Demon's Keep

Helena Barnes

Kaine Price

Aemon Price

***

It was half past eleven when Lena realized she had been grading midterms for over eight hours. She only intended to do it for two. Whoops. The stack of papers never seemed to end, but at least the campus was closed for spring break. All Lena wanted to do was curl up in her bed for a week and watch Gilmore Girls while stuffing her face with junk food. She had picked up two more classes this semester as a favor for her friend and it was beginning to bite her in the ass. At least it was halfway over.

Packing her things, Lena shut her laptop and didn't even bother to pack it. She held her phone in her hand, checking to see what was still open for takeout. Pizza it is. As she walked out with her phone pressed to her ear, Lena made sure to lock her office door behind her. "Hi, yes, can I do a pickup for Lena Barnes? I'll do a supreme hand tossed. Fifteen? Great. Thank you." She shoved her phone in her back pocket and hurried down the marble steps.

Campus was a ghost town. A few groups of underclassmen were walking toward the dorms while a few stragglers lingered around. Almost everyone was gone to their respective vacations. Keys in hand, Lena strode toward her car. She didn't realize how hungry she was.

The parking lot was illuminated with yellow street lights. Only a few cars littered the spaces. Lena unlocked her SUV and threw her bag into the passenger seat before starting the ignition. The drive to the pizza place was quick and her neighborhood wasn't too far. She was fortunate to get in on the nice suburban area in town before the market skyrocketed.

As Lena rolled into the neighborhood, she was stopped abruptly by something in the middle of the road. Not something, someone.

Against her better judgment, Lena parked her car, flew open her door, and ran over to the man on the ground. Even though it was dark, she could tell he was bleeding a lot. "Oh my God," She mumbled, scrambling to find her phone. "Hold on, I'm going to call for help."

"No," The man grunted, grabbing her wrist with his bloodied hand. Lena gasped. Even in her panic, she could feel an odd sensation rush from his skin to hers. They sat there frozen for a moment until he groaned with another wave of pain. "No police. No hospital."

"You're gonna die." She urged, twisting her arm slightly, but his grip was too tight.

Shaking his head, the man tried to sit up but let out a loud yell. "I'll be fine - fuck!" He hissed.

Lena chewed on the inside of her cheek and helped him to his feet. He collapsed into her and she barely held him upright. You know how all of those true crime podcasts said to not let the scary man inside your car? Well, something inside Lena couldn't just leave this man in the middle of the road, bleeding, refusing the authorities.

“Listen, I don’t normally do this, but -“

The man snickered with a wince. “I bet you say that to all the guys.”

Lena narrowed her eyes. “Do you want me to help you or not? I live a few houses down.”

He glanced around, knowing he had no choice but to accept the help. Lena helped him into the vehicle. He slumped in the passenger seat. Lena frowned at the amount of blood getting all over her car. At least she would earn a few good karma points.

Lena was kicking herself. How could she be so stupid? Letting a strange man covered in blood into her car? And she was going to bring him into her home? She must be going senile, even if she was only twenty-six. Early onset dumbass. Hell, she didn't even know his first name. He could have been killing someone who fought back before they died. There's no way all of that blood could have been his own.

Would she have to move?

The lights in the car lit up as Lena put the car in park and cut the engine. Glancing at the man, Lena realized he was staring at her. He didn't even look away when she caught him. Behind all the wounds and blood, Lena could tell this man was very attractive. Like Jensen Ackles in The Boys, attractive.

Closing the garage door, Lena got out and helped him into the house. She led him to the bathroom and beckoned him to sit on the counter next to the sink. Rummaging through the bathroom closet, Lena pulled out her basket full of medical supplies from the back of the closet.

The man took the washcloth she handed him and started to clean up his wounds with warm water. Lena grabbed a clean cloth and poured a small amount of hydrogen peroxide onto it. "This is going to sting a little."

He didn't even wince when she gently brushed across the wounds. Once she applied pressure, though, he shifted uncomfortably. "Sorry," Lena cocked her head to the side running her fingers over the wounds on his neck. "What happened?"

He didn't answer. Lena continued cleaning the wounds. She reached for the box of bandages for a few of them, some others she'd have to sew up. Lena grimaced. "I only have pink kitten bandaids."

"You have all of these supplies and not a single normal bandaid?"

A shrug rolled of her shoulders. "I have a niece and nephew who like to play rough. They must have used up the others."

"You're fucking kidding me." He held back a chuckle, clutching his ribs. Lena pulled out the scissors and started slicing open his torn shirt. She revealed a collage of intricate drawings over his shoulders and down his arms. She didn't recognize some of the symbols, but she did recognize his six-pack of abs glistened by the blood and sweat.

Getting her head together, Lena pinched together the large cut on his side and grabbed some needle and thread. The man threw his head back against the mirror with a groan as she sewed him together. Lena covered it with gauze and used tape to keep it down.

There were quite a few that required stitching. The man was staring at her as she worked her amateur stitches into his skin. "You're good at this. Are you a nurse or something?"

"No, my mom is, though."

"And she taught ya everything she knows, huh?"

"Mhm," Lena spread a few bandages over his superficial wounds. "It helps my brother used to get into a lot of trouble, too, and had to be fixed up more than once."

"Used to?"

Lena tensed up, standing in between his legs with her hand hovering over his eyebrow. "Um," Lena looked for the words. This whole situation was weird. "He died last year."

"Oh, I'm, uh, I'm sorry."

"That's okay."

The man's sharp blue eyes looked into her green ones. "I'm uh, I'm Kaine."

"Lena," She murmured, thankful for his change in subject.

Kaine hopped off the counter, his kitten bandages and boots hitting the tile floor. "Do you often take in beat-up strangers?"

She chuckled. "No, I don't make a habit of it."

"Well, thank you. I would have probably been a goner had you not helped me."

"I highly doubt that. Your wounds weren't deadly unless you got them infected. They weren't that bad once the blood and dirt were washed away, " Lena said as she washed her hands. "Can I ask how you got all of those injuries?"

Kaine shrugged. "I was tracking someone down and they put up a hell of a fight."

"Tracking? Like a bounty hunter?"

He bobbed his head in response. "Cool," Lena muttered, running her tongue over her top teeth. "Now what?"

"Well, this is when I apologize for bleeding all over your car and offer to get it detailed."

Lena smiled at him, leading the way out of the bathroom. She strolled into her guest bedroom and pulled a sweatshirt out of the closet. "Here, my friends stay here sometimes and leave a few things so they don't have to worry about packing. I'm sure it won't be missed." It was a navy blue zip up with a hood.

"Thanks," He slowly put it on and covered up his addictive tattoos and abs. "I can have my brother drop my car off here in the morning and I can take your car to get detailed."

"You don't have to do that, really."

"It would make me feel better to do so."

Lena pursed her lips but nodded with an affirming smile. "Okay, as long as you bring it back."

Kaine raised his right hand over his forehead in salute. "Scouts honor."

She walked him out the front door, leaning against the side of the door. Kaine turned and smirked. "Thank you, again, for stopping."

"Thanks for not murdering me." Lena replied without thinking. "Yet, I guess."

He just laughed as headlights shown into the drive. It was too dark for Lena to see what kind of car and who was driving. Kaine walked off, throwing back, "I'll pick your car up tomorrow!"

As if Lena had been entranced, she snapped out of it when he got into the car. She couldn't believe she just did that. Hopefully now that Kaine knew she lived alone wouldn't kill her in her sleep.

Shaking her head at herself, Lena locked the door behind her and made her way to her bedroom to begin her vacation.

***

Holding two mugs in her hands, Lena carefully crossed the kitchen and handed one of them to her best friend. Lena steeped her tea while finishing her story. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I just saw someone who needed help and helped him.”

Ruth smirked and took a bite of her breakfast pastry. “It didn’t hurt that he was hot as hell, right?” She wiggled her eyebrows like a schoolgirl.

Lena’s cheeks turned a bright pink. “I didn’t even see his appearance until he was in the garage.”

“Mhmmm, sure. So how many times did you have to bring out Edmundo after Kaine left?” Ruth was referring to Lena’s well-loved vibrator, which she hadn’t gone more than a week without. They were close. Sex was mostly all they talked about.

Lena shook her head with a laugh but shrugged sheepishly. “Like three times. Oh my God, Ruth. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. His hair, his abs, his tattoos. Fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so hot before.” Which was true. Her exes were attractive but nothing comparable to Kaine. “Honestly I’m still unsure if I dreamt the whole thing or not.”

“The blood in your car is pretty telling.” Ruth pointed out.

“True,” Lena popped a grape into her mouth. “I don’t know, Ruthie . . . It was weird. I felt like I was in a trance the entire time.”

“Maybe he has a magical dick that was putting you under a spell.”

Lena laughed. “I wish that were the case.”

A loud knock on the front door interrupted their conversation. Lena glanced over at the security monitor on the counter and noticed an unfamiliar male standing outside, his arms crossed over his chest. She furrowed her brows and set her tea on the counter. Padding over to the door, Lena poked her head out. “Hi, can I help you?”

The man in front of her was equally as gorgeous as Kaine, and now that she was getting a closer look, he looked similar. “I’m guessing you’re Lana? My brother Kaine sent me over here to take your car.”

His blond hair was slicked back and he had a scruff above his lip and across his jaw. Both him and Kain had the same face shape, but this guy was definitely older. He also had tattoos littering his ivory skin. Wait, did he just call her Lah-nah?

“It’s Lena, like Helena.”

He smirked, leaning against the side of the porch. “Helena, huh? I like that.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “I typically go by Lena, thanks.”

“I think I’m going to stick with Helena, but, thanks for the tip. Listen, I have things to do and I’m just trying to help my brother out. Here are the keys to his car. Can I get the keys to yours or would you rather I hotwire it?”

Unlooping the keys from the key holder, Lena stretched her arm out towards him with a look of disdain. “Here,”

They exchanged keys. Kaine’s brother shoved his hands in his pocket, lifting his button up slightly so she could see the V of his navel. She averted her eyes immediately so she wasn’t caught staring. Raising her eyebrows, Lena clicked her tongue. “Anything else?”

“Nope, Kaine will get your car back to you.”

“Great,” She said shortly, watching him turn towards her car that was parked in the driveway. She had just taken it to get breakfast for her and Ruth. Honestly, she was surprised that Kaine was making good on his promise. “Thank you?” Lena called after him. He just waved back at her without even turning around.

Lena retreated back into the house and closed the door behind her. Ruth was at the window in the living room, peeking through the curtain. “He’s hot!” She said, waving her hand back and forth like a fan.

“That was his brother.”

“Hmm, me likey likey.”

Lena rolled her eyes and set Kaine’s keys on the nightstand beside the couch. “That was interesting. His brother’s kind of a dick.”

“How do you know Kaines not a dick? You knew him all of thirty minutes while you were cleaning up his wounds.”

“You’re right, I have no idea.” She wanted to know, though.