Demon Kissed - Katie May Page 0,85

man begins.

Second, my dad begins to whimper—helpless, pathetic sounds—as if he recognizes the face of death when he sees it. My mom, still standing at the kitchen counter, begins to cry. I would like to believe that the tears are over me, over the horror of what she just witnessed her husband do to her only daughter, but I’d be deluding myself.

And finally, Kastros seems to grow before my very eyes. That’s the only word I can think to use to encapsulate what I’m seeing. His shoulders become bulkier, splitting open his black T-shirt like some sort of sexy Hulk, and his eyes flash crimson. Pale blue horns protrude from his pitch-black hair, accompanied by his leathery wings.

Mom’s sobbing now, collapsing to the ground with an audible thud, and the scent of piss fills the air. I’m pretty sure that’s Dad.

Power surges through the air like a tangible electrical current, zapping at everyone who gets too close. It raises my pink hair, and goosebumps erupt on my arms at the sensation it evokes. I swear that the room is shaking, like a tiny earthquake has hit the house. The dishes rattle, and a few mugs fall from the still open cupboard.

And through it all, Kastros stands like…like…

Like vengeance personified.

His onyx hair blows around his face as he glares at my father before moving that piercing gaze of his onto my mother.

“Kastros,” I whisper, placing both hands on the table as the house continues to shake erratically. “Kastros!”

He glances back at me, his face nearly unrecognizable, before breaching the few short steps between us and taking me in his arms. He breathes in my scent like it’s the only thing keeping him grounded, and I lose myself to his embrace. And though I should be fucking terrified, I only feel safety and contentment in his arms, as if the rest of the world has faded away.

“Katty? Kastros? What’s going on?” Adam asks, his tiny voice scared, and that shakes me out of the reverie I find myself in.

“It’s okay, Adam!” I pull myself from Kastros’s embrace just as Adam lunges forward, putting one arm around me and the other around the snarling vengeance demon. My little brother seems entirely unconcerned about the wings sprouting from his back, his pure red eyes, the anger emitting from him like smoke.

Actually…

I’m pretty sure there is smoke.

Before I can comment on it, Kastros throws me over one shoulder and Adam over the other. Carrying the two of us, he races out the front door, my sobbing parents following in his wake. I have no idea when they pulled themselves off the floor, and honestly, I don’t care. We exit the house and scatter across the lawn…

Just in time for me to see my childhood home go up in flames.

They say that vengeance belongs to God and that it’s not up to us petty humans to enact.

But I don’t think any of those people factored in demons before.

27

After the house burned down, Kastros carried Adam and me back to the demon’s townhouse. And somehow, there were two rooms ready for us. One was full of Legos and trains for Adam, and the other had a computer, decathlon stuff, and Lakewood Prep uniforms that were just a bit tighter and shorter than before.

We’ve been with them for a week now. I haven’t spoken to my parents since that night. And I have no idea if they made any attempt to contact me, because Akor accidentally stepped on my phone after he heard what had happened.

And by “accidentally,” I mean he grabbed it out of my back pocket, threw it on the ground, and jumped on it while he chanted, “Die! Die!”

But actually, things have been so much better. Every morning, Kastros has eggs and fruit for Adam, not the crappy toaster waffles coated in syrup that I used to make him. Every afternoon, while I do homework, he and Akor play fetch with Jason. And then Raz will play action figures with him, or Zolroth will crawl around on the ground in his suit and wrestle. Van likes to play hide and seek with him.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Adam smile this much. And every night, I fall asleep, eyes brimming with tears in gratitude. Because each day has been the best day of my little brother’s life. And how could I ever ask for more than that?

Of course, there are moments I thoroughly regret the fact that Akor destroyed my phone.

On Wednesday, Adam even convinced