The Demon Side by Heaven Liegh Eldeen Page A

the benefit of the doubt. This was the first time Etta had company over to the house, and I’d never heard her talk about any friends at school. The only socializing she ever did was on the phone with her friend Mosh about their plans after high school.
    “How do you like Quantico?” Gabe asked as he slicked his hair back with his hand, trying to draw attention to his flexed arms. This boy had watched too many cheesy movies. If that move really worked on girls or women, I would be the most sought after being in the world, with my twenty-two inch biceps.
    “It’s cool. I get to see my dad more. So that’s a plus. What do your parents do?” Etta turned her face from me and directly toward Gabe while I sat on the coffee table in front of her. I couldn’t tell if Gabe’s heart rate sped up because of the full frontal view he had of her now or her question.
    “Uh, my dad is kind of high up there where he works. What about your parents?” He wasn’t lying, but he didn’t divulge the whole truth.
    “Etta, I’m warning you, this kid is hiding something. Get rid of him now!” I pleaded, but she only snuggled closer to Gabe.
    “Well, my dad used to be a 0311—I mean a grunt. But now he’s in admin. I take it your dad isn’t military?” Etta’s coy smile at the boy fueled my already boiling irritation. I couldn’t just watch as she flirted with this worthless, lying punk.
    “Last chance!” But my words fell on Etta’s deaf ears. With a small push of energy, I knocked over a picture on the old maple bookshelf, causing the glass to shatter on the floor.
    “Whoa. How’d that happen?” Gabe’s gaze searched the room. What a weird reaction. Usually, people look at the item first then come up with a million questions for the happening. But he instantly began looking around.
    “House gets drafty. Sometimes it knocks stuff over.” Etta’s nervous laugh was enough to cover her fear. The musky scent of it filled the room as she picked up the photo. The look on Gabe’s face told me he smelled her fear, too. Either he had a great sense of smell or the boy couldn’t be human. I thought for a moment he might be the Demon I had been waiting for, but he didn’t seem to enjoy the smell the way I did. He was repulsed by it.
    Etta sat back down next to Gabe, this time close enough that he had to lift his arm over the sofa to sit comfortably. Her closeness and stench made him uneasy. Clearly a sign he had an interest in her, but not the same one she was thinking. Etta snuggled into him and his arm wrapped around her shoulder. How easy was this girl? She was trying my patience—a virtue I hadn’t much of to begin with.
    “You have really pretty eyes, Etta. Do you have a boyfriend?” Gabe nervously asked.
    And that straw broke my back. With one fluid movement, I yanked Etta off the couch and sent it rolling with Gabe still on it until it crashed into the dining room table. Etta ran to the couch, trying desperately to lift it off of his limp body.
    “Get it off of him now!” Etta’s grunts of exertion were somewhat amusing. I’d sent the couch rolling like a barrel down a hill without effort, but it took everything she had to lift one end. But just as she had ignored me, I blocked out Etta’s pleas for help.
    “Bravo! Bravo!” The sound of clapping came from behind me. I turned only to be taken aback at the appearance of an eight-foot tall, dark green serpent. His yellow-orange snake eyes gleamed with gratification as he clapped his two deformed clawed hands together. The good news was my temper tantrum had drawn out my houseguest. The bad news was that I knew exactly who he was.

Chapter Eight
     
     
    “Alastor! What brings you here to my quaint domain?” I asked as I opened my arms, inviting him to embrace me.
    Considered one of the cruelest Incubi even by his own kind, Alastor excelled at causing feuds within families. Not only did he breed like a wild rabbit, but he made sure the mothers and their