A Demon's Duty (The Demon Guardian Trilogy Book 1) Read online

  Michael met her steady regard with his own. His mind flickered over still another memory, trying to think of a way to answer.

  “I don’t know that I can explain. It was simply a thing I had to do. It was a situation not unfamiliar to me from my own childhood, but human children should not endure that sort of thing.” He finally said. She nodded, understanding the mild emphasis he’d placed on the word ‘human.’ She also looked like perhaps she understood something in what he hadn’t said. His eyes flickered before he asked, “What were you doing there? You appeared so suddenly when it happened.” Paula grinned, slightly sheepish suddenly.

  “We had been following you.” Michael nodded. Fair enough.

  “What do you plan to do now?” She asked.

  “Like I told Lee. I swore an oath. I will stay with May and keep her safe.” He answered easily. It was the simple truth, after all.

  “Yes, I know what you told Lee. But you will outlive May and we all know it.” Paula leaned forward. “What then? At most you have covered eighty years. I don’t know for certain but I’d guess you have several centuries left in you. What do you plan to do after May dies? In fact I can’t think of anything about that promise, as you have told it to us, that prevents you from simply ending her life any time it becomes convenient for you.” Michael blinked at her.

  “There is nothing I can say to that that would be regarded as a good answer. If you believe that is what I am likely to do then we both know how this will end.” Michael watched a small smile flicker across Paula’s face.

  “No, that’s true. You do know that you are going to be living under a great deal of scrutiny until you yourself finally die, however that end may come, whether it needs to be hurried along or not.” She leaned back in the chair again, relaxing a bit into its comfort. “I’ve known you for what, almost fifty years now? If I recall correctly our paths first crossed when I was just around May’s age, and I have never once seen you be the aggressor. I’ve seen you in action once or twice, but I’ve never known you to start it. And I think James saw something in you as well.”

  “Truthfully, I don’t know what prompted him to propose what he did, but I do intend to honor it. The spirit of the promise, not simply the words.” His lips formed a wry smile. “Would you like that written in blood?”

  “Oh pfft.” Paula waved her hand at him. “Don’t be nasty. I just thought I’d check in with you before I go to bed.” She stood. “We can talk more in the morning, make some plans. We’re going to have to do something about all this; there’s more going on here than just one beast attack. But we’ll go into all that after we’ve all had some sleep. Good night, hon. Don’t stay up all night!” And with that she swept out of the room and down the hall. Michael heard a door close softly.

  Warned now by both Temple Elders, but still alive and expected to take part in whatever was coming. Interesting.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “Well, I hope she really has a nice sleep-in, poor thing. I’m sure she feels seven kinds of ill from all that crying. Especially after all the power she must have used in that fight; that sort of thing takes a few days to recover. But she had a good cry and a sleep, so she’ll start feeling better. I’ll keep some bacon for her and make her fresh eggs when she’s up.” Paula whisked into the room in a cloud of chatter, trailing a stream of words behind her from the kitchen like so much steam. The apartment smelled like coffee and bacon and even Michael, coming down the hallway to hesitate in the entry of the great room, thought that it felt more pleasant than it ever had in the past. Lee lounged on one end of the sofa in the front room, feet up, reading the newspaper he’d picked up during his jog just before dawn.

  Michael hesitated in the hallway, acutely aware of the change in atmosphere of his apartment. He had spent a strange night in his office, reading a history of the Temple, and trying to sort out his feelings on having so many people in his home. It was strange to him now, having others around him for more than a few hours at a time. It was familiar in a way, since much of the Court had lived in the same compound and were thus always nearby, however, interactions with his family had never been so relaxed and open. Paula and Lee just took over when they had arrived— Paula first hustling in to get May fed and cleaned up, and tucked back in, then both settling in to eat with Michael at the previously unused dining table. They had lingered over wine during dinner, carefully not discussing anything important, but talking about books they’d read recently, and interesting things they’d seen online, television programs, and other inconsequential things. Finally they had retired to bed, apologizing for leaving him on his own so early in the evening. He had almost considered excusing himself to take a walk for a few hours, the night being comfortable to him, but discarded the idea. If they were all asleep it would be peaceful enough, he had decided, and slept on the sofa in his office when he had finally gotten drowsy as all the beds in his apartment were now full of humans. He was, however, glad that he didn’t require much sleep.

  “Michael, good morning, hon! How do you take your coffee?” Paula caught sight of him finally. “There’ll be breakfast ready in a minute, you’re just in time!”

  “Black, thank you.” He blinked, uneasy. He wasn’t at all used to such cheerful friendliness over breakfast. Lee folded up his newspaper and tossed it onto the coffee table.

  “The investigators have determined that a bomb had been planted and blew prematurely, so while the loss of life is tragic, we can all be glad it wasn’t much worse. The reason behind the attack is still unknown, but the investigation is ongoing.” He said with a small grin. “According to the Mayor, at any rate.”

  “Well, I suppose that will satisfy the general public better than the revelation of giant demonic beasts on the loose.” Paula sighed, “I do wish that we could be more aboveboard about everything. I suppose there’s no good to come from causing a panic, but people are generally pretty strong, and the Temple has been keeping everyone safe for centuries! I don’t know, it just seems so silly to pretend like this.”

  “Society has never reacted well to the knowledge of demons larger than cats, you know that. Panic inevitably ensues, and then we end up with witch hunts and wars.” Lee commented from his spot on the sofa.

  “I’m sure that mankind has advanced enough to get over it. Demons and nefil and probably more that we don’t know of exist, and it’s our job to keep the peace. We can do that better if the whole world is helping!” Paula sounded exasperated. “Everyone thinks that it’s all made up mythology, but Michael’s standing right there. He’s certainly not a figment of our imagination. Have some breakfast, hon.” She added, addressing Michael directly.

  “Well, the world is what it is, Paula. We can only do the best we can.” Lee said with the air of someone who has had the same conversation repeatedly over a very long time.

  “Other cultures have dealt with it much better, that’s all I’m saying. It’s much better to accept that there’s other, more powerful beings out there, that’s all. Being on guard against them isn’t a bad idea.” Paula heaped eggs and toast onto plates and set them out around the table. “Not that anyone’s sure why visits from the nefil are so much less common than the demons.”

  “I believe the passage is easier from the Demon Realm than it is from the Nefil Realm.” Michael said. “I do not know the details, but I recall reading about attempts made to travel there being particularly difficult.”

  “And gods only know what the nefil are like anyway. The legends we have are vague at best. At least we do know about demons.”

  “Speaking of which, we have other things to discuss. Michael, I have to say that the beast you described was so large that it feels deliberate. You don’t accidentally get something the size of a bus randomly born from something that is normally the size of a Doberman.” Lee put his newspaper aside and joined them at the table with his own plate. “That sort of thing takes several generations and a fair amount of heavy spell work. How long do those hounds take to mature enough to
breed, do you know?”

  “You think that someone is breeding those things? On purpose?” Paula looked dismayed.

  “Breeding them?” May’s sleepy voice sounded shocked from the hall. She had paused mid-stride on her way to the table to join them. Paula hurried over to her and hustled the groggy girl into a chair, pouring coffee before bustling back to the kitchen for another plate of eggs. Michael watched her sip at her milky brew and try to make sense of the conversation she’d walked into. Her eyes darted around the table, trying to find something to settle on that didn’t make her more uncomfortable than she already was. She kept glancing his way but every time she realized where she was looking, she turned to look at something else. The plain black coffee carafe seemed to be endlessly interesting to her.

  “As you were saying, Lee. Even the smallest ones were abnormally large, I agree with you.” Michael nodded. “Also, I have never seen beasts of that sort gather in a pack that large. They are generally similar to domestic dogs from this realm, if I understand correctly, but far more solitary. Usually they stay in groups of two, perhaps three at most if there is a pup. It would take several years to get an animal that large and trained to living in such a group, but it could be done by someone with the right skills. It would take both skill and a great deal of power.”

  “Indeed? That’s good to know.” Lee looked thoughtfully at his fork for a moment before continuing. “It sounds like the whole event was deliberately set up.”

  “That would be fairly unusual, even in demon culture. Random attacks like that are generally not favored unless there is a larger goal, as in a war or some such.” Michael refilled his coffee and pretended not to notice May’s eyes following his movements. “Those beasts are difficult to domesticate. They make excellent sentry animals once they’ve been trained, but that usually takes some time. I have never heard of them being bred, nor of them being kept as a pack. Given what you say, though, it does seem the most likely explanation.”

  “What you don’t yet know, either of you, is that this isn’t the first report of those creatures we’ve had. About a year ago another team fought a smaller group of them—much smaller— about two hundred miles northeast of here. Smaller in size as well as in number, but still larger in both regards than we’d seen before.” Lee said. “We had thought that was odd enough, but they were defeated after a fairly tough fight. The Priestess involved in that battle is still in physical therapy and the team is recuperating at the Temple training facility, but they came through well enough. Then over the past few months there have been two other incidents. We’ve lost two whole teams, and only pieced together what they had fought from the wounds and some physical evidence. That’s the other reason Paula and I came in person. Though compared to you taking up a Guardianship, the hounds are much less of an astonishing event.” Lee nodded at Michael and fell silent.

  May’s coffee cup hit the table with a thud, sloshing all over her hand.

  “How many?” Her eyes went as wide as they could. “How many have died?” Paula took her hand and started cleaning it. They looked a little like a mother tending to her toddler.

  “Far too many, May. But we have a better understanding of it now and we’re starting to see a pattern.” Lee said. “We just need a bit more information to track this all back to where they’re coming from and stop it.”

  “I can attend to that.” Michael stood. “Since you are both here to keep May company, I will go see if I can learn anything more from the scene of the recent battle. I doubt that those beasts simply appeared in that park, which means there should be a trail of some sort. I will need some things then I will go.” He pushed in his chair and turned to walk towards the hall. At the corner he paused for a moment and turned back to the room. He frowned slightly in thought then said “Thank you for breakfast, Paula.” Then he nodded to Lee, turned and strode down the hall.

  May skidded slightly at the office door as she swung through it from the hallway.

  “What are you planning to do? And what the hell makes you think you can just go off alone and leave me to twiddle my thumbs? Those things killed my best friends, my family! Like hell I’m letting you wander off casually to deal with it alone!” May stormed at him. “I’m coming with you so I can kill whoever is breeding those monsters with my own bare hands!”

  Michael didn’t answer. She watched him pull an ornate wooden box off an upper shelf and set it down on his desk. He lifted the lid and a series of trays popped out, like a tackle box, but the trays of this were full of strange pins and gemstones, scraps of paper and styluses and inkstones. He selected a few small things and laid them out on the old fashioned blotter in front of his chair. He unbuttoned his cuff and started to roll up his sleeve as she watched.

  “Dammit, don’t you ignore me.” She growled, trying to keep the conversation on track.

  “I am not ignoring you. I am trying to think of a way to explain what I hope to accomplish.” He opened a drawer in the bottom of the box and removed a small tightly rolled quill of paper. He unrolled it and May saw that it was covered in one long row of narrow shapes marching down the scroll. It looked a little like a drawing of a row of knitting needles. The ink they were drawn in was dark silver and the lines glittered faintly when they caught the light, and she caught the faint hum of power. She watched, mystified, as he cut a strip of perhaps seven or eight of them off the scroll and scattered a fine, dusty powder over the smaller piece. He bent close to the now dusty images and muttered words she didn’t recognize, then as the powder melted into the glittering lines they began to glow brightly and he wrapped the whole thing around his own wrist like a bracelet.

  “What is that?” She asked, her curiosity overcoming her fury.

  “Darts.” He peeled the paper back and she saw the images now sparkled dimly on skin that showed a dull brick red. The effect only lasted for a second or two before the images seemed to sink out of sight and the skin fading back from the seeming sunburn, his arm once again looking entirely normal. “It took me some time to work this out so neatly. I must admit I am quite satisfied with the process. It used to be necessary to implant the needles physically. It was rather unpleasantly painful and they were completely obvious if someone looked, rather defeating the point in my opinion.” He held his arm out for her inspection. She had to admit that there was nothing at all to see.

  “That’s… actually very cool.” She said grudgingly, rubbing her own arm. “Like the world’s deadliest temporary tattoo.”

  “That is actually what gave me the idea to begin with several years ago. The darts will last for about twenty-four hours, then they are absorbed back into my power. I feel that going out entirely unarmed right now would be foolish, but I can’t risk carrying a full array of my own weaponry through downtown in broad daylight. My clothes aren’t made for concealing that sort of thing these days, and what I have here is not appropriate for Riverton’s streets anyway.” He replaced everything into their proper slots in his box, and stored it back on the shelf. “Now, to answer your question, I am planning to look for some trace of a trail left behind that I can follow. If I am successful, I can track down where these creatures came from, which means it is entirely possible that I will also find the individual responsible for breeding them. If we are correct, that person is certainly a demon themselves, and would not hesitate to attack you.”

  “Good! I want a shot at them anyway!” May flared up again. “I want to… No. I have to finish this. For James and Pike. They deserve it.” She watched him nod with that infuriating, blank expression on his face.

  “I understand your desire for vengeance. However, you are not prepared for such a fight. You are grieving, you are injured, and you have still not recovered all your energy from your last battle which was not merely a small scuffle. There may also be more hounds, which would be difficult enough on their own, but with their master there as well the fight would be many times more violent than the one two days ago. As things stand currently I would not be able
to protect you adequately in that situation.” Michael said. “It makes more sense for me to go alone to gather information if I can, then when I return we can form a strategy when we know more. I am less likely to be attacked if I am on my own and more likely to discover something useful, and you will be protected and safe with Paula and Lee, exactly as I swore you would be. Then when we are all prepared for the confrontation, you will have your opportunity.”

  May collapsed into the armchair across the desk from him, her fury abandoning her in a rush. Michael frowned and sat forward.

  “Are you ill?” he asked

  “No.” She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, struggling to keep her voice normal. “Yes. No, I’m not ill. Why?” She blinked to clear up her wavering vision as she stared at him. She noticed that his human eyes were brown and made her think somewhat inexplicably of pine trees, his nose long and straight. He hid his chin under a fashionable scruffy black beard and his forehead under a fashionable, expensive haircut. In his tailored slacks and button up shirt he actually managed somehow to look like Hollywood’s image of a demon pretending to be human. She wondered if he did that deliberately.

  “Why what?” He asked, his normally difficult to read face clearly showing her his confusion.

  “Why are you doing this? Why did you…” she hiccuped, unable to say the words. Why did you consume James’ soul? How could you do that?

  Michael nodded, seeming to understand the question anyway. He seemed to consider the question for a moment.

  “James was a dedicated Guardian, and wished to ensure your well being even if he couldn’t oversee it any longer. He offered me something priceless in exchange for my oath to carry on in his place.” He finally said. “I suppose you could call it a pact.”