Among Demons : Succubus Divine

Ch. 6 : Brother and Ally

*Nick Carnia*

I arrived at the police station parking lot after a long walk from the bus station. My sister had texted me asking me to meet her by her car and I quickly made my way over, carrying a backpack full of documents that needed her approval. But when I looked up after waiting by her car for a while, I was stunned to find some Human guy walking next to her.

My body tensed and I slowly made my way towards them, patting the gun that was shoved into the side pocket of my backpack, just in case.

Devin has never trusted Humans after first meeting them, and she has every right to be cautious, since nearly every Human treats her like a walking disease once they see her eyes. It always pisses me off whenever we go out to eat or just hangout out after work, and I've gotten into a fair few fights when assholes try to start something with her. Though Dev always finds a way to distract me and pull me away before I end up arrested. It had been like that since we were kids and even then people around us would treat her like trash just because she wasn’t Human. Other kids, teachers and strangers would have something to say about the little sandy brown-haired Demon girl that walked beside me. And a whole mass of filthy bastards had tried to take advantage of her, claiming that it wasn’t a crime since she wasn’t Human.

I knew she still dealt with things like that when she was alone. I knew that she wasn’t very cautious when standing near other Humans, even though she’s been attacked multiple times. And I also knew that my warnings would just go in one ear and out the other. That’s just how stubborn she is, and how hard she tries to make sure that no one, not even me, gets sucked into her problems. It was annoying that she wanted to deal with everything on her own, which is why I made it my mission to butt in whenever possible. And being her brother gave me every right to interfere for her sake, even if she became angry.

“Dev!” I called out, eyeing the guy that had been locked in some weird staring match with her.

“Nick!” She blinked rapidly, rubbing the side of her head a little as if she were feeling a headache. “Oh, um, intro.” She turned back to the guy and motioned to him, looking a little flustered and struggling to look the man in his eye again. “Nick, this is Detective Marcus, I’m assisting in a case he’s working on.” She then turned to me and smiled a bit wider, raising a brow at me when she noticed my clenched jaw. “Detective, this is my older brother Nick, he works at City Hall.”

“Brother?” The cop guy asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets while I continued to stare at him.

“Yes, brother.” I answered curtly, seeing Dev tense up beside me. “And before you ask, no, we’re not biologically related. Yes, I’m Human. But that doesn’t change s**t, she’s my sister. End of story.”

“Nick!” Devin hissed, grabbing my hand and glancing between the two of us. “I’m sorry about him, Detective, my brother tends to get protective.” She pinched my hand and I swatted her away, too busy glaring at the guy who was still wearing a blank mask that I wasn’t able to read.

“No need to apologize.” He told her, not looking away from me as he spoke. “And to answer your unspoken question, no, I don’t have a problem with your sister being a Demon.” His tone was just as curt as mine as he spoke to me, but I could crealy pick out that he wasn’t the type to bow out of a challenge.

“I’m sure you don’t.” I scoffed, tilting my head up a bit and squaring my shoulders.

He was a bit taller than me, and he looked older too. But I wasn’t a slouch when it came to fitness, so I was just as built as him. And though I was much faster on my feet, I knew my way around all manner of weapons as well and could handle myself in a fight without a problem.

“Ok, macho-man.” Devin broke the tense silence and grabbed my hand again, pulling me towards the parking lot without looking back at the guy. “Let’s go before I choke on the damned testosterone you're both clogging up the air with.”

I followed her to her car and relaxed a bit, draping my arm over her shoulders while she continued to pout.

“What?” I asked, waiting as she unlocked her car.

“What?!” She snapped, glaring at me and waving for me to get into her car. “Are you f*****g serious Nick?” She huffed and turned on the car, quickly rushing out of the parking lot and entering the street. “Why the hell were you getting all silver-back-gorilla with him? I’m actually trying to stay employed this time, thank you very much!”

“Don’t get so bent out of shape over it.” I chuckled, feeling in a much better mood now that we were getting further away from the station. “It was just a warning, alright. He needed to know not to mess with my little sister.”

“I’m not in f*****g high school Nick!” She glared, looking both embarrassed and mad as she drove. “And last time I checked, you’re not my damn dad either! So you can quit acting like every man is trying to whisk me away and take my virtue! This isn’t some damn soap opera!”

“Well, we both know you aren’t pure in any way.” I muttered, earning a sharp smack to my thigh that stung painfully. “f**k woman!”

“Shut up! You deserved that!”

I couldn’t help myself as I watched her, seeing the pink blotches on her cheeks and the constant shifting she was doing in her seat. So I laughed and slowly reached out to poke her painted cheek, feeling the brotherly urge to tease her a bit more.

“Nick.” She warned, nearing a stop light as my finger came slowly closer and closer. “I swear Nicolas…” I made a soft little popping sound with my lips once my finger touched her heated cheek and she whipped around to face me, slamming on her brakes. “I will bite your damn finger off and make it so you can’t feel your d**k for a month!”

Still laughing, I backed away and lifted my hands up in surrender, smiling at the bright pink face that was my sister.

When she was satisfied, she returned to the wheel and resumed driving, mumbling to herself about how she was going to be able to face that Detective again thanks to me. I just rolled my eyes and waited until we got to her apartment, climbing out and following her in. But once we were inside, I was confined to the couch and I pouted while she walked around her small kitchen, knowing full well that she had pastries in her fridge.

That was one thing Devin and I both had in common, our love of sweet foods. Though it mostly revolved around cake, parfaits and cheesecake. And my sister always kept at least one tasty treat in her apartment for snacking emergencies or for when I visit. Yet here I sat, too far from the damn kitchen, being punished for nothing, while some yummy little pastry was sitting in that cold storage box, being ignored and unloved. I tried to get up and sneak over when she went towards her room to change, but she rushed out just as my hand was on the handle.

“Sit. Your ass. Down.” She hissed, pointing at the couch I had just left.

“This is cruel and unusual punishment!” I glared back, smiling a little when she did. “I just want a bite, Dev.” I pleaded, giving her puppy eyes.

“That’s never worked on me.” She smiled a bit more then, taking a seat next to me and patting my shoulder. “But I’ll share some of my cheesecake if you hand over my documents and apologize for being a giant ass to my coworker.”

“Ugh!” I groaned dramatically, smiling as I pushed my backpack towards her. “Fine, fine. I’m sorry for looking out for you like the magnificent older brother that I am.”

She nodded a second later, rolling her eyes at my words and laughing when I darted to the kitchen. I served myself a slice while she pulled out many binders and folders from my bag. I munched happily while I watched her, seeing her grow serious as she looked through the dozens of pages I had brought her.

This was something that not many knew about Devin and it was better that the general public didn’t know the truth. Things would become much too complicated for my sister if word got out that she was a crucial figure in the world of the Demons. Her life as well as mine would be on the line as well if the wrong people found out too. My lovely wife Holly didn’t even know the truth either, but that was mostly to keep her safe as well as prevent her from being even more uncomfortable with Devin.

Of course, it still blows my mind that the little brat from all those years ago grew up to become the Matron of the NorthWest at such a young age.

Being a Matron was a huge deal in the Demon world because this meant that you were a member of the High Council that met with and advised the Royal Demon family. There are only twenty Council members walking around in our world now and each is called a Matron or Patron, just like Devin. My little sister was also a very special case because she had gained her title four years ago, mere weeks after turning twenty. This made her the youngest Council member in the history of their people, though her circumstances were a bit sudden for her in the beginning.

She had actually inherited her title from her father, an Incubus who had been the oldest and most trusted friend of the youngest Prince in the Demon Royal family. It had also turned out that Dev’s dad had struck a deal with his friend to ensure that no one but his daughter would take his seat. So, her dad's not only to find her, since no one knew what had happened to her after her parents' deaths, but for her to be old enough for the position. And as luck would have it, said Prince guy found her a full two months before she turned twenty and managed to explain things to her. She, of course, accepted the position and became a Matron not long after.

This status and power came with a s**t ton of responsibility and I did my best to help her by working in City Hall.

I worked through and approved all kinds of minor documents and she would be swamped if she did them herself. Things like stamping her seal on weddings, births and adoptions involving Demons. Granting financial assistance to programs for Demons of all ages and even fighting some big companies for ownership of businesses and land for Demons to continue to thrive. Those were the things I was responsible for.

But there were always some bigger things that needed her exclusive insight, which is why she’s signing and looking over all the papers in my bag for me to submit for her.

Being a Matron also meant that her word was law to other Demons. She could pass judgment on crimes, pardon people and grant divorces too. That was why she was out at the pier that night a few weeks ago, hunting down the Demon that had started to risk the safety of others in the city. He had been attacking Humans for some unknown reason and Devin, as the Matron of the whole NorthWest, needed to stop him before he caught the eye of the Humans. Sadly, the guy wasn’t going to accept anything other than death and my sister was again forced to kill another of her people for the greater good.

I knew it hurt her to have to do it, which is why I always urged her to let me handle things like that in her place. But she always felt the weight of her title pressing on her to do things herself. Always felt responsible for everything that needed to be done to protect her people as much as she could.

It couldn’t be helped though. I mean, who wouldn’t feel the pressure of all that responsibility? Who wouldn’t be affected by it to some degree? And the fact that she needed to stay hidden to prevent another war from happening wasn’t exactly helping matters either.

That was another thing that the general public didn’t know about, whether they were Human or Demon.

It was stated in the treaty that the Human government and Demon Royal family signed many years ago. A hidden clause that said that if at any point, if any of the Council members or kin of the Royal family were to go missing for any length of time, the treaty was void and war could break out without warning. So keeping my sister safe and ensuring that she responded to the random check up calls conducted by the Royal family was just another vital thing I needed to do.

“Hm…” I hummed, joining my sister as she neared the end of the pile I had brought her. “I just realized how much it sucks being responsible for you.”

“What?” She chuckled, looking back at me with a grin while I stabbed at another cheesecake bite. “I’m the one that should be pitied when you act like a lunatic for no reason.” She turned back to the binder in her hands and smiled some more, elbowing me a bit. “Not to mention how annoying it is that you won’t give me a niece or nephew to spoil because of your weird hang-ups.”

I shuddered, elbowing her back as she laughed.

“Hang-ups? That’s what you're calling my dire situation?” I questioned, setting my plate and fork down and poking her side as much as I could. “You know how hard it is for me to even look at a kid without them breaking down! How do you expect me to feel about it if Holly does end up pregnant and my own kid hates being near me?”

She dropped her binder and laughed, struggling to get away from me as I kept tickling her. “Just give them to me!” She said, slapping me away and laughing even harder.

I leaned away as I watched her, chuckling now that I could see her feeling much more relaxed than she had been a minute ago. I hated seeing her so tense and knew that getting her to laugh was the best thing to do to help her feel better. Demons did in fact feel things far more deeply than we Humans did and I have seen first hand how dark emotions could render a Demon weak enough to get sick. It had happened a lot to Devin when she was little, before I knew anything about her to be able to help.

But now, getting her to laugh, ambushing her with hugs and distracting her with anything goofy or random that popped into my head were my go-to tools to prevent her from getting sick.

“You’re such a handful.” I muttered, earning another smack before my little sister returned to her important tasks while I devoured more of her hidden treats.