Fox Among the Demons Read online

  “Good night,” Natasha said, a little more sternly than she intended. Lucy got the message and made a swift exit.

  Natasha waited until the door was closed once more before turning to Komi. “It’s a lot later than I expected. You should go.”

  Komi looked at his watch and swore. “You’re right. My family are going to wonder where I am. Can I come back tomorrow?”

  Natasha paused before answering. She was not interested in starting a relationship with anyone and didn’t want to lead this man on, but he had entertained her with his vivid imagination.

  “Alright,” she said. “Any time after lunch. I’ll be home all afternoon.”

  “It’s a date,” he said and winked at her. She watched him walk around her house to the side gate and let himself out, all the time wondering who this strange man really was.

  Demons

  Fox was watching Bolene pace up and down the room, doing his best not to laugh at her.

  “Where is he?” she said once again. She had tried to contact her brother on his communicator numerous times, but it would not connect. He must have turned it off.

  “He’ll be home when he’s ready,” Fox said in such a reasonable tone that Bolene glared at him.

  “I am going to murder him when he gets here,” she muttered, just loud enough for the two men in the room to hear.

  “Calm down,” Trey said. He, too, was trying not to grin. “I’m sure there is nothing to worry about.”

  The look Bolene gave him made him close his mouth before verbalising his next comment. “He was supposed to find out information, then come straight back. I should have known he couldn’t be trusted. Knowing him he decided to go partying instead. If I find out−”

  Exactly what she was hoping not to find out was left unsaid as the sound of the front door closing reached them and all three turned to look at the open door of the lounge, waiting for Komi to enter.

  “Well?”

  “Yes I am, thank you,” Komi said. Trey had to grab Bolene’s arm before she hit him.

  “I swear to the Creator, Komi, if you were not my brother I would murder you.”

  Komi grinned at her. “If I wasn’t your brother, you wouldn’t want to.” He then let the grin drop from his face. “However, if you are asking what happened after I left you, I followed the young lady to her house and knocked on the door. She let me in and we talked.”

  She hadn’t actually let him into the house, but being in the garden was close enough. His family and Fox didn’t need to know all of the details.

  “So you found out why she could understand you when we spoke in our own language?” Fox asked. Bolene and Trey had told him all about their evening’s adventure.

  Komi refused to look at anyone when he answered. “That would be a no.”

  “What happened big brother?” Trey asked. “You actually failed to charm a woman into telling you what you wanted to know?”

  “It never came up in the conversation.”

  Bolene threw her arms in the air. “I give up. Why can you never do what you are supposed to do? Tell me you found out something useful.”

  “I know where she lives. That’s a start.” To Fox’s ears, Komi sounded defensive.

  “You didn’t find out anything, did you?” Komi didn’t need to answer. “So what did you talk about all evening? I assume you did talk at some point.”

  “Of course we talked,” Komi snapped. “What do you think I have been doing for the last few hours?” Fox raised an eyebrow. Komi knew him well enough to know what he was thinking and grinned.

  Fox rolled his eyes. “Tell me you at least got her name.”

  Silence filled the room.

  “I have another date with her tomorrow,” Komi eventually said.

  Bolene could not believe what she was hearing. “We have a serious problem on our hands and your solution is to go out on a date?”

  “Did you really expect anything else?” Fox asked. “It is Komi we are talking about. I’m surprised he didn’t stay the night at her place.”

  “We’ve only just met,” Komi said.

  “When has that ever stopped you?” Fox had a point, not that Komi was going to admit it.

  “I’m going to have to report this, you know that,” Bolene said.

  “No you don’t. Nobody except the four of us know what happened. We can keep it that way until we know more. There’s no point in making a report when we don’t know anything for certain.”

  Bolene looked around the room at the three young men. Each one nodded. They would keep their mouths shut. As the teacher and weapons maker, technically Fox was in charge, but he had no interest in running the team, so he always deferred to Bolene.

  “Alright,” she eventually said. “But nobody is to hear about this. Not even Lukine.”

  “Keeping secrets from your husband isn’t good for a marriage.” Komi grinned at her.

  “Neither is telling him things that could get us all into serious trouble. At least he can truthfully say he knew nothing about it if the council find out and decide to take action.”

  Fox didn’t think Bolene was doing the right thing, but kept his thoughts to himself; what went on between husband and wife was none of his business.

  “I’m going to bed,” Komi said. “I have a date I have to look my best for tomorrow.”

  Bolene signed. “At least try to find out something useful this time.”

  ————————————-∞————————————-

  Natasha was not expecting Komi to turn up for their ‘date’ and jumped in surprise when she heard someone open her gate. She was in the back garden, typing on her laptop, so would not have heard if anyone had rung the front doorbell.

  “There was no answer at the front so I thought I should try round the back,” Komi said as he walked over to the table.

  “Help yourself to a drink,” Natasha said, indicating with her arm the fridge that was located in the corner, next to a wooden door. When she had the pool installed, she had a changing room, containing a shower and toilet, added to the back of the house. It saved having to walk through the house when wet. Having an outside fridge meant she was able to spend a good part of the day in the garden without having to go into the house for anything, especially in the hotter months.

  Komi grabbed a can and took a seat at the table, opposite Natasha.

  “What are you writing?” he asked as he opened the can.

  “The next chapter in my latest novel. I’m a part time author. I write detective stories.”

  Komi saw this as an opportunity to get some information. “What name do you write under? I may have read some of your work.”

  “Frederick Thompson. It’s a pen name. I was told by my publisher that male authors sell better than female.”

  Komi had no idea what a pen name was, but he was sure that her name wasn’t Frederick. Natasha smiled at the look of frustration that crossed his face. “I’ll make a deal with you. Tell me more about yourself and your alleged homeland and I will tell you a little about me.”

  “Alright,” Komi said. “My name is Komi Santash. I’m twenty two and live with my older sister, Bolene, and my younger brother, Trey. Bolene is here on Earth with her husband, Lukine, who is a wizard.”

  Komi went on to explain how people from his world were sent to Earth in teams to find and destroy the abominations created by witches and wizards centuries ago, their descendants and the humans they infected. He noticed that Natasha was typing the entire time he was speaking and he was momentarily angered that she was not paying attention, until he worked out that she was taking notes.

  “We have home bases set up all around the world, though not many from my world live in them. Most prefer to have their own homes and only go to their nearest base for weapons, practice, training and education. My siblings and I live at our base as it’s run by a family friend, Fox.”

  “Fox?” Natasha said in surprise. “Is that short for something?”


  Komi smiled. “No. The word means something different in our language. When we came to Earth and found out that here it means a small, red, furry animal, we had a great time teasing Fox, until he threatened to ban us from the base.”

  “You have a real wizard living with you?” Natasha asked. “Who can do magic?”

  “Yes. Our witches and wizards are highly skilled, though their powers are no longer appreciated. They once held high positions in our world and were well respected. Until it was discovered that a group of them were experimenting on demons.”

  “Stop,” Natasha said before he could continue. “Demons?”

  Komi grinned at her, guessing what she was thinking. “Not that sort. It’s what we are. On Earth the people are called humans, on Yong we are called demons. My younger brother found it very amusing when he found out what humans refer to as demons while my sister did not take it well. She saw it as an insult for some reason.”

  “Let me summarise to make sure I have this right,” Natasha said. “You come from a planet called Yong, which isn’t even in the same dimension as Earth, let alone the same solar system. Your people are called demons and some of you are sent here to kill mythical creatures.” Komi nodded. “Why do I feel like this is a bad ‘straight-to-DVD’ movie?”

  Komi had no idea what that meant and didn’t ask. He had more important things to find out. “Now it’s your turn. Who and what are you?”

  “My name is Natasha. Natasha Simpson.” Her friends called her Nat, but she wasn’t sure yet if she wanted to class Komi as a friend, so she withheld that bit of information. Natasha told him everything about herself, how she had grown up in the nearby town and had met the man of her dreams at a nightclub. She had been eighteen at the time, just finishing school. He was a little older, having left the year before. There had been an instant attraction and they began dating immediately.

  Komi found his eyes moving down to look at her hands, which she had moved away from her keyboard when she had started to speak. He was aware of the human custom of wearing wedding rings and was glad to see that her hands were empty of all jewellery. Did that mean she was not married or engaged to this so called ‘man of her dreams’? Or did she just not like wearing the symbol of her relationship? Then he realised she was wearing her swimming costume. Maybe she just took her jewellery off when she went in the pool.

  He realised that she had stopped speaking and looked up to find her staring at him. She must have noticed where his eyes had gone. Sadness crept across her face. “Paul moved to London,” she said so quietly he could only just hear her. “We were supposed to go together, but my brother was killed in a plane crash and I stayed here to look after his daughter.”

  She looked down at her hands and gently rubbed the ring finger on her left hand, the finger that would have contained a ring by now if Paul had not left. “It was over a year ago now. Despite the age gap, Jim and I were very close and I still miss him greatly.”

  “I’m sorry,” Komi said, not knowing what else to say. He watched her wipe away a tear which had trickled down her cheek and wondered if she was going to continue.

  She did not look at him when she started to speak once more. “It was Jim’s grandmother-in-law’s birthday and Jim, his wife and her parents were flying up to help her celebrate. Lucy, their daughter, had a ballet exam so I volunteered to look after her. The plane crashed. All four died. Lucy was left an orphan. Her only relatives left were me, my sister and my parents, who are not the easiest people to live with. My sister travels a lot and I couldn’t bear the thought of making Lucy go through the same sort of childhood I did, so I told Paul I couldn’t go to London. He didn’t take it very well.”

  Natasha went quiet, staring into space, lost in her memoires. Komi didn’t want to disturb her, so remained silent. It gave him a chance to study her closely. She was pretty, but not beautiful, unlike her niece. Her brown eyes currently held no happiness and he felt an overwhelming desire to make her laugh, just so he could see how they changed. She was slim, but not skinny. Her swimming costume showed she had a few curves and the muscles on her arms and legs indicated she worked out regularly. He found her attractive, but was not attracted to her. At least not yet. But that wouldn’t stop him bedding her if he got the chance.

  “Bringing up a teenager when you are only a few years older than her was hard,” Natasha continued, forcing Komi to pay attention once more. “But we had both suffered a terrible loss and we helped each other through it. It helped us become close. She means as much to me as if she was my own flesh and blood.”

  “So you and this ‘Paul’ person are no longer together?” Komi could not stop himself from asking.

  “Yes, we are,” she surprised him by saying. “We are somehow making a long distance relationship work, though we don’t seem to speak as often as we used to anymore. He loves London and doesn’t make it back very often.”

  “Can I ask you something?” Komi said, suddenly remembering he had a reason for being there. “How can you understand me when I speak my own language?”

  Something sounded odd about the way Komi pronounced the words. It was almost like English was not his first language, though up until then Natasha had not noticed. She frowned at him.

  “I don’t understand. What do you mean your own language?”

  “I’m not speaking English. I’m speaking my native tongue, the language that demons speak.”

  Natasha stared at him. While she doubted everything else he had told her, she did not doubt this. It explained why the words felt strange to her ears. She suddenly shivered as a sense of dread filled her. She could understand the language of demons!

  Then she remembered that, in this case, a demon was a human from another world, not a creature from Hell. On top of that, Komi was making up everything about himself and his home world. He had to be.

  She tried to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. “I don’t know how I can understand you,” she said quietly.

  Komi was disappointed with the answer, but at least she wasn’t calling him a liar; she believed that he was speaking his own language.

  “Can you speak my language as well as understand it?” he asked.

  Natasha shrugged. “I don’t know how. I thought I was hearing English, so how would I know if I wasn’t speaking it?”

  Komi had no answer.

  “Tell me more about your home world,” Natasha said, wishing to steer the conversation away from the question that neither of them could answer.

  They talked for the next few hours. Natasha’s thirst for information was insatiable and Komi was more than willing to tell her everything she wanted to know. Before going to bed the previous night, she had made notes on her laptop, writing down everything she could remember. She made Komi go over the same things and was stunned to find that what he told her matched perfectly with her notes. Either he had rehearsed what he said in order to remember it all or he was telling her the truth.

  Evening approached and hunger set in. Natasha found she was enjoying Komi’s company and invited him to join her for a meal, an invitation he willingly accepted.

  She would not, however, let him into the house. She had no idea why. She knew she was being rude by making him remain outside, but something about him made her want to keep a little distance between them.

  Lucy arrived home just as she was getting food out of the pantry and Natasha gave her a summary of everything Komi had told her. She, too, didn’t believe that he was telling the truth and volunteered to keep an eye on him while her aunt cooked.

  Natasha had no idea what Lucy and Komi talked about, but she could clearly hear Lucy’s laugh over the sizzling of the meat in the frying pan.

  Once everything was in the oven, she went out to join them.

  “You need to keep this one at arms length,” Lucy said with a smile as Natasha walked out onto the decking and placed knives and forks on the table. “If even half of what he has been telling me is true, he’s a bit of a rogue with an eye for the l
adies.”

  Komi blushed when Natasha raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “Maybe it isn’t me who should be watching out,” she said, turning to look at her niece.

  Lucy knew exactly what she was suggesting and quickly dismissed Natasha’s concerns. “Don’t worry. He’s already assured me that I’m too young for him. Besides, I’m spoken for.”

  Natasha didn’t comment. Lucy only considered herself spoken for when she wanted to and Natasha suspected that Lucy’s current boyfriend was a temporary thing. At least she hoped he was.

  “And how exactly did the conversation get around to you being too young for Komi?” she asked. It was Lucy’s turn to blush. That answered that question. It had been Lucy who had been flirting, not Komi. Why did that make her feel good?

  Dinner was a noisy affair, with Komi keeping both of the ladies entertained with tales of his home and his adventures with women. He sounded so enthusiastic when describing where he was brought up that it was hard for Natasha to remember he had to be inventing the entire planet.

  It was late by the time Komi eventually left and Natasha found herself, with a little encouragement from Lucy, agreeing to allow him to visit her the following weekend, though she did make it clear that she was not considering it a date. She wanted him as a friend, nothing more. She already had a boyfriend and had no plans to cheat on him.

  “You’re interested in him,” Lucy said as soon as the two women were alone.

  “I find him interesting, if that’s what you mean.”

  “It’s not and you know it.” The smile dropped from Natasha’s face and Lucy knew the reason why. “You need to move on,” she said. “You need to think about dating again. Paul isn’t coming back.”

  “I’m not ready to admit that our relationship is over,” Natasha said. Lucy opened her mouth, but Natasha held up her hand. “This is not up for discussion.”

  Lucy closed her mouth again. There were few subjects which were taboo between the two of them, but this was one of them. “Goodnight aunt Nat,” she said and headed off to her bedroom to give her boyfriend a call before she went to sleep.