The Human Side (The Demon Side Series) (3 page)

“And that’s the best you could do for clothes? You know where I live. When you leave here, go straight to my house. Don’t let her see you.” John handed me a key off of a ring, when Etta cried out.

“Dad! Dad!”

With his abilities as a High Knight Templar, John flashed to a door in the hallway. My human feet were unable carry me as fast as my upper body wanted to go. Barreling into the wall as I rounded the corner into the hall, I realized how weak I had become by changing into a human.

John had beat me to the bathroom where a fully clothed, yet soaking wet Etta clung around his neck in tears, soon joined by Amy at their side. I wanted so much to take her and hold her in my arms to let her know I was here to love and protect her.

“Tell me what happened, baby?” John stroked Etta’s hair.

“I saw them in the shower. They’re waiting for me.”

“You need to leave now!” John commanded as I took a step toward them. Stepping back, I watched as Etta hid her face in John’s neck.

“C’mon. Let’s go.” Gabriel said, grabbing onto the doorknob and my shoulder, making me wince in pain. I must have slammed harder into the wall than I thought.

“Are you okay, Brother?” he asked as we walked down the porch steps.

“I am well. This body is going to take some getting used to.”

“That is not what I meant. I saw your face. You appeared as if your soul had been ripped apart.”

“Seeing her go to any other man for comfort, even if it is her father, will take some getting used to. C’mon. John’s house is just a block away.”

“Why do you suppose John wants us to go to his house? His clothes cannot possibly fit you.”

“I don’t know.”

“Man, he’s pissed at you. You think maybe he just wants to kick your ass again without Etta seeing?”

“First off, what’s with the foul language? And second, he didn’t kick my butt.”

“Appeared different on my end. To answer your question though, aren’t we supposed to be badass sinners? I doubt they watch their language.”

“Here it is.” I placed the key in the lock when the door suddenly opened.

“You’re here. John said you two were on your way.” Dumbfounded by the sight of a healthy and sober Rene, my jaw dropped.

“Well, don’t just stand out there. I have a warm shower going for you guys and some clean clothes in the spare bedroom.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Gabriel pushed me aside and entered the home.

“John told me what happened to you boys. What kind of world are we living in when our men in uniform are carjacked at the airport and forced to walk all the way here? You should have called him sooner. He would have picked you up.”

As I stood at the base of the stairs, a cold chill passed through me. The goose bumps on Gabriel’s arm told me he shared the same chill. Shooting each other a sideways glance, Gabriel confirmed my fears; Demons still plagued the Divad home.

“Well, are you gentlemen going to get cleaned up or stand around, staring at the paint?”

“Sorry, ma’am. It’s been a long night. Benjamin, why don’t you go first?”

I stood in the foyer, studying the interior of the Victorian house I once dwelled in. Of all my visits to this house, I never left Etta’s room. To be in the rest of the home brought on an unwanted nostalgia. I walked to the fireplace, where recent photos decorated the mantle. The center photo showed a happy John with his arms around Rene and Etta, both laughing, appearing to be a perfect family.

“Would you like some iced tea?” Rene asked. When I turned around to answer her, I noticed the bar in the dining area had been demolished. All that remained were the studs of the wall.

“I’ll take a beer if you have one?”

“Sorry, dear. We don’t carry alcohol in this house.”

“Iced tea will do fine then.” I said, hoping she didn’t pick up on the surprise in my voice.
Rene really changed her ways for the better
?

“Doing some remodeling?” I asked as Rene handed me a glass.

“Yes, we are. I’m sorry John didn’t give me your names.” Rene stiffened as she patted down the side of her hair. My question had put her on edge.

“Ramen! Hey, Ramen!” Gabriel yelled from the top of the stairs.

“I’m Ramen, and the one upstairs being very rude is Benjamin. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go see what he needs.” I found Gabriel at the bathroom door, fully clothed.

“Hey, man, I need your help.”

“With what?”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“What do you mean you don’t know what to do?”

“There’s a lot of stuff in there man. Bottles and knobs everywhere.”

“Haven’t you ever watched what they do?”

“Hell no. I’m not a pervert like you. C’mon, man, help me out here.”

“First off, you have to get naked.”

Pulling open the shower curtain, I could see how he could be easily confused. Their shower held enough different products to fill a shelf in a salon. I pulled down one bottle each of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Gabriel undressed and watched with his hands on his hips.

“This is for your hair. Shampoo first and then conditioner. This one is for your skin. Be sure to use it everywhere, including that thing you call an anaconda. Then rinse it off with the water.” I gave him instructions as I set each bottle on the bottom of the bathtub so they would not get confused with the others.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry!” Rene cried as she dropped a stack of towels on the floor. It didn’t take a wild imagination to know what she thought she walked in on.

“It’s not what you think, ma’am.” My attempt to explain fell on deaf ears. She’d already run down the stairs to call John.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“Just get clean already.”

Avoiding an awkward situation, I chose to wait in Etta’s room for Gabriel to finish his shower. Sitting on her bed, I thought how bringing Gabriel might have been a mistake. Being an Arch, he only came to Earth for business. He was incredible at getting the job done and nothing more. That’s a great thing in that line of work, but with the job at hand now, it might be a hindrance. The lack of knowledge about life on Earth, and his childlike fascination with it all, would make it difficult to blend with the locals.

To calm my mind, I pulled Etta’s pillow to my chest. Her aroma saturated the cotton case and awoke a part of me I tried to hold back. The twinge below my belt, though natural, alarmed me. If I allowed the urges to control me, I might screw the whole thing up.

Chapter Four

“Okay, that has got to be the strangest thing I have ever done.” Gabriel barged into the room in his towel. Shoving the pillow in my lap, I hoped I covered the bulge before he caught a glimpse of my momentary weakness. The grin on his face told me I hadn’t been quick enough.

“So, it’s slightly larger than an earthworm?” Gabriel burst out laughing.

“Shut up.”

“Oh c’mon, relax. I read about those. It’s natural.”

“Get dressed,” I ordered as I threw him a set of clothes that had been placed on Etta’s bed.

“Fine. I’ll get dressed while you go take a shower and take care of your little friend,” Gabriel said with a chuckle.

“I said, shut up!” I slammed him against the door.

“What is your issue?” Gabriel shoved me back.

“You’re my issue. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I get I don’t have the in-depth knowledge of life here you do, but there are things I do know. When I saw that Amy girl, it took everything I had to tuck that thing between my legs. What I do know is if you get upset like this every time your body does what it’s supposed to do, then you’ve already failed before you started. Get over yourself, Brother.”

Aggravated, I pushed him from the door and stormed off to the bathroom.

After completing my sinless shower and getting dressed, I went downstairs to find Gabriel and John playing cards at the kitchen table.

“Feeling better, Brother?” I knew what Gabriel tried to imply, but I wouldn’t give him any satisfaction. I took a seat at the table across from John as he taught Gabriel the fundamentals of poker with breath mints as the bounty.

“I’ll raise you three orange Tic-Tacs.”

“I only have two left.”

“Well, do you believe your cards are better than mine? I doubt they are, but you never know. If so, call it. If not, you can fold.”

Gabriel studied his hand as he played with his remaining mints.

“Now, Gabe, see how Ra is studying me? He’s looking for cues, little telltale signs I may be bluffing. Everyone has a cue that is a dead giveaway when they are lying. For some it may be as small as a twitch of their lips, a fidget of their hand, or maybe something more noticeable such as playing with their hair or shifting their glance.”

“I’ll fold.”

“What do you have?”

“Three kings, two aces,” Gabriel replied.

“That is what you call bluffing.” John tilted his hand to reveal a pair of twos, one three of clubs, a queen of hearts, and a ten of spades.

“Ah, man.” Gabriel slumped in defeat.

“Did you think I was bluffing, Ra?” John shuffled the deck of cards as he locked eyes with me. I knew exactly where this lesson was heading. I wouldn’t give him the gratification of his self-righteous speech about what might happen should I mess up.

“I hope you had fun playing your game, but now we need to figure out what we’re going to do about money and a place to live,” I said to Gabriel, ignoring John’s question.

“You two are going to need help getting set up. You’ll need IDs to get on and off base. I have some connections at D.E.E.R.S., but I won’t be able to get you military dependent IDs until Monday. Once we have those, we can get you a place to stay and you two can look for work. Until then, you’ll have to stay here. That will give you time to think of your cover story.”

“Cover story?” Gabriel asked.

“Yeah, where you’re from, what you’re doing here…details are key. Quantico is used to new faces every day, so you won’t stick out, but eventually someone is going to want to know more than your name.”

“See, Brother, this is perfect. This will give you time with Etta.”

“Etta is not to know you are staying here. No one is for that matter.”

“And why is that?” I asked.

“Not that it’s any of your damn business, but I am finally on the mend with my daughter. Should this ridiculous plan of yours backfire, I don’t want her trust in me tarnished in any way. Now, Rene has gone to the store to buy groceries for dinner tonight. Etta and Amy will be here as well. You will be on your best behavior, respect my home and my rules, and keep your prowess to yourself until you have your own place. I may have to accept the fact you are in love with my daughter, but I don’t need it thrown in my face. Understood?”

“Why are you so against me being with her?”

“You don’t have the best of track records, Ra. What happens to her when you fail?”

“When I fail? So, you’ve already made your mind up I won’t succeed?”

“That remains to be seen. Until then, you play by my rules or you’ll find yourself getting stonewalled from every direction imaginable. Do you catch my drift?”

“You wouldn’t do that and go against Father’s orders? You know what will happen if you do.”

“Tell me something, Gabriel. Based on my body language, do you think I’m bluffing?” John asked, never breaking our eye contact. In my peripheral vision, I could see Gabriel looking back and forth between us.

“No. I don’t.”

“There you have it, Ra. But if you want to know for sure, I dare you to cross that line.” His threat fired me up. His holier-than-thou attitude became perturbing. Kicking my chair back, I stood, ready to send my fist crashing into his face. John’s chest met with mine as Gabriel tried squeezing his body between us.

“Boys! We are on the same team. Least we can do is be civil toward each other. I do believe I outrank the both of you, and if I must, I will pull that rank,” Gabriel said, pushing John and me apart.

“I think this game is over. Down the street is a store that can offer better clothing than I can. Take my card and buy a few things to get by with.” John pulled a piece of plastic from his wallet and handed it to Gabriel.

My brother had a blast trying on different shirts, pants, and shoes. He settled on a black T-shirt under a dark blue silken shirt with the print of a fire breathing dragon, a pair of tan boots and black Dickies pants. Happy with his choices, he grabbed a few of each color and style.

I, on the other hand, kept it simple with just a few pairs of blue jeans, white T-shirts and black boots. Against his wishes, I made sure I grabbed a few packages of underwear for him and socks for the both of us.

“Oh, hey guys.” Amy greeted us as we walked out of the store.

“Hello, girls,” Gabriel replied, with an ear-to-ear smile as he laid eyes on Amy. I knew that smile all too well. It’s how I imagined my face lit up when I saw Etta walking next to her friend. I let my brother do the talking as we trailed behind them. “And where are you two off to?”

“My dad’s house,” Etta replied.

“What a coincidence. That is where we are heading. Mind if we walk with you ladies?”

“Not at all.” Amy giggled as Etta lightly shoved her with a roll of her eyes. Being braver than me, Gabriel took a few rapid strides to catch up with the girls, taking his place next to Amy.

She fell for a Demon once, but the question remains; will she do it again
? I held back, allowing the trio space as Father’s words rattled through my head.
How can I do what I’m required to do
?
How far can I push without breaking
?

“Oh, how cute.” Amy stopped and pointed at a window displaying stuffed English bulldogs clad in camouflage and the dress blue uniform Marines wore.

“Oh, those are way cute. We should get one for my dad,” Etta added. There’d be no better time to get the ball rolling.

“Why in the world would you buy a full grown man a stuffed animal?” I asked, sardonically.

“Because it’s adorable, and he’s my father,” Etta retorted.

“Only a child would think such a thing. It’s ridiculous if you ask me.”