Asleep on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and snoring quietly, Kyle seemed so … human, Kate thought. That same handsome, polite man she had thought herself in love with at one time. He had caught her eye the first time he had come into the library, and the more they had spoken, the harder she had fallen. He was kind and well-read, friendly and just a little shy. Perfect.
The other women who worked with her at the library had watched with envy as she’d flirted with him – most of them were married. But they still couldn’t help getting involved. At their urging, she had asked him out, expecting him to readily agree. Instead, he had all but run out of the building. It wasn’t until much later, when she was seeing one of Kyle’s colleagues, that she had learned the reason for his great haste that day.
Finally, months later, she had seen the monster that Kyle did his best to keep well-hidden. It took more than a week after the massacre at the prom for her to be able to sleep through the night. And now here they were – she always tried to remember that Kyle and Ryka really were two separate beings – passed out in her living room. Adam had staggered off to bed only a few minutes earlier, and even she had been a little tipsy throwing a blanket over their guests.
She knew Kyle had intended to go home, but Adam had persuaded him to have just one more drink. And then quite a few after that. Scared to be anything but clear-headed in the demon’s presence, Kate had only poured herself a couple small glasses of wine. At the moment, she was off Ryka’s radar, and she didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that position.
So, she glanced back over her shoulder once more to make sure they were still asleep, then switched off the light and headed for bed. She was getting more comfortable sleeping with them nearby, though she found that even the slightest noise woke her. Adam’s repeated insistence that she’d never even hear Ryka coming certainly didn’t help.
But the wine certainly did. Drowsy, she snuggled against Adam and drifted off, not sparing Ryka and his host another thought.
***
Wake up.
Kyle groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. It wouldn’t help anything, but maybe Ryka would get the hint.
I said wake the fuck up. I’m bored.
“And I’m tired. Let me sleep.”
No way in Hell.
“Maybe I’ll be able to sleep when I get there.”
Fat chance.
“Then let me sleep now.” Really, it was too late. Arguing had completely woken him. “I hate you so much.”
You’re so full of shit. Now get up and amuse me.
Kyle sat up, forgetting that he was still quite drunk. And being tangled in a blanket didn’t help. He rolled off the couch, glanced off the edge of the coffee table, and hit the floor with a jarring “thud.” “Nope, I really do hate you. And, ow.”
Suck it up, you pussy. Or let me out, and I’ll make your boo-boo feel better.
“If that was all you were going to do, maybe I’d consider it.” With only a little cursing, he unsnared himself from the blanket - which he didn’t remember borrowing - and struggled to his feet.
I’ll behave, I promise. I just need a smoke. I won’t even have a drink. Not booze, anyhow. Given that Kyle was currently swaying in place, any more alcohol in his system would have been too much. And then Ryka would have had to put in the effort to sober him up.
“You and I have very different ideas of what constitutes appropriate behavior, Ry.”
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
There was a loud sigh, and Ryka muttered, Fine. No masturbating, no fires, no harvesting damned souls. I’ll just sit here and stare at the wall, like a good boy.
“Sounds great. Have fun.” Kyle staggered to the middle of the living room. When Ryka didn’t immediately start the transformation, even after Kyle removed his t-shirt, it was his turn to sigh. “What now?”
Can I go outside? There’s no one around.
Anywhere else, and Kyle would have said “no” without second thought, but he knew Ryka wasn’t lying, and Adam’s neighborhood was much more secluded than his own. A thick copse of trees stood between Adam’s house and one of his neighbors, the back of his yard ended in woods, and a seven-foot high privacy fence separated him from a second neighbor. And the house itself blocked the view of the yard from the street.
Mostly, though, he didn’t want poor Kate to walk into the living room and come face-to-face with Ryka in the middle of the night. She had been nice enough to let him stay, he didn’t want to return the favor by giving her a heart attack. “Fine. Just … be quiet.”
I’ll try; I’m such a loud smoker.
“I really want to smack you sometimes.”
Mm, sounds kinky.
Before he dug himself any deeper, Kyle dropped the discussion and snuck through the house and out onto the back deck. Besides preventing any medical emergencies, letting Ryka out here would also save him from accidentally breaking things in the house.
And Ryka was careful, opening his wings as slowly as possible, without dragging out the uncomfortable transformation. “Thanks, stud,” he said, stretching before lighting a cigarette. And as promised, he kept quiet, leaning carefully against the deck railing while he smoked.
He was on his third cigarette when Kate screamed. Since she was still inside, and he hadn’t even heard anyone get out of bed yet, Ryka ignored her. But Kyle couldn’t. What happened? he asked.
Ryka shrugged. “Beats me.” Whatever it was, it wasn’t his fault. He was behaving himself, and knew it was nothing he’d done that had woken her. If she was having nightmares about him, that was her problem. She would have been screaming a lot louder if he’d had anything to do with it besides. So he was just happy to take advantage of her sudden fear – an unexpected meal.
With time to spare until they came looking for him, Ryka took another drag on his cigarette. Now he could hear them moving around. They lingered near the front of the house, and Ryka realized what had been so startling. He sighed.
What is it?
“Nothing any of us needs to worry about.”
Adam and Kate appeared on the deck just as he finished speaking. After nearly jumping backward into the sliding glass door, Kate regained her composure, though she clung tightly to Adam’s arm, refusing to look at Ryka. Which meant it was up to him to question the demon. “Um, did you hear anything? Outside, I mean.”
“Mm.”
From his place as an observer, Kyle tried to remember what Ryka’s sensitive hearing had picked up. The trash cans? Ryka nodded, still waiting for more of a reaction from the other two. So, as long as you know it’s not a threat, you don’t pay that much attention. Another nod. And another loud clang from the front of the house, followed by the rustling of fallen leaves.
Trying not to laugh, Ryka watched as Kate’s complexion paled further. It seemed Adam also knew enough not to worry if Ryka didn’t. But of course, Kate didn’t trust him even a little bit. “You surprise me, big boy. I’m flattered.”
“What?”
There wasn’t time to explain. Kate put her hand over her mouth, muffling a shriek, but quickly pulled it away. The cause of all the commotion finally made its entrance. From around the corner stumbled a large raccoon. It never looked up toward the deck, though it nearly walked into one of its supports.
“It doesn’t look so good,” Adam remarked. Maybe an understatement, as the animal had matted fur, crusty eyes and a mouth caked with dried saliva. “I don’t know if it’s rabies or not, but ….”
The raccoon paused, sniffed, then listed to its right before regaining forward momentum. “Whatever it is, it’s fucked. Want it gone?”
“How?”
“Just like this.”
The porch light flicked on, and Ryka’s shadow stretched out across the lawn. Target in sight, it swung toward the raccoon, its mouth gaping open. No scream this time, only a gasp from Kate as the shadow swallowed the creature. Satisfied, the shadow retreated, and the light turned off again.
“What’s going to happen to it?”
Ryka shrugged. “I’m sure someone will enjoy their new pet. It’s going to be sort of immortal, so it might make the rounds.”
“Is that really okay? To just let it go there?”
Eyebrows raised, Ryka glanced at Adam. “What’s one more slathering beast in Hell?”