Warsaw

Demons

Ebony~

I sat in my dining room, which was located just outside of my kitchen, at the small, round, copper-colored wooden table. I lifted my spoon to my lips, placing the soup on the spoon in my mouth. Warm, comforting tomato soup. I swallowed slowly, sighing. I looked to my right, down at the table, sighing as I once again let my eyes roll over the note my mother had left me a week ago.

Ebony-

I placed about three thousand dollars into your credit bank account

for the time I'll be over seas. Use it well. Buy groceries when you need

them, and don't forget to call Mr. Beker for instructions on the new

oven that should be arriving within a few days.

I love you very much and I'm sorry this is so hard on you, but I have

to go for my service time. Be safe.

-Mom

I bit my lower lip, the ache in my chest tightening up. Mom had be deployed over seas to the Middle East this past week. She was a nurse in the Red Cross for the US army, and she had been called in. I didn't have a dad. Not technically. He walked out on my mom when she was pregnant with me. I've never bothered to figure out who he was. So I was on my own a lot of the time. Which would have been okay if not for Nikolai.

As if he had read my mind, Nikolai suddenly appeared in the seat across from me. And when I say appeared, I really mean appeared. Out of thin air that was. Because he was a ghost. Not exactly a ghost though really, because if he wanted to, he could solidify his body, and gain a human body, with all the skin, blood, liquids, everything of a human. But most of the time he decided to stay in his ghostly form. And the reason for his undetermined self was because of what he had done in World War Two. He had been a Russian Noble, and he masterminded a secret mass-murder of countless innocent families. Strangely, when he was killed, even though he did go to hell, he wasn't thrown into the "fiery inferno" or whatever hell was. No, the devil gave him a chance at redemption, because after all, Nikolai had to execute the mass-murder as a command from his leaders. I don't believe his innocence.

So lucky me, I ended up as Nikolai's chance at redemption and- an immortal life. With me.

Nikolai smirked at me, as he saw me scowling into my bowl of soup, refusing to look at his pale, masculine, perfectly shaped face, his dark pink lips, his soft, black hair, and his smoldering dark charcoal grey eyes. I heard his chair creak as he left it, then heard his low, slow, somewhat heavy footsteps heading in my direction. Apparently he had decided he wanted to be "solid" for a bit.

"Ebony." He murmured softly. His low voice sent shivers down my spine, that Russian accent of his exciting my teenage hormones. "Have you missed me, my love?"

"Why would I miss you?" I muttered. I despised the man about as much as I lusted for him. Half the time I wanted to fall into bed with him and the other half I wanted to strangle him.

"You would, and I know you do," he crooned. He moved my chair away from the table and stepped in front of me, pushing my legs apart and pulling them around his waist. I tried to find something else to look at, to resist the temptation to gaze into his gorgeous eyes. Nikolai lifted my chin, his eyes locking on mine, and I knew I was a goner. Nikolai smiled and leaned over, pressing his lips to my ear. I trembled for a moment before I tried to push him away, only to have my hands shove through the air that was now his body. I unlocked my legs from his waist and stood up, backing away from him.

"Ebony, why do you fight your feelings for me?" Nikolai asked, his voice low and angry. "My Immortal angel-"

"I don't have feelings for you." I spoke firmly. Nikolai growled.

"Yes you do or I wouldn't be here!" Nikolai hissed.

"Well you shouldn't be here!" I snapped. "I'm perfectly fine on my own!"

"Oh really? Then you would have been able to handle the Kros demons that invaded your house a month ago when your mother was at the hospital working?!" Nikolai smirked.

"Don't mention that night!" I yelled. "It's your fault they were even here! If you hadn't left the portal to hell open for those three seconds-"

"Don't go pointing fingers!" Nikolai roared. "You were the one born with the black blood of Bartok- the angel that condemned me to this punishment-"

"Punishment?!" I screamed. I turned and bolted out of the kitchen, grabbing my pale blue jacket from the coat rack near the door to my small house. My white Keds stomped on the ground as I threw open the door and closed it. I hurried off of the front porch, only to see Nikolai, in his ghost appearance, directly in front of me.

"Ebony, don't leave." Nikolai pleaded.

"I need to get some fresh air!" I snapped at him. I saw my neighbor, Roger Whitham, standing in his driveway. Roger was the same age as me, and went to the same school as I did. He was my very best friend. Of course, Roger didn't know about Nikolai, and he couldn't see him. Roger perked an eyebrow and walked over to me.

"Ebony, are you okay?" Roger asked after he had stopped in front of me. "You look a little off..." Roger fixed a strand of my ebony hair behind my pale right ear.

"Yeah... Just... Paranoid..." I sighed. "It's hard, with my mom gone and the house is always creaking and..."

"Hey, it's alright," Roger smiled and pulled me into his arms to hug me, making me smile. "Did you remember the medications today?"

"Yes I did," I groaned.

"Stupid human, she doesn't need medications," Nikolai snapped. I tried to ignore the demon, wanting not to sound completely insane in front of Roger.

"Good. Now, how about we go and get some coffee down at Simpson's Cafe?" Roger smiled his dashing smile, pushing his copper hair out of his brown eyes. I smiled at him and nodded, feeling at ease with him.

"Don't string him along too bad, Ebony," Nikolai hissed, his voice bitter like acid. He didn't like Roger. In fact, he didn't like any males who stepped within a five yard radius of me. And I thought girls were supposed to be the clingy and possessive ones.