Keeley Thomson (Book 4): Demon Trap by P.S. Power Read Free Book Online

that looked like it had been gotten from the Goodwill. For real.
    Looking around, Keeley decided to do the same. Being shy wouldn't help her now after all. No one looked overly interesting at first, but after a few moments Zack walked nearer and let his shoulder almost touch hers. That got several people to head their way, slowly, moving carefully to see who was likely to reach him first. No one really wanted to give offense after all, did they?
    "So... You're a baby? What does that mean really?" The words weren't accusing, just curious.
    She forced a sigh and a playful smile that hinted at a bit of flirtation, but it didn't distract him much at all.
    "I'm sixteen. My powers manifested about five months ago. Greater Demons are counted as being 'born' when their abilities first show up. That can vary in time, and some minor things show first, but somewhere around sixteen is pretty normal, give or take a few years. Until then we're pretty much human." It was all true, but she stopped herself there. Zack wasn't stupid after all, and there was enough information in that to make him wonder about himself, if it came up often enough.
    It might actually be better if he didn't know though. If he was going to be one of them one day at all. It was so dangerous a situation, given the fractured state of his mind that she kind of hoped that wasn't going to be the case at all. It would be more positive for him to be just a human that thought he had Mage lineage than to be one of them, and die without ever having a chance to live at all.
    He didn't seem to pick up on it at all though and just nodded.
    "Good thing I didn't sleep with you then. Jail bait." He didn't seem upset with her though and she waved at her face, smiling in a way that had to be charming.
    "With this face no one would blame you though. There are different rules for Greater Demons anyway. For the most part that works out to being whatever I want to do, so we're good, if you want to have sex. Or not. I won't be offended either if you don't wish to." She sounded old suddenly, but didn't bother to stop herself. Acting like a child wouldn't help her at all, especially now that people knew all about her.
    She was really going to have to work harder on learning to fight well. At this rate it was going to be coming up again.
    There was just a bland look on his face, and a pat on the shoulder.
    "I can't say it isn't tempting. It will probably make everyone feel better to know that I'm not hooking up with a Greater Demon anyway. You really freak them all out, at work." He went silent then, because a woman simply walked up and started asking about a complex shipping arrangement.
    The details were actually interesting enough, since it would take him to eight different remote locations to find specific rare items and goods, mainly to trade to others for separate materials, all to make a poultice that wouldn't actually do anything at all. The woman had a skin condition she was hiding and had been told that only this would cure her. That wasn't the case, and a bit of an antibiotic cream would work much better. The information was actually all there in her own mind too, but the woman didn't trust humans enough to allow their medicine to be used like that.
    So instead she was preparing to spend a good portion of her people's wealth on a placebo. It might help for that reason, but Keeley smiled and shook her head a bit. Zack noticed it and looked at her, his other self popping forward enough to change the shape of his face, ever so slightly.
    It was another sign that he wasn't exactly a regular human boy at least, wasn't it?
    "Keeley?" Nothing more was added, but he touched his injured arm ever so slightly and started to shift his energy pattern, drawing in a tiny trickle of force from the world around him, feeding off of it.
    "I have something that will work much better than that. It's... a bit harder to get a hold of however. I'm sure this lady won't want to deal with me directly, which