Page 1 of Demons Dig Donuts

CHAPTER

ONE

Indigo Summers knew Somerstown was full of monsters.

After all, he’d made a deal with one.

He’d been given a terminal diagnosis, advanced lung adenocarcinoma, even though he’d never smoked a day in his life. The doctors had said he would have up to five years with proper treatment, but that wasn’t good enough for Indy. He was only twenty-seven years old at the time, and there was still so much he wanted to do, countless places to go, more adventures to have.

Five years simply wasn’t enough.

He wasted the first few making the most of what time he had left, partying himself right down into the gutter. He took countless lovers to bed, put every drug he could find into his body, and spent each second seeking pleasure and fun.

It was heaven, but it didn’t last.

His family turned their backs on him and cut off any support, so Indy had been left on his own to keep the party going. He turned to drug dealing and sex work, and he had convinced himself that he was happy.

But that didn’t last either.

And then he got sicker.

Weaker.

His time was going to run out.

So, he had decided to take measures into his own hands.

His family had always told him that his great-grandmother Gammy was a witch, and what few memories he had from when he was a child definitely qualified her as one. He could remember her cooking weird potions in giant pots, lighting candles with a snap of her fingers, and she often spoke to people—or things—who weren’t there.

Once Gammy had passed at the impressive age of one-hundred-and-three, Indy’s parents had moved into her house and elected to trash her witchy possessions. No matter how many times the items were sold or tossed out though, they simply reappeared back at the house as before. They never talked about it, and instead they decided to simply lock up everything in a storage shed out in the backyard and pretend it didn’t exist.

It was there Indy went, desperate and dying, searching through her books, scrolls, and tomes. His family wouldn’t help him, doctors couldn’t save him, and he didn’t want to die so young. He wasn’t ready, and he didn’t care what the cost was.

Even if it meant his soul.

One magical ritual later, Indy met a demon named Mr. Kalt and his life changed forever.

It was a life he only got to have now because of Mr. Kalt, one that Mr. Kalt owned and would do with as he pleased. Once he found out what Indy’s previous occupation had been, he decided to employ Indy as a human sex worker with a very unique specialty: monsters.

Monsters who wanted the thrill of sleeping with a human without the fear of revealing themselves to the mortal world. Indy had seen—and fucked—it all since making his deal and signing his body away.

Beat dying, right?

That’s what he told himself anyway.

There was a sense of prestige being one of the only humans privy to the city of Somerstown’s hidden world, and he honestly didn’t mind the work itself. Mr. Kalt allowed him to keep some of his money, he was able to live on his own away from the club, and he didn’t think he could ever go back to having sex with humans after experiencing everything monsters had to offer.

Such great pleasure, however, came with great risks.

Monsters could be big and powerful, and Indy had to take certain measures to protect himself. Thanks to Gammy’s books, he was able to arm himself accordingly.

Silicone toys poured with iron and salt, lubricants made with rue, and more. To be extra safe, his manicure was literally prepped to bring down the mightiest of beasts. Cute bubbles of acrylics shaped to look like flowers or teddy bears or whatever else struck his mood held salt, iron, holy water, the works.

Although his life was guaranteed thanks to his deal and Mr. Kalt had his own strange way of being protective over Indy, he refused to go into any encounter unprepared. He’d learned that everlasting life still meant he could get sick and even wounded, and he’d rather not spend a week recovering from a foul-tempered monster getting too rough with him. In a pinch, he could break a nail and release the hidden substance within the acrylic to repel almost any manner of beast.

Too bad it didn’t work on humans.

“So, you like to party? ’Cause I would love to take you out sometime. Come on, I promise you’ll have the best time. You have no idea what a blast you’ll have. I mean, just the best—”