Among Demons : A Siren's Voice

Ch. 9 : The Demon Village

Finally focusing on the view in front of me, my heart resumed its hammering and my eyes took in everything again and again, feeling so much amazement spill over me. Devin had parked us in a large open lot that sat to the left of the gates, giving us an open view of the Village from this corner.

The closest buildings to us were clustered together with large walking paths connecting them right across the street from us. They were all shops and restaurants that were clearly owned by Demons, given their unique names. To the furthest left corner another, much larger building sat, with another large parking lot in front of it. Beautiful patches of grass, trees, shrubs and flowers decorating the spaces in between. I could see the edges of a school from the other side of the shops. The sounds of kids playing made me smile even more as I followed Devin, my head still whipping around as I took in everything.

“We have a large park at the center of the Village.” Devin said, stopping and pointing in the direction that the park sat in, though I couldn’t see it from where I stood. “Another school and large Daycare sit on the other end, with another cluster of shops.” She pointed to the large building with multiple floors. “That's the Community Center where we hold all sorts of classes. And the buildings that follow that road there, are all medical buildings for all the basic needs of men, women and children.” I followed the road that sat in front of the large Community Center, noting the various buildings that were separated by greenery and trees. “Apartments, houses and even an off-campus Dorm take up the space in the far back right half. We also have some more houses being made near the front wall, with smaller parks and shops dotting the spaces in between.” I nodded along and followed her again as she made her way towards the Community Center, waving at a few passing cars that honked as they passed. “We’ve also got plans to build another, slightly smaller woodland neighborhood for Demons further to the West.” She sounded pensive, her eyes far away as she spoke and looked in the direction that I guessed the new neighborhood would be. “A gated community like the ones Humans make with nothing but houses and parks protected inside.” She paused again, bowing her head as she blankly stared at the sidewalk. “Maybe a few shops… Daycares or maybe another school…” Her words were soft and clearly meant for herself, so I stood back and looked around at the incredible Village again, smiling in admiration for the Matron and everything she had accomplished during her short time as our Leader and Protector.

It was common knowledge that our Matron had risen to her lofty position at a young age, though no one knew what she looked like, or what race of Demon she was. Still, it was mind-blowing that someone around my age had done so much for our people. It also made me wonder if she probably came from a long and old family of Purebloods. Those were the Demons whose race was considered to be one of the true original Demons that first existed in our home world. And it was always one of those Purebloods with long family history within their race that had money to burn for multiple generations.

Soon we resumed walking again, with Devin apologizing for spacey behavior that I softly shook off.

Once we reached the doors to the Community Center, Devin paused and smiled wider, motioning for me to step aside and bending her body forward slightly, with her arms wide open. Confused, I looked between her and the doors a few times before the echo of running footsteps spilled out from behind those doors. Another second later, and those doors were flung open and a mass of kids ranging in ages that I guessed to be between 5 to 15 erupted from inside. They were happily talking and laughing as they walked out before freezing at the sight of Devin. A single heartbeat of silence passed before the much younger kids broke free from the group and raced to her.

“DEVIN!” They screamed, all of their cute little faces filled with bright smiles as they ambushed her, surrounding her in a group hug that nearly knocked her down and forced her to her knees.

Laughter came from the older kids who approached her slowly, waiting for their turn as Devin finished hugging and greeting the younger ones before straightening up to hug the older ones. She called each one out by name and asked them questions while answering others that were thrown her way. It took a decent while before their collective excitement dropped to a much calmer level before she turned and motioned to me, introducing me to the kids. Most greeted me loudly, smiling just as big as they had for her, while others quietly waved with curious questions glowing in their eyes. When they had all seemed satisfied with their short moment with Devin, she stepped aside and waved me towards her, promising to spare a dance, sweet treat or song to be played during her wedding reception.

“A lot of my students and their siblings promised to show up for my wedding reception.” She told me as we walked into the large building. “I teach the harp here twice a week and volunteer whenever possible so all the kids' classes have as much support as possible.” She smiled as she looked at me before nodding towards a large office like room that sat behind the reception desk. “I just need to double check a couple things. And then I can show you the shops around here so you can get what you want and need.” She grabbed the door handle and made a move to open the office after nodding at the Demon women behind the reception desk. “Oh, here, before I forget.” She dug through her bag that was slung across her body, using her foot to keep the partially cracked door open. “It’s got no limits so you can splurge on anything nice that you like.” I looked at the sleek, brand new green bank card she offered me, making me smile and mouth out another ‘thanks’. “And since Nyla’s wedding is less than a month away… I can help you find a pretty dress to wear for it. Along with shoes and anything else you’d like to have.”

I nodded and followed her in, taking a seat in one of the chairs across the table from her. It was a normal room, big enough to fit a dozen people comfortably seated at the long oval table that sat in the middle. The floor was a soft blue carpet that made the space feel cozy, with all the chairs and table in a soft brown, polished wood that helped add to this feeling. And in the back two corners sat a large ceramic pink vase with cute little trees that framed the wall across the door.

I wondered about Nyla’s theme and color scheme as I looked around, not wanting to wear something that would clash. Still smiling, my mind wandered and I soon found myself stunned at the amount of luck I had to have run into the very people that worked for the Matron. It was so strange to me as I thought back to it, especially with all the s**t that life had been throwing my way since those men had forced their way into our house. No. Everything had become a struggle since my mother died, followed by my sister’s strange and anger-filled reaction.

So finding such a chance, literally running into it, and finding the best possible group of people to not only heal me, but potentially assist me in saving my precious nephew. A surprising mix of Humans and Demons that had been so very kind, warm and patient with my situation. People that clearly had experience in aiding those in dangerous and serious circumstances. People that, with the backing of the Matron, have clearly and glaringly done as much and they possibly could to help out our people prosper. Each of their jobs even centered around helping, fighting and protecting all Demons and their Human families and friends.

It was then that I realized that I had made up my mind already. I just needed to clearly see it without all of the doubting whispers that were still swirling in the deepest, darkest corners of my mind. So I took that chance to pull out my notepad again and wrote it out, rereading my own words to make sure that my wording was alright. I then turned it and pushed it towards Devin and she tapped the end of a stack of papers on the desk, organizing it before looking towards my notepad.

‘I want to really thank you and the others for all the help you’ve given me so far.’ The note started, my hands twitching as I watched her read it. ‘It makes everything I went through worth something, knowing that everyone working for the Matron is doing things like this to help and protect our people. So, if it’s not too late, I’d like to take you up on the offer to stay and possibly help me some more with my situation.’

Devin smiled by the end of it, looking up at me with a firm nod while she pushed the notepad back to me.

“Of course.” She said and she stood up, walking around the table and reaching out to help me stand. “We’re more than happy to offer any sort of help you would need. That’s what we are and why we have things like that card prepared.” She nodded towards the bank card she had given me that I had been using as a fidget tool. “It hurts to admit, but you aren’t the only Demon we have helped like this… or healed after escaping Hunters.” Her voice was said as we slowly walked out of the office and out of the building. “And you likely won’t be the last one either.”

I reached out and gave her shoulder a squeeze, smiling at her when she looked at me.

It amazed me to see how much she cared about our people, especially since she had every chance to use her position to benefit her race first, since Succubus and Incubus Demons were dangerously dwindling in numbers all around the world. Yet she was showing just how hard she was willing to work and how much she was willing to give to help ALL Demons. And the sadness that showed in her eyes as she, no doubt, thought about our peoples suffering, was just more proof to her deep affection and care for her people.

She took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze back, nodding a little before turning to face the closest cluster of buildings across the way.

“So, what would you like to shop for first?” She asked, starting the short walk in that direction.

I smiled back at her and picked up the pace, looking over at the many little shops that were slowly getting closer and closer.

There were multiple clothing stores, with some selling specific styles while others had more generic options. A few lingerie stores sat there too, nestled in between some shoe stores. Shops for kids' clothes, toys, office supplies and everyday items were sprinkled in here and there. And only two shops, that sat in the corners, were not only much larger than the other buildings, but also held much more unique, one of a kind clothes, accessories, shoes and even purses and wallets.

“These are shops that are privately owned by a handful of Demon women here in Seattle.” Devin explained, pointing to the two stores as we stopped next to a restaurant. “They hand-make everything that’s sold and half of the profit goes to the kids' schools here, as well as the maintenance of the Village parks.” Another wave of admiration hit me as I learned of this, my eyes locking on the closest of the two big shops.

We moved from store to store calmly, with Devin encouraging me to try on many different types of outfits before excitedly hoping that I would buy them. She also teased me a bit as she took note of the things I pulled from the racks, nodding at me with a smile when she told me that dresses and skirts did look best on me over jeans and shorts.

I did blush a little, feeling like a kid for being so picky and specific about something like this. But Devin urged me to keep looking, trying on and buying all kinds of dresses and skirts. Even going so far as to point out different accessories, shoes and hairstyles that went along with each different dress when I second-guessed myself on whether to buy it. I even pointed out, through the notepad, that we were steadily gathering a hefty amount of bags already and haven’t even gone through a quarter of all the shops around us.

Devin simply smiled at me and pulled out her phone, waving at me to go into the changing room to try on the next armful of clothes we had both gathered.

I sighed after the fourth dress, looking at myself and wondering if this option was good enough for a wedding. I had been looking for a dress to wear to Nyla’s wedding since, like Devin said, I would need to stay close to them after accepting their protection and help. So, with Nyla’s wedding happening so soon, and being ever so kindly invited to attend, I would need a nice dress and shoes to wear.

This dress was a very pretty sleek gray dress that shimmered when I moved, with a scoop neckline that stopped tastefully over my chest, showing just the tops of my breasts. The fabric that went over my shoulders was thin yet strong and ran down my back into another scoop that exposed the top half of my back. The material was soft and very comfortable, flowing loosely around my hips and flaring out a little more as it continued down my legs. A slit was cut into both sides of the dress, freeing my legs and stopping just above my knees. I had paired off the dress with some cute black heels that had a thin buckle that wrapped around my ankles twice. Devin had also found a pair of cute black earrings that hung low and almost touched my shoulders with its multiple hanging stars. A matching black necklace with more stars hung around my neck, stopping just at the top peak of my chest. And to finish it all off, she had also helped twist my shoulder length blonde hair on one side with a black comb that was decorated with silver and black pearls.

I moved the curtain out of my way and carefully stepped out of the small changing room, not wanting to ruin such a nice dress in any way since I hadn’t paid for it yet. Strangely, I felt nervous to look at myself in the much larger mirror that sat outside the changing rooms. But I ended up liking how I looked and turning this way and that to look at myself from different angles. I stopped, though, when the reflection of something moving behind me caught my eyes, so I turned to see what it was.

I froze, seeing not just Devin standing at the large archway to the changing rooms with a big smile on her face. Her brother Nick stood next to her, his arms filled with the bags of things I had already bought. My face heated up when our eyes locked, my body burning up even more than I ever thought possible when I realized that look he had in his eyes.

Dazed amazement, clear shock at having been caught staring, and barely contained attraction.

Swallowing hard as I took in those emotions swirling in his hazel-green eyes, I smiled and felt myself blush even more. He smiled back, his eyes softening as he mouthed out an obvious ‘wow’ that made me feel even more self-conscious.

“Alright, alright.” Devin cut in, giggling as she pushed her brother away. “Get those bags in the car now before you lose feeling in your arms.”

He went away after looking back at me a few more times, throwing back a double thumbs up with a goofy grin that made me laugh. Once Devin was back she gushed about the dress and urged me to buy everything I had on before asking me which other shops I would like to go to.