Free The Entity Who Came for Christmas: A Holiday Novella (Entity Series) by Cat Devon Page A

Damon was now living in an area known as Vamptown. Not known to mortals, of course. Only to vampires. All the major cities had districts that were devoted to various vampire clans. Here in Chicago there were three major clans–Vamptown, Gold Coast, and South Side. Personally, Simon thought “the Gold Coast clan” sounded more aristocratic, but then no one had asked for his opinion.
    Simon was more formal than some other vampires in both his attire and speech. He’d been accused of being snobbish and aristocratic. He was famous for his calm … and his ruthlessness. All of which was fine by him.
    “You’ve been off the radar for months. What’s going on?” Damon demanded.
    Simon removed his trench coat and made himself comfortable on Damon’s leather couch. He didn’t like having to explain himself to anyone. He certainly didn’t like the way things had turned out lately. But in order to get the situation fixed, he needed to be up-front with Damon … or at least partially up-front.
    “I’m cursed,” Simon said.
    Damon laughed. “So? What else is new? You’re a vampire Demon Hunter. Of course you’re going to be cursed by demons.”
    Simon supposed he couldn’t blame Damon for teasing him. Perhaps he should have come to Vamptown sooner. But he’d been busy tracking down leads that had ended up going nowhere. So he’d finally come here. “This is serious.”
    “Being cursed by demons isn’t serious?”
    “No, really, I’m cursed and it’s all that witch’s fault!” Simon growled.
    Damon looked at Simon in disbelief. “My witch cursed you?”
    “No, of course not. It was the other one. Pru.”
    “The one you hooked up with last year?”
    “Yes. Big mistake.”
    “Dealing with witches can be tricky,” Damon said.
    “Having sex with one is even trickier.”
    “I know. What were you thinking?”
    “That she’s beautiful and hot.”
    “And a witch.”
    “Yeah, that, too.”
    “I didn’t think witches could curse a vampire Demon Hunter,” Damon said.
    “Normally they can’t. But Pru isn’t a normal witch.”
    “She’s a crazy one?”
    “Not exactly.”
    “Then what exactly?” Damon demanded. “Why was she able to curse you and what exactly is this curse? Does it prevent you from hunting and killing demons? Because if so, I’ll have Zoe reverse the curse immediately.”
    “No, the curse doesn’t affect those abilities.”
    “Then why didn’t you come when I was dealing with the demon outbreak here in Vamptown earlier this year?” Damon demanded.
    “Because it was Silas. I’d already helped you with that uber-demon before. I was not allowed to help you with him again. Besides, I knew you could defeat him.”
    “So there is a limit on how many times you can assist me in defeating demons?” Damon asked.
    “Not a limit per se. Silas was a special case because I helped you escape his fiendish torture when he wrongfully imprisoned you in hell.”
    “What about since then?”
    “Things have been relatively quiet in Vamptown since then, have they not? Demon-wise, I mean. Isn’t that correct?” Simon asked.
    “Yes.”
    “And I’ve been dealing with demons overseas,” Simon said.
    “Let’s get back to this curse Pru supposedly placed on you.”
    “There’s no ‘supposed’ about it. She definitely cursed me.”
    “You said she’s not a normal witch. What makes her different?”
    “Aside from the fact that she has the most gorgeous face and long blond hair and eyes like emeralds?” Simon drawled sarcastically.
    Damon grimaced. “Like emeralds? Really? Yeah, aside from all those clichés.”
    “It’s rather a long story.”
    “I’ve got time,” Damon said.
    “Don’t you have to return to Zoe?” Simon asked.
    “She kicked me out.”
    “Not permanently, surely.”
    “No, she and her grandmother along with Pru are doing some sort of Winter Solstice dinner and celebration tonight.”
    “And they didn’t invite you? How rude of them,” Simon said.
    “I