Chapter 18 Callisto
CALLISTO
I wake up in a daze, last night’s events still at the forefront of my mind. What did he mean by that? He’s not a demon? No, he must be lying. Nothing else makes sense.
I sit up groggily, pulling my messy hair back into a bun, and head to my closet. As I turn on the light, I jump at the sight of my demon standing before me, looking down with an inquisitive gleam in his eyes.
“Get out. I need to change,” I say with as much authority as I can muster this early in the morning.
“Nothing I haven’t already seen, pretty girl.”
“Stop calling me that.” I sigh.
“You’re just going to have to accept that I’m not going anywhere, human,” he says while checking his cuticles.
I respond with a scowl. Fine. I’m not going to let him get to me. If his plan is to terrorize me and my family, I should probably try not to piss him off.
I grab a T-shirt and jeans from my closet and toss them on my bed.
Pulling my nightshirt over my head, I avoid eye contact with the monster in the corner.
I slip my jeans on and do the skinny jean shimmy.
My curiosity gets the best of me, and I glance up at him.
He’s… staring. Hard. He isn’t smiling anymore, his eyes locked on me.
I feel my face turn red—no one has ever looked at me this way. He looks… hungry. I hate to admit that the way he looks at me makes my body react.
I quickly pull my shirt on and slip into my house slippers, then head to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee. I find Jack sitting at the table eating cereal.
“Morning,” I say in a husky morning voice.
“Good morning.” He doesn’t sound like his usual chipper self. What if he is experiencing side effects from yesterday? I need to find out how being possessed affects the human body.
“You look like shit. How are you feeling?” I say, trying to sound like myself—but it’s forced.
“I’m just tired. Like I said, I think I’m just getting sick.”
“Do you have any updates from Cade?” I ask, sitting down next to him.
“Yeah, Allen was arrested on a DUI. I looked into his police report. He’s set to be released later today. This is his first infraction, so they’ll be fining him and most likely suspending his license.”
“A DUI? At least he’ll be easier to track, then,” I say with forced cheer.
“Calli, Allen won’t be leaving Vegas alive. But I think you knew that.”
“Yeah… This is kind of fucked-up.”
“You wanted to be part of this. You know he’s doing what he has to in order to keep you safe.” Jack’s tone is sincere, but a warning, and I shrink into myself a bit. He’s right. I wanted this, I begged Cade for this. I wanted him to understand—to trust me.
“Do you think I could take the truck into town?”
“You know I can’t let you go alone. Cade wou—”
I quickly cut him off. “Cade isn’t here, and you’re sick. I can get medicine and some soup. I just need to clear my head… Please, Jack.” I give him my best puppy-dog eyes, and he gives in.
“Just don’t get into any trouble,” he says with an eye roll and a sigh.
I smile and pull the keys off the hook on the wall behind him.
“I’ll be back in an hour,” I say, running to my room to grab my bag and hurrying out the door.
I hop in the driver’s seat and start the truck, slowly pulling out of the driveway—it’s been a while since I’ve driven.
I get about fifty feet away from the house when I hear: “So where are we going?”
I jump in my seat, the truck skidding and jerking to a stop.
“What the fuck! Don’t do that!” I gasp, trying to calm the initial shock, my hand pressed to my chest.
“Thought you weren’t allowed to leave by yourself—big brother’s orders. I’m helping keep you out of trouble,” he says, sarcasm dripping from his words.
“I don’t need a babysitter. I want to be alone.”
The demon quirks a brow, unconvinced.
“Did you forget what I said? We are bound. I couldn’t leave you if I wanted to. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be.”
“I highly doubt that. But I do have a question.” I continue down the road, accepting my unwanted ride-along.
“Shoot.”
“You possessed Jack yesterday. Are there any lingering effects? Is he in any danger?”
“Depends. I don’t possess human flesh often, so I’m not as skilled as some of my brethren.
He’ll most likely feel fatigued and sick to his stomach, or his internal organs could start to shut down.
It differs based on the length of the possession, or how often it occurs and if the vessel is willing. ”
“How long will it take for him to get better? What can I get for him that will help?”
“I typically don’t concern myself with the host once I’m done. I’m also not completely familiar with the inner workings of humans. Our anatomy is different.”
“So, you don’t know?” I say dryly.
“He’s most likely just dehydrated. His body’s feeling the aftereffects of trying to reject a foreign entity. He should recover in a day or so.”
We sit in silence for a beat. That’s actually helpful.
He just needs electrolytes and rest—and I need to make sure this thing doesn’t hijack his body again.
I’m going to roll with this. I’ll play this monster’s little game.
I need to understand his intentions, and I don’t think he’s just going to outright tell me if I ask.
I can only assume he wants my soul, but if what he said is true, and he isn’t a demon—maybe he has other plans. I need to find out.
I’ll act as casual as possible, continue my studies—and figure out how to rid myself of this parasite. I can’t let this scare me. I may not have been prepared for him to show up when I called—but now I have to clean up my mess.
I arrive in town and stop at the corner store, Alabaster trailing close behind.
He is huge and seeing him walk into a store so casually is almost funny.
He looks around, appearing confused. I chuckle to myself as I grab the essentials and make my way to the register.
The young man rings up the items quickly, bags them, and I pay.
“Have a nice day, ma’am,” the clerk says in a monotone voice.
“Thank you, you as well.” As I leave, I notice my favorite chocolate bar staring back at me. I want to buy it, but there are now people in line behind me and I’m far too socially awkward to keep anyone waiting, so I walk away with a sigh.
Settling myself back into the truck, I look over the items: electrolyte drinks, Tylenol, vitamin C packets, and some chicken soup. This should be good. Alabaster appears in the passenger seat beside me, suspiciously quiet.
Back home, I grab a bottle of water, pour the vitamin C packet into it, and shake it as I make my way to Jack, who is lying on the couch watching a horror movie.
“Here, this will help.”
“Aww, you take such good care of me. Thank you, Nurse Callisto.”
I roll my eyes and smile at him while tossing the drink onto his stomach. He reacts with a grunt and a laugh.
“Hey, about yesterday…” Jack says, his tone turning serious, his eyes darting away from mine.
“Don’t mention it. It was nothing.”
“I don’t remember pulling you toward me and maybe it was the fever… but I’m sorry.”
“Like I said, Jack, you’re sick. Don’t mention it,” I all but plead with him.
Seriously. Drop it.
“All right. I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn’t trying to seduce you,” he says with a crooked smile, finally relaxing again.
“No, of course not. You would never dare try anything with Cade’s little sister,” I say in a joking tone, my eyes narrowed.
His smile drops when he notices the boundary I’m placing.
Jack and I have always made jokes, but Cade isn’t something to joke about.
I’m trying to threaten him with the only thing he’ll believe.
The jokes need to stop—he isn’t safe. Neither am I.
“No. I wouldn’t.” He sounds… disappointed? It doesn’t matter. Nope. I can’t begin to overthink whatever the hell that reaction was.
I need to study.
“I’ll be in the library if you need me,” I say as I walk away with a wave, not looking back.
I open the door to my favorite room in the house.
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and stacked cases with my parents’ artifacts line the large room.
I grab a book titled Ancient Beings and Folklore and make my way to the chair in the corner while skimming its pages.
I sit down and notice something on the table beside me.
A single chocolate bar. The one I wanted to buy at the store. Did… did he get this for me?
“That’s the one you wanted, correct?” I hear his voice coming from the ether as he materializes in front of me.
“Did you steal this?”
“Of course not. I took money from your wallet and left it on the counter.” His voice is serious, and I snort.
“A demon with morals? You’re joking, right?”
“I only take what’s mine. I’m not a thief.”
“Oh, but you can steal money out of my wallet?”
“What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours, pretty girl,” he teases, and I roll my eyes.
“Your perception is sorely mistaken.”
“I was only trying to—” He trails off, not finishing his sentence, his expression unreadable.
“If this is an apology for last night, I’ll accept it on one condition.”
He looks at me curiously, sauntering over and dropping to kneel in front of me. Even on his knees, he towers over me. I lift my chin to make eye contact, mustering all the courage I can to keep my cool.
“You trying to make a deal with me, pretty girl?” he purrs.
“You won’t possess anyone I care about again.”
He takes a moment, scanning my face.
“As I said, I have no intention of hurting you, or the people you care about.”
“Then what are your intentions?” I ask.
He continues staring at me, as if searching for something. The look in his eyes makes my chest heat up, and suddenly I feel nervous. This feels… intimate.
Looking at him like this—he’s beautiful and terrifying.
His sharp glowing eyes bore into me, his long white hair falling in his face, wrapping around his massive horns.
Without thinking, I reach up and touch them, running my fingers along them gently.
He doesn’t move, allowing me to feel them.
They’re cold and smooth to the touch. I look at him.
Without realizing it, he’s leaning toward me, and I close my eyes.
I can feel his breath on my cheek. Chills spark all over my body, and I’m lost in the moment.
His lips gently graze my cheek, softly moving closer to my mouth.
I meet his with my own.
The kiss is soft, delicate. He wraps his fingers in my hair, pulling me closer—firmly but gently. I feel his tongue begin to explore my mouth as my lips part. It feels softer than it looks, moving with precision. I should stop this… but…
I wrap my hands around his waist as his lips make their way down my neck. I moan into the air, head tilting back as he yanks the neckline of my shirt down my shoulder—with his teeth—tearing a hole in it.
He pulls away for a moment and gazes down at me as my eyes flutter open. They scan his beautiful body and wander lower…
He’s hard, and… Oh Gods…
That doesn’t look normal.
“Fuck.”