Kathy Love - Truth or Demon

He stepped out of the kitchen to see three young girls. And girls was definitely the operative word.

Dear Lucifer, was there any middle ground here?

As soon as they saw him, in almost comical unison, the girls screamed. And with the familiarity of that piercing sound, all his lost memories rushed back. The screaming girls, the flying snack foods, the thwack to the head.

Killian raised a hand, frowning down at his, for all practical purposes, abductors. Surprisingly, his gesture silenced them.

“Why did you bring me here?”

If his memories of the night before were any indication, he needed to get an answer as quickly as possible, before another candlestick-wielding woman appeared.

He shot a quick look over his shoulder, just for good measure.

The girl with a smattering of freckles across her nose and the dark brown eyes moved out of the doorway, waving to the other two to join her. The other dark-haired girl joined her inside the apartment. Only the cherubic blonde hesitated behind them. But finally, and clearly against her better judgment, she followed, although Killian noticed she didn’t release the doorknob.

Ready for a speedy escape. Smart girl. He was not in a good mood. And he was a demon. Never a great combination.

“Who are you? And why did you bring me here?” he demanded.

The girls all shifted, nervous.

Then to his surprise, the freckle-faced one straightened to her full height—maybe a whopping 5′2″—and met his gaze directly.

“I’m Daisy.”

Killian tried not to make a face. Of course, more flowers.

“This is Madison,” Daisy said, gesturing to first one girl, then the other. “And Emma.”

Madison surprised him by meeting his eyes too. She sported that ennui that all kids seemed to master as soon as their age hit double digits. Killian was tempted to point out to her she hadn’t looked quite so bored just moments earlier when she was squealing, but he remained silent. Emma still clutched the doorknob, managing none of her friend’s cool boredom. Quite the opposite. As soon as his gaze moved to her, she tensed as if she was ready to dart—or pass out. Her blue eyes widened and seemed to eat up half her face.

A twinge of sympathy pulled at him. He ignored it.

“I was the one who conjured you,” Daisy said, her expression neither blasé nor frightened. This girl was simply direct and calm.

A girl with a mission.

“We all conjured you,” Madison corrected her, giving Daisy a pointed look.

“Yes.” Daisy acknowledged her friend, but remained undaunted. “We all did. But we conjured you to fulfill my wish.”

“Which we should have negotiated,” Madison muttered, collapsing against the wall in a perfected slouch of disgust.

Daisy didn’t even glance at her friend this time. She stayed focused on him. “We called you to—”

“Do something impossible,” Madison interjected.

This time Daisy did shoot a censorious look at her friend. Then she said, “No. It might be a little tricky but not impossible.”

Madison rolled her eyes. Emma swayed. Apparently passing out was still an option for the silent friend.

“What is this tricky—possibly impossible task?” Killian asked, growing tired of the teenage bickering.

This wasn’t his usual thing. Hell, he’d never been conjured before, and he had very little experience with teenagers. But even with his admittedly limited experience, he wasn’t prepared for what the earnest girl in front of him said next.

“I want you to find my sister a boyfriend.”

Killian blinked. Then he blinked again.

It was pretty rare for a demon to be speechless. Hell, he considered himself a rather talented talker—part of his job requirements—but …

“Boyfriend? For your sister?”

Yeah, that was eloquent, all right.

“Yes,” Daisy said, frowning at him as if she’d decided maybe she’d made a mistake conjuring him, after all.

Which she had.

“See,” Madison said. “Lame idea.”

Daisy frowned at her friend, then looked back at Killian, some of her doubt replaced by something akin to hope.

“Totally lame idea,” Killian stated, his tone not all that different from Madison’s. “I’m a demon, not a matchmaker.”

“But the book said that you have to grant us our wish,” Daisy said.

“What book?” he asked.

“Jenny Bell, Demon-Hunter,” Daisy said.

“Which is fiction,” Madison said.

Daisy threw her friend another look, this one fully exasperated; then she gestured to Killian. “Obviously not all fiction. Hello. He’s here, isn’t he?”

That was true. But Killian was more concerned with how the hell he was going to get out of here.

“So what exactly does this book say?”

Daisy turned back to him again. “It says that once the demon is conjured, he cannot leave until the wish is fulfilled.”

Killian shook his head. “Oh, no. No.”

There were so many reasons this was not good.

He stepped toward the door, and the one called … Emma squeaked and stumbled backwards away from him and to huddle in the corner.

He started to reach for the knob, but again got that feeling. That strange, strangling sensation that he couldn’t go.

Shit. This girl was telling the truth. He couldn’t leave. That’s why he hadn’t been able to simply materialize away. Hell, it seemed that he couldn’t even leave the apartment on his own two feet.

This had to be fixed and quick. The big boss man, and yes, he was referring to Satan, wasn’t going to be pleased when Killian didn’t show for work. Satan definitely didn’t adhere to the “happy employees make a more productive workplace” philosophy of management.

He twisted back to the girls. They all watched him as if they were uncertain of what he was going to do.

He wasn’t even sure himself. All he knew was he was pissed. This was unbelievable.

“I’m not some kind of goddamned genie,” he finally said, deciding not to reveal the fact that he was trapped here, by their mandate. Best not to let the teenyboppers know just how much control they had.

“Okay,” Daisy said, smiling slightly as if she was already aware of the power she had. “But you still have to grant this wish.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” he said, taking a step toward her—fully intent on intimidation. “I’m a demon. That makes me the one in control here.”

He saw a flash of uncertainty in the girl’s eyes. Then, to his surprise and dismay, she actually smiled. Her lips quivered slightly, as if the gesture was strained—but it was a smile nonetheless.

“You won’t hurt us. In fact, you can’t hurt us.”

He stopped stalking forward. Damn it, this book revealed far too much. They already knew they could control him, even if her quivering smile revealed that she wasn’t sure she should trust that fact. And she shouldn’t. She didn’t realize what his special demon power was—a very handy one to have at this moment. Killian focused on Daisy, holding her gaze. “Really? Can you be sure?”

He answered for her in his mind—that she wasn’t in control and he could go without fulfilling the wish. Words she’d say back to him as if they were her own idea. Just like Obi-Wan when he manipulated the guards in Star Wars. She’d be surprised later, after he was gone, that she’d decided to let him go. But that wouldn’t occur to her until after he was far, far away, and she’d never realize he was the one who’d made her do it.

His power was as practical as it was cool. Very handy when one of the damned panicked, refusing to join him on his trek into the depths of Hell.

Oh, Mr. Jones, there’s no need to be so upset. Hell isn’t nearly as bad as all the literature makes it sound. Really.