Demon's Web Read Free Page A

have been trapped here and not out meeting the women of the world. It’s not fair to you. You should be able to date and find the love of your life.”
    Logan scooped her up in a big hug, twirling her slightly. “You are the love of my life and always will be.” He set her down and kissed her forehead. “However, I am sure you did not come into my room this morning for reaffirmation of a son’s adoration for his mother.”
    Clarissa grinned up at him. Twenty-four and he was going to break every woman’s heart. Logan had his father’s rugged good looks. Dark hair, a strong chin and a well-developed form, but his most outstanding feature was a combination of both her and his father: his eyes. Where Clarissa’s were a vibrant emerald green, Mel’s were a stormy, icy blue, which sometimes seemed to glow with an inner light. Of course, that was when Mel wasn’t so angry his demon threatened to come out. When that occurred, they would turn either yellow or red depending on the ferocity of his anger, something Logan had only seen once in his lifetime when he was four and very grateful for not having such a thing happen more often.
    Logan had been very worried for several nights after seeing his father’s demon rise up. Logan was very afraid a demon lived inside of him also, scared what it meant and when it might come out. Worse, he was afraid of what it might do if the demon inside were released, but both of his parents assured him he was demon free. The worst he could possibly be would be a wolf-shifter like his mother. After not sleeping for a couple of nights in fear of a demon emerging out of his young body, Azamel decided the young lad needed to know he was safe from having a creature hiding inside like his father.
    Tucking the child into the safety of his arms, Mel explained things.
    “Destruction, my demon’s name, was given to me as a punishment for a crime I didn’t commit,” Mel told his young son as he tucked him into bed.
    “Will you tell me what happened then?” Logan asked, his eyes wide with the anxious fear and curiosity of a youthful child.
    Azamel hesitated. He wasn’t quite sure this was something his son should know, but then again, he realized his son should understand the complexities of his own heritage. Mel sat down across from his son and began his story.
    “I had just turned sixteen. Although my brother was older by two years, I was the more responsible, better liked sibling. Which in and of itself was amazing considering who our parents are: the god of the dead, Chipiapoos, and the goddess of evil, Beloitah.
    “With parents like those, we weren’t the most favored of kids or usually given the benefit of the doubt. We still needed to be trained in our given tasks for adulthood in preparation for the duties we would assume, the place we would take within the cosmos. The choice would be up to Chipiapoos’ brother, Nanaboojoo, god of protecting humanity. He would be able to look into our souls and determine our place in the realm of the gods. This was usually done on our eighteenth birthday and my brother, your Uncle, Jes’Sakkid, was to undergo the ritual in a couple of days.”
    Mel continued telling the story of how he came to be the host body for the demon which was to reside within him. He had to find a way to let the story he had told only once before flow from his lips. He didn’t wish to scare Logan, but he did want his young and impressionable offspring to understand that he would never punish his son as he was punished. Never subject him to accusations without getting the entire story and there would never be a time when he would allow his son to be punished by carrying a demon inside. Azamel knew first-hand how difficult it was to adapt to another thinking being inside, and more so how it felt to be betrayed by those he cared for and trusted. He would never expose his son to such atrocities or perfidies as he, himself, endured all those centuries ago.
    Mel knew he had two