Deceased Dora Read online

  She screamed, nearly swallowing her own tongue in fear as she spun around to face her attacker. She paused as she met Carob’s big brown eyes.

  After taking a few seconds to let her heart rate calm down, she punched him in the face.

  “You scared the fucking crap out of me!”

  Carob let her go and rubbed his chin with a laugh. “Yeah, but it was funny.”

  “It was not funny!” She smacked him in the chest. “I could have died from a coronary.”

  She spun around to check her ass wasn’t about to be bitten off by an angry wolf and found a teenage boy standing behind her. He had messy black hair and wore glasses.

  “You were so scared of me.” He sniggered.

  She walked towards him and stood as close to him as possible without touching him.

  “You have doggy breath,” she said.

  He scowled at her, and she heard Carob laugh behind her.

  “What are you doing out in the forest, again?” Carob asked.

  “Actually, I was looking for you. I might need your help.”

  “Help with what?”

  “Vampires.”

  He frowned. “What kind of help?”

  She considered her answer. She didn’t want to make the vampire wars worse, but she needed the werewolves assistance.

  “I need sanctuary. They’re trying to kill me.”

  After a moment of silence, he nodded. “We’ll help you, but you need to prove that you are not a spy, and you’ll have to meet with the den mother.”

  “How do I prove I’m not a spy?” She tried to think of what she could use as proof. “You could ask the spirit ride guy.”

  “He only speaks to you, everyone else is—”

  “Mind-fucked?” She interrupted.

  “What?” Carob’s frown deepened.

  “Oh, nothing,” she muttered. Bloody supernatural beings and their stupid rituals. It was worse than the church!

  “Okay, so how do I prove er, my loyalty or whatever?”

  “She should run with the pack,” the younger wolf said.

  “Not tonight, cub.” Carob shook his head. “The trees are alive with wicked intent.”

  “The what?” Dora asked.

  “Can’t you feel it? This forest is dangerous tonight. That’s why we’re out here, rounding up the pack.” He pointed into the dark forest as a small light shimmered past a tree. “That is not natural. There is something else here tonight.”

  She stared at the misty lights that were shimmering through the trees. How had she not noticed them before?

  “What is it?”

  “Magic,” he said. “And not the good kind.”

  “What kind is it?” She inhaled at the word ‘magic’. This was what she’d always wanted, to find real magic in the world. She didn’t care if it was good or bad, she just wanted to learn it.

  “Witches,” he said. “They are casting a ritual to the moon, one that we want no part of. It is not safe to be in this unholy place tonight.”

  “Unholy?” she asked. “What exactly are the witches doing?”

  “They are sacrificing an angelic being to their master.” He shook his head in disgust. “It is not safe for you to—”

  Kieron!

  She was already rushing towards the lights.

  “What are you doing? Dora, come back. It’s not safe!”

  “I’ll come and find you later.” She called back to Carob as she raced through the woods.

  “I’ll meet you at the caves.” She sprinted towards the lights without a care.

  It’s Kieron. It just has to be!

  She glanced back to see that Carob and his friend had gone.

  She faced forward and followed the misty trail of colourful lights that were dotted through the forest. Branches whipped against her skin when she ploughed through the trees as fast as possible. Her heart was pounding. She didn’t care how many cuts she got from the dense forest. She needed to save Kieron.

  The lights seemed to be growing and amassing in a copse of trees ahead of her.

  She lowered her head and pumped her arms and legs to reach it faster. She glanced down at the gauntlet on her hand. The toothpick was loaded and ready to fire.

  Bring it on witches. You won’t get your wicked hands of my boyfriend.

  She broke through the trees with a roar. Then she paused and frowned.

  She was in a clearing that had one ancient oak tree at the centre of it. There was an angel bound to the tree with thick chains. His hands were tied above his head, and his wings were folded in submission.

  She couldn’t see his face, but recognised his thick blond hair and tawny muscled body. It was Kieron.

  The reason she couldn’t see his face was because it was mashed against the face of a red-haired witch, who was busy snogging him.

  Dora coolly eyed the witch. She wore a simple white dress that fell to her ankles, and she was entangled around Kieron’s body.

  A part of her heart sank to near her feet and suffered a slow painful death.

  Is he kissing her back? Was he even looking for me at all?

  She glanced around the clearing. There were several other women wearing similar dresses, all seated around a pond. She assumed they were also witches as they turned to stare at her.

  Sitting on a rocky incline above them was a man in a cape, who was wearing leather pants and eating an apple. He twirled a blade in his hand while idly watching her with curiosity.

  She glanced back towards Kieron.

  He wasn’t struggling very much, but he seemed awake. She gritted her teeth.

  I’ll kick his ass later. First, these witches are going down.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” She shouted out to the red-haired witch.

  The witch paused and glanced up at her. “This is a private event, child. I suggest you turn around and walk away.”

  Dora narrowed her eyes while anger boiled in her belly. The kind of anger she hadn’t experienced since Hell.

  She became vaguely aware of red smoke billowing around her as she raised her hand and aimed at the witch’s backside.

  The man on the hill raised his eyebrows and dropped his apple in surprise as Dora shot a toothpick into the ass of the witch who was mauling her boyfriend.

  The witch yelped and jumped off Kieron while rubbing her ass.

  She turned to face Dora with a scowl on her face, but her expression froze when she saw her.

  “Oh, fuck. I-I didn’t mean it,” she said while backing away from Dora and Kieron.

  Dora frowned.

  I didn’t think it’d be that easy.

  She glanced at the coven of witches. They were all standing and backing away from her, moving away from the pond with fear in their eyes.

  A brunette one glanced up at the man on the incline. “Help us, master,” she cried.

  Dora glanced up at the man on the hill.

  “Screw this,” he muttered, vanishing before her eyes.

  The witches screamed in terror as she walked towards them. Then they turned and fled into the forest.

  What the hell?

  She shook her head and walked over to Kieron. He was staring at her with wide eyes.

  “This is so not my fault,” he cried.

  She raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Really! I was looking for you, and they captured me.”

  She began untying his chains while shaking her head in disbelief.

  “Dora-minx, please look at me.”

  She sighed, dropping the final chain on the forest floor. She peered up into his clear blue eyes. He was staring at her with an intensity that made her pulse race.

  “I’m so glad I found you.” His voice sounded throaty.

  That was all it took, one look into his eyes, and the red smoke around her evaporated. This was Kieron. He didn’t lie and cheat. Okay, he did get into the most ridiculous situations in the universe, but he would never hurt her.

  He’s really here!

>   “I’ve been looking for you too.” She hugged him against her. She felt a lump in her throat. It had been horrible not knowing if he was okay.

  She felt his warm arms wrap tightly around her as he spun her in the air.

  “I was so scared I’d lost you,” he said. “But I shouldn’t have worried, huh?” He laughed.

  She frowned. “What?”

  “Well, nothing on this Earth can hurt you now.”

  Her frown deepened. She pulled back and stared at him. “What?”

  “Well, because of this.” He waved his hand in front of her body.

  “What?” She was beginning to get annoyed about having to ask the same question so many times.

  “Your demon form,” he said.

  “My what?” She felt her head and gasped when she found horns poking out of the top of her skull.

  “SHIT!”

  “Didn’t you know?” he asked. He grinned while stroking her face. “It looks very sexy on you.”

  Demon form, how the fuck can I have demon form?

  She brushed his hands away from her.

  “No. How could this happen?”

  She ran to the small pond and stared down at her reflection.

  “No, no, no!”

  Her skin was blood-red, and her teeth had elongated to fangs. She still looked a bit like herself, but there were big black horns poking out of the top of her head and veiny red wings poking out of her back behind her.

  Shit, do I have a tail?

  She spun around to check, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn’t find a forked tail behind her.

  She solemnly stared down at the demonic version of herself in the pond.

  What the hell am I?

  She saw Kieron appear in the reflection behind her. He glowed with angelic light, his white wings stretching out behind them as he put his arm around her waist and hugged her against his bare chest.

  She hung her head in sadness.

  This relationship is never going to work.

  “What’s wrong? You look beautiful, and it means you will be safe. Nothing can harm a demon.” He squeezed her tightly against him. “Whereas, angels appear to be bitch bait for any psycho in this world.”

  She rested her head back against his chest in defeat. She felt drained and weak.

  She glanced down at her hands as the skin turned from red to pink.

  At least it wears off.

  Dora frowned, trying to come to terms with her gift from Hell. Becoming a demon was not something she wanted.

  How can I be a demon? Don’t you need to be dead first?

  “This sucks.” She turned to face Kieron, and he rested his hands on her hips.

  “That wasn’t what I expected you to say to me when we were reunited.” He frowned.

  “No, not this.” She pointed to him.

  “This!” She pointed to herself. “How can I be a fucking demon?”

  “I’ll swap you.” He glanced back at his white wings. “You try having a white fluffy glow and getting raped by witches.”

  She hadn’t really thought about it that way.

  “You try getting hunted by the Vatican and a bunch of vamp—”

  “I was shot by them.” He interrupted before she could finish.

  “I was buried alive!”

  “I was buried in a statue in Vatican City!”

  “Shit, really? Was Pooey with you?”

  “No, I haven’t seen him. I thought he was with you.”

  She shook her head. “I looked for you both, but he could be anywhere.”

  Kieron hugged her. “Don’t worry, we’ll find him … and Carissa too.”

  She frowned.

  Who?

  “Who’s Carissa?”

  He slowly rubbed his hand up and down her back. “This wolf girl I’m travelling with. People keep thinking she’s you. It’s kinda weird, but she is good and kind.”

  She scowled and pushed him away from her. All this time, he’d been with another girl!

  “Oh, well if she’s a perfect version of me, then I’m sure you’ll end up much happier with her.”

  His brow knotted into a frown. “There is no perfect version of you.”

  He tried to grab her hand, but she stepped away from him.

  “Wonderful. I’m so messed up that I’ll never be perfect.”

  “No! That’s not what I meant. I meant you are unique and can’t be copied. You are the perfect Dora.”

  “Perfect demon more like,” she muttered as she turned to walk into the forest.

  “Yes!” he said as he followed her. He caught her in his arms and hugged her. “My perfect demon.”

  She pushed him away. She didn’t want to be a demon. She carried on walking into the forest.

  “Dora where are you going?” He followed her.

  “To see the werewolves, maybe your wolf girl is there.” She ground out the words.

  “How do you know where the werewolves are?”

  She smiled as she felt a moment of satisfaction when she answered. “I’ve met a wolf boy called Carob when he was half naked in the forest one night.”

  She heard a growl behind her before she felt Kieron grab her arm. He spun her to face him.

  “I don’t want you seeing him ever again!”

  “You don’t get to tell me who I can see.”

  “Yes I do. You are my Dora!”

  “You’re fucking delusional! What about you and wolf girl, you’re allowed to see her, but I’m not allowed to see Carob?” She wasn’t really bothered about seeing Carob again. She was more bothered by Kieron and this girl.

  “You can take your archaic double standards and shove them up your as—”

  She didn’t finish as he cupped the back of her head, pulled her towards him and pressed his lips against hers in an angry kiss.

  She wanted to fight him, but for some reason the battle turned into a passionate embrace.

  Her anger faded away in the rush of desire that flooded through her body when his hands tightly gripped her, locking her against him.

  She clawed his back and pressed her body against his as he took her breath away with deep kisses from his persistent lips.

  She gasped when he lifted her into his arms as they frantically touched each other. She hooked her legs around his waist, clinging to him and leaning over him while kissing him and gripping his broad shoulders.

  He slammed her back against one of the trees, pinning her to it with his body as he cupped the back her head, pulling her closer.

  Her skin heated up with bursts of pleasure, and she could barely breathe from excitement. The warmth of his large hand as it travelled up her thigh was sweet torture that caused her to arch in anticipation.

  “FUUUUUCCCK!” A voice cried out above them.

  They broke apart and glanced up in unison, both panting.

  She frowned at the murky shape in the sky above them as it fell towards the Earth.

  Shooting a sideways glance at Kieron, she found him staring at her with intense eyes.

  “This isn’t over,” he muttered in a throaty voice.

  She nodded as he released her legs, and she slid down his body until she was standing on her own feet.

  She fought through the clouds of desire that were fogging her mind as her pulse slowed to a speed of fast, rather than insane.

  They both peered up to see a dark shape falling from the sky. She frowned. It appeared to have several legs.

  They moved to the side as the shape neared the ground and landed with such force beside them that it ploughed a crater in the forest floor.

  “Fuck!” it muttered.

  She peered into the hole to find was a man on horseback slumped in it. The man was the same one from the hill earlier. He was flattened against his steed, which was spread eagle beneath him on the bottom of the crater.

  She studied the creature. Amazingly, it appeared to be alive.

  The man groaned and then slapped the creature on the ass.

 
Dora widened her eyes when the mount stumbled onto its feet, rising in the crater.

  Is that a fucking unicorn?

  It was hard to tell if it was a unicorn or not. It was a dirty brown colour with a bent horn and flies buzzing around it. If there were such things as flea-bitten mongrel unicorns, this creature was the queen of them.

  She covered her nose with her hand when it cantered before jumping out of the crater and standing before them.

  Both rider and steed stood proudly in front of Dora and Kieron.

  Her eyes watered at the smell coming from the unicorn that was beyond rank.

  She glanced at the man’s hand as something tiny in it squeaked. She frowned as she noticed that he held a tiny person in his hands and was shaking her over the unicorn’s back.

  Is that a fairy?

  “Come on, you useless fucking thing.” He shook the fairy, and she squealed.

  “What the hell are you doing?” Dora asked.

  “Fuelling my ride,” he muttered while still shaking the fairy. “But it looks like she’s out of dust.”

  He shrugged and threw the fairy behind him into the trees. The little pink being let out a ‘Wheeeee’ sound as she flew into the distance and flopped into some shrubs behind him.

  “Peggy, you’re going to the fucking glue factory,” the man muttered as he climbed off the unicorn’s back.

  Peggy must have not liked that comment because she neighed and tossed her head, sending some flies and mould flying off her mane.

  “Send her to the car wash first,” Dora said.

  “She’s been in storage for a long time.” The dark-eyed man protested. He brushed his hood back to reveal an attractive, rugged face.

  “YOU!” Kieron roared.

  “Well, I’ve been called worse.” The man shrugged. “Please, carry on being defiled. I love watching angels fall.” He gestured to Kieron.

  “I’m not an angel!” Kieron cried.

  “Well, you won’t be if you’re fucking a hot, demon girl. You may continue.” The man rested an arm across his trusty steed, and it stumbled sideways before righting its stance.

  Kieron growled and launched himself at the man with his fists raised, knocking him to the ground. They rolled across the ground in a flurry of fists until they became a blur of white wings and a dark cape.

  “Will you two cut it out!” Dora cried. “Kieron stop it,” she added as he gripped the man’s throat.