𝔸𝕧𝕒

I dig through my luggage to find my favorite ultra-soft leggings.

I really should unpack my clothes into the dresser, but all I really have the energy for is a short walk to the living room.

Rather than upending my suitcase to find a shirt, I grab one of Zane's and throw it on.

I never think of Zane as a giant or anything, but when I wear his clothes they practically drown me and I suddenly feel like an elf.

Wait... are elves a real thing? They probably are, aren't they?

That's a question I've never had to think about before.

I walk into the living room and see Kieran sprawled out on the leather couch watching TV.

"Good morning, Kieran!" I say.

"I got that impression," Kieran replies, sitting up and giving me a wink.

"Ugh! Way to make it creepy, man."

"It's just sex," he says with a laugh. "You humans are so bashful!"

"Didn't you use to be human?"

"Technically." He crosses one leg over the other and casually leans back. "I wasn't a particularly normal human."

It's hard to imagine Kieran living a normal human life—learning to ride a bike, going to school, growing old. Though I do like thinking of him boinking his way around a retirement home.

"What were you like as a human?"

"Psshh..." he huffs, kneading the back of his neck with one hand. "I was boring."

"But you just said you weren't a normal human."

"Yeah, I just..." he says, drifting off as his eyes look far off into the distance. "You can be both weird and boring. There's no exciting story there."

"Okay," I say, nodding slightly.

I can't help but feel like I've been brushed off, but it seems like a sensitive topic and I don't want to push him.

"Sorry, Ava," he says with a sigh. "I didn't mean to be so.... I don't know. My human life was jus-"

A tap at the door interrupts our conversation.

"Are Zane and Kami back already?" I ask. "I thought they were going to be a while."

"Nah, it's your other babysitter," he says, giving me a teasing smirk as he gets up to answer the door.

I'm not all that sold on the idea of having to be watched, but if the situation were reversed I'd probably insist Zane was safe too.

"Finn you stunning hunk of beefcake, you!" Kieran says as the door swings open.

"You big flirt," Finn says.

Kieran walks back into the living room with Finn close behind.

"You a'right, Ava?" Finn asks.

"Hey!" I say, standing to give him a hug. "If you're looking for Zane, he and Kami had to go check in with the council."

"No, actually, just here to see my favorite Incubus-human duo."

"Told ya," Kieran says. "Your boyfriend doesn't trust me to babysit alone."

Finn gives me an awkward smile and sits down on a nearby seat.

"How was the flight?" Finn asks. "You look a bit knackered."

"It was alright, actually," I say. "I'm just jet-lagged."

Technically, my body is punishing me for having the audacity to travel instead of staying home. And I'm also jet-lagged. But the jet lag is easier to explain.

"Well, uh... good to hea-" Finn is interrupted by another knock at the door.

"Don't tell me I have three babysitters."

"No," Finn says. He and Kieran both stand up, looking alert and confused. Kieran signals me to wait while he rounds the corner to get a look at the visitor through the window.

"It's just a delivery guy," Kieran says. "Anyone expecting a package?"

"Mmm..." Finn says, closing his eyes.

"Leave it on the doorstep, thanks!" Kieran shouts.

The delivery person seems to reply but I can't quite hear what he says. After a second, the door opens with a slight creak and Finn gives me an alarmed look.

"Don't make a sound," Finn's voice says in my head.

Crap. Who is it?

"Not a delivery man. Go to the bedroom and hide in the closet."

My heart begins to pound but I make my way toward the bedroom.

I hear Kieran shout and a loud bang shakes the walls of the house. I race faster toward the bedroom, colliding with a small table in my panic. The corner jabs into my side, sending a sharp pain through me as I stumble forward and reach the bedroom.

I quickly close the door behind me and rush to the closet.

"It's a demon," Finn says. "Not sure what kind. They're looking for Zane. Arm yourself."

Arm myself with what? I'm in a bedroom!

"Sharp... anything. Aim for the heart."

I look around and see nothing of any use until my eyes fall on my purse. I pull out the blue scarf and unwrap Zane's feather. For whatever reason, I just didn't want to leave it behind.

I remember him telling me it's sharper than it looks. That will have to do.

I hear a scream, but I'm not sure whose.

Shaking with fear, I make a beeline for the closet and close myself inside. The door is solid but I can see just slightly through the crack where it meets the frame.

Crap. This is bad.

I hear slow steps approaching the bedroom and I freeze, holding in my breath like the air is poisonous.

"Finn?" I call in my head. He doesn't respond.

The door slowly opens and I see a thin, black-haired man with a wicked smile.

"And this must be Zane..." the man says. "Leaving your friends to fight your battles while you hide? Not as impressive as the stories say, are you?"

He's looking for Zane?

Of course he is. This is Zane's house. They must've been keeping an eye on it in case he came home.

The man picks up one of Zane's shirts and inhales.

Is he smelling Zane's clothes? What a creep.

He tilts his head up, his nose in the sky, and takes another deep breath.

"There you are..." he says, snickering as his head swivels and lands directly on the closet.

Crap crap crappity crap.

As he stalks toward me, I ready the feather in my hand.

Just aim for the heart, like Finn said. You can do this. Aim for the heart.

I'm screaming inside my head but on the outside I'm desperately trying not to make a sound.

In a flash, he opens the door and I leap out, stabbing the feather's pointed tip at his heart. I feel the feather connect with tissue and slice through it with surprising ease, but in the chaos my instinct was to pinch my eyes closed.

I open my eyes to the demon staggering back with a feather sticking out of his neck.

Oh shit. I missed.

He collapses to the floor.

Is this a trap? This has got to be a trap, right?

Blood pours out of his wound as if it were a hose. In a split-second decision, I jump over the body and sprint out to the living room.

I spot Finn first, his face slightly bloodied as he writhes on the floor.

"I tried! I tried!" he mumbles as I kneel beside him.

"It's okay, Finn," I say, pushing a strand of red hair from his face. "I know you tried to protect me."

He doesn't seem to even hear me, so I return to my feet and search for Kieran.

I find Kieran in the hallway by the door, curled into a ball and rocking back and forth.

"Kieran?" I whisper, dropping to my knees beside him and looking him over for wounds. He appears completely unharmed, but clearly something is wrong.

"Stop! No!" he whimpers. "No! Please!"

What is happening to him?

It's like he's having some kind of nightmare.

"He is..." a voice says behind me.

I panic and flip around, but it's only Finn.

"Where's the Shaytan?" he asks, scanning the room.

"The demon? I... I stabbed him in the neck."

"Neck, eh? That'll work."

"Did I kill him?"

"It's practically impossible to kill a demon, but you can bleed them out or slow them down. Maybe you caught the brain stem."

"What's wrong with Kieran?" I ask.

"He's living his own personal hell. It's what Shayatin do. They make you relive your worst memories—all the trauma from your past."

Kieran's face twists and he shudders over and over again. Tears fall down his face.

I hate seeing him like this.

"Can we help him?" I ask.

"We just have to wait until it wears off," Finn says with a sigh.

"Stop!" Kieran whimpers. "Please, Dad! No!"

At that, my heart shatters.