Two

Three years later…

Zander and Helena stood outside Alina’s back door as usual and knocked several times. Suddenly the door opened as if by a telekinetic force. Helena gave Zander a worried look and proceeded slowly holding her hand up to throw back anything that jumped out at them.

“Boo!” Helena jumped slightly as a little white sheet jumped out from behind the door with circles cut out for eyes and hands held up high. Zander laughed at Helena who turned about ten shades of red at the fact she’d been scared so easily. “Got you!” The little sheet giggled.

“Yes you did, you little munchkin!” Helena said ruffling the sheet on the little boy’s head. He quickly took it off and fixed his hair smiling up at them. Helena’s heart wrenched at the sight of him growing so fast. She wished to the ends of the earth that she could’ve been there to experience it all with him. Her gaze turned to Zander whose face showed the same bitter sweet smile that hers did and she knew he felt the same. “Where’s Aunty Lina?”

“Umm, upstairs. She just made this for me.” He said holding up the sheet proudly. “It’s Halloween so I’m gonna go scare people and get candy.” Helena and Zander exchanged worried glances. Halloween was more of a trick than a treat, as “punny” as that sounded. Demons were really fond of walking the surface and preying on humans foolish enough to take too much interest in their “costumes”. And if any demons realized what their son was and took it to Adrian, they were in big trouble. Alina rounded the corner into the kitchen.

“Adom, I have one more thing I want to stitch into your‐” Her eyes lit up as she looked as her eyes found her friends. “Hey guys, didn’t know you were here! Adom, sweetie, could you take this patch upstairs with your costume and put them on my sewing table?” She asked him handing the patch over. He nodded happily and took off as fast as his little legs could carry him. It was so cute to watch.

“I thought we agreed against Halloween.” Zander said folding his arms.

“Don’t worry, I’m stitching in a shroud rune to conceal his faint trace of magic, no demons will give him a second look and I can mask my own presence easily. It’s just that my book club was talking about getting together with their kids and taking them trick or treating and he really wanted to go with.” Zander frowned. Now he felt like an a*****e for questioning it. Of course he’d want to go, he deserved to experience a childhood. “Is that okay?”

“Of course, as long as you’re sure. But if one demon so much as looks at him funny you go straight home.” Helena answered. Alina made a small cross over her heart and smiled as Adom came back into the room.

“Adom, why don’t you show some of your drawings to Zander while I go stitch in that patch?” Alina asked nudging him towards the kitchen. He grabbed Zander by the hand and led him toward the fridge. He pulled the magnets off the papers and showed them with pride. Depictions in crayon of children in school buses, drawings of the neighbor’s dog, and a picture of him and Alina outside in the front yard cover the once white space.

“These are really good buddy. I love the one of you and Aunty Lina.” Zander said smiling. He was sad that his son couldn’t know he was his father but it meant the world to see his son happy. He hated his own father, then, most demons do. Most demon males spread their genes through violence or abandonment. To grow up knowing your father raped your mother and you were the unfortunate byproduct or that he simply didn’t care about either of you and left is a harsh life for any child. He was just happy that Adomus wouldn’t have that life.

“If you want to, you can have it.” Adom said holding the paper put to Zander. Helena had to fight back tears as she observed the obvious love of a child. Alina was teaching him right and she couldn’t imagine anyone more suitable of raising her child.

“Thank you so much. I’ll hang it on my own fridge at home.” Adom smiled at Zander and went to the living room.

“Aunty Lina, it’s getting dark!” He called out excitedly. Alina shuffled down the stairs and handed Adom his costume.

“I told him we’d go a little early to hit more houses before everyone else, and hopefully before the ‘subterranean’ rush. Plus we’ll be with my reading group.” She winked at Helena. It was clear she’d thought out every detail and wasn’t about to put Adom in any danger.

“Well then, I guess we’d better get going and let you guys get ready.” Helena said grabbing Zander’s hand. Alina kissed them both on the cheek and they waved goodbye to Adom before stepping out the back door.

Together they kissed in Helena’s kitchen. Zander wasted no time in pinning the picture to the fridge and rejoined his love in the dark living room. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

“I love you Helena, I truly do. And no being alive could ever change that.” He said in between kissing her. Suddenly they both froze as a the lights clicked on, revealing a man with short black hair slicked back, wearing black jeans and a black button up shirt sitting cross‐legged on her couch.

“I really love family moments. They do so warm my heart.” Adrian said, folding his hands together and smiling. Helena and Zander quickly parted in his presence. “Please, don’t stop on my account.” He stared expectantly for a few moments before making a ‘tsking’ sound. “Conditional love, well that’s not healthy in my opinion.” He said standing. At full height he was a towering man of six foot seven.

“Adrian, we weren’t expecting you. To what do we owe the pleasure?” Zander asked casually as he miserably failed to suppress his fear. Adrian gave them both a droll stare.

“Don’t play coy with me, Fantis. You’re both well aware that there are laws in the underworld, laws that I have set. Tell me, have you ever heard of a ruler in the underworld that kept his position with love and kindness?”

“It would certainly be a nice change.” Helena squeezed Zander’s arm and gave him a “shut up” look.

“Do not mock my intelligence on an obviously rhetorical question. We all know that ruling the underworld with love and kindness is impossible. Now, you two have evaded me for quite some time, lied about your love. And now I have to find out about this?” He asked manifesting the picture Adom had given Zander in his hand. Helena went cold. How could they have failed after coming so far? “What’s that human saying? ‘Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice; I rip out your spleen’?”

“I don’t think that’s quite it.” Zander said stepping front of Helena.

“Ah well, semantics. I like my version better.” He shrugged and grabbed Zander’s throat, lifting him off his feet. Before Helena could react, Adrian had manifested a large knife and thrust it into Zander’s rib cage as hard as he could and let him fall to his feet bleeding. “There, that ought to teach him not to stick his dick where it doesn’t belong, eh?”

“Zander!” Helena fell to her knees and scooped her love’s head into her lap. His breathing was shallow and ragged.

“D‐don’t let him get‐” Zander struggled to speak as blood expelled from his lips.

“I know baby, I won’t. You just stop talking and save your breath, okay?” Zander gave one final choking cough before his last breath using his only working lung. A greenish vapor escaped Zander’s mouth and was pulled into a vial held by Adrian.

“I’ll just be taking this. Can’t have you thinking of taking him somewhere to simply have him resurrected. No, I have a much better idea for him,” He said, tucking the vial in his pocket. Helena’s breathing quickened as hot tears of anguish and hatred streamed from her eyes.

“You b*****d.” She struggled.

“You know, this really is your entire fault. Had you simply told me of all of this from the beginning, I may have given you a simple slap on the wrist. Sure, the child would be dead, but your mate would still be here. Is that not better?” He asked extending his hand to touch her shoulder. Helena let out a scream with all her power that shook the building and began to crumble the ceiling. A scream of unimaginable pain and hatred that could only be matched by a banshee. Adrian cupped his ears as he stumbled back.

“If you touch us again, I will make sure you burn in eternal damnation!” She said in a multi‐tone demonic voice. She knew that Adrian was stronger than her, but she also knew that she wasn’t weak. She may have been two thousand years younger than him, but they both knew she could give him a run for his money. Without a word and the roof collapsing around them, he manifested out of the room. She stared down at Zander’s beautiful face through teary eyes. If not for her son and the promise to keep him safe, she would’ve happily stayed with him and let the roof crush her. But she knew there was only one place she could go.

Without a second thought she materialized herself and Zander in Alina’s room knowing full well she shouldn’t be there. But what else could she do? She had nowhere else to turn. Most demons were a******s in general and no one but Zander had ever been as kind to her as Alina had. And now he was gone. But she would not let his death be in vain, no, his passing would be avenged, and Adrian would pay dearly for this if it was the last thing she did. But for now she needed to bury the love of her life, ironically being that her immortal was murdered by another immortal being. But that was the only way it could be done.