Dead Demon Walking Read Online Free Page A

said, “Went to
town Friday to witness that bastard Frost’s will.”
    “ Old Grape? Ask him what the damn thing
said.”
    “ Wouldn’t be legal, Mr.
Frost. Now why don’t you tell me what you did with it?”
    “ Burned it.”
    I hoped he didn’t mean that. “You were
a wealthy man. Your estate will be tied up in court for years if
your will doesn’t surface.”
    He said in a venomous hiss,
“Exactly.”
    I eyed him intently, and knew the old
hellhound would not give up the will, if it still existed and he
did not, as he claimed, burn the thing. Spiteful in life, spiteful
in death, Frost would rather his money rot than give a penny to his
heirs.
    I don’t understand that. If I had
money, I’d spend it, not stick it in a bank vault to molder. And if
I had any left when my time neared, I’d make damn sure it went to a
worthy recipient, like a no-kill animal shelter.
    ***
     
    Royal waited at the two stone pillars
in the shadow cast by one. A single harsh sunbeam broke through the
clouds to define the contours of his face, touching one high
cheekbone, sliding down, cradling his jaw. His copper eyes
shimmered, copper-gold strands of hair gleamed as if
gilded.
    Knowing the high-altitude cemetery
could be cool this late in the afternoon, I wore a light jacket
over my T-shirt and jeans, so most of me felt comfortable, but the
extremities were a mite chilled. Royal pretended to flinch as I
slid my hands inside his open shirt, warming my fingers on his
toasty skin.
    “ My nose needs warming up
too.” I pushed my face into the hollow of his neck. “Do you ever
feel the cold?”
    “ You know us demons, hot as
Hades.”
    Hot in a number of ways. Amendment:
hot in every way imaginable.
    Even if I remembered to call them
Gelpha, he’d not forget the label I gave him and his people. They
looked kind of demonic to me with their metallic hair and
glimmering eyes, not to mention the pointed teeth. Demonic, lethal,
and incredibly handsome. Sometimes I wondered what kissing another
demon would feel like, those teeth pressing into my
lips.
    Royal had his teeth capped. They marry
human beings, have children and family lives just like we do, and a
wife or husband could have a hard time with a pointy-toothed
spouse. Those that don’t have new dental hardware installed must
put their will on their mates, so they have no inkling their
intimate relationship is with an alien being. I like Royal’s way
better.
    After only a minute my hands felt a
lot warmer. I saw the churning clouds bearing down on us and
reluctantly moved back. We should go, or end up soaked. He crooked
his arm and I tucked my hand inside his elbow, then the sun
disappeared, smothered by dark, heaving clouds. Rain spattered
down.
    We made a dash for the trees just
outside the cemetery. Heavy foliage shielded us from the downpour,
but huge, warm drops of water spattered from above where raindrops
caught on the leaves, pooled, then came down like bullets. Royal
pulled me nearer the cemetery’s wall.
    We turned the corner and dived into
the gloom between the trees and hedge. Pieces of flint and small
rocks pitted the dirt path. Behind the poplars, an old brick wall
fronted a small brick house with windows and doors boarded up and a
slate tile roof beginning to sag. Broken tiles littered a small
concrete patio surrounded by what were once flowerbeds. A few old
rose bushes struggled from long, dead grass and
bindweed.
    “ I’ve always wondered about
that place.”
    Royal’s shoulder rubbed mine as we
walked. “Wondered?”
    “ Who lived here, next to a
cemetery? There’s nothing else for miles. There’s no church, so not
a preacher’s house.”
    We could barely walk side by side, our
linked hands pressed between our bodies. Dark copper and gold,
Royal’s wet hair plastered his scalp, a metallic helmet. My sodden
braid weighed heavy down my back. My jacket felt damp and
clammy.
    “ Help me help me help
me!”
    I nearly jumped out my
skin.
    “ Peacocks.”
    “