“He’s right,” Ior said. “We need to be listening to him. Fergus, I’m sorry. Neither of us is used to having a guardian. We are used to bouncing opinions off each other or advisors. What do you think we should do?”
“I think you should fill all the rooms close to your meeting room with all the allies you can call, but put them far enough away that Zepar can’t sense them, and don’t put them in the hall leading to the room. As he walks to the room, he can’t sense there’s an army of supernaturals gathered in that room.
“The witches need to spell a mirror in the room so that everyone can watch and see if something goes wrong and respond immediately without you whipping out your cell phone and making phone calls. You also need to be prepared for the fact that Zepar may sense we have drugged his scotch and try to portal out of there before I can get to him and you can get those handcuffs. If there’s any other advantage you can think of, you should use it.”
Ior stroked his beard.
“Would your hotel manager friend let the witch put a demon ward in the room if we promised to remove it? If she puts it behind the mirror, he won’t see it.”
“He need not see it. You can’t ward the room. He will scan the room for wards before he goes in. I don’t think he’ll be looking for warded objects. The two of you have never had Fae wards used against you before, but I have, pretty recently, in Scorchwood. You don’t have to see them. You can feel them if you check for them, and I don’t think Zepar will go into that room without checking.”
“He’s right, Father. I check for wards too. I didn’t trust that Zepar would try to abduct me and ransom me for his army.”
“Well, what other advantages can we use?”
“I made allies with the shifters, and they taught me other ways to fight. Ways Zepar wouldn’t know. Zepar’s demonic form is a soldier in armor. It’s not like some other demons. It’s just a man, not a beast. I’ve never seen his demonic form, but I’m much bigger than he is, and I’ve wanted to beat him since he swindled me.
“Once the scotch kicks in, I’ll pretend to check on him like I’m concerned. Once I get close enough, that should be when Fergus comes out. I’ll be right next to Zepar in case he thinks about opening a portal. I can grab him while Father gets the handcuffs. If he tries to fight, I can knock him around a bit. He has it coming.”
That was actually an excellent plan. I had no idea how Eiltan managed to find out Zepar’s demonic form when Amduscias was so secretive about his until it was needed. We didn’t start learning Hell secrets until we got to Hell, so I had no idea how Eiltan was getting some of his information.
“It’s a solid plan, Eiltan, but call for backup.”
“I agree, son. Call your allies, then call Zepar.”
I hoped this meeting with Zepar happened soon. I hoped we got him to Hell and could squash his little rebellion. The fate of the Fae lies in us taking him alive, and it was killing me being away from my Ena.
Chapter 16
Fergus
E
iltan gathered enough allies to fill half the entire floor of the hotel room. He put the phone on speaker when he called Zepar. He was feigning defeat and promised a meeting with his father to get Zepar his army. That slimy demon’s voice was dripping with so much arrogance, it made me want to ruin this entire plan and make him explode when I flew down his throat.
Zepar didn’t want to dally, but Eiltan had clearly grown a lot since the first time Zepar deceived him. We all knew Zepar would not discuss business at the hotel until he savored the moment with his favorite scotch. He would not be able to do much talking once the witch potion kicked in, and we would be moving fast to get him to Hell.
None of us were stupid. I didn’t even have to tell Eiltan and Ior to see if they could get Zepar to spill as much as they could over the phone. He certainly wasn’t going to in Hell. At least, not right away. He would keep his mouth shut, hoping his allies came to rescue him when they found out he was taken.
I was pretty damned proud of Eiltan as he worked Zepar over the phone. I saw a little of Serafina.
“My father has promised his army, but we need to know we can win this. The Fae still have a military, but we haven’t had a war in centuries. It’s not as big as it would be if war was brewing. Do you have enough demon support?”
Finally, Zepar didn’t sound like he had already won. He had the gall to sound offended.
“Well, it’s not like I can just go bringing something like that up at dinners. Many people in Hell are loyal to the seven kings, and I know better than to ask them. I’ve got three Dukes and all their legions on my side. I had much better luck topside. There are plenty of supernatural mercenaries from all the groups. They don’t care who they kill as long as you pay them enough.
“I’m a billionaire on Earth with the business I’ve built for myself. I’ve promised them all favors or money. I’ve handpicked seven of the top assassins in the world. I have a plan. I will sneak them into Hell. They will infiltrate each king’s palace and kill them. Our armies will swoop in during the chaos and make sure I seize the throne. I think there will be so much chaos, not a lot of lives on our side will be lost.”
“I want the cure you promised. You get your army, and we get the cure.”
“I’m a demon of my word. I can’t be known as a king who dishonors deals. My first act as king will be to cure your women. I want a beneficial working relationship with the Fae once I’m the king.”
I was glad I was invisible because I was laughing out loud. Zepar may have been able to outsmart a young, inexperienced Fae, but he was clearly the dumbest demon in all the realms if they thought the Fae would let this slide. I wouldn’t be shocked if Ior got his hands dirty torturing Zepar himself. When Ior and Eiltan went back to the Fae realm with the cure, our people would want to hear that Zepar died for what he did. They would want to know everyone that helped him was dead too.
Zepar was delusional. He thought he could take Hell with three Dukes and an army of mercenaries and Fae. I’m sure his assassins were quite competent, and Zepar knew the layout of all the king’s houses. Zepar’s demonic form might be a soldier, but I’d seen Amduscias’s unicorn. I’d seen the damage he did. If Amduscias was a Duke and not a king, I could only imagine Bael and the other kings had demonic forms that could take on an Earth assassin.
“I’m not king yet, Zepar. You will have to work all that out when you meet my father tomorrow. I know there are things in Hell he wants. Maybe you could broker a trade deal.”
“I want to meet as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning at eight. The same hotel as usual. Bring your father. We have many things to discuss.”
Eiltan hung up the phone. I knew I promised to stay and help, but Hell needed to know what Zepar said.
“I’m going back to Serafina to check in on her and let her know what Zepar said. Amduscias can relay the message to Bael.”
“Yes, go. And make sure she’s happy and safe,” Eiltan said.
What exactly did he think I did as her guardian?
Chapter 17
Serafina
I
t was so fucked up. There was a demon intent on conquering Hell and the witch who framed me in a torture dungeon, but no one needed Elemental Batwoman. If there was any time for all the hobbies I’d perfected, wasn’t it now? Fergus was off kidnapping demons without me, and no one wanted my help with the evil bitch who was framing people and experimenting on them unless their methods didn’t work. She feared me. Shouldn’t I be down there with them? I just felt useless.
I didn’t want to fuck, and I didn’t want to watch TV. I wanted to be out there ending this. I was going crazy. It felt like I’d spent my entire twenties murdering people and burning shit down, preparing for this moment, and now I’d been sidelined.
The guys knew I was antsy and were trying to help.
“Do you want to go back to Bael’s? He promised her he would only unleash you if he thought she was lying, but I’m sure he would like it if you
threatened her to get information out of her,” Amduscias said.
“Maybe. It feels like I should be doing more than just threatening people.”
Amduscias pulled me into a hug.
“He made a promise to Warden Skinner, but I’m sure he’d let you knock Zepar around a little when he gets here.”
“It feels like I should be with Fergus bringing Zepar down here. We always work together. I know why he’s helping my father, but something doesn’t feel right about this.”
“Is it because you don’t trust your father?” Skoll asked.
“Fergus is an ancient Fae guardian, but he doesn’t perform miracles. Zepar already deceived him once, and so did Warden Skinner. How do we know Zepar won’t be the one doing the kidnapping? If he ransoms a Fae prince, he may get his Fae army.”
“Ena? I have news.”
“Fergus is checking in!”
“Your father was brilliant. He knows all of Zepar’s secrets and weaknesses. We have a plan to take Zepar that I’m almost certain will work. What’s more, when your father called him to set up his meeting, we found out some of his plans. He has three Dukes on his side, but he mostly recruited on Earth. He has mercenaries, and he hired seven assassins he would sneak into Hell to take care of the kings. He would not show up with his armies until his assassins had taken care of the kings.”
“You think you can take him and nothing goes wrong?”
“Something can always go wrong, my Ena, but I think we can pull this off.”
“Thanks, Fergus. I’ll get the message to Bael. Come back to me soon.”
“I miss you, my Ena.”
I relayed everything to Amduscias. He didn’t hesitate, and he didn’t call first like he usually did. He opened a portal straight to Bael’s dungeon. Bael and Solron were still down there with Warden Skinner, who was now naked and covered in blood. Solron was hovered over her with a scalpel and scowled when she saw us.
“Wait your turn,” she snapped.
“We aren’t here to torture the witch. Fergus checked in, and Eiltan found out Zepar’s plans. He’s got assassins picked for all seven kings. He’s probably shared with them the best way to get into your estate and what he thinks is the best way to kill you.”
“Which demon assassins has he recruited?” Bael roared.
Amduscias cleared his throat.
“He did most of his recruiting topside. They aren’t demons. I think he knew almost all the demons here are loyal to the kings, so he extorted the Fae and paid people topside.”
Bael sighed.
“Intelligence never was one of his strong points. If he hadn’t been fire born, he’d probably be cleaning my toilets. I’m shocked he’s been so successful topside. The only reason we agreed to let him go was that we thought it would teach him a lesson. Instead, he had some success and tried to make himself king of Hell.”
“He’s gotten pretty far with his plot,” I pointed out. “What are you going to do with him if they manage to get him down here?”
“If? Do you doubt your guardian, girl?” Bael asked.
I loathed when men called me that, but it wasn’t like I could punch the king of Hell in the face without offending someone.
“This entire plot depends on several people, not just Fergus. Fergus just met my father. He can’t anticipate his moves like he does with me. Ior will be there. If either of them slips up, Zepar could portal away before Fergus makes his move. Fergus can’t exactly talk to him if Zepar gets away with Fergus in his stomach, and Fergus says if he gets a guardian ward tattooed on his body, he would be expelled. There’s a lot to chance. Fergus can’t kill him if he gets away, or we lose our cure for the Fae.”
Bael put his hand on my shoulder.
“I spoke with both your father and grandfather after you left. Eiltan has grown up a lot since Zepar first deceived him. I know he made mistakes looking for the cure for his people, but while he was looking, he managed to find out things about Zepar that only Hell would know. He had several ideas before he left. If he had a Fae guardian helping him once he left, I’m sure the plan is perfected, and Zepar will replace Skinner on my table.”
“Have we learned anything else from the witch?” Amduscias said.
Solron aimed the scalpel right at her eye.
“Nothing useful. Anything you would like to confess, witch?”
“Did you say Zepar? My coven knows him. We do business with him.”
Okay, well clearly she would confess something, but I hadn’t forgotten that bitch framed me and made everyone in Scorchwood live in deplorable conditions. Maybe Elemental Batwoman could play a little. I walked over to the table and looked at Solron.
“May I?”
Solron lowered her scalpel and pouted.
“Oh, go ahead. I’ve been playing with her for hours.”
I climbed back on the table and straddled her waist. I was getting blood all over my nice new jeans, and I didn’t care. Solron didn’t care about not marking her face up when she was doing her cutting. I didn’t get too close to her face because I didn’t want blood in my mouth. I had no idea if she was carrying something I didn’t want to catch.
“Tell me about your dealings with Zepar. Tell me everything, or I’ll go a little crazy on you.”
“Zepar knew what our coven mission was. He knew Scorchwood used to be a Fae prison. He also knew I managed to get myself assigned warden to make sure Rathmore wasn’t murdered. It was Zepar that suggested using inmates as a means of not getting caught like Rathmore was. He became one of my outside consultants. In exchange for his advice, we would do forbidden magic for him. He dealt with Rathmore before, and then I took over after they arrested him. All Zepar wanted from us was large and frequent supplies of persuasion potions.”
“Well, that answers how his business was so successful,” Bael muttered.
“Was it Zepar that suggested framing the Sunshadows for your embezzlement?” I asked.
“He didn’t know it was them. He suggested taking the money to fund our research, but he suggested framing either someone that works at the prison or a board member. I never told him it was Eiltan because he always had this weird obsession with the Fae. He would have been angry if he knew the paper trail pointed to Eiltan.”
“Then, why do it?” I growled.
“Because even if Zepar was giving us excellent advice, he was an asshole. Some of his advice was straight up useless, and he was rude to my coven when he picked up his potion. Once you start doing anything with Zepar, there’s no way out. Anyone who has tried has ended up dead. He’s like this one-person demon mafia. I knew Zepar was obsessed with Eiltan Sunshadow, so I tried to frame him to get back at Zepar.”
I laughed in her face.
“You’re a passive-aggressive bitch. Do you know that? Did you tell Zepar you had his daughter in your jail?”
“Of course not. I had plans for you. If I had known keeping you in my jail would end up with me on this table, I would have, though. I would have told him to take you anywhere but my jail.”
Warden Skinner absolutely loathed me like I was the one who had done wrong here. Sure, I killed her friend and every guard on duty, and sure, it was because of me she was down here getting tortured, but she was the one that fucking started it. I wasn’t the one going around framing people and experimenting on them. I just made sure she got caught. She could hate me all she wanted.
“Let’s take a break, Solron. Serafina, get off the warden,” Bael said. “We need to prepare for the morning. If everything goes our way, Zepar will be in my dungeon, and we can play with him too.”
I guess I was going back home. I had three guys to keep me occupied until morning. I desperately missed Fergus, but I should be reunited with him in the morning. It didn’t feel right to be having sex right now.
I decided to teach the guys to drive. I could go for some good old-fashioned road rage right about now.
Chapter 18
Fergus
I
t was t
ime. I hadn’t realized how much went into these meetings. Zepar was waiting at the hotel bar. He was already enjoying a glass of scotch. Eiltan approached him with Ior and made introductions. If you ask me, Zepar didn’t show the proper reverence for meeting a Fae king. He was only a Duke. He should have groveled more.
They walked together to the front desk to collect the key. It was like neither of them could have the key first to get to the room before the other. The manager escorted them to their room and showed them inside. He gave them both a curt nod.
“I’ll send room service with your bottle of scotch and a cheese tray.”
Zepar grinned. “Send a full meal. We’ll be in here a while.”
We wouldn’t, but let him think that. Room service came almost as soon as the manager shut the room. Things were moving quickly. Zepar poured his scotch. I wondered how Eiltan would get out of drinking it if he proposed a toast. I hadn’t thought of that before.
Zepar raised his glass to Ior and Eiltan.
“I hope you are a scotch man. Your son isn’t. He never drinks with me. It’s a little rude.”
“I’m afraid I must be rude too. Scotch is not something the Fae drink. We have our own preferred drinks.”
“Maybe we can import Fae liquor to Hell once we seal our alliance.”
Ior just grinned.
“Of course. Fae have the best liquor and wine. We’d be happy to share it with Hell. If I had known you wanted to try it, I would have brought some with me. Eiltan told me you preferred to drink scotch at these meetings.”
“Yes, I do,” Zepar said, knocking back his entire drink.
The potion was almost instantaneous. Zepar’s pupils dilated, and he shook his head.
“Something is wrong,” he said.
“Are you okay?” Eiltan said.
Risky Business Page 8
