Demons Within

  Chapter One

  Alex squinted up at the afternoon sun that was high in the sky above them. She wanted to groan when she realized they weren’t even halfway through with training for the day. She had insisted that AnnaBeth train her as soon as they returned to her world, but she hadn’t been prepared for this. She had expected a lot of magic lessons, but what she was getting was the crap beat out of her nearly everyday. And since Balthazar seemed to think that this was a good idea, she was having a hard time backing out of it now. AnnaBeth insisted that physical training was just as important as magical training, and since she was bonded with Balthazar, but her physical strength was so far behind his, it would cause problems once she tried to use her magic. She didn’t understand it, Balthazar wasn’t practicing magic to shore up the difference between them magically, so she didn’t really see the need for her to get physically stronger. The sweat poured from her over heated skin and she wiped futilely at her brow to try and keep it from dripping into her eyes.

  It would be time for a break soon, and she was looking forward to it. She needed it. Every sinew, every tendon, every bone in her body ached as she pushed herself, reaching her breaking point with every tiny movement. AnnaBeth was shouting some kind of command at her, but she wasn’t listening. The only thing she could hear was the pounding of the blood in her ears as her heart worked to keep up with the strenuous pace she was setting for it. Alex could feel her body tightening and toning more and more with every passing day. That was the only beneficial aspect to the strenuous training that she could come up with. They hadn’t even touched on magic practice and it was starting to tick her off. There was no way she would ever be physically strong enough to defeat the kind of creatures she’d come into contact with in Balthazar’s world. Magic was her best and only form of defense and she didn’t understand why they weren’t spending their time on it. AnnaBeth refused to even start on magic lessons until she felt Alex was sufficiently trained physically, which Alex was starting to suspect would be never. The rail thin blonde was so much stronger and faster than she looked.

  “Pay attention,” AnnaBeth’s voice broke through Alexandra’s thoughts. Her petite lips were pulled tight in a disapproving little pout and Alex felt a twinge of anger rise inside her. She was giving this her all, even though she didn’t want to. She was drenched in sweat, and could barely breath. Now AnnaBeth had the nerve to get cross with her. She felt her anger itching in the back of her mind.

  Alex imagined slapping AnnaBeth squarely across her narrow little cheek. That would certainly shut her up. The thought brought an odd amount of pleasure to her. A crooked smile twitched at the corners of her lips. She continued to play out the scenario in her mind as she stared blankly at AnnaBeth. She imagined wrapping her fingers around AnnaBeth’s throat and squeezing tightly until she felt her limp body turn cold. Her fingers itched to reach out and experience just how good it would feel.

  Alex noticed the peculiar look AnnaBeth was giving her, and she was snapped out of her short daydream, surprised at how malicious her thoughts had suddenly become. Those kinds of thoughts had been happening more and more lately. She hadn’t told anyone about them. She was too afraid to admit to them. She had never thought that way before, though she had never seen the death and destruction that she had seen in Balthazar’s world before. She had chalked it up to that and was doing her best to ignore the unwanted thoughts. It was just her mind trying to cope with all the death and violence that she’d witnessed. That had to be the only reason she would think such awful things.

  She knew she would never act on these thoughts, of course, but thinking about them seemed to relax her so she allowed them to creep in from time to time. Everyone had fantasies, so what if hers had taken a turn to the darker side lately. She’d been through a lot of traumatic experiences.

  “Are you alright?” AnnaBeth asked, her eyes widening slightly in concern, before narrowing in suspicion.

  “I’m fine,” Alex said, through heavy panting. She leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees. She suddenly felt doubly exhausted. “I just…I just need a break.”

  “Go get some water,” AnnaBeth said, her lips curling upward in her characteristic friendly smile. It unnerved Alex every time she saw that smile. It made it look like AnnaBeth was hiding something.

  AnnaBeth turned away and starting packing up the training gear they’d been working with. One would never suspect just by looking at AnnaBeth, but she was a master with just about any weapon. and of the few that she didn’t have extensive experience and training with, Marie did. Alex never saw much of the younger sister any more. They had both moved into the house with Alex and Sam, but Marie was always gone on some mysterious errand for AnnaBeth. Alex had questioned her once about where Marie was all the time and was surprised when AnnaBeth quickly became agitated. It wasn’t something that Alex had forgotten, and she was planning on doing some snooping to find out just what the hell was going on with them. The more time she spent around AnnaBeth and Marie, the more suspicious she grew of them. They had been a great help in getting back to Balthazar’s world, and also understanding her situation a little better, but they were keeping something from Alex. She didn’t have any solid proof of what it could be, it was just a feeling that they weren’t showing all their cards just yet. Alex had to balance wanting to learn all that AnnaBeth had to teach her, with not letting her get too close, at least until she found out what they were hiding from her.

  Alex turned around and started walking towards the house. The backyard at Sam’s was the perfect place to train. It was spacious and private and had a good mix of open spaces and clumps of trees. The house was set on a rather large plot of land for the upper class neighborhood that it was built in and they had plenty of acreage to train on and to keep nosy neighbors away.

  “I think,” AnnaBeth said, making Alex stop and turn to look at her. “We are about ready for some magic lessons.”

  Again, Alex saw that smile that hid something spread across AnnaBeth’s face, but she was too excited to care at the moment. Finally, she would be training in something that would be helpful to her. Something that would give her the ability to make those Magi bastards pay. Alex smiled and turned back towards the house, trotting towards it with a little more pep in her step.

  The cold air of the house hit her like an iceberg when she went in through the back patio door. Sam’s house provided the perfect headquarters for her and the newly formed little group that surrounded her. Balthazar, of course, had moved into one of the spare rooms, though he spent most of his time in hers, trying to steal some private moments alone with her. She knew that it must take some getting use to, considering that he had lived his whole life in the splendor of the Devasi palace with servants at his every beck and call, but he had taken the whole thing in stride. He’d adapted quickly to her world and the things in it. He didn’t leave the house much, the sounds and smells of the inner city tended to overwhelm him a bit since his senses were so sensitive and it was hard to keep up a human facade. He’d grown attached to the television and had a regular schedule of shows that he insisted on watching, much to Alex’s chagrin. She’d never been a big tv person, preferring movies instead, but it was the one thing that Sam and him and bonded over. When they weren’t watching their shows together, they were dangerously close to having an all out fight, so Alex tolerated the tv for the sake of peace.

  AnnaBeth and Marie had settled in the opposite wing of the house. Alex never saw much of them, unless AnnaBeth was giving Alex a lesson. She had spent a suspicious amount of time around Sam, however, and she had intentions of questioning him about that when she had a moment alone with him.

  Their lives had settled into a comfortable routine over the past few weeks, but Alex felt the unrest in th
e air. There was an ever present danger bubbling beneath the surface of their lives that they were all simultaneously trying to ignore while working towards defeating. Even still, it was the most stable that her life had been over the past year and she was thankful for this time.

  Alex found Sam and Balthazar in the kitchen. Sam was preparing yet another epic masterpiece of a feast while Balthazar watched in curiosity. He’d never had to cook for himself before and every meal he’d ever eaten had been prepared and presented to him by someone else. Alex thought he found the idea of cooking for oneself rather amusing. He really was adorable when he was intrigued by something so mundane and normal.

  “Smells good,” she said sliding onto the bar stool at the kitchen island. She scooped up a bottle of water sitting on the countertop and cracked it open, taking a long swig. Sam looked momentarily away from the boiling pot in front of him to give her a little nod while Balthazar gave her a smirking smile that made her body melt on the inside. It amazed her the effect that he had on her, even when he wasn't trying to.

  “I’m showing him how to make your favorite,” Sam said as he stirred the pot. He glanced over his shoulder at her and shrugged. “At least I’m trying to. He’s not that interested in learning, just watching.”

  He cast a glance over at Balthazar and this time it was the demon's turn to shrug.

  "Cooking is for servants,” Balthazar said. He pushed off the counter he was leaning on and strode towards Alex. “I'm not a servant.”

  “Neither am I,” Sam said with a little frustration in his voice. He set the wooden spoon he was stirring with down on a plate next to the stove and turned around to look at Alex. She knew what the look that he was giving her meant. He was trying as best he could to handle Balthazar, but sometimes that was easier said than done. They’d had a chat about it the night before and she had to remind Sam what Balthazar what accustomed to, and all things considered he was doing a good job of assimilating into his new lifestyle. At least he’d stopped commanding Sam to bring his meals to him on his parent’s fine china. That was an improvement, all things considered.

  “So AnnaBeth thinks I’m ready to start practicing magic,” Alex said, deciding it was best to cut in before things between Sam and Balthazar got any more tense.

  “That’s good,” Balthazar said, flashing her a full smile that showed off his pointed canines. It was easy for her to forget how deadly he could be, but his smile always reminded her. She was surprised at how much she liked that about him. She tried to recall if she always felt that way. It seemed like it used to frighten her, as it rightly should, but now she found it incredibly attractive.

  “Uh…Alex,” Sam said, rubbing at the back of his neck, “can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure,” Alex said. “But I gotta get back out there. I think AnnaBeth is gonna make me sweat out another couple pounds before she’s done with me.”

  “It won’t take long,” Sam said, casting a quick glance towards Balthazar. “I just…I want to ask you something.”

  “You can talk to her in front of me,” Balthazar said, his tone turning a bit defensive. Alex laid her hand on his forearm as she hopped off her chair.

  “I’d rather not,” Sam said, glaring at Balthazar. Alex felt the muscle of his forearm tick and she knew Sam was treading in dangerous waters. A demon like Balthazar would not take even the slightest bit of a challenge. He couldn’t help it, even if he wanted to. It was just in his nature. He’d told her about the beast that lurked inside him. She’d seen it come out on a few rare occasions, and even though he said that he could control it, there was always going to be a part of the beast that would control him. That part was predominately concerned with his chosen mate.

  “Ok,” Alex said, squeezing Balthazar’s arm a bit. “Why don’t you follow me outside.” She looked up at Balthazar and gave him her best flirty grin complete with batting eyelashes. “Maybe you could go upstairs and get me a bath ready? I’m gonna need to soak a while to take care of all these knots and kinks from training.”

  Balthazar grabbed her chin between his thumb and forefinger and brought his lips to hers in a soft brush of a kiss as his eyes stayed locked dangerously on Sam.

  “Of course,” he said, his voice the steady dangerous baritone that he used when he wanted to be intimidating. “Anything for you.”

  She had to force her knees to continue working as his eyes slid over to hers and they shared a moment that went on for a heart beat too long before he dropped her chin and sauntered calmly out of the room. They’d hardly had a moment alone together and Alex was sort of regretting not taking advantage of the time they had before they left his world. As big as Sam’s house was, it was surprising how hard it was to be alone with so many people living here now. She hadn’t gotten to share a single night alone with Balthazar and she was starting to suspect it wasn’t a coincidence. It was mostly AnnaBeth that would pop up when things between her and Balthazar started getting intimate, though Sam was guilty of butting in at the exact wrong moment as well.

  Sam followed her outside and shut the back patio door behind him then leaned into it a little. He looked off in the distance at AnnaBeth. He watched her with a soft look in his eyes and Alex had to clear her throat to get his attention back on her.

  “What’s up?” Alex asked. She had suspected this might be about Balthazar, seeing as he didn’t want to talk in front of him, but maybe she was wrong.

  “I was just wondering,” Sam said, looking at his feet, as his voice dipped, “How much do you know about AnnaBeth?”

  “Probably as much as you,” Alex said, her head tilting to the side curiously as she looked up at him. “She’s kinda evasive.”

  “I know. I just thought…you spend a lot of time with her and…I don’t know, I thought maybe you two talked sometimes…or something,” Sam said with a shrug. “Ya know, like girl talk or whatever.”

  “Um, she’s not really the sharing type,” Alex said. She crossed her arms over her chest and studied Sam, trying to figure what he was getting at. “Why? Are you thinking we shouldn’t trust her so much or—“

  “No, no,” Sam said, perking up and quickly shaking his head. “I mean, I feel like I can trust her. I just…it’s hard to know what she’s thinking sometimes. I was hoping—“

  “Alexandra,” AnnaBeth calling interrupted Sam and Alex turned to look at her. She wasn’t coming closer, but she was pulling out the gear for their daily sparring match. It was always the last thing they did before they called it a day. She must be cutting their training short today.

  “I should get back,” Alex said, reaching out to Sam for a moment to give him a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. “We’ll talk later ok?”

  “Right,” Sam said with a nodding shake of his head. A loud hissing sound suddenly snapped them both out of the moment and Sam jumped into action, whirling around and flinging the patio door open.

  “Crap,” he said as he darted inside and the burning smell of whatever Sam was cooking wafted her way. Alex reached in and closed the door behind him then turned back to AnnaBeth. She was ready to get this training over and get to the bath that Balthazar was prepping for her. With some luck, maybe they’d get some alone time and he could join her. With that thought in mind, her steps picked up and her excitement found her trotting towards AnnaBeth.

  Chapter Two

  Alex trudged up the stairs and down the long hallway that led to her bedroom. Sam’s house had fifteen rooms in total, five each in three separate wings that spread off the common rooms of the house. Ten of the rooms had their own bathrooms and a sitting room attached to them. Alex had picked her bedroom when she first moved in because it was the one closest to the street and the only room with a window seat. It wasn’t the nicest room in the house, but it was still more lavish than Alex had ever been comfortable in.

  As soon as she opened the door to her room, the smell of rose oil and bubble bath hit her and immediately she felt more relaxed. Hot moisture hung in the air and the
room was lit with candles. A little path of rose petals lay on the floor leading into the bedroom. Alex had no idea where Balthazar had managed to find rose petals, but the gesture made her melt inside. He never failed to surprise her. Music played softly in the background and called her towards the bathroom.

  She kicked her tennis shoes off and pulled her ponytail holder out. Her hair fell down to her waist. She hadn’t had much time to get a haircut and her hair was now longer than it had ever been. She kind of liked it and didn’t think she’d have time to be cutting it anytime soon. She glanced around her room but saw no sign of Balthazar. She was a little disappointed he wasn’t here, but it disappeared once she stepped into the bathroom. The mirror was fogged from the heat of the bath and gave off the most beautiful glow in the light of the candles that were spread all around. More little rose petals had been sprinkled on top of the bubbles in the large soaking tub. When Alex had asked Balthazar to run her a bath, she had no idea he’d go through this much trouble. A simple salt soak would have sufficed.

  “Is it to your liking?” Balthazar’s voice made her jump. She gasped and whirled around to face him. She hadn’t heard him come into the room.

  “You scared me,” she said placing a hand over her thumping heart. She reached out and placed a hand on his chest. She could feel his muscles bunching under his t-shirt. It was strange to see him dressed in borrowed clothes from Sam. He was too big for most of them and the fabric clung to every dip and swell of his well formed physic.

  “I can leave if you’d prefer,” Balthazar said, quirking his eyebrow playfully.

  Alex moved her hand around and enjoyed the way his muscle felt beneath her palm.

  “No,” she said. “It would be nice to have some alone time with you.”

  Balthazar arched the other eyebrow and his lip turned up on one side.

  “I found this in the basement,” Balthazar said, holding up a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other. “I thought we could enjoy the evening together.”