Page 18 of A Cursed Heart
I was impressive, so I could hardly blame him for the attention he paid to my fine black horns, which jutted so perfectly from my long scarlet hair. Of my siblings, I was the only one to have such a vibrant color. I wore it long, almost to my ass. It was my pride and joy, and I spent many hours making it shine with health. My tail, too, was a wonder. I knew humans did not have tails like mine. It must have been jealousy keeping his eyes on it, not fear. Under his watch, my tail flicked back and forth, the red and black scales catching the low light of the streetlight.
“What are you?” he finally whispered, his eyes round with shock.
“I am a… demon, I suppose you would say.” He was so tempting. I wanted to cup his face and taste his lips.
“Am I dead? Am I in hell? I swear I didn’t mean—”
His clear panic raised an urge in me to soothe him. Not usually a thought I cared to have. “You are not dead, Ryan. At least not yet.” Alas, it wasn’t something I was particularly good at.
“What do you mean, not yet? What the fuck? Are you going to kill me?”
I winced. “No, but the guards from Salvatore’s building might if they discover us, and you are being rather loud.”
“Where are we?” Ryan spun around, dislodging my hand on his sleeve. He relaxed, likely when he realized where we were. “Did you get us out of there?”
“I did.” My smile did not appear to ease him at all.
“Okay, well, thanks, I guess.” He paused. “How?”
“How what?” I cocked my head. Did he not understand magic? Were humans so ignorant of everything else in the world?
“How did you get us out of there? Did you like, teleport us or something? Use some secret tech?”
Ah, so ignorant. “My magic moved us from there to here. I can go further when I know where I am supposed to go and if I have more magic. We call it a vanishing.”
“Right. Okay, thanks for that, I guess.” He rubbed a hand over his face, stress twisting his features. He was still attractive to me. I wondered how long it would take him to give in to my allure. Not that I could use my magic against him like that. Part of the curse that bound me to the heart ruby also prevented me from using magical influence on Ryan. He was also safe from me causing him physical harm, though usually there were ways around that.
“You’re welcome, Ryan.”
We stared at each other for a minute. Under the low lights, I was relieved to see his color had returned to his cheeks. The deathly pale was a poor look on him. I wondered vaguely what he would look like all flushed and on the brink of orgasm.
“Um, well, my car is just over there, so thanks, I think.”
Ryan took a few steps around me, as if readying to leave.
“Where do you think you’re going?” How dare he try to leave me behind!
His footsteps paused. “Home. Well, after I get my car.”
“You have a vehicle?”
He frowned. “Yes.”
“Good. That will make things easier.” I took a few steps towards him.
“You can’t come with me!”
“Why not?”
With a wave of a hand, he gestured to me. “You kinda stand out. It’s a cool costume an’ all, but it’s not exactly low key.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You think this is a costume? When my tail can do this?” I moved it back and forth, then reached for him. The tip curled around his wrist, squeezed, and released him.
“There’s some pretty cool robotic shit these days,” he said with a nonchalant shrug.
Summoning some of my remaining magic, I pushed my demonic attributes aside, taking a human guise. Gone were my vibrant green eyes, now a deep brown, they were almost black. My pointed ears rounded and were hidden under my hair, the only thing that remained the same. The horns, tail and claws I was so proud of vanished into the ether. My body shrank in size, so that my height matched Ryan’s, my build only slightly more muscular. Making myself any smaller and thinner would be uncomfortable. Even my skin tone was different. I’d taken a paler hue. Gone was the golden sheen to my demon skin, which looked otherworldly. In place was pale flesh, ensuring I could blend in more easily with the humans. Even my markings were subdued. The stripes on my face were gone since I knew it was uncommon for humans to have facial tattoos.
“Better?”
