A Friend to the Darkness. Katherine Rathbone

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      Sebastian laughed uproariously. “You do think I’m good looking.” He teased.

      “Eh, if you’re into that kind of thing.”

      “Demon thing?” He sounded cautious.

      “Classic good looks, a jawline that could cut glass, and a smile brighter than my future.” I teased. He looked embarrassed. “Hmm, not to mention those muscles. Is that how you torture people? Make them watch you work out?”

      He shifted uncomfortably, and looked at me wide eyed. I grinned at him, and gently punched his arm. “I win that round.” I smiled at him. He smiled back and shook his head at me.

      “Aren’t you afraid of me? Of what I might do to you?” It was his turn to be curious.

      I shrugged. “You only live once. And you don’t seem rapey. Plus, my dog likes you.”

      “Your dog likes me? You risk your eternal soul, because your dog likes me?”

      “There’s not many humans he takes to like that. I can’t think of a single better reason to ‘risk my eternal soul’.” I mocked him.

      “I could literally tear you to pieces.” He raised his hand and showed me his talons.

      I grabbed it and studied them closely. His skin was warm. “You won’t.” I said confidently, giving his hand back.

      He flexed it, looked from it to me, and asked, “How do you know?”

      “Who would look after my dog if I died?”

      “What?” His face was so confused.

      “You like my dog. If you killed me, there would be no one to look after him. You said there’re no dogs in Hell, so you can’t take him with you. And if you hurt me, I wouldn’t let you play with him anymore. So you won’t.”

      He cocked his head at me. “I’m a demon. Who’s to say I care for anything?”

      I shook my finger at him. “You can’t fool me, mister. I saw how you looked at him.”

      He shook his head at me again, and said quietly, “you’re remarkable.”

      “Not really. I just say what’s on my mind. No filter. Probably the reason I don’t have any friends.” I shrugged, and tossed a rock into the water.

      “Their loss.” He murmured. I snorted again. He rolled his eyes, before standing and dusting himself off as well as he could. “Do you have plans for tomorrow night?”

      I stood as well, before replying, “Literally just told you I have no friends. So no, I have no plans.”

      “Can you sneak out?”

      I grinned. “What mum doesn’t know, doesn’t hurt her.”

      “Meet you here, then? Say, 11?”

      “It’s a date.” I winked, and turned to walk away, calling Rufus as I went.

      “What do you drink?” He called after me.

      “I’m sixteen.” I turned back to him, grinning. He raised his eyebrows, not saying anything. I laughed. “Bourbon.” He nodded and disappeared. That was going to take some getting used to.

      As 11pm the next evening drew nearer, I became more nervous. Was Sebastian going to bring friends? Or was it just me and him? He had known I was joking when I said it was a date, right? Right? I should’ve asked for details. I climbed silently out of my window, and made my way to the river.

      When I arrived at the spot where I had seen Sebastian, there was a small group of people gathered around a fire. I approached them before I realised they were all human. From my school, no less. Shit.

      “The fuck are you doing here, weirdo?” Some arsehole had noticed me.

      I raised my hands, and said, “Leaving, don’t worry. Just meeting someone.”

      “Pfft. Who would come down here to meet you?” His tone was derisive.

      “Katie? Is that you?” Sebastian’s voice came from the path behind me. Wide eyed, I spun to look at him, worried that he was showing himself to these cretins.

      I had no cause to worry, though. He appeared human, same hair, same eyes, no horns, no red skin, and no talons. He grinned at me. I shook myself. “Hey, you!” I walked over and took his warm hand. “Later, losers.” I threw over my shoulder to the group around the fire, who were staring, mouths agape. I pulled Sebastian down the path, out of sight.

      “Hey.” He grinned at me, and looked at my hand in his. He… shimmered, and he was back to his usual form. I primly snatched my hand back.

      “Hey.” I muttered, blushing.

      He looked at me seriously, and raised an eyebrow, before looking back along the path we had just come down. “They seem like total jerks.”

      “They are.” I replied shortly.

      “We can fuck with them, if you want.” He studied me closely.

      “That’s tempting. Are you here alone?”

      “I brought Sera, and Seth wanted to meet you as well.”

      “Well in that case, let’s forget about those wankers.”

      He nodded, and held his hand out to me. I regarded it suspiciously. He rolled his eyes. “Take my hand, Katie.”

      “Why?” I demanded.

      “Just trust me.”

      I snorted. “Never trust a good looking guy who says ‘trust me’.”

      He sighed. “I’m not a guy, I’m a demon.” He pointed out.

      I laughed, and took his hand. In the next instant, the landscape had changed, and we were standing at a secluded stretch of riverbank. There were two other demons seated at a small fire. I recognised Sera, and assumed the other had to be Seth.

      “Holy shit, did we just teleport?!”

      Sebastian laughed at my wonder. “Sure did.”

      “You guys have heaps of cool tricks, hey!” I exclaimed. He laughed harder. Sera and the other demon got to their feet. I wandered closer.

      “Hi, Sera.” I ventured shyly.

      “Hi, Katie.” She smiled briefly at me.

      Sebastian placed a hand in the small of my back. “Katie, meet our little brother, Seth. Seth, this is Katie.”

      “Hey.” He held out a hand for me to shake. I took it mechanically. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” He smirked at me.

      “All bad, I assume.” My voice wasn’t as steady as I had hoped it would СКАЧАТЬ