And they live in Hell.'
I waited for him to correct me on that hopefully outdated notion.
'Well… they're not all like that,' he said finally.
A shiver went down my spine. 'That's not exactly comforting.'
'The Shadowlands are not connected to the hierarchy of Hell in any way. And most demons are not the kind you're thinking about.'
'But some of them are.'
He shrugged. 'I haven't met any of them personally.'
My heart was pounding very fast. 'Are you a demon? Is that what the guy meant when he called you a Shadow?'
'No, I'm not a demon. Princess, you don't have to be afraid. I told you I'd protect you. And your father doesn't mean you any harm, I promise. Besides, he lives in the Shadowlands, not deeper in the Underworld or Hell itself.'
'Oh, that's incredibly comforting,' I said, sarcasm and fear taking up equal residence in my voice.
'So are you coming with me or not?'
I crossed my arms. 'Not.'
He groaned with frustration. 'I know I'm supposed to be patient and helpful with you, Princess, but it's becoming very difficult.'
'You don't have to put up with me. If you go away and leave me alone, I won't annoy you at all.'
His chest expanded as he took a long, deep breath. 'I can't stay here more than two days without returning. It will damage me.'
'Damage you? How?'
'I'll die.'
I glanced at his amulet. Still not as green as it was when I first saw it. 'You'll die if you don't go back? Are you serious?'
'Yes.'
I clenched my hands at my sides. 'Then just go back without me.'
'Not going to happen.'
He thought 1 was stubborn? I was getting angrier-and more confused-the longer I talked to him. I felt like hitting him. Hard. Maybe he'd leave me alone, then.
I glared up at him, breathing hard. If I was so mad at him, why did I want to grab him and kiss him? Right then. Right at that very moment.
I was definitely going crazy.
The fiery expression on his face extinguished as he seemed to realize that I wasn't going to continue to argue with him. And when I reached up to touch his face his eyes widened.
'Princess, what are you doing?'
Something about the high emotions I felt swirling wildly through me compelled me to move even closer to him, surprised at my own boldness. I wasn't like this. I didn't make the first move with guys, like, ever.
I pushed the dark hair off his forehead and tucked it behind his ear. Then I moved my hand down to place it against his chest to feel how fast his heart was beating. 'Why am I not supposed to touch you again?'
His throat worked as he swallowed. 'Princess-' 'It's Nikki. My name is Nikki.'
'Nikki…'
I slipped my hand under the zippered edge of his sweatshirt so only the thin material of his T-shirt was between us. His hand moved to my shoulder and he gripped me tightly, but not to push me away.
'I don't know who you really are, Michael, but I think you're driving me a little bit crazy.'
He pressed his lips together. 'Is that a good thing or a bad thing?'
'Both, I think. Definitely both.'
His hand moved to cover mine, pressing it against his heart, and our gazes met and locked together. He leaned over closer until I could feel the line of his tall frame against me, until our lips were almost touching. His harsh expression softened.
'Nikki. .'
I felt the warmth of the name against my lips, and then-ZZAAPPPP.' My fingers absently brushed against his amulet and white-hot pain burst through my vision and coursed down my body. I staggered back from him a few steps.
I stood there trembling. What the hell?
'That,' Michael said after a moment, his voice shaky, 'that is why you can't touch me, and it proves that I'm right. If you weren't half demon, my amulet wouldn't affect you this way.'
'What is it?' I managed.
'It keeps me alive, it gives me strength, and it protects me from anything it senses might hurt me.'
I shook my head. 'It thinks I'm going to hurt you? Me?'
He looked at my mouth again. 'It's a definite possibility.'
This was so messed up. The one guy I wanted to kiss more than anybody I'd ever met in my entire life-even more than Chris-and I couldn't get close enough without getting electrocuted.
Oddly enough, it didn't make me want to kiss him any less. It made me want to kiss him even more.
I still couldn't accept everything he was saying. I wasn't ready. It was too much. I needed time to let it all settle.
But Michael had said he had to go back soon or he'd die. And he wasn't going back without me. The guy was seriously melodramatic. 'I need to think,' I said. 'I'm going home.' 'But, Princess-' 'Please.' I turned to look at him. 'Just give me a little time, okay?'
He didn't say anything for a moment. His jaw was clenched tightly. 'As you wish, Princess.'
He didn't follow me when I left the alleyway.
Which was good. I couldn't deal with this right now. Any of it. All I wanted to do was get home and plug in my straight iron.
Pretty sure my hair had gone all frizzy after that last jolt.
Demon, The word echoed in my head as I jogged the rest of the way home.
Demons were horrible, ugly, evil, horned monsters who worked for Satan. They possessed people. I remembered watching The Exorcist a few years ago, sneaking it on the TV in my bedroom when my mom wasn't watching. I hadn't slept for a week afterward, it had scared me so much.
It didn't make any sense. It couldn't be real. And if it was… if I was half demon, what did that mean? Was I evil? Would I suddenly go all dark side and want to eat souls or something?
I had to talk to my mom. I'd demand that she tell me everything she remembered about my real father. I'd always imagined that he was some kind of monster for abandoning us, but I never would have believed he was a literal monster.
Then I could figure out what I was going to do next, because at that moment I had absolutely no idea.
The first thing I heard when I entered the house was yelling. It was Robert's voice, raised as loud as I'd ever heard it during his usual temper tantrums over the last couple of months. He was yelling at my mom. Nothing new there, but it immediately made me angry.
Husband #4 was definitely in the running for the title of Biggest Jerk.
'Dammit, Susan, don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!'
I walked into the kitchen and his back was to me, his fists tight at his sides.
'You need to calm down, Robert. Honestly, I can't reason with you when you're like this.' Mom's face was flushed red, and her gaze darted over to me from where she stood by the fridge, holding a glass of water. 'It's okay, honey. Just give us a minute.'
'What else is new?' I asked, refraining from rolling my eyes. 'Another day, another fight. It's like a really loud soap opera around here.'
