Heart of the Demon

by Cynthia Garner

  Much, much more.

  “He’s going to speak!” Tracy gave an excited clap of her hands, then clasped them together and sat forward on the edge of her seat.

  Keira looked up front and, indeed, Stefan Liuz had stepped behind the podium. When he spoke, she was surprised at the soothing quality to his tones and his succinct style of speaking. She’d expected more verbosity.

  But the affected importance she’d also expected was there in spades as he talked about his vision for preternaturals’ place in society. “Will we allow humans to move forward with their plans to force us to have microchips implanted so they can track us? I say no! We must fight for our rights. Fight to create our own destinies, not settle for the ones allowed us by humans. And the only way we can truly create our destiny is through supporting and actively creating chaos,” he said, punching his fist for emphasis. “It is our duty to subvert the hold on the preternatural community that every council around the world currently exerts. With anarchy we can establish our hold over humans around the world. Their governments will fall into chaos. Only through chaos can we truly be free.”

  He paused while the group applauded. Keira clapped as well, not wanting others to think she wasn’t wholeheartedly in support of this nonsense. But really, this was batshit craziness.

  She had the sudden sensation she was being watched, and she glanced around to see who was looking at her. No one seemed to be overtly staring her way. She gave a slight shake of her head and faced forward again. She was on edge and chalked it up to her imagination. Keira was finally where she needed to be, and because that was neck deep in trouble she was being paranoid. Though if anyone in this room found out she wasn’t legit, she’d be in deadly trouble.

  Stefan went on to blah-blah some more. Frankly, she wasn’t all that interested in his rhetoric, so she only listened with half an ear. She was more interested in the people in attendance. As nonchalantly as she could, she looked around the room and saw varying degrees of attention from those around her. A few had the same rapt expression of fanaticism that Tracy did, while others looked like they were holding on until the meeting was over so they could head upstairs to the club.

  Finally Stefan said, “We all have our parts to play. Each one of you is integral to our success.” He swept his arms open. “The future is ours!”

  More applause broke out, then Stefan stepped away from the podium. Prets of all clans, Tracy included, rushed to the front to speak to him directly. He smiled and clasped shoulders and shook hands, all the while wearing the wide smile of a seasoned politician. Keira hung back and watched, thinking these people acted like they were in a cult. Or was it that they were locked in such desperation that it made them willing to follow a madman who gave promises of glory?

  Javier stood next to her, one of the few that hadn’t run up to receive the touch of the charismatic leader. “So, bonita. What’d you think?”

  Here we go. “I think it’s about time someone says what Stefan said tonight. I’ve been on this planet a long time, keeping my otherworldliness a secret for all but the last three years.” She looked at Javier. “It’s been a relief to finally be who I really am.” She shook her head. “It’s still hard being outnumbered by humans. We don’t have the same rights, and we should.”

  A werewolf standing in the row in front of them turned around. “Damn straight.” Before he could say anything more, his attention was drawn to the other side of the room. He muttered an “Excuse me” and headed away from them.

  “I’m glad you feel that way.” Javier smiled at her, flashing a bit of fang. He glanced to the front of the room, then looked back at her. “Stefan wants to meet you, but he doesn’t have time tonight. As soon as he finishes with them,” he indicated the group, looking like mindless drones, gathered around the leader, “he has another meeting.” He gave her a second fangy smile. “I’ll see you later, bonita.”

  Keira walked slowly down the row until she reached the column at the end. As she started to skirt around it, she heard a man say, “Stefan says the device will be ready in time.”

  “He always makes good on his promises,” a woman responded, her tone rife with satisfaction.

  Keira paused. She needed to learn more about this, but she had doubts that they’d continue their conversation with a brand-new member, one they didn’t personally know. Taking a deep breath, she called on the Earth energy she had stored deep inside. Her skin began to tingle as if small electric currents ran beneath the surface. She waited until they ran in a steady stream before she stepped out from behind the column.

  The two vampires continued on with their discussion as if she weren’t standing three feet away from them. As far as they could tell, she wasn’t.

  By extending her empathic abilities, not only could she influence people’s emotions, which colored the way they perceived events that occurred, she was also able to influence their perception of the world around them. It was basic physics, though done through preternatural means, making light bounce off of her body to reflect her surroundings. She was, for lack of a better word, invisible. She rarely used this power because it utilized a lot of energy, which meant she couldn’t hold the illusion very long. But if she could glean some pertinent information it would be well worth the weak knees and exhaustion she’d later feel.

  Because the motion of her clothing would make it harder for light to be reflected and thereby increase the likelihood some vague outline of her could be seen, Keira put her back to the wall and held still, taking in slow, silent breaths. A werewolf walked past her and paused, his head lifting as he sniffed the air. His brow furrowed and he looked around then shrugged and went on his way.

  That was the other flaw to this ability. She might be able to conceal herself from others’ sight, but she couldn’t mask her scent.

  “He said he’s waiting on a special gold filament that fits in the oscillation unit,” the male vamp said. “That jeweler guy over on Scottsdale Road is supposed to have it for him in a few days.”

  “That’s cutting it a little close, don’t you think?” the female vamp asked. She kept her voice low. Keira watched as the woman glanced toward the front of the room where Stefan chatted with a few of his followers. When she looked back at her companion, a small frown furrowed her brows. “Why would he wait this long to actually finish the machine?” Worry entered her tone, making it not quite as satisfied as it had been a few seconds before.

  The other vamp scowled. “Because of those delays a few months ago when the smaller rift device and schematics were stolen, remember? That pushed production of the larger machine back several weeks. Otherwise it would’ve been done days ago, in plenty of time.” He, too, looked toward the front.

  Say something more about the jeweler, Keira silently urged.

  “Let’s go upstairs,” he said and looked at his companion. “I could use someone to drink.”

  The woman agreed and the pair walked away.

  Damn it. Keira let out a long breath and eased back behind the column again. She relaxed her hold on her Earth energy. When the tingling in her skin ceased she leaned against the column, taking in deep breaths, and waited for her legs to stop trembling. As soon as she felt she could walk without crumbling to the floor, she headed toward the exit. She returned Javier’s wave and pushed open the door.

  As she headed toward the stairs, she wished the two vampires had given more specific information about the jeweler, but at least she had a place to begin a covert investigation. After all, how many jewelers could there be on Scottsdale Road?

  Finn circled the column, staying out of sight until Keira left the room. He’d glanced at her off and on through all Liuz’s bullshit, and to his surprise she’d seemed interested. Her expression had been nearly as rapt as all the other lemmings in the room.

  He was disappointed, and a little angry. She was supposed to be doing better than him, moving away from her old life. So what in the hell was she doing with this crowd?

  For his part, he though
t everything Liuz had said was bullshit, and hated the idea that now that he was “in” he’d have to put up with all this crap until the next rift. Thankfully that was only three more weeks away, then his mission would be complete and he’d be his own master for the first time in two millennia. Failure was not an option.

  After listening to Liuz tonight, and seeing how everyone in the room cradled his words like they were precious newborn babes, Finn didn’t disagree with dear old dad that having the demon-to-other-pret ratio swing even wider would be a bad thing. If vampire numbers grew and demons did not, it wouldn’t be long before Finn and his kind were eliminated.

  This was as much about maintaining the status quo as anything else. It was also about self-preservation, pure and simple.

  And if there was one thing he understood, it was self-preservation.

  Chapter Six

  Over the next few days Keira came to realize there were more jewelers on Scottsdale Road than she would have thought possible. Without having a specific name it was very improbable that she’d find the one who was going to provide Stefan with the gold filament. Not that she was ready to give up, not yet. She was merely ready to move on to plan B as soon as she thought it up.

  She stared down at a row of sapphire rings without really seeing them. This was the tenth store she’d been in, and everything was starting to blur together. She looked up at the salesman and gave him a smile. “I’m sorry, I just don’t see anything that catches my eye.”

  She knew that wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear, but his polite expression never changed. “That’s all the sapphires we have, I’m afraid.”

  And yet again she’d struck out. “Well, thank you,” she said with another smile. She left the store and headed toward her car. Then her stomach growled, and she thought maybe she should stop and get something to eat before trekking on to the next shop.

  Thankfully there was a small café near the jewelry store. It was brightly lit with mostly small tables for two, a few tables for four, and stools at the counter. Against the far wall were three booths that were all occupied at the moment. She took a seat at a table near the back, sighing with relief to be able to sit down. While she liked expensive jewelry as much as the next woman and enjoyed spending hour after hour looking at diamonds, rubies, and sapphires, she didn’t like pretending to be interested in buying something while she watched and listened to what was going on around her. It was too much like scoping out a place in order to run a scam.

  It didn’t make her feel good about herself at all, even as she reminded herself she was doing it for a good reason. It still seemed too much like what she’d done in her old life.

  That’s not who you are anymore.

  Though she was beginning to think perhaps she should embrace that part of herself instead of fighting it. If she continued to feel so conflicted about this job, this mission she was on, eventually someone would pick up on that. Maybe, for this short period of time, she should become who she’d been before.

  For the greater good.

  If she did, could she get back to where she was right now? She was very much afraid the old habits were too deeply ingrained, and they’d overtake her again. If she didn’t do this, how successful would she be?

  A young man dressed crisply in a long-sleeved white shirt, black tie, and black pants with a small green apron tied around his waist approached her table. He placed a small menu in front of her with a smile. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  Keira returned the smile. “I’ll take an iced tea, please.”

  “One iced tea coming up.” He grinned. “I’ll come back in a few minutes to take your order.”

  After he walked away, Keira pulled the menu closer. She was so hungry, every last thing on the menu looked delicious.

  The waiter came back a few minutes later with her tea. “Are you ready to order?” he asked.

  “I’ll take the bacon cheeseburger with fries. Oh, and a side salad.” She wasn’t particularly fond of salads. It was only in the last fifty years or so that humans had started using them as something other than a garnish. But she’d ordered the salad so she wouldn’t feel as guilty about the burger and fries. She still had more jewelry stores to hit this afternoon, and the heightened stress alone would work off most of the extra calories she was getting ready to ingest.

  “How do you want your burger cooked?”

  “Medium, please.”

  “That’s mostly done with a thin strip of pink in the center?”

  Keira nodded.

  The server gathered up the menu. “I’ll put your order in right away.” After giving her another dimple-producing smile, he walked away.

  She sat back and glanced around the small restaurant. There was a woman with a young child a few tables over, and a couple of older men sitting on stools at the counter toward the front. A smartly dressed woman and a man in a suit sat at one of the booths against the wall, and men in ties sat at the other booths. They all seemed to be business people on their lunch breaks.

  By their scent, everyone here except her was human. Maybe it was all of Stefan’s rhetoric still rolling through her head, but all of a sudden she felt outnumbered and hemmed in. At least one more pret would be nice. She pulled her phone closer, debated a moment, and then sent off a quick text to Finn, asking him to join her if he could.

  She looked around, read the menu again, looked around some more, and wished she’d thought to bring a book with her. Ten minutes later the server approached with her food. After ascertaining she didn’t need anything else for the moment, he went over to another table.

  Keira checked her phone; Finn still hadn’t responded to her text. She thought about sending him another message but pushed her phone away. He was probably busy, and she wasn’t going to beg. She heard the door open but didn’t look to see who was coming or going.

  Footsteps sounded behind her, then Finn plopped down in the chair beside Keira. His hair curled against the collar of his shirt. Long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing off his hair-roughened forearms. His grin crinkled the corner of his gorgeous blue eyes. Bloody hell. He looked good enough to eat.

  “Hey, there, stranger. I got your text.” He leaned over and placed a soft kiss at the corner of her mouth, his breath warm and sweet against her skin. “Where’ve you been keeping yourself lately?”

  She inhaled, holding the fresh scent of him in her lungs a moment. She couldn’t tell him what she’d really been up to. With a nonchalant shrug, she said, “I’ve been around. I’ve been doing some shopping today.”

  “For what?” His eyes twinkled with good nature and curiosity.

  “Oh, this and that. Jewelry mostly.” She picked up her iced tea glass and took a sip, and grimaced when she realized she hadn’t put any sweetener in it.

  As she reached for the small container of sweetener packets, his sensual lips pursed. He clearly didn’t care for her evasiveness, but he didn’t push it. When the server approached and asked for his order, Finn said, “I’ll have a burger, rare, and fries. With a cola. Thanks.”

  After the waiter left the table, Finn snagged one of her fries. When he reached for another one, Keira fisted her fork and made a move to stab his hand. “Hey!” he protested. His grin told her he knew she hadn’t seriously been ready to hurt him. “Look, you’re the one who invited me to lunch, remember? You’re not going to make me wait until my order comes out, are you? I’m starving.”

  She pondered a moment to tease him. “Fine,” she finally said. “But when you get your food, you have to share with me.” She cut her burger in half.

  He grabbed the portion closest to him and took a big bite, giving an appreciative groan that made Keira grin, though she almost mimicked him after tasting her hamburger for the first time. The bite of mustard was tamed by the creaminess of mayonnaise, and the crispy savory taste of the bacon complemented the slightly sweet beef of the burger.

  “They put a little brown sugar in the meat,” Finn said as if he’d read h
er mind. “You wouldn’t think that combination would taste good, but it does.”

  The server returned and handed Finn his soda. He took a sip and snagged another of Keira’s fries. After a minute or so, he wiped his hands on his napkin and took one of the hands Keira had wrapped around her glass. He gently toyed with her fingers before lacing them with his. “I’ve missed you,” he said, his voice husky and deep.

  She tightened her fingers around his. “Have you?” Her own voice came out in a throaty rasp.

  He gave a nod. “Even if you are being cagey,” he said, a slight smile playing around his mouth. “I understand women need to be mysterious. Especially one like you.”

  Her brows shot up. “One like me? What does that mean?”

  “I don’t mean anything bad by it.” He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a warm kiss to her knuckles. His cerulean eyes darkened with the beginnings of desire. “Means you’re full of surprises, and I like surprises.”

  The server approached with Finn’s order. Finn released her hand and sat back. After they both assured the server they didn’t need anything else, he walked away.

  Keeping to their deal, Finn halved his burger and then picked up his half and finished it off. When she realized how much she was enjoying watching him eat, she shook her head. She was acting like a besotted teenager. While she didn’t begrudge herself a friendship with Finn—and maybe something a little more, like friends with benefits—she still hadn’t changed her mind about getting emotionally involved with him. Even though she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to give her heart to him. To have him love her back.

  To have a family again.

  If they wanted it badly enough, she knew they could make it work. She wasn’t sure, though, that they could move beyond their pasts with all their hurts and disappointments to build a future together.