Demons Will Be Demons, page 1
part #1 of The Realm Series
Demons Will Be Demons
The Realm Book 1
AE Jones
Gabby Reads Publishing
About: Demons Will Be Demons
When missions go awry…
Misha Sokolov is one frustrated demon. While his professional life with the Bureau of Supernatural Relations is rewarding, his romantic prospects are far more challenging.
When Misha finally meets an amazing demon female who could be The One, Fate conspires against him. With escalating tensions between the earth and realm demons threatening to trigger a war, and his newest case involving supernatural seven-year-old twin boys, he’s too busy for a relationship.
Callie, a human female, can’t seem to convince her half-demon sons that using their powers in front of humans is a bad thing. And the more time Misha spends with her, the more he realizes she’s keeping secrets. When those secrets jeopardize both her and her sons, Misha will stop at nothing to keep them safe. Because instead of conspiring against him, Fate may have put a spunky, green-eyed woman and her incorrigible sons in his path for a reason.
Contents
Dedication
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
Next Book
Free Book
Other Books By AE
Author's Note
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Copyright
Brad –
I know you’ve probably been wondering why it’s taken this long to dedicate a book to you. When I first wrote the character of Misha years ago, he was the quintessential brother character. I decided that when I finally wrote his book, it would be all yours. How could it not be? Misha is loyal, and protective, and funny, with the biggest heart. Sounds like someone I know.
This one’s for you, bro.
Chapter 1
Misha Sokolov was a demon on a mission.
It was finally time to take the plunge back into the dating game, but unlike the quirky TV show, he didn’t need a cheesy game show host or a trio of bachelorettes to make his choice. He had already found his one and only.
It shouldn’t matter that they came from different worlds, literally. Love should be able to conquer all—even interdimensional portal jumps.
He glanced over at his teammate Jean Luc, who drove the team van like they were in one of The Fast and the Furious movies. Tires squealed as they streaked down Mayfield Road to pick up their other teammate Kyle in Little Italy. With Jean Luc it didn’t matter if they were on their way to a case or simply out for a drive, speed was the vampire’s constant companion, along with his vampire lady-love, Talia.
“Is something wrong, my friend?” Jean Luc asked as he screeched to a stop in front of Kyle’s apartment building, the smell of burned rubber permeating the van.
Misha opened his mouth and then closed it again. How could he explain to Jean Luc…who had only to walk down the street with his long hair and French accent to attract crowds of females…that he, Misha, was nervous about a female? One female—his bachelorette—in particular.
Naya.
His stomach fluttered like a lovesick schoolgirl…or was it the two burritos he’d had for lunch? Either way, Naya was his dream woman. Hell, he’d never seen her human side and he still found her gorgeous. Maybe because her demon side was a purple version of Xena, Warrior Princess.
He thought she might be his soul mate, and in his heart of hearts he did believe that love could conquer all, but there was one small problem.
He couldn’t talk to her.
He became a bumbling, stumbling mess whenever he was within a fifty-foot radius of her. Misha Sokolov, who, according to his babushka, was born with the gift of gab. And since his grandmother was over a thousand years old, she would know.
He could talk to females. Had he not already been married three times? True, his first marriage was arranged by his father, but the other two weren’t. They didn’t work out, but it wasn’t because he couldn’t talk to them. Natalia, wife number two, would say the opposite, actually. That he was way too fond of talking.
He shook his head. His love life, or gaping lack thereof, might be his mission, but was not the actual priority right now.
After they picked up Kyle, they were on their way to the demon immigration meeting to work out how to bring the next group of demons to earth from the demon realm.
And Naya would be there.
In approximately one month, the next realm demons would arrive. Even after the first group immigrated with few issues, dissenters in the supernatural community who did not want the realm demons to come to earth had become increasingly vocal. Which meant everything must go according to plan with the next group. Supernaturals, like humans, were not immune to having fear and ignorance cause them to do thoughtless things.
The back door of the van opened and Kyle hopped inside. Misha smiled at his petite teammate, who was decked out in her usual black jeans, T-shirt, and steel-toed black boots. The color of her hair was often a surprise, although recently she had been keeping it jet black. Today she had a festive streak of red down one side.
She pulled out a bag from behind her back, and he reached for it with glee.
“The bakery! What did you bring me today, little one?”
She handed him the bag. “Three apple strudels. I would’ve bought more, but there must’ve been a run on them before I got there.”
He opened it and caught a whiff of the cinnamon and sugar wafting up from the bag. Pure bliss. “Thank you. This will tide me over until my midafternoon snack.” He took a bite of the pastry.
Kyle chuckled. “It’s already midafternoon, you know.” She gave Misha the once-over before her eyebrows rose slightly. “Don’t you look fancy. Is that a new shirt?”
He took a long time swallowing before answering her. “No,” he lied before stuffing the rest of the strudel into his mouth and chewing for several moments.
When Kyle opened her mouth to say something else, Misha asked, “Isn’t Joe joining us?” If he brought up Kyle’s FBI boyfriend, maybe he could distract her.
“Dalton’s in Chicago on a case. And don’t lie to me, demon. You dressed up for Naya.”
Before he could lie to her again, his ringing phone saved him. Dolly was calling from the office.
Misha clicked on the speaker. “Well hello, Dolly,” he sang in his bass voice.
“That wasn’t funny the first time you did it, Misha, and hasn’t been the thousand times since then.”
“What can I do for you?” Misha asked, ignoring her scold.
“We’ve got a call.”
“We’re on the way to the demon immigration meeting. Can it wait?”
“It’s the twins.”
Misha sighed. The twins. Dolly didn’t need to bother with any further explanation.
If Misha hadn’t automated the Bureau of Supernatural Relations filing system a couple of years ago, and they still kept paper files, the twins’ folder would be several inches thick, even though they had only been wreaking havoc for a little over a year now. Kyle and Jean Luc normally took the lead when it came to handling the seven-year-old twin boys.
If Misha had to place bets on who would finally expose supernaturals to humans, he would put his money on those two little demons, Matthew and Luke Roberts.
“What have they done now?” Kyle asked.
“I’m sending a picture to Misha’s phone.”
Misha opened the text a moment later. He’d seen a lot of things during his two hundred sixty-five-year life, but this, this was truly disturbing. He looked at the carnage in the picture and shuddered at the waste. He shouldn’t be surprised, although this time they had outdone themselves.
Kyle leaned forward and gasped. “Is that blood?”
Misha shook his head. “No, see the chunks of cake on the lawn? It’s red icing. Buttercream if I’m not mistaken.”
Kyle’s eyes widened. “How in the world can you tell it’s buttercream?”
He shrugged. “Because buttercream is the only way to go.”
“Oh, Mish, you are a scary food savant. I better call Aleksei and let him know we can’t make the meeting.”
“That’s not going to make my brother happy.”
Kyle’s eyes twinkled. “That’s his constant state with me, so it’s all good.”
Twenty minutes later they pulled up in front of a small bungalow in Brook Park. When they walked around the house into the backyard, Misha hung back and let Jean Luc take the lead since the twins knew him.
Red and blue balloons hung along the picket fence, with unopened presents perched on the patio table. The two culprits slouched low in lawn chairs, heads bent, presenting their light brown mops of hair instead of making eye contact.
Thank the Fates the humans at the party were all children. If they had been adults, and had seen whatever the boys did, they would have run screaming from the house. Kids were much more accepting of differences.
Misha walked over and motioned to Jean Luc, who joined Kyle in her roundup. Misha crossed his arms and stared down at the twins, wondering if they truly understood how severe the consequences of their actions could be.
He looked over his shoulder and watched while Kyle spoke to the first child. She would clean everything up by using her powers to erase their memories of the incident and replace them with more normal birthday party activities.
And what a cool power to have. Of course he’d been hiding his own powers from almost everyone for centuries, so he had no right to power-envy.
Sometimes he wondered why he was working for the Bureau of Supernatural Relations, but today he understood why his job was so important. He had to protect supernaturals from outing themselves. If humans ever realized supernaturals existed outside of Hollywood, things would get very sticky very quickly.
Misha glared at the two in front on him. “Tell me what happened.”
Culprit number one jumped in first. “I’ve been practicing picking up things with my mind, and I wanted to show everyone.”
Misha was impressed. That was a high-level power, especially in someone so young. “So you picked up your birthday cake in front of your friends?”
He nodded as a glop of blue frosting dropped off his chin onto his jeans. “Yeah. It was a Superman cake, and he can fly, right? But Matty ruined it.”
Culprit number two barged into the conversation. “Did not!”
“Did too! You blew up our cake! It’s everywhere!” He flung out his arms for emphasis, red frosting spraying out to land in a splatter pattern on the front of Misha’s new shirt.
“Take it back Luke, or you’re gonna get it,” Matty cried.
“No! I’m not scared of you.”
Matty dove for his twin, and a cake-smearing wrestling match would have ensued if Misha hadn’t grabbed them both by the collar. He lifted the twins up until they were at face level with him, their feet dangling in the air.
“I don’t think it’s wise to continue on this course.”
Luke and Matty’s eyes popped wide, and they both blurted, “What are you going to do to us?”
“What do you think I should do to you?”
The twins looked at each other before Luke answered. “You should send us to our room.” Matty’s head bobbed at his twin’s suggestion.
Misha barely stopped himself from laughing at the little con artists. Instead he frowned. “How is that a punishment?”
Matty piped up. “Because we don’t get to have any dessert, and we have to think about the consonants of our actions.”
“It’s consequences of your actions. And no one is having any dessert today unless they plan to lick it off their clothes or the swing set.”
“Choppers is eating it,” Luke said, pointing across the yard.
Misha followed his finger and watched the dog running in circles, trying to lick frosting off its tail.
Before Misha could respond, a small blond woman stomped toward them, half her face covered in blue frosting, reminiscent of the warriors in the movie Braveheart…which was a great movie, even if it was too graphic for Misha’s taste.
And the comparison to the warriors was an apt one. If the fire threatening to shoot out of her green eyes was any indication, Misha was about to get an earful.
What could possibly go wrong at a seven-year-old’s birthday party? That had been Callie’s naïve assumption when she agreed to have a small party for her twin boys. When would she ever learn with those two? She wiped the cake off her shoulder, the frosting leaving a blue and more-than-likely-permanent streak on her shirt.
When it came to her boys, nothing was off-limits. They were, to put it mildly, rambunctious…which would be fine if they weren’t also demons—literally.
Callie looked around at the twins’ latest disaster. The Superman birthday cake had exploded across the backyard, and Matty and Luke were covered so completely that she’d have to hose them off before they could set foot in the house.
The twins were talking to the Bureau of Supernatural Relations, who once again would have to cover for the boys’ slipup. She had worked with Kyle and Jean Luc on several different occasions, but the towering demon with the spiky blond hair named Misha had not been as much a part of the earlier incidents.
He usually stood back and let his teammates take the lead, which was more than fine with her. Frankly, his size scared her. She was small and human. No match for his size and strength. She had learned that the hard way with the boys’ father.
Jean Luc, who was a nice man—vampire—watched over the boys, so she decided it was safe to run into the house to grab towels and clothes for her twins and the other boys at the party.
When she came out again onto the back patio, she put the clothes down and picked up the hose.
But when she looked across the yard, her heart lurched to a stop. The giant demon Misha had her sons by their collars and was dangling them several feet up in the air.
No one touched her sons.
She rushed toward them. “Put them down,” she demanded.
The large demon stared at her. She had never looked directly into his eyes before. They were ice blue, and seemed to pierce her.
“I’ll let them go if you promise not to shoot.”
What was he talking about? And was that a Russian accent? He looked down, and she followed his glance. She still had the hose in her hand.
“I’ll put down the hose when you put down my sons.” What was she saying? She frowned up at him, and she would have sworn that for a moment he almost smiled. But she had to be imagining things.
He bent down and set Matty and Luke on their feet.
She let go of the breath she was holding.
“Now you,” Misha said.
She dropped the hose and pushed the boys behind her. “Why were you manhandling my sons?”
His eyes tightened on her, and he stared for an awkward moment. “I would never harm your sons. We were having a discussion about their actions.”
“They will be punished for their actions,” she announced in what she hoped was her tough-mom, take-no-prisoners voice.
The hose next to her feet snaked across the lawn on its own. Apparently, her sons, at least, were not intimidated by her drill sergeant voice.
“Luke! Stop it.”
Luke’s eyes widened into the innocent look he’d perfected at the age of four. “What?”
“Not working this time, bucko. You two stand over by the patio and don’t move a muscle.”
The boys gave her identical sulky faces before stomping over to the patio. She turned back to Misha as she took a breath to calm her nerves. “I appreciate the team coming here today to help.”
He glanced around the yard. “We’ve never had the pleasure of meeting your husband in the past, but I’m surprised he’s not here at the party.”
“He’s traveling for work,” she lied, her heart pounding. “He doesn’t get to decide his schedule.”
He gazed at her with a shrewd look. “We have been spending quite a bit of time with your boys lately. It might be wise, especially if your husband is away from home frequently, to move to a demon compound until your boys understand how to control their powers.”
“I’ll talk to him about it when he gets home,” she lied again. Should she feel good that the lies were coming easier now? She looked away. “I’d better get the kids cleaned up before their parents arrive. They’re not going to be happy their boys’ clothes are ruined.”
“Kyle will make up a plausible story for the boys when she changes their memories,” the demon replied before she rushed away.
Misha watched the little powerhouse hurry back to her sons.
She was hiding something. In spite of the number of incidents perpetrated by her boys, her husband had never been around. She always used the work excuse, but today Misha didn’t buy it. He decided to look into it further when he got back to the office and his laptop.
