The Demon Side by Heaven Liegh Eldeen Page A

radiant smile, bubbly personality, and witty humor could win over even the hardest of hearts. Just talking to Etta like a normal person was a refreshing change from my normal nights of bringing sheer terror to the living. For one night I felt human.
    “I love this song!” At seven a.m. her alarm went off to the sound of BTO’s “Taking Care of Business.” Etta jumped out of bed and started lip-synching to her hair brush. She had me laughing so hard with her uncoordinated dance moves and scrunched up facial expressions as she rocked her hairbrush. Caught up in the moment, I got up and started to do my best impression of dancing with her. She proved much better at it than I was. So there we were acting like fools, trying to sing as we giggled when John walked in.
    “Hey. Rocking out already, I see.”
    “Oh, hey, Dad.” Etta rushed to turn the music down on her clock radio.
    “René will be here shortly to get her stuff. After that, I thought we’d go on a short trip. We’ll just be gone a couple of days, so pack light.”
    “Sounds great, Dad.”
    As John closed the door, Etta and I burst into laughter. Embarrassment was not an emotion I felt, but I could recognize it a mile away. It was absolutely adorable on Etta as her face turned a light shade of pink. My feelings for Etta were getting stronger with every passing second, which further complicated things. All thoughts of getting rid of her once Alastor was out of the picture for good ceased. I wanted Etta more than anything in the world. As wrong as it would be, I would damn her soul to see her smile every day for all eternity.
    “Well, I guess I’ll pack. What are you going to do?”
    “I’ll sit here and get some rest while you’re gone.” I hadn’t told Etta that Alastor could still be around and that he’d dodged his Tribunal. Once he healed from his wound, I would probably have to fight him. I should have been resting instead of playing sleepover all night, but I wouldn’t trade the time I had with Etta for anything.
    “You need a lot of rest, don’t you?”
    “Physical contact with you takes a lot out of me.”
    “I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I guess I could try to keep my hands off of you, but with those gorgeous green eyes it’ll be hard.”
    “It’s okay. Wait. What did you just say?” I gazed at Etta in confusion.
    “What?”
    “You said my green eyes?”
    “Yeah?” Etta appeared just as confused as I was.
    “My eyes aren’t green. Etta, what do you see when you look at me?”
    “I see a tall, dark, handsome man with beautiful blond hair and green eyes.” Etta wrapped her arms around my mid-section and gave me a tight squeeze.
    Something wasn’t right. Demons had an ability called illusion. We could make a person see whatever we wanted them to. The problem was I hadn’t used illusion on Etta. Something else did. Alastor! He played me from day one, and now I’d been blinded by a girl who I’d thought saw past my monstrous appearance. Etta fell in love with the image of someone else and not me. How could I be so stupid? Pushing Etta away, I stormed off to the closet door.
    “Ra? What’s wrong?” Etta called out.
    “Nothing. Pack your things before your father gets upset.”
    “Tell me what’s wrong?” Etta pleaded. My anger boiled up. I was made a fool for a game I wanted no part in. Alastor probably sat somewhere in the house laughing at me and my foolish idea of Etta possibly loving me for what I am. Flashing to Etta, I towered over. She cowered until she bent at the knees.
    “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? I’ll tell you what’s wrong! You’re what’s wrong, Etta. I can’t believe for one second I believed you cared about me, that you saw past what I am. All you see is something that isn’t real. You pretended to love me for how you thought I looked, not for me.” Etta balled up on the floor as she did when René attacked her. Angry at myself, I let out a roar, shaking the room around us. Seeing her in a