Demons Will Be Demons, page 10
part #1 of The Realm Series
“Don’t we need more plates?” Callie asked.
Kyle shook her head. “Nope. Jean Luc and Talia won’t be eating with us.”
“Why not?” Luke asked.
Probably because they were vampires, but the boys hadn’t been told about other supernaturals yet. Callie had wanted to avoid overwhelming them, since they just found out they were demons. But the boys would need to learn about other paranormals as well.
Kyle gave her a quick look and then answered. “They already ate but still want to stop by to say hi.”
Callie looked at the number of containers on the table. “Who is going to eat all this food?”
Kyle winked at the boys. “Who do you think?”
“Misha!” the boys yelled.
“Did I hear someone yell my name?” Misha asked as he joined the group on the patio. He took a look at the containers and his eyes danced. “Oh, Kyle, you brought Antonio’s.” He grinned at Callie. “You are in for a real treat. It’s some of the best Italian food in the city.”
Kyle nodded. “Yep, Antonio’s is an Italian restaurant in my neighborhood. Tony packed something especially for the boys, too. Let’s see if he got it right. I have spaghetti and meatballs.”
“My favorite!” Luke said.
“And cheese ravioli.”
“How did he know I love cheese ravioli?” Matty said, eyes big.
Kyle chuckled. “Tony never gets it wrong. He also sent food for the grownups.”
Kyle filled the plates and handed them out to everyone, and Callie moaned out loud when she took a bite of the lasagna.
“That’s how you’re supposed to enjoy good food.” Misha chuckled as he plopped another piece of garlic bread on his already full plate.
They ate in silence for a while. The twins both cleaned their plates before asking if they could be excused to play on their play set on steroids.
Kyle groaned as she watched them. “I don’t know how they can play like that right after they finished eating.”
Callie stood and picked up the empty containers. “Their settings are stuck on full tilt pretty much all the time.”
“Do you need help?” Misha asked.
“No, you guys stay out here and watch the boys while I clean up.”
Callie went inside and pulled out a small garbage bag, throwing away the empty containers and paper plates. A moment later Kyle carried in a handful of items as well.
“I know you said you can do this on your own, but you don’t have to. And since I don’t take direction very well, here I am.”
Callie laughed. “I’ll keep that under advisement.”
“Seriously, I know what it’s like to not want to rely on anybody, but I can promise you we’re not going to go anywhere. You’re stuck with the group of us.”
Callie watched Matty and Luke as they clambered up the rock wall. Misha and Jason stood behind the boys making sure they were okay.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“Aleksei mentioned that you’re an honorary member of the clan because you saved Misha’s life. Can I ask what happened?”
Kyle leaned against the kitchen counter. “We were working a case, and Misha was shot protecting me. The bullet hit Misha in the shoulder, which normally wouldn’t have been life-threatening for a demon, except the bullet was poisoned.”
“Oh, my God,” Callie exclaimed.
“Yeah, that was my reaction. I ended up having to pull the bullet out of his shoulder. After that he proclaimed me his sestra or sister, and I became a member of this clan.”
“Please tell me you caught the guy who did it.”
“Well… You could say that. Actually, it was Jason.”
Callie looked out the window again. Jason and Misha were laughing at the boys’ antics.
“What!”
“Jason isn’t a bad guy. He thought all supernaturals were evil, and that Misha was going to hurt him. Misha ended up saving Jason’s life, and then convinced him to work with us.”
“Wow.”
“It is quite a story. Misha has a very, very big heart. If it wasn’t for him and Jean Luc, I don’t know where I would be now.”
Misha was wonderful. But she had to remind herself that helping people was part of Misha’s nature, and she shouldn’t read too much into him helping her. They were nothing more than friends.
The doorbell rang again, and Kyle volunteered to answer it. Callie took a deep breath and finished cleaning up while Kyle walked in with Jean Luc and a beautiful woman who was carrying plastic grocery bags. So this was Talia—vampire, supernatural bounty hunter, and Jean Luc’s mate.
“Callie this is Talia. Talia, Callie.”
Talia smiled at her. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I can’t believe how settled the house looks already.”
“It doesn’t take me long to get settled. I’ve moved a number of times.”
Talia studied her a little too closely. “I know what it’s like to travel light. Jean Luc and I decided to stop by for a moment so I can meet you. And I’ve heard so much about the boys. Do you mind if I say hi to them before we leave you to get settled?”
“Not at all. What’s in the bags?” Callie asked.
“Jean Luc and I stopped at the store and bought a few staples for you until you can go grocery shopping.”
Callie’s stomach twisted. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know this is going to sound silly, but I loved it. I don’t get to go food shopping for myself anymore, so it was a treat to pick out a few things for you. I got you some eggs, bread, milk, juice, and some lunchmeat.”
“Tell me how much I owe you.”
“That is not necessary,” Jean Luc said.
Callie gritted her teeth before answering. “It is very necessary.”
Jean Luc opened his mouth to speak again, but Talia set her hand on his arm. “No problem. It was around fifteen dollars.”
Callie nodded. “If you’ll excuse me for a minute, I’ll go grab my purse.”
“Sure,” Kyle answered. “We’ll go out back, and I’ll introduce Talia to the boys.”
Callie marched into her bedroom and reached for her purse, her hands shaking slightly. She sat down for a moment on the bed and shut her eyes.
“Callie, is something wrong?”
Callie opened her eyes. Misha stood in the doorway, frowning, his eyes raking over her in concern.
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t appear fine.”
Callie sighed. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and the boys. But I’m not a charity case.”
Misha’s frown turned into a scowl. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’ve been taking care of my boys fine up to this point.”
Misha moved closer. “I know you have. Your boys are wonderful, and that’s all due to you.”
“But now we’re living in the demon compound, and your cousins helped us move, and Kyle brought dinner, and now Talia shows up with food that she doesn’t want me to pay for—”
Misha held up his hands in front of her like he was trying to calm a wild animal. “It’s been a long day. I’m sorry I asked everybody to come over here without checking with you first, but I wanted to make you feel welcome.”
“I get that, Misha. But you have to understand that I need to remain in control of my life. As much as I appreciate everything you and the clan are doing, we don’t know what the future will bring. A year from now, when the family who owns this house moves back from Russia, we’ll be moving again. And I can’t rely on you to help me every time we move. Next year at this time we could be living in another state.”
Misha opened his mouth and then shut it again, as if rethinking what he was about to say. He cleared his throat. “You’re in charge of your family, Callie. But you don’t have to do this on your own. It doesn’t mean you’re weak, it means that you care enough about your boys to let others help you.”
Callie pulled money out of her wallet and stood. “I can’t teach them about their demon side, but everything else is my responsibility.”
Misha nodded. “Agreed. I will try not to overstep my bounds, but I can’t promise that I won’t screw up again. Deal?”
Callie looked up into his ridiculously beautiful, ice-blue eyes. “Deal.”
This was for the best. Callie needed to lay down ground rules now or she would lose control of the situation. The last time she lost control was with the boys’ father. She wouldn’t let anyone else take over her life again. For the sake of her boys and her own well-being.
Chapter 15
Callie took a deep breath as she set her laptop on the large table. The BSR team would arrive shortly, and with the number of people attending the meeting, they had moved from the temporary immigration offices to the community center meeting hall to accommodate everyone. She wiped her sweaty hands on her pants.
She was nervous for two reasons. One, she hadn’t seen Misha or the rest of the BSR team since she had her move-in tantrum the other night. They had left rather quickly after she came out of her bedroom. Hopefully they hadn’t decided she was ungrateful.
The second reason her nerves were on high alert was because Naya was supposed to attend the meeting. The same woman—female—that, according to Kyle, Misha had a crush on. Not someone she was looking forward to meeting.
Aleksei, Doyle, and Boris took seats at the table just as the BSR contingent of Misha, Jean Luc, Kyle, Talia, and Jason walked into the room. Greetings were exchanged, and Aleksei started the meeting.
“We’re here to have a preliminary discussion about what we’ll report to the Council. What has your team found out so far about the vandalism?”
Jean Luc leaned forward. “We have very little to go on. We interviewed the neighbors around the halfway house, and no one reported seeing the vandals. We have installed cameras at the house now, but there has been no activity.”
“And the offices?” Aleksei asked.
Misha opened the folder in front of him and handed out papers. “The images from the security camera were wiped, except one blurry frame. I ran a number of programs to see if we could clean up the resolution. After a couple days, we’ve come up with this.”
Callie looked at the picture in front of her. The man was large, with black hair and what looked to be a goatee. It was hard to make out any specific facial features.
“This is the best the software can do. Unfortunately, this image is not something I can run through the facial recognition program. The best we can hope for is that somebody will recognize him.”
Kyle looked up from the picture. “He doesn’t seem familiar to me. Does anybody else recognize him?”
Aleksei shook his head.
Boris set the picture down. “I will show it to Mother. She knows everyone. If anyone could recognize him, it would be Irina.”
“What about you, Doyle?” Kyle asked. “You still have connections to the seedy underbelly of the supernatural world, don’t you?”
Doyle’s eyebrows shot up. “Seedy underbelly? You know I’ve been legit for a while now, Kyle. Ever since you offered me this job.”
“I know. But that doesn’t mean you don’t still have connections on the street.”
“I’ll see what I can find out.”
Kyle steepled her fingers. “Okay then, are we still on target for the next group to arrive?”
“Yes,” Aleksei said. “The halfway house vandalism set us back slightly, but it shouldn’t stop us from meeting our original timeline.”
Callie typed steadily on the keyboard as she took notes. Her laptop beeped a low battery message and she cursed under her breath. She had forgotten to charge it earlier. Callie stood, and Aleksei stopped talking to look at her.
“I’m sorry. I have to go grab the power cable for my laptop I’ll be right back.”
Callie walked across the large space and stumbled to a stop. She gaped at the wall as it started to ripple like running water. She looked back over her shoulder, but no one seemed surprised that the wall seemed to be melting.
“It appears that Naya decided to join us,” Aleksei drawled.
Callie faced the wall again as the rippling grew to the size of a door. Moments later, a woman walked through the wavy air. And what a woman she was. She wore a black jumper with armor built into the chest, arms, and legs. Her dark hair was plaited down her back, and she held a long staff in her hand.
This was Naya?
Gorgeous, fierce, tall, and purple! No wonder Misha had a crush on her. God, she couldn’t begin to compete with a purple Angelina Jolie look-alike.
“Sorry I’m late. I had to deal with a disagreement.”
“What sort of disagreement?” Aleksei asked.
“More demons are questioning the plan to come to earth.”
“Why?” Kyle blurted.
“Much like the protesters you have here on earth, certain demons in the realm do not wish for things to change.”
Boris frowned. “The Council will not like hearing this.”
Aleksei tapped his fingers on the table. “The Council doesn’t like to hear much of anything.”
“Maybe so, son. But without their support, we’ll be unable to bring others to earth.”
Aleksei stood and headed over to Naya, who had walked up next to the table. “Can your guard control the protestors?”
“Yes, for now. We need to make absolutely sure the next group can come to earth. If we continue to show the realm that moving here is a reality, the protests should die down.”
“And we need to be able to demonstrate to the Council that the realm demons aren’t all out to destroy us.” Aleksei gestured to the empty chair between them. “Take a seat and we can bring you up to speed on what’s been happening.”
“I’m fine standing.”
“Must we always disagree?” Aleksei asked through what looked like clenched teeth.
Naya shook her head, but then flinched.
Aleksei’s eyes tightened on her. “What’s wrong? Wait—are you bleeding?”
Naya lifted her hand from her side, and green liquid ran down her palm.
Callie gasped. Was that blood?
Kyle jumped to her feet. “You’re hurt!”
Everyone else jumped to their feet as well. Callie looked over at Aleksei, who gripped the back of the empty chair as if to stop himself from grabbing Naya. “You need to go to the infirmary and have the doctor examine you,” Aleksei demanded over the commotion.
Naya shook her head again before grimacing slightly. “I’m fine. This can wait.”
“You need to be looked at now,” Misha argued.
Aleksei sighed, although he looked far from calm. “We know you can handle the pain, warrior woman. But you’re dripping blood everywhere. Go get sewn up in the infirmary.”
Naya scowled at him. “Your concern for my well-being is overwhelming.”
Aleksei’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t strike me as someone who wants to be coddled.”
“What is coddled?”
“It means babied.”
Her eyes narrowed. “No.”
“For once we agree on something. Kyle, will you please escort Naya to the infirmary?”
“I’m going, too,” Misha announced.
Kyle and Naya left the room with Misha hovering close behind them. Everyone else sat back down…with the exception of Aleksei.
“Is she going to be okay?” Callie asked.
“She’ll be fine,” Aleksei answered, although his knuckles had turned white from the grip he had on the back of the chair.
After a moment Aleksei unclenched his fingers and paced next to the table. “Naya will stay here for a few days until she recuperates. We’ve suggested she spend more time here, and she has always rejected the idea, but she needs to learn more about earth and how to turn into her human side sooner rather than later.”
Doyle interjected. “We should probably assign a mentor to her like we have with the other realm demons who’ve come to earth.”
Callie looked at the notes on her laptop and saved them in case her battery died. She wouldn’t be surprised if Misha volunteered for that role.
Aleksei stopped his pacing and came to a stop next to Callie’s chair. “I think Callie can be her mentor for a couple of days.”
Callie stopped typing. “Me? But I’m not a demon.”
Aleksei shrugged. “She already knows how to be a demon. Naya needs someone who can teach her about earth. Plus you can explain to her how the immigration process works on our side so she can communicate it to those in the realm who’ll listen to her.”
Callie’s stomach rolled and bounced like a tumbleweed while Aleksei kept talking. She had hoped to avoid Naya as much as possible. Petty? Yes, but sometimes you can’t control your emotions.
“Callie, you didn’t answer me. Do you have time to work with Naya?”
Now was her chance to make up an excuse…but she couldn’t do it. The clan had done so much for her, she couldn’t back out now.
“I’ll make the time.”
crap Crap CRAP
The words scrolled across her computer screen as if her fingers had minds of their own.
Misha paced outside the closed door of the examination room. He couldn’t believe Naya had behaved as if nothing was wrong. She was bleeding, for Fate’s sake.
“Mish, stop pacing,” Kyle barked. “You’re making me dizzy.”
He mumbled a Russian curse word and kept on pacing.
“Eh, eh, eh… That was a creative one. You forget you taught me how to swear in Russian. Naya will be fine. She walked here, for goodness’ sake, and the doctor said the cut on her side isn’t deep. They’ll stitch her up and then her demon metabolism will heal her in no time.”
Misha spun to face Kyle. “She was attacked. She shouldn’t go back to the realm.”
“Good luck with trying to stop her.”
Misha pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am so tired of dealing with stubborn females.”
Kyle’s mouth quirked up. “Why do I have a feeling we’re not only talking about Naya right now?”
“Who else would I be talking about?”
“How about Callie?”
