell you.”

This seems to enrage Aria. Her eyes shoot daggers at her brother. “What was her name?” she asks Aiden then, her eyes softening a little again.

“Karly. Her name was Karly. She was a halfling. She had the same eyes you have. Vivid blue,” Aiden says this while smiling, and I know that he appreciates her curiosity and genuine concern over her brother killing Karly.

“Aria, snap out of it. Are you for real right now?” Crispen demands, shaking his head. Mason seems to snap back into reality with these words as he too seemed interested in Karly for a mere moment.

Aria clears her throat and turns her back to everyone. The fourth hunter seems to be sleeping. No doubt he’s not as strong as the other three and needs more rest to heal.

“Are you saying you raped a human?” It’s Mason who asks this, sounding completely disgusted.

“Of course not!” Aiden shouts angrily. He then curses, scowling at his brother. “I fell
in love
with a human, though I doubt any of you even know what love is.”

Crispen scoffs. “And you do?
Right
.”

“How old was she?” Aria asks, turning back to face Aiden. “Karly, I mean, when she…died.”

“She was fifteen.”

Aria gapes. “
Crispen
! You killed a
child
? A
halfling
child?
Why?
You could have at least made her a hunter. What is wrong with you?”

Crispen is then in Aria’s face through the bars separating them. “A demon is a demon, you know that.”

“You didn’t kill Megan when you found her, she’s a halfling.”

“That was a mistake.” Crispen makes eye contact with me full of hate. “A moment of weakness.”

I can’t get over the extreme coldness in his eyes. It’s like he’s a completely different person than the Crispen I know and loved.

“What became of her mother?” Aria asks, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and begging Aiden for answers.

“She passed away young from cancer.”

Aria seems to be satisfied with her answers and shuts up. I can’t even imagine the fight that will instill between her and her brothers about this later. Crispen glares at her like she’s the demon in the room. Mason seems at a loss, like he doesn’t know what to think or feel.

A tear slides down her cheek, and she quickly brushes it away before they can see, but I see it, and by the look on Aiden’s face he seen it too. A look of fascination and confusion takes form on his face as he stares at her.

“I think it’s time for us to go to bed,” Aiden suggests to me.

I nod in agreement. If I stay down here any longer, I might do something stupid. I turn, and as soon as I do, a dull whistle sounds and Aiden is no longer in front of me. I turn to see him holding the chunk of cement he’d kicked at Crispen earlier. He clutches it so hard that it shatters into dust. I’m amazed by this amount of strength.

“I thought it was worth a shot,” Crispen grunts.

“What just happened?” I ask, not getting the situation at all.

“He just whipped this at your head in an attempt to kill you.”

The next day, while I sit in the kitchen eating breakfast, I can’t help but remember the hurt look on Aria’s face upon the mention of Karly. Aiden strolls into the room in dress clothes. I wonder where he’s off to today.

“I have someone stopping by right away. Please get dressed and meet me in the living room quickly. I will apologize in advance for my future behavior. Please do not say anything unless spoken to specifically,” he rambles off so quickly that I hardly catch what he’s said. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting this person so soon.” He smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

I sense the urgency in his tone and do as he says. I’m confused by what he meant about apologizing in advance for his future behavior but let it slip. I change into a nice but simple dress and meet him in the main living room. The house has three, but I know which he is speaking about.

He stands there next to a man wearing a red tie and slacks.

“This is Megan, the halfling I’m mentoring.”

I go through the motions of curtsying.

“You’re sure a pretty thing, aren’t you? I bet you’re not
just
mentoring her, are you?” The sexual innuendo is clear in the man’s voice, and although I feel disgusted by his words, I don’t say anything.

To my surprise, Aiden smirks wickedly and winks at the man. Appalled, I struggle to keep my mouth from falling open. I know he has to keep up appearances with the demons, but is this really necessary?

“Anyways, I’m here, as you know, to deliver your replacement guards after the attack, Mr. Castile. Hell was sorry to hear you were attacked once again. It seems that such an important man as yourself is high on the hunter’s list.”

“Yes, I agree, Adison. That’s the trouble with being a man in my position I suppose.” Aiden says cockily, an arrogant smirk remaining on his face. I’ve never seen this side of Aiden before, it’s chilling and disturbing. It’s like he’s a completely different man. I know it’s not
really
him, but it feels so real, so natural. It seems like he doesn’t even have to try to be this version of himself.

The man clears his throat. “Just sign here that you received them.” He hands Aiden a pen and clipboard before pointing to the signature line.

Aiden’s hand moves across the page quickly.

“Hell has also sent you a gift for your troubles, Mr. Castile,” says the man. “It’s just outside the door here.” The man turns to retreat into the porch. Aiden’s jaw clenches after he turns, and he glances to me.

He mouths what looks like ‘I’m sorry’.

I follow the men into the porch. This Adison guy opens the front door and there stands a pretty, petite, human with long blonde hair and thick black lashes. She looks no older than thirty. She looks terrified. Two demon men stand flanking her, presumably making sure she doesn’t move.

“A snack to indulge in. A new soul too, Mr. Castile. I hope she’s to your liking,” Adison muses grimly.

I shudder. A new soul is a soul that has never been reincarnated.

“Very much so.” Aiden smiles appreciatively. “Thanks for your troubles, Adison. I’ll take it from here and let you be on your way.”

“Have a taste of her before I leave, and make sure that she is to your liking,” Adison urges him and motions to the lady in the doorway.

My eyes widen in shock. Thankfully neither of the men can see my expression.

“I’m sure she’ll do,” Aiden denies.

The man looks at Aiden as if he’s crazy. Aiden smiles. “I guess a taste won’t hurt.”

The two guards push the girl into the house towards Aiden. Aiden grabs her arm and jerks her closer to him roughly. I’m not sure I want to watch what is about to go down.

Aiden knocks her hair away from her neck on one side. He runs his fingers down the nape and grins, then his head goes down, and his lips meet her neck. He kisses and sucks on her neck before moving to her lips. He kisses her tenderly.

“Isn’t he an animal? A true classical demon Mr. Castile is,” Adison murmurs to me as we both watch Aiden grope and basically sexually abuse this woman before us. I am absolutely disgusted to the core, and I’m sure it shows on my face. “If only we were all as suave as he.” This makes my stomach churn. Suave? This is suave?

“Hey, Mr. Castile, I think this halfling you’re mentoring is a little jealous. Maybe you should give her a little something too,” Adison mistakes my shock and disgust for jealousy.

I don’t know what to say or what to do, so I just stand there, wide-eyed. Surely Aiden wouldn’t… Suddenly Aiden is in front of me. He tilts my chin up, gazes into my eyes for a moment, and then his lips meet mine. I nearly fall over.
What in the hell does he think he is doing?

I’m just about to pull away and shout something rude at him when his eyes meet mine again and he whispers nearly silently, “Quiet, Megan.” I don’t even think Adison notices this, because he’s too busy seemingly enjoying the terror in the blonde woman’s eyes. He holds her still so she doesn’t run.

I try to say something but nothing comes out. I know almost immediately that Aiden has just used compulsion on me to stop me from speaking. Now, I’m
pissed
.

He lays his lips down on mine again and then goes back to the other woman. This time, between the woman’s lips and his, a white, smoke-like substance travels from her into him, and I realize to my horror that he is sucking her soul from her body. I want to puke. What did she do to deserve this?

“How is she, Mr. Castile?” Adison asks, grinning from ear to ear.

Aiden pulls away from his feast, and the girl drops to the ground. “I’ve had better, but she will do. Now you best get on your way, Adison. Give my thanks to the head office.”

Adison nods appreciatively, and Aiden picks up the girl and begins pulling her soul from her once again. As soon as the front door, which we had replaced early this morning, closes, Aiden jumps away from the limp woman as if she’s on fire and begins coughing and sputtering. After a moment, he approaches her again, and I think he’s about to kiss her again, when I see the smoke-like substance reappear only this time it appears to move from him to her instead of vice versa. He’s giving her back what he took. I didn’t even know that was possible. It would take a vast amount of restraint, I’m sure.

The woman opens her eyes, and Aiden positions himself so he can make complete eye contact with her. “You won’t remember any of this, none of this surreal stuff. The last thing you remember is having a strange urge to go to Toronto for a vacation. Nothing strange has happened,” Aiden says in an instructive voice. He’s using compulsion that much is obvious. “I will call you a cab, when you get in the cab you will forget this place, and tell the driver to take you to the CN Tower. Wait outside on the porch for the cab.”

The woman nods and leaves the house swiftly. Then Aiden stares at me intensely, swallowing hard. “I am
so
sorry about that, Megan. I am
so
sorry,” he says in a begging voice. He looks genuinely apologetic, and I’m left wondering what the
hell
just happened. The revolting smirk that danced across his face minutes ago haunts my mind. For a moment there, he appeared to be a truly demonic creature.

He stares into my eyes again. “You may speak.”

As if like word vomit, I shout, “What the
fuck
was that?!”

I take three or four steps back from him.

“I’ve warned you before about my having to keep up appearances. This is what I was warning you about. I’m sorry you had to see that. I’m sorry for…I’m sorry for kissing you. You can hit me if you want, and I don’t blame you for thinking I’m some sick asshole.”

His words make me think. He’s mentioned to me numerous times about how he has to keep up appearances. I’ve come to understand that Aiden is a very important person in the demon world, a person capable of making great change among his kind, but he must stay on the good side of the demons at the head office, as he calls it. If he doesn’t act like they think a demon in his position should act, and they start to think that he hasn’t been making his regular trips to hell, which he hasn’t, then they’ll force him to go there, and by doing that they’ll be stripping him of his humanity completely. Does he really have a choice? What if it were me in his situation? No harm was really done. I’m fine and so is that girl.

“I’m not going to hit you. That was just…not expected,” I admit. “I thought I’d handle it better, and I didn’t think it’d be so…”

“Revolting? Disgusting? Sickening? Demonic? Devilish?”

I cut him off. “
Overwhelming
and yes, disturbing and all those things you said.”

“I’m sorry for using compulsion on you, I just couldn’t risk what might come out of your mouth, because the way a mentor deals with such words from someone like you is not something you would enjoy.”

I know this. A mentor has the authority and responsibility of instilling pain or even death on the one they mentor if he or she misbehaves. Luckily, Aiden isn’t any mentor, and I’m so very thankful for that.

“Do you see what I mean now when I explain to you time and time again how disgusting and terrible the pure bloods are? They spend far more time in hell than the any of the changelings around here or me, and they’re darker by nature. My siblings are correct in their thinking that demons need to be killed and their population moderated. The hunters need to exist. I know that. I just wish that my siblings would also understand that not all demons are the way they perceive them. Many of the changelings are no different than the humans beside the fact that they have to adhere to whatever their master tell them.”

I do see what he’s warned me about time and time again. Not all pure bloods are like Aiden. I get that, I’ve always gotten that, but this is the first time I’ve really seen it firsthand. It’s the first time I’ve really seen Aiden act how everyone in his world sees him and expects him to act.

“What did you just do to that woman?” I ask him, changing the subject.

“I sucked out her entire soul, then I put it back before my body could use any of it,” he tells me.

“You can do that?”

“It takes a
vast
amount of self-control, but yes. I’ve been mastering my self-control for centuries, so I can. It’s like putting a strawberry in your mouth, pretending to chew it, and then spitting it back out. If I
swallow
it, it’s gone.”

I’ve never read about such a thing so this surprises me. Then again, I know that Aiden doesn’t just ingest an entire soul at once. He takes it little by little, making it last over a whole month. From what I’ve read, this too takes vast self-control, because most demons can’t stop taking in a soul, they must finish it, and taking only one soul in over a month is unheard of.

“I hate that you had to see me like that.” He sighs and fixes his hair. “I have to call that lady a cab.” Then he’s gone from the room. Aiden doesn’t usually move very quickly around me. For the most part, he pretends to be human in that way. I think he thinks it’ll scare me. The fact that he’s moved so quickly out of the room just now, makes me wonder if he is embarrassed by his behavior.

I catch one of the servants on his way to take Crispen, Aria, and Mason breakfast and stop him. “Excuse me, sir. I’ll take that down,” I offer. I don’t know why. Why would I want to go down there and deal with them three?

The servant doesn’t argue but does look at me questioningly.

“When Aiden gets off the phone, please tell him I’ve gone downstairs,” I instruct him. He nods and disappears.

I descend the stares and peak around the corner carefully, hoping that none of them are holding a chunk of cement in their hands and readying to mash my skull in with it. I look down at the food I hold and am thankful it was put on Styrofoam plates and not glass. Can they murder me with bacon, eggs, plastic forks, or foam plates? Doubtful.

I enter the room and set the tray of food onto the cement floor.

“You brought food,” Aria says gratefully. “I’m starving.”

“You’re not going to eat it,” Mason growls.

“Like hell I’m not!” she spits.

“You’d eat something prepared by a demon?” Crispen asks taken aback.

Aria shrugs. “Food is food. I’m starved.”

I take each of the four plates off of the tray and kick them gently so they become close enough for the four to grab. The fourth hunter seems to be awake now. He stares at me in wonder.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting to get fed,” the fourth hunter says. “I’m with Aria on this once. I’m fricken eating. I’m starved.”

“You two have no will power,” either Crispen or Mason says, I’m not sure which, because I’m not paying attention.

I ask the man what his name is, and it’s confirmed that he is in fact Jayden. Aria and Jayden dig into their plates while Crispen and Mason refuse to touch theirs like children. I roll my eyes at them when they’re both looking.

“Please tell me this is all some kind of joke or ploy, and you’re down here to sneak us out,” Mason begs.

I shake my head. “Sorry.”