Demon Bound: The Camelot Archive - Book One R Nicole (open ebook .txt) 📖

He began to look bored and I was wondering if it was his way of avoiding questions he didn’t want to answer. “Alteration, manipulation, mind control—it’s all the same thing.”

“So, what happens if I tell my boss about you?”

His eyes sparkled as he laughed. “You won’t.”

“You sound so sure.”

Elijah rose to his feet. “If there’s one thing I know about you, Madeline Greenbriar, it’s that you’re loyal…to a fault.”

I didn’t like it when he said my name, but I was just telling myself that to make myself feel better. It was creepy, yet kind of alluring. I was so weird.

The front door opened and he walked out, leaving me standing in the cottage.

“If we hurry, I can get you back to your crumbling castle by bedtime.” His voice echoed around me. “Or you can wait here for your friends in the mountain to collect you.”

I yelped and scurried after him, wondering if I was choosing the lesser of two evils. The only way to know was to let Elijah’s game play out.

7

The car Elijah had ‘borrowed’ was a slate grey Jaguar F-Pace—a forty-thousand-pound luxury SUV. The leather seats were so soft, I caught myself stroking them once too often. It was way posh. There was an eight-inch touchscreen in the dash that gave all kinds of stats about the car, along with navigation and music, and little buttons that controlled the heating and cooling…and the seat warmers.

Elijah slapped my hand away from the screen with an annoyed sigh. “Stop it. You’re like a child.”

“I’ve never seen a car like this before.” I rubbed my knuckles as the Scottish Highlands flashed past and glared at the demon behind the wheel.

“It’s the twenty-first century,” he scoffed.

“So?” I stuck my tongue out at him and settled back into the seat.

“I would’ve thought you would have utilised technology to win the war.”

“Technology makes us weak.”

“I’ll never understand you Naturals.”

“I’ll never understand you…whatever it is you like to call yourself.”

“There’s no one else like me,” he revealed, “so I wouldn’t know.”

I raised my eyebrows and studied his profile. No one else like him, huh? That was good news—it meant Human Convergence hadn’t fired back up to its previous production levels.

Elijah’s expression revealed nothing else, so I turned back to the window, watching the wild landscape change as we descended from the Highlands.

Scotland was beautiful. I preferred the city, but there was something about the untamable wilderness at the top of the world that tugged at my heartstrings.

“We’re being followed.” Elijah’s voice snapped me out of my daydream.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I can sense them.”

“Who are they? The same arseholes who captured me?”

“It seems like it.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Those things can drive a car? Have you seen their nails? I can’t believe how they get through life without having to clip them.”

Elijah snorted. “How did you people ever survive?”

“With—”

“That was a rhetorical question.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Do you know what rhetorical means?”

“It’s a question that doesn’t require an answer.”

“Exactly.” What a complete a-hole.

“How many?” I asked.

“Two.”

“What are they driving?”

“A Volkswagen Polo.”

I snorted, almost choking on my spit, then burst into laughter. “Demons are following us in a Volkswagen Polo? Seriously?”

“They’re not good at selecting cars, but it’s not funny,” he barked at me. “It won’t stop them from killing me and taking you.”

“Can we outrun them?” I asked, wiping at my tears.

“Yes, but that would be a bad idea. Best to kill them before they give away our position.”

“I don’t have my arondight blade,” I told him. “We’ll have to lose them and cover our tracks somehow.”

His hands tightened around the steering wheel. “You rely on your weapons too much.”

“How else am I supposed to kill demons?” I demanded. “I can’t slice off their heads with my resting bitch face, you know.”

“You kill them with your Light.”

“My Light? It’s not strong enough to take down a demon. That’s what my sword is for.”

Elijah sighed. “You’re really starting to irritate me.”

“Excuse me?” I huffed. “If I’m so annoying, then why bother saving me at all? You seem pretty comfortable being a demon. Were those tears just for show last night?”

He growled and slammed his fist down on the steering wheel. “Bitch.”

“Your demon is showing again.” I smirked and looked back at the car behind us.

As if he was taunting me, Elijah pressed the button to kill the ignition and the engine died. We began to coast down the road, sailing around the bend.

I tensed as we began to slow. “What are you doing?”

“I can’t let them live,” he replied. “Sword or no sword, we will fight.”

I supposed I had to agree with him. If the Dark found out he’d helped me escape, he was dead—regardless of his allegiance to them. Considering I was bound to the guy who knew what that meant for me, I seriously hoped this wasn’t one of those ‘I get hurt so you get hurt’ scenarios.

Besides, I didn’t want to go back so we were still on the same page…for now.

“But it’s broad daylight,” I argued.

Elijah scoffed. “Demons aren’t vampires, Madeleine. We can withstand direct sunlight.”

“That’s not what I meant. What if a human comes along and sees us?”

“We’ll be cloaked.”

“Until a car crashes into an invisible Volkswagen Polo!”

He smirked at me, his lips pulling up on one side. “We better make it quick, then.”

The handbrake ratcheted on and the car jerked to a halt. Behind us, the Polo stopped five car lengths up a gradual incline, the rear end was obscured by a raggedy box hedge.

Elijah threw open the door and stepped out onto the road like the cocky bastard he was. Sighing, I clambered out of the passenger seat and followed him.

Cool air brushed against my skin as we stood together, waiting for the demons to make their move, but they stayed put in the Polo.

“They’re not getting out,” I said.

“Obviously,” Elijah drawled. “They’re just confused.”

“Or calling for back-up.”

“Unlikely.”

“How do you know?” I demanded and glared at him.

“You’re really asking me that question?”

“Yeah,