Page 5 of Demon Daddy

“Who,” he bellows, sending a bat into a frantic circle above his head, as the leaves on all the trees surrounding the clearing rustle, “Who handled what is mine so carelessly?”

The crowd backs away.

No one wants to fess up.

As far as East Gloaming is concerned, this should just be handled.

One virgin, one hundred years of peace, everybody back in bed before the cows need milking.

It’s a ritual that’s been going on longer than East Gloaming even existed.

“She did,” I break the silence, pointing at Hailey Reynolds, who used to call me names in school.

It’s not 100% accurate, because it was her dad, Police Chief Reynolds, who used it as an instructional moment, showing her how to bind the rope like it was some sort of Girl Scout knot-tying event.

I guess I should feel bad about that. But it’s not a lie. She did tie the ropes.

“No, I—” She’s shaking her head, her eyes wide. Hailey is pretty. Maybe I shouldn’t be drawing my demon’s attention to her too much. Don’t want him trading me in for an upgrade, although I’m pretty sure Jimmy Mortan took her cherry pie to town senior year, so she doesn’t have the whole virgin thing going for her. “It wasn’t just me. Sophie did it too!”

“Hey! You…your dad said to make them tight.” Sophie’s voice goes high. Her head whips back and forth between the demon, me, and Hailey. “How could you…? You—You fucking little snitch.”

“You want me to pluck their eyes out, little offering?” the demon rumbles, nuzzling his nose against my hair as he inhales. “You want to hear their screams as they beg for mercy?”

A soft, splattering sound fills the air, and everyone’s eyes go to Hailey as she wets herself.

Right there, in front of the whole town. It darkens the crotch of her gray leggings, runs down one leg, and sprinkles into the grass.

“Dad… Please…” She looks to him, but the police chief coughs and looks down at his feet.

I shake my head. “No,” I answer the demon’s question, puffing my chest as the power that comes with absolving them of their sin somehow calms me further. “Dolly Parton wouldn’t wish ill on anyone. I’m all about the love.” I make heart hands and hold them out to Hailey, then swing them around in front of the demon’s snout.

The horn man draws a breath through his flared nostrils and nods. “So be it, little offering.”

And with that, he stomps forward, me bouncing against the plane of his chest and the tip of his arousal as we disappear into the fog and trees, like a fairytale wolf dragging off his screaming maiden.

Only this time?

The maiden wants it.

Chapter 3

The mist thickens, returning from the tree line surrounding the clearing as he carries me, my boobs bouncing with each heavy step, the buckles on my boots clicking, his snorting breaths coming faster.

I nibble my lip, wondering why I’m not fighting him.

Because as weird as this all is, and this furry freak seems to have taken a liking to me, he’s still a demon, and demons do as demons do.

The townspeople's murmurs and chatter fade as we move into the forest.

The mist and air around us are cool at first, then warmer, and fresh-scented. And then it clears, and I get this feeling like I’m not in Kansas anymore. I’m somewhere I’m not supposed to be, being carried like a child by a being that could probably tear my limbs off with a flick of his wrist.

Then I see it down a long, fern-covered slope.

An arch of carved obsidian rises from the shadows of the forest floor, black and slick with dew, and likely older than every tree around it. Unfamiliar symbols stand in relief along its smooth surface.

Moss hangs like lace. Black vines curl over stone. And beneath it, a staircase leading down into the pitch-black earth.

“It’s beautiful,” I say, and he grunts, making my nipples tingle.