Keeley Thomson (Book 4): Demon Trap Read Free Page A

while she was handed individual snack cakes by Darla, who was amused by the whole thing it seemed. Helpful though.
    She had to spend hours doing that, just eating, and absorbing energy poorly, before Darla finally called a halt to the experiment in adventurous eating.
    "Almost time to go. You'll need to fix your face and reposition some muscle. You look a bit asymmetrical through the shoulders." There was only a little humor in the words though. It wasn't mocking really, just slightly aware of how things looked.
    They were headed to a party after all, so that kind of thing needed to be perfect. Especially if Bente was going to be there. The Pristine wasn't called that because she was slovenly and often out of sorts. It would be embarrassing to be seen looking lumpy and misshapen by her.
    It took some work in the bathroom, first arranging the muscle mass, which was several hours of work, even if it was minor stuff really. A full transformation could take over a day to get right for her still. Then she did the work on her face, making it look like her, but slightly older, the jaw line just a touch heavier, a slight shadow of lines near the eyes. Around the mouth some lines formed too, as an afterthought. Then she hid it all with make-up. It made her look like a twenty-eight year old trying to pass herself off as being in her late teens and just failing by the tiniest amount. When she came down the stairs again, she found Darla had changed into an outfit almost identical to her own, except with a bright red shirt. It was a Christmas party after all.
    One being thrown by a Demon, as if that made sense. Finias did love his parties though, and was kind of known for them. It was odd to think of him as her father still, though biologically that was the truth of the matter. The man that had raised her, the one that she'd thought of as "dad" her whole life, Charles, was dead now. Decapitated by Xenses for some reason that only made sense in the insane Demon's own mind. Something about him loving her.
    Not in the wholesome incest kind of way either that she might have been able to put up with, but in a horrible, deluded and torturous kind of way. The thought wasn't a fun one for her, but she made it go away, since dwelling on that kind of thing wouldn't help her at all. That was the brilliance of being a Greater Demon. Never having to feel anything she didn't want to. As long as that ability wasn't being taken away from her as a punishment.
    She had to resist rubbing her neck and then block out the idea of Darla's handy little collar even existing for a bit. It was made to only work on her, and if she had enough energy it couldn't actually hold her forever, but the fact that it existed was a threat to her. Not just because of the occasional beating it promised either. If anyone else got a hold on the thing, she could be left almost helpless, magically speaking.
    The Greater Demon in front of her smiled and then gave her a single, slow wink.
    "You look ready to hit the bars. We should do that soon. Go out with Sherry and see about picking some guys up." There was a dark and far too delighted manner to the words, as well as a very close examination of her face.
    Sherry was her mother after all. It would be really hard for Keeley to go out and watch her hitting on men like that, and Darla was relishing the fact. It was kind of a bitchy thing to say really, but there was only one correct answer, and Keeley knew that for a fact.
    Locking down her emotions she shrugged.
    "That sounds like a plan. Next weekend? If we aren't busy with other things, I mean." Then she counted the days up and shook her head. "The one after that. Friday is Christmas."
    She already had her presents for people wrapped and tucked away in the garage. There was enough to make a small family feel like they'd won the lottery, but there were simply a lot of individuals to take note of this year. Luckily money wasn't a problem. The hardest person to shop for had actually