Unholy

Guthryn just wants to live peacefully among humans. As a demon cursed with one of the seven deadly sins, he finds solace in the nightlife of L.A. and settles down with a lavish lifestyle. His personal lawyer and love interest, Karyn, is the only person he needs. She's the only one who knows his truth.He should've known he couldn't live in peace forever.When a late-night phone call turns into an exploration of an abandoned house, Guthryn discovers that the brother he'd left for dead centuries ago is still alive. He isn't human like Guthryn had thought, but he isn't a demon either.The ancient teenager is an abomination to both worlds, and he’s none the wiser. Guthryn and Karyn must calm his volatile temper and gain his trust before Hell comes to destroy him. Maybe if the boy can wake up, he can finally find a semblance of the family he spent over a hundred years looking for.

Content Warning; this story tackles some difficult subject matter, such as brainwashing, assault, self-harm, alcoholism, and suicidal ideation. There are a few sexually explicit scenes.

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This is an early preview and does not necessarily reflect the final version.

It was late when Guthryn walked into one of the prestigious night clubs he managed. While it hosted musicians and celebrities that happened to be traveling through, he was a celebrity himself as people recognized him instantly. As much as he loved to party with the patrons, however, he had some late-night work he’d been neglecting.“Guthryn!” A blond wearing a small pink dress latched onto his pale arm. “You have time for me, right?” She winked at him with clear intentions.He smiled and turned to take her hands in his and kissed them both. “Darling, I would love more than anything, but I have some important business to attend to.”She pouted. “You always seem to make time for everyone else!”“Do I? I’ll have to fix that.” He smiled genuinely, regretful he’d have to turn her down for the time being. Duty called. “How about I buy you a drink later, sweetie? Will that make up for it?”“It’s a start.” Her lips curved into a reluctant smile as he kissed her hand again and slid through the crowd.He would never get to his office if that continued. Part of him wished he could use his horns — which he kept well-hidden with magic — as a disguise to ward people off when he had work to do, even if he did enjoy the company. He was definitely a social butterfly and the most promiscuous out of all of them, but work had to come first.He managed to sneak into his office and locked the door behind him. Leaning back against it, the bass of the music reverberated throughout his body. He closed his eyes and let the muffled sounds sink into his very soul. Music was a perfect distraction when he was stressed out the most, and it was the only therapy he needed. It wasn’t that he was particularly anxious about having to work or the number of people pestering him; it was hard enough to not give in to their desires.He felt the heat and depravity dripping from them. Even worse, his energy shifted the entire atmosphere unless he had a good grip on himself. Being a demon of lust left him in a perpetual state of frustration.Guthryn opened his eyes and took a deep breath as he finally willed away the fire creeping up inside him. As he made his way to the desk that sat before a cityscape view, he remembered why he avoided going to the club unless he was truly in the mood to give in to his own whims. He only hoped he would be able to get some work done and make the calls that needed to be made. The end of the month approached fast, and it was time to complete the tedious reports that were due to those even higher than he was.Guthryn was barely able to pull open his desk drawer before his phone went off. While it rang constantly and he had to screen his calls as necessary, it was his lawyer. He knew all too well to never miss her calls, lest he get an earful. “Hey, darling. What do you need?”“Are you at the club tonight?”“Yeah, I had some last minute work. Why?”“You’d better not be late on your interim reports, Guthryn. I know you never are, but...”He chuckled. “Honey, you know you don’t have to worry about me. I know you didn’t call me just for that.”There was a moment of silence before she continued. “No, you’re right. I need you to come to my office tomorrow. There’s something important I need to discuss with you.”Guthryn’s guard went up. “Can I have a hint?”A shaky breath. “It’s family-related business.”Guthryn fell into thought. The only family he had, that he knew of, were either dead or back in Hell as far from him as possible. He hoped his father hadn’t finally come up to meet him after all that time. He barely remembered the man from when he was a child — not even enough to conjure up any sort of image in his mind. The only faces he could remember were that of his little brother, Jaufree, and his adoptive mother, Mildred, who were both humans.His chest clenched with emotion at the memories. Mildred was still as radiant in his mind as she had been before she’d died.Guthryn realized his lawyer had been calling his name and came back to reality. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. There was simply no feasible reason anyone in his family would be there now. “Sorry, Cher.”“My name isn’t Cher, Guthryn. I wish you’d stop that.”“You’re her spitting image and you know it,” he teased.“Stop deflecting! Get your ass in my office early tomorrow morning.” She hung up without another word and left Guthryn sitting with his phone in his lap.He had to find space in his mind to concentrate on work after that, but the buzzing thoughts wouldn’t quiet. Had his father really come up from Hell to have a relationship with him? Probably not. He doubted the demon cared for him after what happened with Mildred. He couldn’t even blame his father for hating him entirely if the stories were true. On the bright side, however, Guthryn could put a face to the name instead of the hearsay from others.He composed himself and focused on his work.

Sleep wasn’t really a necessity for Guthryn, otherwise he would have looked like death warmed over.It was nearly impossible to leave the premises the previous night without entertaining someone — at one point, a few at the same time. It took him into the early hours of the morning, but the woman in the pink dress and her boyfriend had left his place before sunrise. It was always best that way. As much as he loved getting intimate with overnight guests, he couldn’t trust everyone who walked into his home. They knew how loaded he was and wouldn’t think twice before swiping one or two priceless objects on the way out.The ride to his lawyer’s office was a tense one. Guthryn expected to open the doors to see a less-than-friendly demon staring back at him. He’d gone over the lines in his head a dozen times, but was there even a chance of starting over? People could change, so could other demons change as well? Guthryn had definitely spent his share of time in Hell, but he felt he understood humans more than his demonic brethren.At least his secrets — his shame — were just that on earth. Secrets. They weren’t community knowledge that everyone used against him every time he walked into a room like they did downstairs. Sometimes he felt like he was public enemy number one, a demon who sinned even in Hell.Guthryn pulled into the parking lot in record time and made his way inside and up the stairs. He straightened his blue and purple tie and smoothed his hands over his matching purple vest in front of the office. His nerves were so on edge that he’d forgotten to hide his horns again. He remedied that quickly.A muffled voice met his ears as he hesitated outside. “I can hear you breathing from a mile away, Guthryn. Come in. No one else is here.”Relief washed over him as he pushed open the doors. He was met with his lawyer standing in a brown pencil skirt and matching jacket in front of her desk. She’d been waiting for him, no doubt.“You don’t have to hide in front of me, you know that,” she said. “Although I appreciate the caution.” She sat on the sofa in the middle of the room, patting for him to join her. “Just close the doors first.”“Of course.” Guthryn let his guard down and his silver horns shined beneath the office lighting. He dropped onto the couch beside his lawyer and crossed his legs before throwing his arms across the back. “To be honest, I half expected to walk in on my dad.”“Your father?” She huffed a laugh. “I’ve never met the guy. Not sure I’d want to, though. Demons still creep me out.”“Except for me, of course.” Guthryn smiled flirtatiously and smoothed her shoulder-length brown hair out of her face.She batted his hand away and stared at him with confidence. “I get that you have mommy issues, but that doesn’t make it okay for you to hit on a woman who’s almost old enough to be your mother.”“Forty-five years young, Cher. You don’t age — just like her.”“Cher has years of plastic surgery under her belt.” The woman turned red anyway and shook it off. “Can you please call me Karyn for once?”“If that’s what pleases you.” Guthryn winked at her.“Alright, enough. I’m getting too old for this.” Karyn waved him off and tried her best, as always, to avoid getting caught up in his aura. “I have something more serious to discuss with you.”Guthryn dropped his carefree attitude and looked down at his lap. He could only avoid the subject of his family for so long. That kind of thing always followed you around no matter how badly you wanted to get away from it. “So if it isn’t my father, then what business do you have with my family?”Karyn held her silence before continuing carefully. “I was with a client who’s looking to invest in building some condos in an older area of the city, to glow it up some. A lot of the homes there are either derelict or just not worth fixing up. It’s been long overdue, anyway.”She glanced at the clock, and then turned back to Guthryn. She caught herself leaning into him and pulled back. Sometimes even she couldn’t resist his seductive aura, but she’d been around him long enough to notice it and pull herself away. She liked to think his charms didn’t work on her at all anymore, but there was that risk being around him. He made her feel certain things again she’d rather forget.She shook it off and continued. “We inspected some of the older buildings to survey what would need to be done, but one of the houses was unexpectedly occupied.”“That doesn’t surprise me,” Guthryn said. “There’s still a large homeless population in that part of the city, regardless of what’s been done to try to solve the problem.”“Guthryn, I couldn’t believe it.” Karyn’s gaze shifted to look at the coffee table before them. She realized that in her haste to get to business, she’d forgotten to offer him coffee or tea. There wasn’t time now. “He looked a bit like you, and his eyes... They seemed to glow.”Guthryn’s heart leaped into his throat. “A demon?”“His eyes weren’t red like yours and he didn’t have horns. They weren’t a color that would happen in any circumstance known to man.” She sighed. “In fact, all the descriptions of Mildred came to mind. You’ve practically embedded her image into my memory, after all.” Karyn smiled. “Unless you forgot about using me as your personal therapist for a while.”Guthryn grew uneasy. He didn’t have anyone else in his immediate family, and he was certain Mildred only had one child with his father. His biological mother hadn’t survived his birth, and she’d only carried Guthryn. “It’s just not possible. My father only had two of us.”Karyn furrowed her brow. “Is it so far-fetched to think that your brother might still be out there? He did come from a demon, regardless of how he appeared to you.”Guthryn swallowed hard as reality hit him. He had a feeling he knew exactly who he was about to meet and if it was the case, he hadn’t seen his brother in so long he’d nearly forgotten about him. In fact, he’d left him for dead because of the way the kid had just disappeared. “My brother was human, though. At least, I thought he was human. He didn’t turn out like me.”“If that was the case,” Karyn continued, “he would have died a long time ago, but this person was not human. I could feel it.” While it was possible Guthryn had been wrong about his brother, she may have jumped to conclusions from seeing something that appeared to be supernatural. But Guthryn was the only demon she knew, and from what he’d mentioned, this person definitely fit the bill for his brother based on the long talks they’d had.A centuries’-old guilt crept into Guthryn’s stomach. “I stopped looking a long time ago. Humans only live for so long.”“You needn’t remind me.” Karyn smiled affectionately before standing and approaching her desk. She dug around in the middle drawer and fished out a piece of paper with a hastily scribbled address on it. “Here.” She held it out for him.He approached her and looked it over and instantly recognized the area. He knew the city like the back of his hand and it was only a short drive from where they were now.“I could be wrong,” she said, “but that kid isn’t human either way you look at him. I’ve been around you long enough to know what a human doesn’t feel like.”Guthryn shook his head. “I really don’t think it’s him.”“Just go see for yourself. If I’m wrong, then we’ll have to figure out what to do with him anyway.” Karyn sat back in her chair and stared up at him. She knew this was going to shake him and she would have to be there for him later. He didn’t really have anyone else, but if she was right this would be good for him. At least he’d have another chance at having any sort of family. Superficial popularity and one night stands didn’t provide any kind of meaningful companionship. He wouldn’t admit it to her, but he had to be lonely deep down.“If I’m right,” Karyn continued, “please don’t hesitate to call me. You know I’m here for you as a friend above all else.”“Thanks, Karyn. I’ll talk to you later.” Guthryn turned to leave but stopped as his lawyer laughed behind him.“No kiss on the cheek goodbye this time?” she teased.Guthryn huffed a laugh and turned around. “I’ll make up for it next time, darling. Maybe you’ll let me taste those beautiful lips at last.” He winked as she rolled her eyes and then finally left her office.He dropped the playful mood just as quickly while walking to his car. It was the first time he’d been truly anxious in quite a while.

This is an early preview and does not necessarily reflect the final version.

The set of steps up to the old wooden porch felt like they were dragging Guthryn down. If his brother truly wasn’t on the other side, he could just go home and drink away the bad memories. If Karyn was correct, he couldn’t be sure he ever knew his brother at all. It should have been suspected that he wasn’t human, but he’d grown like any other human they’d spent time around, or at least, any human his brother had spent time with.Guthryn couldn’t go out often with his brother or Mildred. He would often sit on the sofa in their small home by himself as he waited for one, or both of them, to return from the market. There would be days when Mildred would feel sympathy for him and stay home, and they’d clean and cook together. It was those moments Guthryn valued the most, and he looked forward to the days when it would be just him and her.Of course, with the natural way of things, she got older and he did for a short time too, but he’d never understood what it meant to be a demon born from a human. When his body stopped aging in his late twenties and she withered…A lump formed in his throat. He stood before the door nearly in tears as the memories came back. It was as if they had happened yesterday just like every time they came flooding into his mind.He had to be strong and open the door, or at least knock first. He doubted the person inside would just open up to anyone due to being an illegal occupant. Guthryn could only imagine the conditions the person lived in. If it was his brother, it was only going to hurt that much more. He raised a hand to knock quietly, then louder as he gathered his strength.It came as no surprise that the door did not open. Guthryn’s sensitive ears picked up some shuffling behind it and then more silence, the person inside most likely looking for a place to hide. A twist of the doorknob revealed that it was locked tight. He had no other choice than to use his full strength on the door and it cracked as it was forced open, the wood splintering around the locks. Guthryn was met with a strong musty smell and enough dust to give a human an asthma attack. He coughed as the particles settled in the afternoon sun and stepped inside.What light shined through the windows was enough to create an unsettling aura in the stillness. Dust danced in the sun’s rays and around the moth-eaten furniture. The carpet was equally decrepit and the walls were worn. Without electricity, the place was just falling into rot. One thing was for certain though, and it was that whoever lived there at least kept the place picked up to the best of their ability.Guthryn’s weight on the old floorboards caused a resounding creak as he walked through the living room. A pile of old pizza boxes and soda cans were stacked beside one of the sofas, and a few notebooks rested on a worn wooden coffee table. He stopped to pick one up and flipped through its pages. They were full of poetry or possible song lyrics. Guthryn smiled. His brother was definitely talented, if it was him.He replaced the notebook and entered a large kitchen. A mouse scuttled across a counter top and into a small hole where one of the wall tiles had come loose, and upon further inspection, the old fridge just contained a family of spiders. He couldn’t imagine anyone living like this. It broke his heart to know that this was how quite a few had to spend their days until they were kicked out. He felt even worse knowing that it was in his power to try to do something. He had the money, but with his head in the nightlife and in his luxurious lifestyle, he hadn’t even given it a second thought. He’d be sure to speak with Karyn about that once everything settled down.A door creaking on its hinges upstairs caught Guthryn’s attention. He hurried up the steps and entered a hallway covered in cobwebs to see one of the bedroom doors ajar.Inside was what looked to be a white teenage boy with shoulder-length brown hair, ripped jeans, and an over-sized black sweater. He had strong cheekbones and a square jaw, and his eyes — they were shimmering gold in the afternoon light.“Jaufree?” Guthryn approached the teenager who wielded a butterfly knife. “How are you here?”“Guthryn?” The teenager lowered his weapon and slid back on the bed as if he were uncertain. When he saw Guthryn’s horns slowly appear, his eyes filled with sadness.“How are you alive?” Guthryn asked and dropped onto the bed. He reached out to take Jaufree into his arms, but he stopped as the teenager backed away like a frightened cat.“I’ve been stuck like this since you left,” Jaufree’s voice wavered.“But I left—”“After my mom died.” Tears spilled over Jaufree’s face, and his eyes glowed like a demon’s, although Guthryn could tell Jaufree certainly wasn’t a demon. “She’s all you cared about.”“I’m sorry,” Guthryn said with shame. “I can’t make any excuses.” It was true. Guthryn had been so lost and destroyed after Mildred’s death that he’d called out to his father, who he had no memories of, to take away the pain. He’d dreamed of Lucifer instead, who showed him mercy and took him to his true home. If Guthryn hadn’t returned to Hell, Jaufree may have still been with him. Everything had just happened so quickly that he could only think about escaping the anguish.“You just left me.” Jaufree’s voice quivered with emotion. “You never came back. When I stopped aging over the years, the mistresses at the orphanage said I was a cursed child of the devil and left me, too.” He rubbed his eyes to stop the tears from flowing. He had spent years being unable to cry only to finally break down when everything came back to haunt him. All in the form of his older brother who he wasn’t even sure if he missed at that point in his life.“I was a freak,” Jaufree continued. “I couldn’t stay anywhere for long because it was getting harder to lie. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I didn’t have horns like you.”Guthryn reached out to take his brother’s hand. “You’re safe now, and you have a home with me. All of that stuff is behind you.”“No it isn’t. That’s not how this works!” Jaufree pushed Guthryn away. He was surprisingly strong. “I’ve tried starving myself, going without sleep, and anything else I could think of. I can’t die. Any injuries just heal the next morning on their own.”“You’re immortal,” Guthryn said, surprised. He stared at his brother with confusion. “You’re not a demon, but you’re somehow immortal.” He’d been a fool to think a normal human being could come from a demon’s seed. “I figured since you didn’t have horns like me, and your eyes looked brown when you were younger, you were just human.”“Even though my mom was a human you sure cared enough about her,” Jaufree snapped as he climbed off the bed and leaned against the open window. His tears ran dry as he became angry. It was painful to be trapped in a perpetual state of a teenage emotional roller coaster. “You didn’t act normal around her. There was something wrong with you.”Guthryn closed his eyes and turned away from his brother. Of course he would have to bring that up after all those years. “There was nothing wrong with me. I accepted her as a mother figure and I loved her.”“The way you loved her wasn’t normal,” Jaufree shot back. “It’s why you cared more about her than you did me. She was the only human you wanted anything to do with.”“Jaufree, please come home with me and we can forget everything,” Guthryn pleaded. “We can start over and I can make up for what I did.”Jaufree pressed his back against the wall as Guthryn rose from the bed. “Why should I go with you?” he said nervously. “How do I know you won’t just neglect me again?”The demon’s red eyes glowed. He couldn’t leave Jaufree there no matter how much the teenager fought him. “You’re coming with me. You can’t keep living like this — I won’t let my brother continue to live like this.” Guthryn rounded the bed and wrapped his arms around Jaufree’s waist, his strength overpowering his little brother’s. He ignored the punches against his back and the kicking as he left the house with Jaufree, and he threw him into the backseat of his sports car. The child locks were activated and Guthryn slid into the driver’s seat.“I don’t trust a damn thing about you,” Jaufree spat. “Just leave me alone!”“You can choose to live in filth and harbor a grudge,” Guthryn said calmly, “or you can have a family and a warm bed.” Guthryn’s tone softened. “Please, let me make up for what I did wrong.”Jaufree fell silent as the engine started and Guthryn backed onto the road. Karyn would have to talk some sense into the teen because Guthryn wasn’t sure he would be able to. He hoped Jaufree would choose a clean bed and a warm shower over a rotting house, at the least.

A fire crackled in a glass fireplace over white stones, and Guthryn finally relaxed back into the sofa. He stared up at the ceiling through his large, black plastic-rimmed glasses. They were non-prescription, but it made him feel more like the humans he surrounded himself with. He wasn’t even sure when the eye wear became a part of him, but he supposed that was how it naturally would be for a human. It gave him more of a sense of empathy for them.But his brother wasn’t as human as he’d thought.Guthryn turned his head toward the bathroom on the second floor to hear the muffled shower’s spray. At least he’d convinced his brother to bathe and calm down from their altercation. It wasn’t the best homecoming he would have hoped for, but he supposed he deserved every bit of the anger Jaufree had for him. Guthryn had been wrong to disappear for such a selfish reason, which had caused a lot of horrible traumas for his brother, but it was already done. No amount of self-deprecation would bring those years back, but they had the future to look forward to if Jaufree would allow it. He could only hope his brother would choose him over a life of homelessness.Guthryn couldn’t help but smile as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. At least his brother wasn’t going to hide from him anymore. “Hey, I’m down here!”“You don’t have to yell,” Jaufree grimaced. He’d had a stress headache ever since they’d entered Guthryn’s home, and he was even more cranky because of it. He walked around the corner to see his brother for the first time in proper lighting.The pale demon had asymmetrical short black hair that was chopped up, tall and curved horns that were silver, and eyes of a deep red crimson. There were piercings in his ears and the middle of his lip as well as his septum ring, and he was a natural giant with an athletic figure. He lounged in a black crop top and shorts that were cut off way too high.Jaufree lifted a judgmental eyebrow. “What in the hell are you wearing?”“What I’m comfortable in,” Guthryn said and winked to lighten the mood as his brother dropped onto the couch at the far end.Jaufree remained standoffish. “You talk like a girl.” He paused and then struggled with something. “I mean, whatever. If you’re gay, it’s fine.”Guthryn sighed. “I have a lisp, I can’t help it. And I’m pansexual.” He shifted to get comfortable and eyed the phone on his coffee table. He wanted to call Karyn, but he knew he couldn’t do that just yet. “Let’s not judge people by the way they talk, okay?”Jaufree started to pick at the over-sized shirt Guthryn loaned him. “I’m not judging you, it’s just a little weird.” His words were laced with controlled irritation and exhaustion.Guthryn slid down the sofa in a slouch. He didn’t blame Jaufree for being stressed, but it mirrored the same kind of talk he got from strangers all the time. ‘I support your right to be who you want to be, but why do you have to be so flamboyant?’He couldn’t take out that frustration on his brother, though. He had no idea about the kind of life Jaufree had led or what he’d learned on the streets by himself, but that brought to mind something he’d been wondering since they’d arrived home. “Hey, how did you make it all these years? I doubt you were able to find work without raising questions.”Jaufree bit at his lips. “Of course not. I’m supposed to be six feet under by now, and getting a fake ID that’s convincing when you look like this is impossible.” The younger of the two started picking at his nails. “Forever a sixteen-year-old’s face, I guess. That was the last birthday I celebrated with anyone.”“So what did you do?” Guthryn asked again. “You were eating back at the house.”“When you get really good at hiding, you pick up a few other skills.” Jaufree smiled and flexed his fingers. “Pick-pocketing and stealing is a breeze once you get used to it.”The weight of Guthryn’s guilt doubled. “I don’t want you to do that anymore. I’ll get you whatever you need as long as you promise me that.”“You’re assuming I’m staying?” Jaufree clenched his jaw as he tore a nail and it bled. “I don’t need you. I don’t need anyone.”Guthryn massaged the bridge of his nose. “I’m trying to do better, Jaufree. I understand you’re angry with me, but you can’t keep living like that forever.”The immortal teenager glanced over at his brother as he chewed his lip again. His leg bounced. “Yeah, I’m angry with you. Looking at you upsets me all over again, to be honest. I just want to go back to how things were. It was peaceful and quiet, and I didn’t have to worry about anyone because no one can disappoint you if you’re alone.”“At some point, you need to trust someone,” Guthryn said. He couldn’t control the irritation creeping into his voice. Why couldn’t Jaufree see that he was genuine? That he was trying? “We’re family. We’re the only family we have. Family has to stick together, Jaufree.” He tried to tame his emotions. “I can give you a good life here. You can have anything you want.”“You think you can buy my trust?” Jaufree grew angry and stood from the sofa. “That just proves to me you’re still an asshole who knows nothing.” He stormed off up the stairs and a door slammed.Guthryn fell onto his side and stared into the fire. He didn’t know what to do now. He’d tried to be open and kind, and he accepted Jaufree’s pain. He gave his brother a home and anything he would need. He apologized. He was at a loss, but Karyn would know what to do. She had a daughter and would know better than anyone how to handle the mind of a teenager.Guthryn rolled onto his back and grabbed his phone off of the coffee table. It was time to update Karyn on the situation and ask for her help once again. He would need it if he was to successfully gain his brother’s trust, if it could ever be gained.

This is an early preview and does not necessarily reflect the final version.

“For the record, I think your lisp is endearing,” Karyn giggled as Guthryn lounged back on her office sofa.“What am I supposed to do?” he said with exasperation. “I’ve offered him everything and I’ve told him I’m sorry.”“Give him time, Guthryn,” Karyn said as she smiled. She swiveled side to side in her chair. “He’s got some big mental scars that you’ve caused. He’ll need to see he can trust you rather than just taking you at your word. You can’t throw money at every problem and expect it to solve itself.”“You’re right.” Guthryn sighed and sipped at the coffee that Karyn had made for him. He hadn’t been able to convince Jaufree to go with him, and he wasn’t even sure the teen would still be at home when he got back. He’d locked up the place pretty well and turned on the security system, but he suspected that was no challenge for someone like Jaufree. He just hoped his little brother preferred cleanliness over abandoned and musty. The teen at least slept well after a shower, even if it was on the sofa. It seemed Jaufree just wasn’t ready to sleep in a proper bed in the guest room yet.It had been the middle of the night when Guthryn heard footsteps in the house. He only slept through the night when he wanted to dream, so he’d been lying awake with a lot on his mind. At first, he’d been afraid Jaufree was sneaking out, but when he made his way downstairs, he saw his brother curled up on the sofa fast asleep.Karyn brought him out of his mind. “So how did the first night go? Did he sleep well?”“He won’t sleep in a bed, I guess.” Guthryn took another drink of the strong French vanilla coffee. Of all the substances in the human world, caffeine seemed to be the one that affected him the most. He was starting to feel jittery after his second dose. “It’s weird though. He’s immortal, but he seems to require sleep like any other human. He also eats a lot of junk when I can get him to eat anything.”“That’s interesting.” Karyn tapped a finger on her lip.” I think it’s safe to assume that he isn’t a demon. He could very much be a human with the inability to age due to the circumstances of his birth. It would make sense that he would have, at the least, a longer lifespan from your father.”“And his eyes,” Guthryn said. “I remember now from when we were kids. I’d forgotten until I saw them again. Everyone was freaked out by them but I didn’t get why.” He smiled. “I guess they would have been freaked out by me too if they’d been able to see me. I was hidden away because I didn’t know how to hide my horns.”Karyn leaned back and rocked in her chair. “Back in those days, it was easy to hide from the system. What little there was of one, I should say.”“What are you trying to say, darling?” Guthryn raised an eyebrow. “That I’m older than dirt?”“You are older than dirt.” Karyn stared at Guthryn with a wicked smile. “I can’t say I’m not a little jealous.”“You know, I might just tell you my secret for a great complexion.” Guthryn stood from the sofa and approached her desk. He sat on the end and leaned back on a clawed hand, watching her affectionately. “Wanna know, Cher?”“I doubt it’s anything that would save me from the wrinkles I’m starting to get.”“Honey, what wrinkles? I don’t see any.” Guthryn reached forward and slid a hand along the side of her face, causing her to turn away.Karyn huffed a laugh. “We’ve been over this. Your mojo doesn’t work on me.”“Doesn’t it?” An underlying deviance rose within Guthryn that burned whenever he was around her. His red eyes glistened as his gaze devoured her in her red sleeveless dress. Her hair was dyed brown and cut to her shoulders — layered heavily with a side part. She had a pair of beautiful heterochromia eyes — one brown and one hazel — that were rare among humans, and full lips that were glossed red to match her outfit. She was the most beautiful woman in the world to Guthryn.Karyn smiled hopelessly as she watched him eat her alive. “Never.”“You’re lying.” He slid off the desk and leaned over her chair, setting his lips by her ear. “Trust me, I know these things. I can feel the heat radiating from you.” He bit his lip and brushed his nose against her ear to tease her.She chuckled and leaned back to look at him. “It’s menopause, I assure you.”He slumped over as laughter claimed him and backed off. “I’m going to get you one day.”“I’m your lawyer, Guthryn.” Karyn raised an eyebrow. “Demon or not, I’ve learned to resist your charms.”“You didn’t resist me so much when we first met.” He flashed her a flirtatious grin that made her look away shyly.“I didn’t know who you were. And what was I supposed to think? An attractive young man was making moves on me.”“You let me kiss you.”“Barely!” She crossed her arms. “It wasn’t my fault I didn’t know what you were or what you were working with.”Guthryn chuckled. “But you liked it a bit too much, didn’t you? Your body lit up like it was Christmas.”“Don’t you have work to be doing, Casanova?” Karyn lowered her eyes in judgment.“Plenty of time to do it in, too.” Guthryn finally admitted defeat for the day and looked at the clock. It was already late morning nearing eleven. “I’ll leave you alone. Talk to you later, Cher.”“Karyn!” Her words were lost behind closed doors as Guthryn left her office.Sometimes she felt like life would be much less frustrating without him around, but the thought of never having met him saddened her all the same. She liked him too much for her own good, and she knew it didn’t come from his sultry demon aura. She’d become invested in him and his life, and she would always do everything in her power to make sure he would be okay. Part of her felt a maternal instinct toward him.The smile fell from her face as she remembered the things he’d told her after he’d come out to her as a demon. The stories of his childhood, and his biggest secret, had unnerved her almost as bad as his true identity, but she wasn’t one to judge a being so old and so complicated. Most would think her mad for trusting him, knowing what he was, but she saw a side of him that not many did. She saw his tears and she heard his secrets and didn’t run the other way. If he truly did love her because of the pain he still held inside for Mildred, that was fine.Karyn was an older woman and he’d told her she reminded him of Mildred. She would never be Mildred, though, and she hoped Guthryn could accept that.

The late afternoon sun warmed Jaufree’s face as his body was nudged.He’d been lying on the sofa out cold for the better part of the day. He’d wanted to leave and he very well could have. It plagued his mind, but not as much as the desire for a warm bed and clean clothes. As much as he wanted to get away from anything pertaining to family, Jaufree knew he was better off with a brother who at least pretended to care for him. He’d like to think Guthryn felt more than an obligation, but his heart still couldn’t be sure that he wouldn’t be abandoned again.In the meantime, he had plenty of food and good liquor. He had discovered his brother’s well-stocked bar on the second floor and tested a few flavors. The testing led to more testing, and then a few full glasses and some mixing experiments. Apparently, being immortal didn’t necessarily mean a good constitution for liquor.Jaufree’s body was nudged harder. “What?” The word sounded like some sort of noise.“What in the hell did you do, Jaufree?” Guthryn pulled his brother up and sat on the sofa beside him, and then glanced over at the bar. There were at least one or two small empty bottles sitting on its surface next to a mess of ice on the counter top. “You didn’t drink that much, did you?”“Did I?” Jaufree sputtered a laugh as he glanced over at the mess. He swayed as everything spun and shrugged lazily. “Prob’ly.”Guthryn sighed heavily. “We need to sober you up. Come on.” He stood and tugged his brother’s arm. It ripped sharply out of his grasp and he was met with a very hazy yet angry face.Jaufree’s golden eyes glowed with emotion. “I’m fine. Stop treating me like a kid!”“You are a kid if you’re going to drink yourself stupid. Now, come on!” Guthryn grabbed his brother’s dead weight and threw him over his shoulder to carry him to the bathroom. Once there, he started the shower and turned it to cold, standing his brother before the side of the tub. “Hold onto me and don’t throw up until you’re in the shower.” He fought with the teenager’s sweater as Jaufree struggled.“Don’t fuckin’ touch me!”Guthryn clenched his jaw and fought back, finally lifting the sweater over the teenager’s head. “I’m only trying to help you, so calm down.”Jaufree grumbled something before settling down as his brother disrobed him and helped him into the shower. He cried out in surprise as the cold water hit his body, and goosebumps crawled across his skin as he curled into himself.Guthryn sat on the lid of the toilet and leaned one arm on the counter beside it. His mood sobered when he heard the shivering form panting under the cold spray. “What did you drink?” he asked calmly.Jaufree huffed a few more times before he finally caught his breath from the shock. “Why do you care?”“So I know what to replace.” Guthryn hadn’t meant it to sound so cold, but he grew weary of his brother’s irritability. As much as he cared about him and wanted to make things right, Jaufree wasn’t making it easy. Guthryn knew he’d made mistakes and he wanted to fix them, but the iron grip Jaufree had on his grudge couldn’t last forever.Guthryn grew concerned as Jaufree began to hyperventilate, and he turned to make sure the teen was okay. Tears poured down Jaufree’s face as he sobbed. It was enough to make Guthryn feel guilty about being so cold in return. He rose from where he sat and turned off the shower, taking his brother into his arms after wrapping a towel around him. “I’m sorry.”Jaufree grabbed onto his brother’s white dress shirt and squeezed, staining the material dark with water in his fists. “I don’t want to be alone anymore,” the teen mumbled.Guthryn squeezed him until the shaking lessened. “You’re not alone. I’m right here, and I promise I’m not going anywhere.”His shirt was drenched by the time he’d managed to drag his brother to his bed, and he covered the teen up. He sat there for a time as he watched Jaufree fall into a deep, exhausted sleep.When he had received the call from Karyn just a few days previous, he suspected his life would be a new kind of Hell all over again. Jaufree definitely favored Mildred in looks more than their father, and the boy’s eyes were a window into the ones Guthryn had stared into too many times without being able to speak. It was like staring at a constant reminder of the one person who still haunted him. Jaufree even had her hair — full, long, and dark brown.Guthryn closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The memory brought back difficult emotions, and he stood from the bed. He had to leave the room before the pain consumed him.He left his bedroom door cracked open as he approached the bar to clean up the mess. Thankfully, only a few bottles were gone and the rest seemed to be undisturbed. The mess was nothing a few towels couldn’t clean up quickly. After that was done, Guthryn poured himself a glass of straight whiskey and sat on the sofa. He wasn’t usually one to drink something that wasn’t mixed, but he had to dull his senses. Being a full-fledged demon, it took quite a bit to get a buzz. He knew he would be more than a few glasses in before anything would start to blur enough to not hurt.He couldn’t get the sound of Jaufree’s crying out of his head. He could only imagine that’s what his brother sounded like when he’d left all those years ago. When Mildred had died, Guthryn shed more than enough tears to last him for the many years he’d be without her. Jaufree, while silent for most of the day it happened, broke down when it was time to finally say goodbye to her body. His tears were not only for his mother, the only person besides Guthryn that treated him humanely, but also for the future that he would spend alone.Although Jaufree finally had his older brother back, they’d never been close to begin with. Guthryn’s disappearance probably wasn’t even a surprise to him.When Jaufree had said that the only human Guthryn cared about was Mildred, he’d been right. Guthryn couldn’t deny it. He hadn’t known any other humans at length besides her, except for Jaufree at the time, who he now knew wasn’t fully human at all.Guthryn was still not entirely clear about how he came to Mildred, other than the time she told him, as he grew into an older child, that his mother had died when he was born. He was supposed to view Mildred as his new mother figure, and he tried, but there was something about her that made all the loneliness, the confusion, and the fear fade away. He was also painfully aware of how much harder he’d made her life. It was already difficult enough with her being a witch in secret.She often spoke to Jaufree in his crib about her fears. About her hesitation to take them out in public with her. She tried her best to comfort them and assure them that they were just as worthy of love and good things.Guthryn sighed as he stood to refill his glass, and then decided on carrying the bottle over to the coffee table instead.He’d tried to bury the memories some time ago, only for them to resurface when he’d met Karyn. His life became busy and he grew absorbed in work and making money, and he didn’t give himself much time to think about anything. It was always the same pattern of work, phone calls, partying, sex, more work, and then a small vacation to quiet his mind for a bit until it would start again. He had created a life among humans that was comfortable and safe for himself, and he had been a fool to think it could go on perfectly forever. He was a demon in a world populated with creatures he only emulated.He had no further interest in the people he slept with. He knew them physically, but never beyond that. It was fine that way. Those who populated his scene were usually rich and selfish with drugs, alcohol, or sex on the mind. Guthryn had no desire to engage with hard drugs, but buy an alcoholic barfly a drink and they would practically melt in your arms. Humans were so easy to please and they were all so superficial. Very few were truly genuine, good people in that city like Karyn was.He desired them, nonetheless. His pension for carnal desires was unrivaled by any of them, and he always found himself out on the dance floor between two or three, the sexual tension radiating off of them like an intoxicating drug straight to his brain. It was the price he’d paid for what he became when he’d been relatively new to the world in terms of a demon’s existence.There was no off switch. When he entered a room he was practically suffocated by the sexual energy that most humans weren’t even aware they emitted. Human scientists called them pheromones. To a demon of lust, it was the most powerful aphrodisiac.Guthryn was very well aware of the fact that demons were not supposed to engage in reckless intimacy with humans. He often wondered, in regard to that, if his father actually loved Mildred like she’d told him. Guthryn, however, loved her enough for the both of them.It had been something he’d never thought twice about. He’d never been properly socialized to know what was proper and what wasn’t, but he knew he was different from the other children. The fact that Mildred was supposed to be his mother figure had registered in his mind, but it hadn’t stopped at that.Every time he saw Mildred, the only thing he could think of was how beautiful she was and how her smile made him feel happier than he’d ever remembered being.When she held him close at night to try to get him to sleep, he felt safe in her arms. It never failed that every time she lay him in his own bed, he became upset and cried for her to hold him again. To her, it was a simple case of separation anxiety and nothing more. His own mother had died, after all, and it had to have left some sort of subconscious fear.On Guthryn’s fifteenth birthday, he again crawled into bed with Mildred and she stopped sending him away. She knew nothing about raising a demon, so to her, he was a child who had become sleep deprived. He drifted off for her sake with the peaceful sound of her calm breathing.Guthryn turned nineteen. He lay in bed with Mildred all night just talking to her because he couldn’t sleep. She called it insomnia. He was full of questions.“What’s it like to be out there, with others?” Guthryn asked.Mildred smiled. “Not what you think, Guthryn.” She chuckled. “People aren’t always the kindest, you aren’t missing much.”“I’d still like to go with you.” His chest swelled with emotion. “I’ve been learning how to control the magic I have, and I can hide my horns.”“Good for you, Guthryn.” She smiled and ran her hand through his hair as she shifted onto her elbow. “Maybe it would be okay, if you can keep up your disguise for long enough.”“I would love that.” He closed his eyes as she chuckled again in response. “I want to be with you all the time,” he said dreamily.Mildred made a sound of endearment. “Everyone’s going to wonder who this handsome man is beside me.”She spoke in a way that a caregiver would — innocent and with the intent to uplift him. Guthryn’s face grew warm. He shifted uncomfortably in her embrace. His heart hammered as he went to war with himself, and with as much as he wanted to snuggle closer, he decided to roll over and pull the blanket to his neck.The weeks that followed were torture. He became jealous when Mildred spent a lot of time with Jaufree — who was still a young child — and he had joined Guthryn and Mildred in bed at night. With his little brother always between them, Guthryn lay awake and stared at the ceiling, wishing for the late-night talks to return.The night Jaufree started sleeping in his own bed, Guthryn found himself relaxed for the first time in a long while. He and Mildred talked late into the night as they usually did.Mildred grew tired, and she gave him the quick peck she’d always given him before sleep. With a racing heart, Guthryn set his hand on the side of her face and followed her as she rolled onto her back. He couldn’t stop. A heat crawled up into his stomach in a powerful rush and he tried to deepen the kiss.“Guthryn!” Mildred snapped coldly.He’d never heard her say his name with such distaste. He’d rarely, if ever, needed to be disciplined, so the sound was foreign. It was pure poison.“I’m sorry!” Guthryn searched for any good excuse, but it was too obvious. He avoided her glare as she sat up and stared down at him with the blanket held up to her chest.“You can’t do such things.” Mildred remained still, unmoving in her astonishment.Guthryn swallowed hard and struggled to make himself move. It felt final. There was no going back from that mistake. “I must have — must have drifted off. Half-dreaming. I don’t sleep well, so—”“I think it’s best if you sleep in your own bed,” Mildred said firmly. “I should have never let you sleep here for as long as I have. If I’d known…”“I promise it won’t happen again, it was a mistake!” Guthryn’s chest clenched tight. “But it’s not that bad, is it? You’re not my real mother.”The painful silence that stretched made Guthryn realize the true impact of what he’d said. She’d come to view herself as a mother figure for him, and his words were like a slap to the face. She didn’t care that he called her Mildred, but she’d done everything to replace what he’d lost. In his attempt to love her and justify it, he’d only caused her pain.He spent the rest of that night alone on the sofa in the front room by the fire. He’d never cried so hard that it hurt as his heart shattered. Young Jaufree had wandered out to check on Guthryn, and he curled up on the floor with a blanket and pillow so his brother didn’t have to cry alone.Mildred eventually recovered some semblance of normalcy around him, but she remained cautious of Guthryn until the day she died.

Guthryn set down his fourth finished glass of whiskey and stared up at the ceiling. The sun had gone down and he felt pleasantly buzzed. Shuffling came from his bedroom and he stood to check on his brother, who had woken up and rolled onto his back.“Hey, why am I in here?” Jaufree said tiredly. He grimaced as his head pounded.Guthryn smiled and sat on the bed beside him. “I wanted to keep an eye on you. Next time you want to drink until you black out, at least wait until I’m home to make sure you’re safe, okay?”“Okay.” Jaufree stared down at the clean sheets in thought. He was oddly submissive for the first time since they’d met again. “Hey, thanks,” he mumbled.“Oh my,” Guthryn teased. “Is the defiant teenager capable of being nice?” He made a mock show of surprise, and Jaufree failed to hide a small smile.“Shut up.” The teenager lay back down and rolled over onto his side, pulling the blankets up to his chin. “Why don’t you go drink another one?”Guthryn huffed playfully and fell over in his inebriated state. “Get some sleep, brat.” He tried to give his brother a hug but was pushed off.“Ugh, go away.” Jaufree slid to the other side of the bed. “At least I don’t get all huggy when I’m drunk.”Guthryn pouted. “What’s wrong with a hug? I have to make up for all the hugs I couldn’t give you.”“Let me sleep!” Jaufree whined from beneath the blanket.Guthryn sat back up and watched his brother until the boy’s breathing fell to a steady rhythm. Things may have been rough when they were growing up together, but Jaufree hadn’t asked for any of this. He hadn’t asked to be born into a messed up family.Guthryn eventually curled up in bed and lay there beside his brother as he slept, smiling genuinely for the first time in a while. The playful little kid he once knew was still in there somewhere, and he had seen a glimpse of it. It would only be a matter of time before he could bring that out again and they could finally be the family they should have been.