outer demon wars 01 - comic book demon (2 page)

 “Princess, I need you to get down and take cover.” 

My eyes widened.
I’m sorry, did he just call me a princess?
No. I had not heard him clearly due to the fact that he was taking his shirt off.
Wait what?
What was this, an aggressive strip-o-gram? Shit just kept getting weirder. 

He threw his shirt off to the side, and oh dear mother of chicken noodle soup, his body was sculpted. Each time he shifted or moved, his muscles rippled. He had dark lines covering his whole chest and down his body. They were symbols that swooped and dipped. They looked as though someone hadn’t just tattooed them on, but as if they were painted. The markings were intriguing, but they were completely foreign to me. 

I should probably roll my tongue back into my mouth.
Belatedly, I realized that Gregus was also removing his shirt. His tattoos were all red, and they too covered his whole torso. But, his, were glowing.
No.
I rubbed my eyes with my hands and narrowed my gaze to Gregus’s tattoos. Yup, they were glowing. I bet his tattoo artist would be so proud. 

 Like the strike of a match, he burst into flames. The heat from his engulfed body was so intense that I fell back coughing. Even my eyes tried to water, but the moisture simply evaporated too quickly to do any good. I scrambled backward to the wall near the exit of the counter. There were papers flying all around above me like a mini tornado. I heard the two men yelling and the sounds of fighting above the crackling of fire and whooshing gusts of air. I had no way to know who was winning or losing, but I knew one of the losers had to be the store. I pulled my knees to my chest, trying like hell to be a smaller target. 

Carl would die if any of his comics got destroyed.
Fuck Carl and fuck this store.
I needed to get out.
Self-mother-fucking-preservation, Annabelle!
I crawled, leaving the safety of my hidey-hole, when my knee hit the fire extinguisher. I picked it up and pulled the safety pin. I took a deep breath trying to center myself. I jumped up waving the nozzle around as if the damn thing were a tommy gun. 

I squeezed the lever and began covering everything with white foam. My eyes were clamped shut. I really did not want to see anything. Someone was screaming.
Oh, it’s me
. I dropped the canister and bolted. Before I could make it to the door, strong, warm arms circled my waist. 

“Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!” I was acting like a crazy person. I couldn’t help it. This was all just too much. I was thrashing, throwing punches, and slapping anything I could. My elbow connected with hard bone, and I paused in my near deadly assault to cradle my bleeding arm. 

“Shhh,
dara
. Shhh
prada
,
Dara
.” he whispered in my ear. 

The word
dara
, sounded so familiar. It was on the edge of my memory, but I couldn’t quite remember. It was the guardian, as he was called, whose strong arms encircled me. I couldn’t help but relax into him. He was so warm pressed so snuggly against me, and it lit nearly every nerve on fire. 

I will not arch my body into his. Don’t you do it, Annabelle.
He was pressed against my back, so I had an uninterrupted view of the store. Or rather the disaster that would cause Carl to suffer a coronary. The place was a wreck. Nearly every single rack was tipped over, and there were no less than ten small fires. Gregus’ headless body laid in the middle of the store. I couldn’t hold in the scream. 

The cage of a man holding me turned me in his arms and pressed my head into the crook of his neck. He placed a large hand on the back of my head and just held me. My scream turned into sobs. I was an ugly crier. The guardian held me, crooning in my ear in that same strange language. I could feel the warm puffs of air along my neck and had to stifle a shudder. I melted. I hadn’t meant to melt, damn him, but I did, and he felt it. He grabbed my face with his big hands and lifted me to him. 

His eyes were so green. They reminded me of a field of clover. However, I had a sneaking suspicion that this man was from much further away than the Emerald Isle. There was worry in his gaze, and his mouth was set in a hard white line. But, still his lips looked so delectable. I couldn’t help darting my tongue out and licking my lip, imagining it was his. Oh, sweet out of control hormones, what was wrong with me? There was a headless man, and there I was, thinking about how it would feel to kiss this stranger. 

“Dara, it’s okay. I’m here. I have you.” 

A movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. There were large black leathery looking wings. I think it could have been the wings or how they twitched, but that was it, I was done. The world shifted and faded to black. 

Chapter Three

OH, OUCH. OH, MY NECK. I have got to find a place of my own because this couch is not going to cut it.
I tried to lift my head, but became instantly nauseous. Okay, moving was not going to happen. What had happened last night? I groaned as I tried to move. I did not have the strength to open my eyes yet. I felt a warm hand brush hair off of my face. I froze.
Jamie?
No, he wouldn’t, not after we’d broken up. Then, like a light switch, the memories of the previous night came rushing back to me.

 My eyes flew open, and I flung myself up and away. I stumbled. My legs were tangled in some sort of blanket. I couldn’t find my footing. My gaze locked on the guardian’s green eyes. He had a hard look on his face that I took to mean I would gain no ground with this man. I tried to scramble away, but I could not untangle the damn blanket from my feet. I stepped on an incredibly sharp rock and couldn’t help falling on my ass to the hard ground. My breath left me in a small puff, and the man rushed over to me, putting a hand under my chin. 

“Annabelle, I know you want to understand what is going on, but I’m going to need you to calm down.” 

I was breathing heavy, and my heartbeat was reaching epic speed proportions. Then, the hulking brute of a man did something that nearly caused my sixty mile an hour heartbeat to all but stop. 

He ran the pad of his thumb over my lips. His eyes seemed to soften at the feel of his feather light touch. Things low in my belly tightened. I had no idea why I was having this reaction to him. Hell, my life in the man department had been all but nonexistent until Jamie, and then it hadn’t gone anywhere because I’d never had the desire to sleep with him. I had a feeling I would die a virgin, probably today after what I’d seen. A twenty-one-year- old virgin.
Quick, someone call the convent!
 

“Okay. Please tell me what’s going on.” It was a bare whisper, but I knew he heard me.

 His eyes seemed to smolder with need at the sound of my voice. That look, oh help me Luke Skywalker, it sent a spike of desire through me and had a direct line to my panties. Seeming to realize my question required an answer, he yanked his hand from my face as though I had burned him. Just like that, he was just like every other man in my life. 

Untouchable, Annabelle. 

“I don’t know where to start. There is so much you do not know.” He ran a hand through his shaggy, dark hair. 

“How about your name.” I coaxed.

His eyes widened in shock, “Oh I am so sorry. I am Mackolious.”

What were his parents thinking? And I thought my name was bad. “Um, okay. Can I just call you Mac?” 

He winced at the question. An emotion flashed across his face, but it happened so fast that I wasn’t sure it had happened at all. He nodded in response. 

We sat in silence for a long moment. I took the time to survey where we were—in some kind of cave. I worked at the shop, but The Mammoth National Cave System was only an hour or so drive.
How did we get here?
People went there all the time to try their hands at spelunking. There were tours that ran through this particular system, but I had never been to this cave before. We weren’t too deep in, as I could see the lush wet green of the forest that lay beyond the entrance. The light from the morning sun made the rain that was pouring down sparkle like jewels. I returned my attention to the strange male who seemed to be studying me. 

“How much do you know about your father?” 

Now, that was a strange question. It must have shown on my face because he motioned his hand to tell me to continue with the answer. 

“I only have a few memories of him. He left, or died, when I was six. My mom refused to talk about him. His name was Kal, and my mom said I look like him. But, that’s really all I know.” The memory of his absence seemed to railroad me, but I wouldn’t show a near stranger how not having him really hurt me. 

“You don’t even know if he’s dead?” His tone had an edge. He seemed irritated, but not with me. 

Well, I guessed not with me. 

“No. One day he was there, the next he was gone. My mom never spoke of him. I always assumed he was dead. He may as well be.” 

He couldn’t meet my eyes. 

“His name was Kalmick, and he is dead. He died three years ago.” 

Three years ago. He died three years ago.
I thought the sperm donor had broken my heart when I was six, but that news, knowing he’d been alive and had never wanted me enough to see me, broke me all over again. Mac got up and began to pace in the small space. He seemed to fill it so much that it felt even smaller. 

He ran a hand through his hair as he began speaking heatedly in that language I didn’t understand. 

He turned to face me as he tried to compose himself. 

“Kalmick really screwed this up.”

“Please tell me what’s going on. I’m so confused.” 

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The motion drew my attention to his still bare chest. His muscles rippled and clenched, causing his tattoo covered skin to glow. He had to be a tattoo-covered god. No man was that perfect. I licked my lips without thinking about it. He caught the motion and stared hard at my mouth. There went my wild hormones again.
Calm down there, filly
. 

He looked away abruptly. “Your father was the crowned prince of the demon realm. He was set to take the throne twenty-five years ago. But, he fled our realm for this one. I had been looking for him for years.”

“Demon realm? What kind of crack are you smoking? Because, I know a lot of people who would buy it.” I’m sorry, but what the hell was he on?

“Anabelle, I know everything you are about to hear will be a shock, but I need you to listen until I’m finished. Then you can say I’m crazy and not believe me when I’m done. Okay?” He sat down on a nearby rock and continued. “I tracked your father and found him four years after he fled, but he was with your mother. I disobeyed my orders and let him be. He looked happy. Not long after, you came to be. He left you because the war between the demons was spilling over into this realm. He left to protect you and your mother. He returned to the realm to rule but died in an assassination. I came here to guard you until it was time to bring you over to your home.”

“I’m sorry, take me home? Demon? Just what are you saying?” I questioned as my hand flew to my head. 

 “You are a time stopper demon. Because you are part human, you do not have wings or horns. But, you still have the abilities. You are our queen, Annabelle. And, we need you.” 

My head was spinning. Wars, demons, queen, wings, horns — this was all too much. I couldn’t catch my breath, and black spots were closing in on my vision. I felt a hand on my back and looked up to find Mac’s face only inches from mine, concern in his green eyes. 

“Breathe,
dara
. Breathe.” 

His voice seemed to coat me, soothing me. His hand slid to the back of my neck. He flexed his fingers and drew my face closer. My heartbeat kicked up a notch. What was he doing? Would he kiss me? Would I let him? 

My decision was made for me when his lips slanted across mine. I didn’t freeze or push him away. Damn him, I melted into him. I opened my mouth to him, and he took the motion as an invitation. His tongue lapped at mine. Deepening the kiss, he fisted his hand in my hair. He tilted my head at a better angle, so he could devour me fully. I should stop this. I would. In just a moment. Any time now, I would stop. 

He pulled my hair slightly, and like an electric shock of pleasure, my sex grew damp for him. He moaned into my mouth. This should have been too much—all of the information and my raging hormones. But, sweet mother of Vader, I couldn’t seem to stop it. 

As fast as he had descended upon me, he nearly threw himself away from me. We were both left searching for breath. What the hell had just happened? He had the same look of bewilderment that I felt. 

“I have questions,” I said a little breathlessly. I had a fuck ton of questions. 

He didn’t answer me for countless minutes. I was beginning to wonder if he’d even heard me. 

Meeting my gaze for the first time since our kiss, he nodded. 

“Okay, you have been here since I was born. Well, how old are you?” He looked as though he couldn’t be more than thirty-five max. Yet, his eyes held a much different story. 

“I’m a little more than a thousand of your years.” 

My eyes widened. Then I closed them.
Okay, Annabelle, we cannot freak every time he says shit that shifts your paradigm. Remember paradigm is fluid. Open your mind.
I opened my eyes slowly. Mac was again pacing the small expanse of the cave. 

“Okay, you said I’m a time stopper demon. What does that mean?” 

“You, along with your family, all have the ability to stop time.”

Fluid Paradigm, Annabelle.
I took in another much-needed breath and let it out. My mind went to Carl and what had happened in the shop.
Had I stopped time? No, maybe?

“Okay. Why are you here?” I injected ice into my voice. Maybe being cold and distant would keep all of my feelings in check. 

“I am a guardian demon. I have been serving your family for decades. I’m here to bring you home. Your people need you. All the demons need you. Our world is being torn apart by years of war.” His tone was just as cold.