Read Online Demon Bait (Keeley Thomson) by P.S. Power - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: P.S. Power
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things harder for her and her friends.
Yes, that could be Helmsman,
which was what she was supposed to be thinking, given that guidance and
making people listen to her was that Demon's main ability. It was the kind of
thought that made so much sense that it was simply correct, unless she was
being fooled on purpose. Really, it came down to the idea that everything
Helmsman said just seemed very reasonable. The problem there was, as with the
rest of them, insanity. If she decided that stripping naked and rolling in the
snow would be fun, everyone around her would love the idea. It wasn't
slavery, since you could resist, but it was hard to do, and most of the time
beings didn't know to even try.
That gave her a lot of power in
the world. Armies would march on her command and never realize it wasn't their
own idea. Whole technological paradigms had been skipped over or ignored,
simply because she didn't care for the way they looked.
By all rights she should have
been in control of them all, but Greater Demons, once they'd got the idea what
was going on, had figured out tricks to get around her ability. It took work,
but Keeley started on her own defenses, just sitting on the sofa in the living
room, which meant she was right there when a knock came from the front door.
She could feel that it was Darla,
now that she wasn't lost in thought. Someone pretending to be her, at the very
least. The feeling was right, but she'd been fooled before often enough that
she was planning to be careful. The meant opening the door however, which
wasn't nearly as cautious as all that. Not doing it would be paranoid however.
Unless it really wasn't her, in which case it was just good strategy.
The very good looking blonde girl
stood there dressed in a nice dark blue skirt and a white button up the front
blouse that had short sleeves. It fit the temperature of the day. It was warm
out, having gotten to about eighty. It was going to be more intense in a few
weeks, but in early June things weren't that bad to tell the truth. It was warm
enough to enjoy, without the humidity that would have made it uncomfortable for
most people.
"Keels. I thought that I'd
pop in and make sure that you're eating? Have clean clothes and all that?"
Darla seemed to be serious about it all, which got Keeley to shrug.
"I need to go shopping for
food soon. Tonight, probably. Other than that, I'm good. I... Um... I'm
planning to move soon."
That got her sister to come in,
not waiting for more information, and shut the door behind her. That was
probably due to the uncertainty in her voice, which was, she realized, not
needed. She cut the emotion behind it, barely using a touch of power to get it
done. Over time she was getting a little better about that sort of thing. It
was clear that a lot of the older members of her family didn't waste nearly as
much power on things as she did, day to day. That meant they didn't need to eat
nearly as much, though she was, she realized, starving.
Darla put a hand on her shoulder,
her face looking concerned.
"Are you... Running? I don't
know if you can get away from Tarsus. Not that I blame you. I can't believe
that he's threatening to kill you if you don't pass the Second Crucible like
that. Do you want me to have a talk with him and see what this is really about?
I know that I'm not your mentor anymore, but even that..." She didn't go
into how weird it was, or need to. It just was .
Keeley took a breath, calmed
herself and drew her body upright, making it seem a bit bigger, if a little too
thin at the moment. Then she held up one finger, and looked past Darla to the
door, as if thinking.
"I went earlier today and
spoke to him myself. Since I'm an adult now. He claimed that it was all about
motivating me and that he never really intended to kill me when I failed. He
said that. When I failed. Which is right, of course, but we had a long
talk about having some faith." Which while not the main discussion, had come up. So it was close
Yes, that could be Helmsman,
which was what she was supposed to be thinking, given that guidance and
making people listen to her was that Demon's main ability. It was the kind of
thought that made so much sense that it was simply correct, unless she was
being fooled on purpose. Really, it came down to the idea that everything
Helmsman said just seemed very reasonable. The problem there was, as with the
rest of them, insanity. If she decided that stripping naked and rolling in the
snow would be fun, everyone around her would love the idea. It wasn't
slavery, since you could resist, but it was hard to do, and most of the time
beings didn't know to even try.
That gave her a lot of power in
the world. Armies would march on her command and never realize it wasn't their
own idea. Whole technological paradigms had been skipped over or ignored,
simply because she didn't care for the way they looked.
By all rights she should have
been in control of them all, but Greater Demons, once they'd got the idea what
was going on, had figured out tricks to get around her ability. It took work,
but Keeley started on her own defenses, just sitting on the sofa in the living
room, which meant she was right there when a knock came from the front door.
She could feel that it was Darla,
now that she wasn't lost in thought. Someone pretending to be her, at the very
least. The feeling was right, but she'd been fooled before often enough that
she was planning to be careful. The meant opening the door however, which
wasn't nearly as cautious as all that. Not doing it would be paranoid however.
Unless it really wasn't her, in which case it was just good strategy.
The very good looking blonde girl
stood there dressed in a nice dark blue skirt and a white button up the front
blouse that had short sleeves. It fit the temperature of the day. It was warm
out, having gotten to about eighty. It was going to be more intense in a few
weeks, but in early June things weren't that bad to tell the truth. It was warm
enough to enjoy, without the humidity that would have made it uncomfortable for
most people.
"Keels. I thought that I'd
pop in and make sure that you're eating? Have clean clothes and all that?"
Darla seemed to be serious about it all, which got Keeley to shrug.
"I need to go shopping for
food soon. Tonight, probably. Other than that, I'm good. I... Um... I'm
planning to move soon."
That got her sister to come in,
not waiting for more information, and shut the door behind her. That was
probably due to the uncertainty in her voice, which was, she realized, not
needed. She cut the emotion behind it, barely using a touch of power to get it
done. Over time she was getting a little better about that sort of thing. It
was clear that a lot of the older members of her family didn't waste nearly as
much power on things as she did, day to day. That meant they didn't need to eat
nearly as much, though she was, she realized, starving.
Darla put a hand on her shoulder,
her face looking concerned.
"Are you... Running? I don't
know if you can get away from Tarsus. Not that I blame you. I can't believe
that he's threatening to kill you if you don't pass the Second Crucible like
that. Do you want me to have a talk with him and see what this is really about?
I know that I'm not your mentor anymore, but even that..." She didn't go
into how weird it was, or need to. It just was .
Keeley took a breath, calmed
herself and drew her body upright, making it seem a bit bigger, if a little too
thin at the moment. Then she held up one finger, and looked past Darla to the
door, as if thinking.
"I went earlier today and
spoke to him myself. Since I'm an adult now. He claimed that it was all about
motivating me and that he never really intended to kill me when I failed. He
said that. When I failed. Which is right, of course, but we had a long
talk about having some faith." Which while not the main discussion, had come up. So it was close
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