“YOU’RE GOING TO Europe?”
“Tristan suggested it, and with everything that’s going on, I think it’s a good idea.”
I leaned against my balcony railing. “But you don’t like to travel.”
Nate laughed on the other end of the line. “I used to love travelling when I was younger. I guess I lost interest in it for a while, but I’m looking forward to this trip.”
“Are you going alone? Is it safe?”
“Safer than here.” He sobered. “I wish I could convince you to come with me.”
“I wish I could go too, but I can’t right now.” It was hard to think of him being so far away, but at the same time I was relieved he was leaving. It wasn’t safe here anymore, if it ever had been. In the three weeks since the Vancouver mission, Mohiri across the country had come under increasing attacks by vampires. It was as if the entire US vampire population had rallied together to declare war against us. Strongholds were strengthening their security, and some compounds were sending their children overseas.
Whenever I got word that one of our teams was in trouble, Eldeorin and I went to help them. Sadly, we didn’t learn about some of the attacks until they were over. So far, three warriors had been killed and two had been taken. Every day I was terrified that someone I cared about would be next.
Some days, Nikolas and Chris had to leave on Mohiri business, and I haunted the command center until they returned. I tried to be cool about it, but someone must have said something to Nikolas because he started calling me if he was gone more than a few hours. It helped to hear his voice, but I couldn’t stop worrying.
Nate sighed. “I know, but I had to ask. Tell me again that you’re safe there.”
“I’m surrounded by warriors and faeries and this place is under Fae protections. And I’ve learned a lot in the last few months.”
“Desmund told us you’ve come a long way.”
“I have.” My lips curved, and I wasn’t sure if it was a grimace or a smile. Desmund had stayed for almost three weeks to help with my training. After the day I’d thrown him across the gym he hadn’t tried to trick me again. He said he had newfound respect for my Fae powers, but I could tell he felt bad he’d upset me that day. That didn’t mean he had gone easy on me. He’d spent every minute of our training pushing me to work with my Mori and to join with it for longer periods of time. It worked. I could stay connected with my demon for over two hours at a stretch now. And when I wasn’t using my Fae power I often left the wall down between us, something that made us both happier. I no longer felt my demon’s loneliness. It wanted nothing more than to join with me permanently, but it seemed content for now to be free from its cage and to be with me.
Nate chuckled. “To think I used to scold you about fighting, and here you are now, training with warriors.”
“God. those days seem like so long ago, don’t they?”
“A lifetime.”
“Do you miss home?”
He was quiet for a moment. “Some days I do. I know I can’t go back with things the way they are, but someday I’d like to visit again.”
“Me too. I never knew how much I loved it until I had to leave.” I closed my eyes and tried to imagine that the ocean I heard was the Atlantic instead of the Pacific and that instead of standing on a balcony, I was on the roof of our building back home.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about the apartment,” he said, interrupting my daydream.
“What about it? You’re not planning to sell it, are you?”
“I don’t know. It’s not like I need the money, but it seems like such a waste letting it sit there empty.”
“But…” The thought of strangers living in our home made my chest squeeze a little, but it was unfair to ask Nate to hold onto it, especially after what had happened to him there. “You’re right.”
“I’m not going to make any decisions right now,” he replied as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. “Judith is going to look after it until I decide what to do with it. I asked her to pack up the last of my books and have them shipped to me here since it’ll probably be a while until I can go back.”
Judith had been so good to Nate and me, watching over our place and taking in our dog, Daisy. According to Roland, Daisy was living on his Uncle Brendan’s farm now and the Beagle loved it there. I had planned to bring Daisy to Westhorne, but I knew she’d be happier at the farm. Brendan had a soft spot for dogs and he’d take good care of her.
Judith had tried to catch my cat, Oscar, too, but he refused to be rescued, and had gone back to his life as a stray on the waterfront. She left food outside our door for him, and she said she caught a glimpse of him every now and then.
Nate spoke to someone in the background then came back to me. “Listen, I have to go. I promised Desmund I’d play a game of chess with him.”
“Chess with Desmund?” I let out a small laugh. “Well, it was nice knowing you.”
“I happen to be a good chess player,” he said with mock chagrin. “And he is an interesting fellow. Do you know how many wars he’s lived through?”
Maybe I should have said “Poor Desmund.” Nate loved anything that had to do with wars and military, and he’d grill the warrior until Desmund went back into hiding.
“All right, I’ll talk to you later.” I hung up the phone and checked the clock by my bed. It was three o’clock, and I expected Eldeorin any minute for our daily training. Aine had returned to Faerie last week, saying that my training with her was complete. I’d been sad to see her go because we’d grown close the last few months. And because now that I had more free time, Eldeorin had stepped up his training. I’d lost count of the number of vampires and other nasty things I’d taken out in the last three weeks.
One of the worst was the incubus who had been stalking women in New York. Incubi could choose not to kill the women they fed off, but this one had relished draining the life from his victims. He’d been a real piece of work, and I shuddered every time I remembered the way he’d practically devoured me with his eyes as I lured him outside of that night club. I’d showered for thirty minutes after I got home and swore I’d never go within ten feet of another incubus. Next time I had to go after one of those bastards, I was taking him out with a crossbow.
“Why the sour expression?”
I spun to face Eldeorin who stood in the doorway to my bedroom. I should have been used to him sneaking up on me by now. “Thinking about New York.”
He nodded and walked over to join me at the railing. “Ah, the incubus. That was a clean kill, Cousin. You should be proud of it.”
I made a face. “Well, I didn’t feel very clean after. Please tell me we aren’t going after another one of those.”
“Actually, I was thinking we would do something different today.” His blue eyes sparkled, and I wasn’t sure whether to be nervous or excited. “Are you ready to go?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
He took my hand, and I felt the familiar void swallow us. When we arrived at our destination, I had to blink a few times to be sure what I was seeing was real. I turned slowly, taking in the sight of the pale yellow kitchen as my ears picked up the faint clang of a buoy out on the ocean. I ran to the window over the sink and stared at the snow-covered waterfront and the wide bay I’d thought about so many times since I’d left here all those months ago.
“I overheard you talking to your uncle, and I thought you might like to visit this place for a little while.”
A golf ball sized lump lodged in my throat. “Thank you.” I drank in the view outside the window for a few minutes before I turned away to walk through the apartment. Except for a few things that Tristan had collected for Nate like his computer and clothes, the downstairs looked just like we had left it. I stood in the doorway to Nate’s office, remembering him sitting behind his desk working on his books.
My legs carried me up the stairs as if they had a will of their own, and I looked around the empty loft that used to be my bedroom. The floor creaked as I walked around the open space, my footsteps echoing in the silence.
I sat on the old couch and sank back into the cushions. “Roland loved this old thing. When he used to sleep over, he never wanted to get up in the morning.”
“You are very close to the werewolf,” Eldeorin said from where he stood at the top of the stairs.
“He’s my best friend. I love him.” I stared at the floor as it hit me that I’d never actually told Roland how much I cared about him. I knew that he knew I cared, but I still should have said the words. If I’d learned anything in my eighteen years it was that happiness was fragile, and those you loved could be taken from you in a heartbeat. With everything we’d been through in the last six months and all the turmoil in our world now, I should have said something to him. Like I should have told Remy before it was too late, and Nate before I almost lost him. Like I should say something to Nikolas.
“You look sad. I thought coming here would make you happy.”
“I’m not sad. I’m thinking about how lucky I am to have so many people I care about.” I looked at Eldeorin. “Can I ask you something? Have you ever been in love?”
“Many times.” His eyes sparkled with laughter. “Though not the kind of love you have for your warrior.”
“Do faeries ever fall in love and settle down with one person?”
“Not often, but it does happen. I have not met one person in my thousand years who enticed me to ‘settle down’, as you put it.”
“I can’t imagine living alone that long.”
He laughed. “You should know by now, Cousin, that I am rarely alone.”
I shook my head. I’d heard more about his “relationships” than I ever cared to know. Faeries loved freely and frequently, and they also liked to share stories. So much for not kissing and telling. That concept did not exist in their world.
Eldeorin walked to the center of the loft and looked around. “This is a very drab room. You liked living here?”
I smiled, imagining how the place looked to a faerie who was used to every comfort. “In the summer you can open the windows and get a cool breeze right off the ocean. And in the winter when there’s a good storm, the whole building creaks and you can hear the wind howling down the chimney.”
“Sounds absolutely dreadful.”
“Not to me.”
I headed downstairs again. Everywhere I looked brought up old memories, and I absorbed them all like a plant drinking in the sunlight. God only knew when – if ever – I’d see this place again, and I wanted to make the most of my time here.
I was in the front hallway when I heard faint scratching, and I looked around to see where it could be coming from. It didn’t take long to figure out it was coming from the door. I started to ask Eldeorin what it could be when I heard a plaintive mewling.
“Oscar?” I looked at Eldeorin, who nodded that it was safe, and then I ran to open the door. A skinny gray tabby slipped inside and immediately began to rub against my legs. I locked the door again and bent to scoop the cat into my arms. “Oh, Oscar, I missed you.”
He’d lost weight, which was to be expected, but otherwise he looked and felt healthy. His ears and paws were cold, and he rubbed his head against my chin as his motorboat purr filled the room.
I hugged him protectively. “I can’t leave him here.”
Eldeorin let out a resigned sigh. “Demons and werewolves and now stray felines. My house will never be the same after this.”
“I thought faeries were supposed to be in tune with nature and animals.”
“I adore animals as long as they stay in nature.”
I stroked Oscar’s neck as I walked around the apartment. “Not me. I want a house full of them someday.”
Eldeorin made a face. “Then I pray you’ll wait until you have your own house.”
“Are you sure? Hellhounds make awfully good guard dogs.”
His horrified expression made me laugh.
“Kidding.”
The gleam that entered his eyes told me I was probably going to pay for my fun. I just hoped it wasn’t another incubus.
“Are you ready to leave, Cousin?”
I wasn’t, but I knew we couldn’t stay much longer. “Can I have a few more minutes?”
“As you wish.”
Setting Oscar on the floor, I wandered around the apartment one last time with him trailing close behind me as if he was afraid I’d leave him again. In the living room, I sat in the armchair near the cold fireplace and thought about the night I’d sat here with Nikolas. That was the first time I’d seen a side of him other than the warrior, and looking back it was easy to see how it had been a turning point in our relationship. I wondered how I would have behaved that night if I’d had any inkling where things would go between the two of us. When I’d offered him a truce, I’d had no idea that he would claim my heart as well.
Oscar meowed to get my attention and I pushed up out of the chair. My gaze fell on a cardboard box on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. There was nothing special about the box other than the fact that my name was written on the top in Nate’s handwriting. Strange. I was sure I’d had all my things shipped to Westhorne last fall.
I picked up the box, which didn’t weigh much, and laid it on the coffee table. Lifting the cover I peered at the contents. There were a few books, a photo album, some small framed pictures, ornaments, and a thin bundle of letters. None of it belonged to me. So why had Nate written my name on the box?
The answer came when I lifted the photo album, opened it to the first page, and saw the sepia photography of a little blond girl and a smiling blond man I knew well. Tristan. Which meant the girl was… Madeline. These were Madeline’s things, the ones Nate had mentioned to me before Thanksgiving.
I let the photo album fall back into the box and replaced the lid. I wanted nothing of Madeline’s, but Tristan might like to have her things. She was his daughter after all, even if she had hurt him by leaving the way she had. But then that was her M.O., wasn’t it?
I was halfway across the room when I stopped and looked back at the box. As much as I disliked anything to do with Madeline, I was curious about what was in the box. Not because I wanted to get to know her, but because the more I learned about her, the more I’d understand her. In the game of hide and seek we were playing I needed every advantage to catch her.
Grabbing the box under one arm, I bent and picked up Oscar with the other. “I’m ready.”
* * *
I sat cross-legged on my bed, staring so hard at the photograph in my hand that I was surprised I didn’t burn holes through it. It was a picture of two smiling young women with long blond hair, sitting in a powder blue convertible. Based on their clothes and the peace signs they were flashing at the camera, the picture was taken sometime in the seventies. But that wasn’t what had grabbed my attention, nor was it the fact that Madeline was one of the women. I was more interested in the identity of the other woman in the picture.
I knew that damn succubus was lying her ass off. Adele had told me she’d met Madeline a few years ago, but according to this photo, they were friends long before Madeline had met my dad. And from the looks on their faces, the two women had been close.
“What else did you lie about, Adele?”
Oscar meowed and jumped up on the bed, making a beeline for my lap. He had settled in surprisingly fast since we’d gotten back three hours ago. It turned out that dwarves had a soft spot for animals, and Heb had immediately gone about getting supplies and food, and spoiling my cat. After everything the poor little guy had been through lately, he deserved a bit of coddling.
I scratched his head as I studied the three other photographs of Madeline and Adele. I couldn’t tell where they’d been taken, just that it was summer and there was an ocean in the background of one. It struck me how happy and carefree and normal the two women looked. They could have been two human friends enjoying a summer day. I couldn’t help but wonder why Madeline had turned her back on her family and her people, and then befriended a succubus of all people.
I felt Nikolas’s presence a few seconds before a knock came at my door. I was surprised he was here. For the last week, he’d been spending more and more time next door, and I usually got to see him at training or if I went to the command center. When he was here, he rarely came to my bedroom. Since the morning he had returned from Vancouver, he hadn’t paid me any nighttime visits either. Jordan said he was probably trying not to rush me with everything else that was going on around us. I wanted to believe her, but the more time that passed, the more I questioned his feelings for me.
He entered the room and smiled at me sitting on the bed surrounded by books and papers. “Do you want to come next door with me instead of spending the evening here alone? Raoul is ordering from that Italian place you like.”
“That sounds awesome.” This morning Jordan had gone on her first warrior mission. It wasn’t a dangerous one, just a recon job in San Francisco with Chris, but they weren’t due back until tomorrow. I didn’t relish the idea of spending the whole night here alone.
Oscar meowed in protest when I went to move him, and Nikolas’s eyes went to the cat curled up in my lap. A frown creased his brow as he approached the bed. “Is that the cat you had back in Maine?”
“Yes, his name is Oscar.”
Nikolas stopped at the foot of my bed. “How did your cat get here?”
I rubbed Oscar’s head, and he kneaded my leg with his front paws. “Eldeorin took me to the apartment today and I brought Oscar back with me.”
I probably should have thought about what I was saying before I spoke. Nikolas’s face hardened and his eyes darkened to a steel gray. “He did what?”
I rushed to reassure him. “It was safe, Nikolas. Eldeorin was with me and I didn’t go outside.”
He was not appeased, and his next words came out almost as a growl. “What the hell is wrong with him? He knows New Hastings is not safe for you.”
“Is any place safe for me?” I slid off the bed but didn’t approach him. “Other than here where I’m surrounded by Faerie wards, is there any place I can go and be safe? It’s a dangerous world for everyone now, not just me.”
“Everyone else’s safety is not my concern.”
“And everyone else doesn’t have built-in vampire radar or power like mine.” I took a slow breath. Since our talk the morning he’d gotten back from Vancouver, he’d tried not to be as overbearing, but he was as protective as ever. All I wanted was for him to see me as someone who could fight at his side and not hide behind him. “I’m not defenseless, Nikolas, far from it. I’ve killed more vampires than most trainees do before they become warriors.” Tell him. Do it now. “I’m not saying I’m invincible, just that I’m a lot stronger than you think I am.”
“I know you’re strong, Sara. Khristu!” He ran a hand through his hair, and I could see his internal struggle in his eyes. “But we’re not talking about a few vampires looking for you. A Master wants you dead. Every time I think about that, it makes me want to forget my promise and take you far away from here.”
I walked around the bed and laid my hands on his chest, feeling both of us relax a little from the physical contact. “There is always going to be some vampire or demon that wants us dead because of what we are. They’ve been trying for a while now, but we’re still here. I have no plans to go anywhere. Do you?”
His hands came up to rest on my shoulders. “God, I wish it was that easy. Even with all the things you’ve seen, you still have no idea how much evil is out there and how bad it can get. And I don’t want you to ever have to see that.”
This was it, the opening I had been waiting for. There was never going to be a good time to tell him the truth about my training with Eldeorin, so I had to just suck it up and get it over with. I took a deep breath. “About that. There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”
His phone rang and I nearly cried at the rotten timing of whoever was calling. He stepped back to answer it. “Nikolas here.”
Someone spoke on the other end, and I watched Nikolas switch back into warrior mode in the blink of an eye. “When? No, I’ll be there in five minutes. Tell Elijah to assemble his team.” He hung up and I saw worry in his eyes before he could conceal it. A cold knot of dread began to form in my stomach.
“What’s wrong?”
“One of our teams called in and said they ran into some trouble. I’m going to take another team to back them up. It’s nothing you have to worry about.”
“What team?”
“Sara, you don’t have to worry about it.”
The knot became a lump of ice and I gripped his arm. “What team, Nikolas?”
“Chris’s team.”
“Oh, God.” I’d known what he was going to say, but the words still cut through my gut like a knife. “We have to help them.”
“We will.” He took my chin in a firm yet gentle hold and forced me to look at him. “Chris knows what he’s doing and he’ll keep Jordan safe. Raoul said they are pinned down but no one is hurt. They’ll be okay.”
I didn’t ask to go with him because I knew what his answer would be. But there was no way I was staying here while Jordan and Chris were in trouble.
“Go. Do what you need to do.”
He pressed a quick kiss against my mouth then strode to the door. “I’ll call you when I find them.”
As soon as the door closed behind him, I picked up the phone and calmly called Heb who was always in the kitchen. “Heb, please find Eldeorin. It’s urgent.”
By the time Eldeorin appeared twenty minutes later, I had almost worn a path in the floor of my room. “Let me guess, another rescue mission?” he said.
“Thank God. I didn’t think Heb would find you.” I pulled on my black leather bomber jacket that already had my knives stowed away in the pockets. “It’s Chris and Jordan. They’re in San Francisco and Nikolas is on his way there with a team, but it’s over an hour away. Will you take me to them?”
He smiled and held out a hand to me. “Of course. You know I love to watch you in action, Cousin.”
I took his hand. “You know the drill.”
The drill was one we’d been through at least half a dozen times in the last few weeks. Eldeorin glamoured us so we couldn’t be detected, and then whisked us over to the command center to find out exactly where Chris’s team was. Nikolas had already left with Elijah’s team by the time we got there, and it didn’t take long to find what we were looking for.
“Well, this should be fun,” Eldeorin muttered when we arrived outside a plain two-story building in the waterfront area of San Francisco. It was raining and windy so the street was pretty much deserted. Eldeorin used his magic to keep us dry and invisible.
“Are we at the right place?” There were no sign of Chris’s team, and I couldn’t sense a single vampire nearby. I did sense demons, but it was impossible to tell how many or where they were. My demon radar was still developing, and it was nowhere as good as my vampire radar.
“This is it. Your friends are inside and they are not alone.”
“Okay, give me the rundown.”
Eldeorin made a face like he had stepped in doggie do. “This place is called a wrakk, a demon gathering place. It is considered neutral territory among demons, and they can socialize and do business here without fear of being harmed. For the most part.”
I studied the building, looking for the way in. “Kind of like a demon market?”
“Exactly.”
“What are Chris and Jordan doing in a place like this?”
“I do not know, but I can tell you demons are very protective of their wrakks, and they do not care for outsiders.”
“Gotcha. Anything else I should know before I go in?”
Eldeorin grinned. “They really do not like faeries.”
“What else is new?” I started walking around the building, looking for the entrance. “You coming with me this time?” He usually liked to stay back and let me have all the fun unless it was a bad situation like Vancouver.
“I think I’d better observe this time. If I go in there, it’s going to send every demon in the place into a frenzy.”
I stopped at the bottom of a fire escape. “You were able to enter the Blue Nyx without bothering the demons there. Why is this different?”
“Adele siphons the energy from her clientele, which makes them rather placid. It is how Fae and demons are able to be there at the same time.” He waved at the building. “Much like my house has Fae wards, this place is protected by demon wards, and my presence would set them off.”
“Oh.” I checked my weapons and stared at the bottom rung of the fire escape that was way out of my reach. “Little help here?”
He chuckled and then the ladder lowered so I could grab it. I pulled myself up until my feet were firmly planted on the bottom rung. “Wish me luck.”
“Luck is for the unprepared, and I have trained you too well to rely on anything that fickle.”
I began to climb. “Such words of encouragement. You should work for Hallmark.”
At the top of the fire escape there was a small landing next to a narrow door. I cracked the door and peered inside at a dimly lit hallway with a few doors on either side. So far, so good. Slipping inside, I let the door close quietly behind me. I took two steps and came up against what felt like an invisible wall of jelly that gave when my hands pressed into it. It must have been one of the demon wards Eldeorin had spoken of. The question was, did it feel like this for everyone or was it reacting to my Fae side? And what was it going to do if I tried to go through it? It would really suck if I ended up trapped in this stuff and had to get Eldeorin to come in and free me.
Only one way to find out. I took a deep breath and pushed my way through the wall.
I emerged on the other side with a small pop. Suddenly, the muted demon presence that I’d felt outside was loud and clear. And it was big. There were a lot of demons in this place. I just hoped they weren’t all gulak demons or something equally as awful.
What the heck are Chris and Jordan doing in a place like this? I moved silently to the end of the short hallway that ended in a T-intersection with a catwalk that appeared to circle the entire second floor of the building. A three-foot railing overlooked the lower floor. Checking to make sure there was no one around, I went to the rail to see what lay below.
“Jesus!” I uttered as I got my first look at a demon market.
The first floor was laid out like any public market, with stalls set up around the perimeter and another grouping in the center with a wide track for walking between them. On one side of the floor the stalls were filled with fruits and vegetables I recognized, while others contained things I could only assume were food. There was a baker hawking loaves of green bread that did not make me hungry for a sandwich, and a butcher selling God only knew what kind of meat. My stomach did a little roll and I was glad I hadn’t eaten in the last few hours.
On the opposite wall, the stalls sold everything from human housewares, electronics, and clothing to strange medicines and magical objects. One stall specialized in protective wards and another sold glamours that would make a demon appear human. There was a book vendor, a stall selling soaps and oils, and even a place where you could buy driver’s licenses and other documents.
The mix of modern and supernatural gave the whole place an otherworldly feel that made me think I’d stepped into a weird dream. But as strange as the place was, it was the people that made my eyes bug out. I had never seen so many different demons together in one place, and I almost gave myself whiplash trying to see them all. There were short, dark ranc demons, green apelike sheroc demons, fat pasty white femal demons, gray-skinned mox demons, and so many more that I had never seen before. They all moved through the market, keeping a polite distance from each other as they did their business.
What I didn’t see was Chris or Jordan or any sign of a disturbance. If a Mohiri team was pinned down here and needing backup, you’d think there would be some kind of commotion.
As if on cue, a roar came from beneath my feet, and I made my way around the catwalk until I could see what was making the racket. I groaned when I saw the scene below.
It just had to be gulak demons.
Eight of them. Yep, eight of the scaly brutes were crowded into a loading bay and making growling noises at the three Mohiri warriors they had cornered. The gulaks were not alone either. There were two ranc demons and a drex demon holding some kind of weapons that resembled flame throwers. Every one of them looked like they wanted nothing more than to rip apart the warriors who faced them with swords drawn. One of the gulaks was holding his arm and baring his teeth at Jordan, whose sword dripped black blood onto the concrete floor.
“I warned you what would happen if you took another step,” Jordan yelled at the angry demon. She glared at the others. “Anyone else want to try to touch the helpless female?”
“Jordan…” Chris pinched the bridged of his nose, and I grinned at his pained expression. At least he didn’t look like someone who feared for his life, and the three of them appeared to be okay except for the makeshift bandage tied around the third warrior’s thigh. I couldn’t see the fourth team member so I figured he was outside and the one who had called for backup.
The injured gulak leered at Jordan. “You have fire. You would bring a high price in the slave market, but I think I will keep you for myself.”
“Ew! In your dreams, lizard boy.”
“No one keeps her,” another gulak barked. “You know the deal. We call the vampires and turn the hunters over to them. They will pay us enough for a dozen slaves.”
Vampires? Not good. I’d thought for a moment I could stay out of sight and keep an eye on things until backup arrived, but it looked like I was going to have to go down there.
If I had been really cool like Buffy or that chick from Underworld, I would have flipped over the railing and landed right behind them before I started kicking some demon ass. But knowing my luck, I’d only end up spraining something. So I opted for stealth instead, using the stairs at the far end of the building to get to the first floor.
I’d hoped I could make my way to the loading bay and out of sight by walking behind the stalls, but I soon discovered they were flush against the wall of the building. Damn it. Straightening my jacket, I entered the traffic passing by the stairs while trying to look like I belonged there. It wasn’t easy to blend in when I had to be careful not to make contact with anyone. Apart from not wanting to draw attention, the last thing I wanted to do was accidentally shock some poor mox demon out doing her grocery shopping.
“It’s another one,” said a voice behind me. It sounded like the speaker had a bad lisp. I didn’t turn around in case he wasn’t referring to me.
A second voice answered him. “Velec will be pleased when we bring him this one. He likes females.”
“She is a hunter, so she will go to the vampires. You know that.”
So much for not getting noticed. I turned casually toward a stall that looked like an apothecary then ducked into the space between it and the next stall. By the time the two ranc demons followed me in, I had my knife unsheathed and power coursing through my fingers. It was probably foolish to corner myself this way, but it would also draw a lot less attention.
“Drop the knife, girl, and this will go easier for you,” said the one with the lisp. “You are no match for me and my brother.”
The other one nodded, his catlike eyes fixed on the blade in my hand.
I debated the best way to handle the situation. I didn’t need my knife to take out these two. Compared to some of the other things I’d faced, ranc demons were about as frightening as sewer rats. My real problem was getting the job done without drawing a crowd.
I dropped the knife. It hit the floor with a thud and skidded several feet away. The ranc demons, seeing my action as a sign of surrender, rushed at me.
Lispy reached me first, and I let him get a good grip on my left wrist before I gave him a healthy jolt. His body stiffened and he made a choking sound as he fell to his knees. The other demon, seemingly unaware of his brother’s distress, grabbed for my right arm. He went down soundlessly, grabbing his throat like he couldn’t breathe. Before either of them could recover, I put a hand on each of their shoulders and let them have enough juice to keep them down for a few hours. I probably should have killed them and done the world a favor, but I decided to give them a pass. This time.
I stepped over their prone bodies to retrieve my knife, and when I straightened up, I discovered I had a little audience. Two vrell children, who couldn’t have been more than five or six, were peeking around the corner of the stall, their black eyes wide with fear and excitement. They were as cute as buttons with their chubby faces and tiny horns peeking through their brown curls. I smiled at them and put my finger to my lips. I could hear their giggles as they ran away.
“Later, guys,” I said to the unconscious ranc demons. Then I stepped out from between the stalls. I just hoped no one found them and raised an alarm before I reached Chris and Jordan.
I still hadn’t figured out how I was going to handle all those gulak demons. None of them was as big as the one I’d killed in Minneapolis, but even the smaller ones were tough. It wasn’t like I had a choice. If they called in vampires, God only knew how many blood suckers would descend upon this place.
Childish laughter alerted me to the two little demons on my tail. I stopped walking and groaned silently. Where the heck are their parents? All I needed was for them to get caught up in the fight that was going to happen when I reached my friends.
As if she had heard my thoughts, a vrell female ran over and took both children by the arm. She kept a wary eye on me as she spoke softly to them. One of them whispered in her ear, and she looked behind them at the place where I’d knocked out the ranc demons. Her eyes were fearful when they met mine again, and she grabbed the children’s hands and hurried away with them.
No one else tried to intercept me, although a lot of demons stared at me and whispered. My only concern was getting to Jordan and Chris, and as long as no one got in my way, I didn’t care what they said about me.
When I finally reached the wall of gulak demons I stared at them in consternation. Now that I was here, I had no idea how I was going to take on eight of them at once. Not to mention the drex demon with its poisonous barbs and those weapons the ranc demons held. Something told me they weren’t going to let me fight them one at a time.
Maybe I can create a diversion to lead some of them away and –
“What’s this?” rumbled someone behind me. “You’re too little to be a hunter.”
I spun to face the gulak demon that had sneaked up on me. My heart banged against my ribs and I cursed my stupidity. I’d been so distracted by how I was going to handle the gulaks that I hadn’t noticed one of them was missing.
The gulak grinned as he rushed at me. Instead of running, I let him catch me. As he reached for me, I grabbed one of his arms and twisted my body. Using his larger height and weight to my advantage, I pulled him forward and over my shoulder. The back of his head cracked against the concrete floor, and I wasted no time punching him in the throat. I didn’t have the strength of a warrior, but my strike was no less damaging. He made a strangled sound as I introduced him to my Fae side, and then his head lolled to one side with his mouth slack and his forked tongue hanging out.
A shuffling sound made me whip my head up to look at the other gulak demons who were all staring at their fallen friend.
Correction. They were all staring at me.
Three of them growled and started toward me.
I backed up, looking for an escape route. If I could lead them away, maybe I could use the divide-and-conquer strategy.
My plan might have worked if one of the ranc demons hadn’t decided to join the fun. He advanced on me, his weapon spewing small white flames. The look on his face told me he was hoping I’d give him an excuse to use the weapon on me. My power was deadly to demons, but it wasn’t any protection from fire.
My back thumped against something hard and cold. I looked over my shoulder at the large glass tank full of dark murky water. Something moved in the water and a black tentacle slapped the other side of the glass. I shuddered, not wanting to know what was swimming in the water.
Water?
There was no time to think. I turned and grabbed the top of the tank that sat on a metal stand and pulled with all my strength. Someone, probably the vendor, shouted for me to stop.
The tank wobbled precariously for a second then crashed to the floor, sending a small wave of water at my pursuers.
The ranc demon was at the front, and he dropped his weapon as a black… thing latched onto his thigh. The creature looked like a mix between a squid and an eel, and it obviously liked the taste of demon if the ranc demon’s screeches were any indication.
The gulaks stopped in surprise and then stepped over the rest of the flopping creatures and came at me.
I dropped and stuck my hands in the inch of water at my feet, ignoring the slimy texture as I summoned the water’s magic. Golden streaks shot from my hands, moving through the water like burning trails of gunpowder. One streak hit each of the four demons. They screamed as my Fae magic, magnified by the water, enveloped them. The ranc demon collapsed first, but the gulaks soon followed. The four of them lay twitching in the water and gasping for air.
I wasted no time. Whipping out one of my throwing knives, I aimed for the remaining ranc demon who still held a weapon on my friends. The blade sank into his shoulder, and he yelped as he lost his grip on the weapon.
I stepped back and pulled out two more throwing knives as the drex demon growled and came at me. His legs were short, but that didn’t slow him down. He bared his teeth and raised his hands, which were covered in venom-filled barbs. If I hadn’t fought one of his kind before, I might have been scared witless at the sight of his towering reptilian form.
Sounds of fighting broke out in the loading bay, but I was too focused on my own fight to worry about my friends. My first knife found its mark in the stomach of the advancing demon and he let out a roar. He yanked it out, but thankfully he didn’t have the opposable thumbs necessary to throw it back at me.
I waited until he took another step toward me before I threw my second knife.
The drex demon made a gurgling sound and reached for the knife embedded in his thick neck.
I used his distraction to strike out at him. My first drex kill in New Orleans hadn’t been a pretty one because I hadn’t known their hearts were located near their stomach instead of in their chest. I knew better this time, and I slammed my palm into his bleeding stomach, sending a powerful jolt into his heart. The demon went down in a heap of scales and claws, and I knew he wasn’t getting up again.
Good riddance.
“Jordan, I think he’s dead.”
I looked at the warriors who had taken out the remaining gulak demons. Jordan stood over the one that had wanted to keep her for himself, her sword buried in his chest. From the numerous wounds on his stomach and groin, she had worked out her aggression over the slave insult.
Whispers drew my attention to the crowd that had amassed behind me. It looked like every demon in the place had come to watch the fight, and none of them looked upset over the dead demons in the loading bay. When I turned fully to face them, fear spread across their faces and, as one, they backed up.
I let out a slow breath and pulled my power back into my core until my hands stopped glowing. I held them up for the crowd to see. “I came only to help my friends over there, and I have no beef with any of you.”
“You… killed them all,” squeaked a sheroc demon wearing a baker’s apron. “What kind of demon are you?”
A vrell demon spoke up bravely. “We did not harm your friends. No one gets involved in gulak affairs.”
“Please, don’t hurt us,” whispered another demon.
I sighed heavily. This wasn’t going how I’d hoped it would. “Listen, I’m not going to hurt any of you. Got it?”
No one spoke.
I looked up at the second floor and found Eldeorin leaning against the railing watching me with an amused expression. “Little help here?”
He grinned and the demons stared at me as my glamour lifted.
“Talael esledur,” said a feminine voice from somewhere in the crowd.
A flurry of whispers spread through the demons, and I heard the same phrase whispered over and over. Whatever it meant, it eased their fears, and they began to look at me with curiosity and reverence. Great, now what?
A thin gray-skinned demon pushed to the front of the crowd. She wore a long blue dress and there was an unusual black tattoo on the left side of her face.
“Hey, I know you.” She was one of the two mox demons I’d freed from Draegan back in Los Angeles.
She smiled timidly. “It is good to see you again, warrior.”
“How are you and your friend doing?”
“She is my sister and she is well. We are very happy here.”
“That’s good.” I glanced at the other demons that were still watching me like they were waiting for something to happen. “Hey, do you know why everyone is staring at me like that?”
“They cannot believe you are here. They have heard of the talael esledur, but none of them expected to ever see you in the flesh.”
My brows drew together. “The talael esledur?” I repeated, my tongue tripping over the demon words.
She nodded. “In demon tongue it means ‘kind warrior.’”
I looked from her to the other demon faces. “I’m sorry, but I think you guys have confused me with someone else.”
“We are not mistaken,” the mox demon replied, and the others shook their heads. “You saved my sister and me just as you have saved many others of our kind. Your deeds are known to all of us.”
“Those gulaks showed up here two months ago, hurting people and forcing us to pay them half our profits,” said a vrell male. “We are in your debt, warrior.”
“As am I. That is the second time you’ve saved my ass.”
Taking a deep breath, I turned slowly to face Chris who stood behind me wearing a smile. But not a hint of recognition. What the…? Eldeorin!
Chris held out a hand. “I don’t know who you are or why you keep coming to our aid, but thank you.”
I grasped his hand and squeezed it. “Anytime, Cousin.”
“Excuse me?”
“Show him,” I called to Eldeorin.
Chris’s eyes widened, and his mouth worked like a fish out of water. Behind him the injured warrior stared at me in shock, while Jordan smiled like the Cheshire cat.
“Jesus Christ! Sara?”
I smiled at Chris. “Hi.”
“How is this possible?” He blinked as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “It’s… it’s been you all along? How did you…? The faerie.”
I nodded and he muttered something under his breath. “All those vampire kills, the demons.” He paled. “Vancouver? That was you?”
“Yes.”
Chris let out a string of swear words, something I’d never heard him do. He looked at Jordan, who gave him an innocent smile. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”
“Yes, and I am behind it one hundred percent.”
“Of course you are.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I knew the two of you were trouble together.”
I laid a hand on his arm. “Jordan knew about this, but she wasn’t involved. It was all me.”
“Somehow, I’m not surprised. Do you want to tell me how you came up with this crazy scheme?”
I explained how it had started out as training, but after a while it became something more. “I couldn’t stand to see our people getting hurt, not when I could do something about it.”
“You shouldn’t have risked your life like that.”’
I folded my arms across my chest. “Now you sound just like Nikolas.”
“That’s because I…” He stared at me. “Nikolas. Jesus, he’s on his way here right now.”
“I know.”
Chris groaned like a man in pain. “He is going to flip. You know that, right? Are you sure this is the right place to tell him something like this?”
I didn’t think any place was the right one to tell Nikolas what I’d been up to, but it was time to come clean to him. I’d been trying for weeks to get up the nerve to tell him the truth, and I wasn’t going to stall anymore.
“Maybe you should wait until you –”
A door slammed open, and I gave Chris a small smile. “Too late.”
