“Hey Kriss,” Tabatha called from the kitchen where she was empting the dishwasher. “Your kitchen is like an immaculate maze. Where do you keep your salad spoons?”
Kriss pressed his lips against the most sensitive part of Dean’s neck just under his earlobe and tightened his arms as a thank you for letting Tabatha visit for a while. He lifted his eyes back to their refection catching sight of the shiver his lips had caused and took a step back.
“Coming,” he called out over his shoulder and forced himself to turn and head toward the kitchen.
Dean watched him go with a soft smile on his face but the expression faded as soon as Kriss was out of sight. Gritting his teeth, he looked down at his throbbing arm. It was getting harder and harder to fight the pain but in truth, he was surprised he’d lasted this long without giving himself away.
Pushing the sleeve up, Dean frowned at the blackness that had formed there and hissed as the opening stretched and ripped open another inch of his flesh as if wanting him to see what was forming inside him before the edge of the wound narrowed.
If it had been a normal wound, it would have started out as an angry red gash that would probably be showing the final stages of healing by now. But this was no ordinary wound and there was a long black rip where the Demon Blade had penetrated him… going in one side of his forearm and out the other.
As he stared down at the ugly wound, he noted that the blackness within was beginning to move around and grow stronger. He was losing the battle and he knew it. The black soul thriving inside him wanted to live… but then, so did Dean.
He remembered the way Kriss had screamed at him, yelling about him taking on the Demon Blade and nearly getting himself killed. Kriss was still under the impression that if you were struck by the blade that you would go down in overwhelming pain immediately and he was right… but only if the victim was human or at least tainted with human blood.
He’d lied to Kriss… assured him that he was immune to the Demon Blade and since he was still standing, Kriss had believed him because he wanted it to be true. It calmed Dean’s soul just knowing that Kriss could no longer hide the love he had for him. His anger and worry had been a dead giveaway. Now it would all come to a quiet end. It would make Kriss stronger in the long run.
Dean was glad that Kriss had never been exposed to the real dangers of a Demon Blade during the demon wars since he hadn't arrived until the war was practically over. Because of that, Kriss didn’t know what happened to a Fallen that had been struck by one… he only knew what happened to the human victims.
Many Fallen had died from such an attack during the demon wars and Samuel had thrown the weapon intending for the blade to give Aurora a slow and painful death… his final gift to the female Fallen that had betrayed him. The innocent Skye hadn't known the consequences of his actions when he tried to protect Aurora by swinging her around and presenting his own back to the deadly blade.
The boy would have paid the ultimate price and there would have been no coming back from it. He wouldn’t regret saving Skye… he wouldn’t regret any of it.
Dean closed his eyes and jerked the cloth back down his arm to hide the evidence of the demon growing inside him. He’d been one of the few of their kind to survive the wound of a Demon Blade… but it was only because of his strength, both physical and mental. He was captain of the royal guard and therefore had been trained to have the strength to withstand anything… even the pain and influence of sharing his body with the soul of a demon.
The problem that concerned Dean the most was that the demons ‘born’ from a Demon Blade were not newborns… the weapon actually created tiny dimensional rifts inside the ones the blade was used against. In short, the Demon Blade allowed the souls of ancient demons to cross back over and be reborn into the human realm through the body of its victim.
The survival of a Demon Blade attack depended on whose soul was the strongest… the victim or the resurrected demon. His soul had won the last time and the demon had died inside him tainting his own blood with the acidity of it but because of that he’d became that much stronger.
Samuel had been one of the originals, among the first demons to take a breath of Earth’s air. These were powerful demons as they were spawned by the most powerful Fallen… mostly royalty as it was the scientists of the royal bloodline that had created the rift between dimensions. Because of this, there was a very good chance the soul growing inside him was also an original.
Another pain shot up his arm and Dean grimaced when he felt his skin around the wound move in a sickening manner. It wouldn’t be long now and he knew he needed to leave in order to save Kriss the horror of what was about to happen. As it stood now, his chances of surviving this were dwindling by the hour.
With a heavy sigh, Dean walked toward the kitchen and leaned against the doorway just watching Kriss and Tabatha pretend to sword fight with long wooden cooking spoons. The expression didn’t show on his face but at the moment he was content. Kriss was stronger now than he’d ever seen him and that was what mattered.
Kriss glanced up seeing Dean watching them from the doorway. He winked at Dean and gave him a bright smile before playfully whining, “Will you please tell Tabatha to stop teasing me?”
“Not a chance,” Dean said and approached the other Fallen. “I’ve got something I need to take care of… so you and Tabatha have fun.”
Locking eyes with Kriss, Dean slowly leaned forward and took possession of his lips in a searing, yet gentle kiss that lasted several seconds. Backing away, he took in Kriss’ dazed expression and etched it into his memory before nodding at Tabatha and leaving the apartment.
The two of them stood there staring at the place Dean had just been. His actions had startled Kriss to the point that he was speechless and Tabatha had a frown on her face.
“What in the world was that?” Tabatha asked softly having never seen Dean give such a soft display of affection. She hadn't known he was capable of it.
Kriss shook his head still in shock. “I have no idea.” He rubbed his arms where cold chills had just appeared like a bad omen and his chest constricted painfully. He started to go after Dean but Tabatha's voice gave him pause.
“That was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen him do,” Tabatha giggled then sighed. “If I didn’t know any better… I’d say you were making Dean a very happy boy.” She elbowed him playfully.
Kriss blushed, feeling a little better when the strange sensation vanished. He hoped she was right. Feeling her watching him, he smiled and shrugged, “Either that or Dean just didn’t want to stick around for the vampire chick flick that’s lying on top of the DVD player.”
*****
“It’s huge,” Aurora breathed when Kane stopped in front of a large beautiful house directly across the street from an enormous gothic looking church. “Michael lives alone in there? It’s so big… too big for just one person. Isn’t he lonely?”
She slid a sideways glance at Skye wondering if he was remembering the small huts and tents they used to live in before their world had fallen apart. There had been no concept of a home in the demon world and she knew from Skye’s memories that he’d only known the cold darkness of a cave. Michael’s house may be intimidating in size but she could already feel the warmth radiating from it.
Kane couldn’t help but smile at the wonder that lit up Aurora’s eyes. He tilted his head and looked at the Victorian house as if he’d never seen it before and decided that she was right… it was kind of awesome looking.
“Yes, Michael lives alone, but I lived with him up until a couple weeks ago. So did our brother Damon and a female werecougar named Alicia. Trust me, that house was far from lonely or quiet,” he remarked but silently reminded himself that Michael had been living alone for the last forty years so maybe Aurora was on to something there.
Aurora made a slight face hearing Damon’s name