Demons Are Forever, page 1
part #3 of The Realm Series
Demons Are Forever
The Realm Book 3
AE Jones
Gabby Reads Publishing
About: Demons Are Forever
Accidentally on purpose…
Sergei Chesnokov is one lost demon. Born an anomaly—a high level demon without powers—he has alienated himself from his family, instead traveling the world as a photographer, observing life from behind his camera lens.
Summoned to the demon realm by his grandmother, Sergei must face a family he hasn’t seen in years. He also meets Lela, whose energy is so strong that others steal it from her to boost their powers, leaving her sick and vulnerable. Sergei is the only demon she’s met who can’t hurt her. Feeling safe for the first time in her life, Lela accepts his friendship.
However Sergei quickly realizes friendship is not enough. And he’s finally found a purpose—protecting Lela from those who would harm her. But what happens when he might be part of the problem…since he’s not as powerless as he first thought. Can he walk away from her to keep her safe?
Contents
Dedication
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30
31. Chapter 31
32. Chapter 32
Next Book
Free Book
Other Books by AE
Author's Note
Acknowledgments
About The Author
Copyright
Kelly –
Thank you so much for becoming a member of our family (even if you had to marry my brother to do it). I’m sure you have probably looked at us over the years and thought more than once, “What did I get myself into?” But you’re ours now—there is no escape! Thanks for accepting us, warts and all!
Chapter 1
Sergei Chesnokov was a demon without purpose. A pathetic admission, especially for someone two hundred forty-five years old, but true nonetheless.
The bell sounded, announcing that the plane had taxied to the gate and passengers could leave their seats, and the people around him leapt into action. Always the same—everyone trying to wrestle with bags that were too big and should never have been in the overhead to begin with, then jockeying for position to rush off the plane to their newest adventure, only to have to wait for their connecting flight or ride.
Sergei used to be like them, traveling throughout the world for the past century to experience everything it had to offer, and using his camera to capture it. So much anticipation. Hell, he had been one of the first to cross the ocean on a commercial flight. There was something about being the first that appealed to him. Maybe being the third son played into it. Growing up, he had never been the first to do anything…except disappoint his father.
“Is everything okay, sir?”
The plane was empty, the flight attendant looking at him with concern. “Yes. I’m fine. I’m not in a rush, so I decided to let everyone else get off first.”
She smiled. “It is a bit much, isn’t it?”
Sergei pulled his backpack out from under the seat in front of him and stood. “Yes.” He grabbed his appropriately-sized duffel from the overhead as well.
She walked with him to the front of the plane. “Is Chicago your home?”
Chicago. He’d forgotten where he was for a moment. Nonstop traveling did that. “No. I’m not home. Have a good day.”
The teeming crowd of people had him stopping in the middle of the terminal to get his bearings. He hadn’t been in the States for a while now, and it always took a few days to acclimate. Next step was to grab something to eat and then figure out where he wanted to go next.
Sergei pulled his phone out and switched out of airplane mode. In seconds, it beeped, telling him he had a voice mail. He frowned at the name—Irina, his grandmother. She insisted that he call her on Sundays if he was in an area that actually had cell phone service.
The call came in an hour ago—five pm on a Tuesday. His stomach twisted. Something had to be wrong.
Sergei hurried over to the wall, dropped his duffel at his feet, hit play, and listened.
“Sergei, you need to come home. Aleksei is in grave danger. Call the following number and talk to Kyle. She’ll pick you up at the airport and explain everything. Please, Grandson. Your family needs you.”
Sergei’s chest tightened. What kind of message was that? What had happened to his brother?
He called his grandmother’s cell, but it went to voice mail. Then he listened to her message again and wrote down the number for this Kyle person before rushing to the ticket counter. Luckily only one person stood in front of him. He studied the flight screens while he waited. A flight to Cleveland left in less than an hour. Stepping up to the counter, he booked a seat on the plane even though the ticket agent said he would have to run to make it.
Ticket in hand, he ran toward the gate and yelled for them to stop before they closed the door. He clambered onto the plane, stuffed his duffel into an overhead, and dialed the number his grandmother had given him. The person answered on the second ring.
“Sergei?”
“How—”
“Irina gave me your number before she left. Where are you?”
“I’m in Chicago, and just got on a plane for Cleveland, so I should be there in an hour.”
“Good. I’ll be at arrivals waiting for you. I’ll be in a black van.”
“What’s going on, Kyle? Where’s my grandmother?”
“Your family is trying to help Aleksei.”
Sergei let out a breath at the use of present tense. “So he’s not dead.”
“No. I’ll explain everything to you as soon as I can, but it would be better to do it in person.”
Sergei gripped the phone tighter and opened his mouth to argue.
A flight attendant stopped beside him. “I’m sorry, sir. You’ll have to turn off your phone now.”
“I’ll call you when I land, Kyle.” Sergei hung up the phone and flipped it into airplane mode as the plane taxied down the runway.
He leaned against the headrest and rubbed his hands on his jeans.
“Are you okay, son?”
He hadn’t been paying attention to anyone when he boarded, and he turned to look at the older human female next to him who’d made the comment.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you afraid to fly?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Are you traveling for work?”
He wanted to ignore her questions, but he had been taught to respect elders, even though he was older than she was by at least a hundred years. “I’m visiting my family.”
“Ah. Families are both wonderful and stressful. I hope your trip home is a happy one.” She picked up the book in her lap and thankfully began to read.
Home. He didn’t have a real home anymore. And now the family he had for all intents and purposes abandoned was in trouble. His grandmother had been telling him for a while now to come home, but he always made excuses. Now he didn’t know what awaited him.
He hadn’t spoken to either of his brothers in a long time. He had little in common with his older brother, Misha, and the last conversation he had with Aleksei had ended in an argument. What if those were the last words they would ever speak to each other?
Sergei ran his hands over his face. He had a lot to make up for. He just hoped he wasn’t too late.
An hour later Sergei tightened the grip on his duffel as he emerged from baggage claim to look for his ride. He searched for a few minutes until a black van shot across two lanes of traffic and came to a screeching halt in front of him.
The passenger window rolled down and a young woman with a black pageboy studied him for a moment. “Sergei?”
“Yes.”
“I’m Kyle. Get in.”
He yanked open the back door and threw his bags on the floor as he took a seat. The van pulled away before he completely shut the door.
The male driving was a vampire who apparently fancied himself a race car driver, or, since he narrowly missed clipping the car next to him, maybe a demolition derby driver.
“Damnation, Jean Luc. That was close!”
“Sorry, ma petite.”
She turned to Sergei. “I’m Kyle, and this is Jean Luc. We work with your brother Misha at the Bureau of Supernatural Relations.”
The BSR was the supernatural version of a detective agency. They solved crimes and hid the existence of supernaturals from humans, who might be a little upset to learn that demons, vampires, and shifters were very real. But why would the BSR be involved in whatever happened to his brother?
“What type of trouble is Aleksei in?” he asked.
“What do you know about Aleksei’s job?” Kyle replie d.
Sergei thought for a moment. His grandmother had told him something about Aleksei taking on a new role, and how proud she was of him. After that, Sergei hadn’t registered much of what she was saying. His stomach cramped. He was a selfish prick. “Not much, other than it is a new job to help demons.”
Kyle narrowed her eyes at him. Apparently she didn’t find his answer acceptable. “Aleksei is heading up the newly formed Bureau of Demon Immigration. He’s helping relocate demons to earth from the demon realm.”
Sergei sat up straighter. “The demon realm is a prison. Why would we bring them here?”
Kyle frowned. “Because the realm demons have been trapped there for a millennium. They’re being punished for a war that took place before they were even born. The demon race needs to stop segregating themselves. Two groups have already successfully migrated here, but many in the realm don’t trust us. Aleksei went there to meet with various clan leaders and find a way to build trust.”
Of course his brother did. “Damn it. Tell me what happened.”
“The Kelmar clan has taken him hostage because they want to do an exchange. We have one of their clan under arrest, and they want him back.”
“And where are Father, Misha, and Grandmother?”
“They’re in the realm.”
“What! Father let Grandmother go to the realm?”
“Your father didn’t let her do anything. I know it’s been a while since you’ve been home, but your grandmother has a mind of her own.”
That she did. “Where was the portal guard when Aleksei was taken?” The supernatural equivalent of prison guards, the portal guard was supposed to keep the realm demons from killing each other, and also from coming to earth.
“Naya, the leader of the portal guards was taken hostage first. Aleksei traded himself for her.”
Of course he did. It seemed Aleksei was still the paragon of honor in the family. “So let’s exchange the Kelmar for Aleksei and be done with it.”
Again with the narrowing of her eyes. He was definitely on this female’s shit list.
“The Kelmar prisoner is an Abstatholm. Which means he can form portals to move between earth and the realm.”
Yep, if she felt the need to explain an Abstatholm to him as if he was a youngster, he wasn’t just on her shit list, he was at the top of it.
“He attacked the Shamat compound and tried to kidnap two small children and take them to the realm. We won’t be releasing him.”
A realm demon attacked their clan compound? “Was anyone hurt?”
“Minor injuries only. Which is why Aleksei went to the realm. He wanted to convince the realm demons that earth is a viable option.”
“So what’s the plan, then? How are we going to free Aleksei?”
“We’re going to show the realm that Aleksei is a demon of action, not lies. Your family went to help, and Irina hopes that you will go and stand alongside them.”
He pressed his hands against his jeans to calm himself down. His brain was on overload, and guilt surged through him. He heard her underlying message, and couldn’t blame her for doubting whether he would have come at all if not for Grandmother’s plea.
It also didn’t help knowing that even though he’d shown up, he truly couldn’t be of much help. He wondered if his grandmother told Kyle the truth about him. That he was an aberration—a demon without powers, born to the leader of the Shamat clan, no less. But this wasn’t about him, so he pushed his insecurities away.
“When do I go to the realm?”
Chapter 2
Lela stood just outside the firelight so her clan members wouldn’t see her. Until recently, she had always been proud to call herself Kelmar. But now she wondered if her clan was on the cusp of losing everything due to fear and ignorance. Ever since the immigration was announced, her father had become distrustful to the point of paranoia. Since he was the Kelmar clan leader, his distrust impacted everyone.
When her clan members Joran and Tarem began filling her father’s head with lies, her concern increased. She tried several times to tell her father the two demons were going to destroy his clan’s chance to go to earth, but he wouldn’t listen. And now Tarem had recruited demons outside their clan—a Lagfel and a Majock—to spread the lies throughout the realm.
Two days ago, Lela almost convinced her father to give the immigration a chance, until Tarem informed them that Joran had been captured by the earthers for no reason other than him being from the realm. Having known Joran her entire life, Lela was certain there was more to the story, but there was no convincing her father of anything now.
And when Tarem showed up with the unconscious portal guard to bargain for Joran, she worried all was lost. Now? Now the earther had exchanged himself for the guard, her hopes for a better future had been destroyed.
Lela watched the earther, who was tied to a tree. He had tan-colored skin and green eyes. She had never seen anyone like him before. According to the murmurs she overheard, he was in his human form. Unlike realm demons, demons on earth used two forms—human and demon—while realm demons stayed in their demon form. Her orange skin and yellow eyes would probably scare the humans on earth. Not that it mattered anymore. She would never go to earth now. Her clan had ruined everything.
She carried a blanket over to the earther, who sat far enough away from the fire that he would be cold as night set in. She dropped the blanket by him. He reached toward her, and she flinched away. But he wasn’t trying to touch her, instead grabbing the blanket and pulling it toward him.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Thank you.”
She backed away from him, nodding, and went to her hut. But before she could enter her home, Tarem blocked the door.
“Lela. What were you doing with the earther?”
“I gave him a blanket. If we plan to exchange him for Joran, he should be healthy.”
Tarem scowled. “I don’t care if he’s healthy or not. Stay away from him.”
She tried to step around him, but he grabbed her arm, and she bit back a groan as energy ripped through her and ran like fire down her arm and into his hand. He let her go after a moment, and she staggered before rushing into her hut and slamming the door.
She sank to the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees. She imagined shrinking down until no one paid attention to her anymore. Until no one stole from her anymore.
In the past few weeks Tarem had gotten greedy, not leaving her enough time to recuperate before extracting more and more of her energy.
One day he would take too much.
Lela woke up early the next morning and prepared breakfast. She placed some food on a wooden tray and filled a cup with water. Emerging from her hut, she looked around for Tarem. When she didn’t see him, she went over to the earther and set the tray in front of him on the ground.
He smiled. “Thank you for the food. I’m Aleksei. What’s your name?”
She glanced back over her shoulder to see if anyone was watching her. “Lela.”
“Have you seen Saboll this morning?” he asked.
“My father is out for his morning walk.”
His eyes tightened on her at the word “father.” “I would like to talk to him.”
She shrugged. “You can talk, but he might not be willing to listen.”
“I’m here to help the clan.”
She tilted her head and stared at him. “I thought you were here because you’re tied up.”
Aleksei chuckled. “Very true. But I think we can find a way to work things out. If your clan doesn’t want to come to earth, you don’t have to.”
She shook her head. “Most of us don’t want to stay here.”
“Does your father know?”
“No—”
“What are you two talking about?” Tarem strode toward them.
“Nothing, Tarem.”
He stormed up and kicked the wooden tray, spilling Aleksei’s food on the ground and grabbing her arm. A scream of pain burst out of her before she could hold it back.
Aleksei struggled to get to his feet. “Stop! You’re hurting her!”
After another agonizing moment, Tarem let her go, and her legs collapsed. Aleksei reached for her with his bound hands, but Tarem shot a burst of energy into Aleksei’s chest, doubling him over.
