Among Demons : Succubus Divine

Ch. 38 : Dormant Genes

*Devin Venenum*

The sudden call had made my sleepy mind say things I hadn’t meant to say. And the short time before he arrived at my door wasn’t enough to smack some sense into myself before letting him in.

I had told myself, almost to the point of annoyance, that I was going to do everything I could to keep my distance from him. Yet here I am, in my cozy clothes, on my recliner, fighting off the urge to climb onto his lap and kiss him while he talked about his friend. The fact that Marcus had instantly greeted me with a burning, lustful gaze when I answered the door wasn’t helping things either. So I focused, as hard as I could, on the situation he was explaining, and managed to get my head out of the bedroom and into a more serious tone.

It seemed like Izaak and his wife were going through something that would make most Human parents breakdown. It wasn’t as common within Human families as it was with Demons of a pure race, but dormant genes could keep getting passed down for dozens of generations before the perfect mix is made, awakening the Demon genes that got passed down. I had helped or been present when Demon parents of the same race realize that their child isn’t like them and are then forced to learn about a whole new race of Demons just so they could understand their child.

Most Demons try not to mix with other races unless they find their Match or suffer through a divorce. But even couples that do mix and have kids could end up having a child of a third race that neither realized had previously remained dormant in their own genes. It was always shocking to those parents and their struggle to learn more for the sake of their child causes a lot of stress when adding work, school and other responsibilities into their everyday chaos.

So the sudden realization, along with having it proven true for Human parents, almost always causes them to turn their backs on that child. Of course, the hatred, falsely learned myths and overall fear of Demons helps fuel these Humans when they realize that their own flesh and blood has ‘magically’ turned into the very thing they despise. And there were even some Humans that refused to acknowledge the Demon blood within them that had created their children, sometimes even going so far as to blame any Demon close to them for what happened to their child. Acting as though being a Demon was infectious or some kind of curse.

I glared at the road as I thought of this, nodding whenever Marcus would tell me when to take a turn.

Nyla, Nick and a few others that worked for the orphanage in the Village had always told me how heartbreaking and cruel those moments were for the kids of Human parents. Some would refuse to set foot into the Village at all, choosing to call up the employees of the orphanage to meet them outside the gates before leaving immediately after signing away their rights as parents. It was why I donated so much to the large building and the schools within the Village itself, because I didn’t want the new lives of the young Demon children to have a single dark moment after being abandoned like they had been.

“I hope this won’t be another case…” I muttered to myself, taking another turn that led me into a large residential area.

“Case?” The sudden voice in my passenger seat made me jump a little and I had to exhale sharply to calm my racing heart while he apologized for startling me.

“It’s fine.” I told him, feeling embarrassed as we turned into the final street that he said led to his friend's house. “I was just a little lost in my head…” I hesitated a little as I parked in front of a cute two story house with dark brown trim and a tire swing hanging from a large tree to the left of the porch stairs. “Um… can I ask you something?” I turned off my car and turned to face him, needing to feel even a little reassured before we went inside. “You’re close to both of them right?... Danny and Izaak?” He nodded, looking confused and curious while I spoke. “I just need to know… if… if that little girl really turns out to be a Demon… will your friend and his wife…” I swallowed hard, feeling my simmering anger rise little by little as I pictured both parents rejecting their child in front of me. “Will they abandon her… because of what she is?”

The silence stretched on for a long while and I had to look away from him to focus on calming myself.

I didn’t want to be present if that was going to be the case. Hell, I didn’t want to confirm it if it was true either. I wasn’t the type of person to keep her composure in that type of situation and was liable for all sorts of curses and insults flying out of me if I witnessed either Human parent reject their child.

It wasn’t their kids fault that they inherited the dormant genes that had been hidden within their family ancestry. It wasn’t their fault that they were born to perfect genetically blended parents that allowed the child's Demon Core to be created during conception because of that secret bloodline. The innocent Demon child should never have to bear that type of guilt, or see how their parents move on without them just because they weren’t born Human.

“No.”

His small response was soft and I had to look up to make sure that he had actually said it.

“No, Izaak and Sam would never abandon their little girl just because she wasn’t Human.” My breath left me painfully, stunning me when I realized that I had been holding it as the silent seconds ticked on. “They may be a little… anxious, around Demons in general and have some misconceptions like most other Humans do… But they aren’t cruel or coldhearted people.” He smiled a little, turning to look at the small house with a faint fondness that helped me relax some more. “They adore little Mari, and would do anything to make her happy.”

I nodded and took deep breaths as I climbed out of the car, following behind him as we climbed the short porch and waited for them to answer the door.

Izaak was the first one to appear from behind the door, dressed in a casual beige sweater and jeans with socks. It looked like he hadn’t gotten much sleep lately and the worry that was screaming from his eyes made me wonder what it was that his daughter could do. A golden blond haired woman with pink and purple streaks in her hair appeared from behind him, looking just as tired and worried.

“Hey Sam.” Marcus greeted her after briefly hugging Izaak. “It’s good to see you. This is Devin Venenum, our resident Demon.” I smiled at the woman who surprised me when she darted forward for a hug, muttering her thanks before stepping aside to let me in.

“It’s wonderful to meet you.” She guided me towards their living room while the guys slowly followed us. “I’m Samantha Kale, but you can call me Sam, or Sammy.” I took a seat on one of the loveseats and softly thanked her for welcoming me into her home.

When the guys joined us, I flinched a bit, not having enough room to scoot away from Marcus when he sat next to me. Izaak took the seat across from us while his wife turned back to gather some snacks and drinks for everyone. I tried to get up to help her so I could get away from his burning closeness, but they all brushed aside my attempts to follow her. So I was left trapped in the loveseat, struggling to ignore my urge to touch him as well as my racing, raunchy thoughts.

The guys slowly began talking about the little girl I was here to see and I gratefully focused my attention on that to smother the growing fire that was simmering in my lower belly..

“How old is she?” I asked, beginning a check-list in my head to see if I could pinpoint her race if she was, in fact, a Demon child.

“She’s four, but her birthday is just six months away.” Izaak said, smiling softly as he thought about his little girl. “We call her Mari, but her full name is Marianna… and she’s a very happy, social and smart little girl.” Sam came back smiling as she heard her husband speak, placing a soda can in front of me and Marcus and a small bowl of chips with dip on the side of it. “Her PreSchool teachers love her and she’s made so many little friends that are going to the same Kindergarten she’s going to enter.” A little frown weakened his smile and that same worry and panic returned to his eyes before he reached out to hold his wife's hands. “But… Mari suddenly started doing things that made us wonder if she was, maybe, born as a Demon child.” They both looked up at me, a mixture of hope, concern and many other emotions whirling in their eyes before he spoke again. “Is that possible?”

I nodded slowly, watching as they exhaled in relief that looked to be mixed with calm shock. As I started explaining how dormant genes worked for Demons, I kept glancing between the two parents across from me, looking for any sign that they were starting to close themselves off. Any sign at all that would let me know that the little girl most likely playing in her room right now was about to end her day losing a parent.

But I didn’t see anything. At least, not anything obvious in their eyes or gestures.

They both looked eager to understand what was happening, with them nodding or asking small clarifying questions here and there as I explained. Their relief grew as I went on and I became more curious as to what their daughter could do. Because the panic that they had shown and the way their bodies sagged as things I said began to click together, it was a bit overwhelming and I started to worry that the little girl could end up needing some level of training. Her power, depending on her race, could very well be something shocking to her parents or maybe something dangerous and she would need to start understanding how to control herself now if she was already manifesting it. Her parents were Human, afterall, and a Demon child that was highly gifted or held a lethal power was more likely to harm her parents than herself, since they were so close all the time.

“So… will you be able to tell?” Sam asked, looking at me desperately while her husband rubbed her back. “Would just meeting her help you?”

“It depends.” I started slowly, not wanting to stun the woman who looked ready to faint. “If she is a Demon, and depending on her race, I might be able to confirm things for you.” They both smiled and nodded, silently waiting for me to continue. “But if that doesn’t work, I’ll have to see what it is that she can do.” This made them pale a bit and their worry slammed back into their eyes. “What’s wrong?” I asked softly, reaching out to touch Sam's arm as she sniffled a little.

“It’s just that…” She tried to answer me, choking on her words before turning away to compose herself.

“We don’t fully understand what it is that she’s doing…” Izaak continued for his wife, wrapping an arm around her lightly shaking shoulders. “But whenever Mari uses her… ability… she collapses and starts muttering these strange things before falling into a-a coma-like sleep for hours.”

“Nothing wakes her when that happens.” Sam added, sniffled some more. “A-and sometimes, she’ll start convulsing while she’s talking and her voice… it-it doesn’t sound like her at all.” Her eyes refocus on me and a few tears slide down her cheeks, showing her overwhelming worry for her child. “Like she’s p-possessed or something.”

I leaned back onto the loveseat as I thought through this new information, nodding to myself before I looked back up and smiled at them.

“May I meet her?” I kept my voice as soft and calming as possible, wanting to soothe their worries if only a little.

They agreed and took a moment to fully calm themselves before Izaak got up to get their little girl. I kept reassuring Sam while he was gone and did my best to be as understanding as possible. I didn’t want to reveal my thoughts yet, since I needed to confirm it first by meeting the little girl, but something in my gut told me that I was right and these parents had nothing to worry about. I truly felt for them and their fear for their little girl, having witnessed who knows how many of these shocking episodes before they finally realized that doctors and hospitals weren’t going to help.

When Izaak returned he placed an adorable little girl with her mothers golden blond hair and her fathers dark chocolate eyes in between them on the loveseat. She smiled and waved at Marcus while she gripped her soft pink nightgown with her other hand. My heart clenched at her nervousness and I smiled as warmly as I could when her little eyes moved to me.

“Hey there.” I inched closer to the edge of my seat and reached out, smiling even wider when she took my hand for a little handshake. “My name is Devin, I work with your daddy.”

“Hi.” Her voice was soft and almost melodic like her mothers and her little smile revealed a tiny dimple on her left cheek. “I’m Mari.”

Sam took her daughter and dropped to her knees to the right of the coffee table, placing Mari in front of me and softly explaining what was happening to her. I let them talk while the others watched in silence, paying close attention to her now that she was closer.

Her hair was long and she had cute little bangs that kissed her eyebrows. She had adorable fuzzy socks on and kept fidgeting with her hands while she talked with her mother. But when Sam moved to brush some locks behind her daughter's ears I sat up straighter, seeing something behind her ear that I recognized.

Slowly, I dropped to my knees next to the little girl and smiled when Sam nodded to me, letting me know that she was there to help keep her daughter calm. I then leaned in close and lightly moved some more of Mari’s hair away from her ear, spotting what some would assume was a wobbly triangle birthmark near the top curve of her ear. I softly asked her to turn around so I could check the other one, finding a near identical birthmark there before I leaned back smiling. It all made sense to me now and I no longer needed to witness the little girl's power and risk her parents panic and fear climbing back up again to know what she was.

“Don’t worry,” I started, looking at everyone in turn as they waited for my verdict. “I won’t need to see her power now.” I adjusted myself comfortably on the floor next to Mari who looked a lot more relaxed now than her parents did. “I can confirm that she is a Demon child.” Both Sam and Izaak gasped and smiled a little, helping reassure me that they weren’t going to hurt the little cutie next to me. “And I can also confirm that little Mari here is an Elf. The birthmarks behind her ears show up along with Elven powers and once she hits puberty, her ears will start to point slightly like all other Elves.”

Sam tugged her daughter closer and gasp-laughed when she noticed the birthmarks that they most likely hadn’t noticed appear out of nowhere. Izaak also looked at them and the bone crushing relief they both felt soon turned into peels of laughter that had Mari looking at her parents like they were crazy. Which of course, made Marcus and I join in when she loudly announced it to everyone.