by Nina Bangs
Her words sounded tough, but Brynn didn’t miss the vulnerability in her eyes. Well, what do you know, Ms. Big Bad Demon Hunter really did have a soft spot for Deimos. Brynn found himself hoping that Deimos wouldn’t blow this.
Deimos grinned at Lynsay. “No way would I leave. I’m training to be an action hero. I have lots of cool action hero stuff in my room that you didn’t see. I sort of forgot about it after the kiss. I’ll show you later. I could help you guys.” His gaze slid to Brynn. “I’d only kill the evil demons, though.”
“First rule of the Vaughn family, Deimos: All demons are evil.” The light of the true zealot shone in Lynsay’s eyes. “We kill every one of those suckers.”
Okay, Brynn didn’t want to listen to her go off on demons. “Galveston has a problem, Lynsay. Kim will fill you in.”
He sat back while Kim told her sister everything, except that the man sitting at the table with them was a demon. Deimos’s gaze kept shifting back and forth between Kim and him. Brynn could almost hear the wheels turning as he tried to figure out what a demon and a demon destroyer were doing together. Kim only paused in her story while dinner was being served, and then she talked while she ate.
Kim finished off with a slice of apple pie and a call to arms. “We need the whole family here. It’ll take everyone to destroy the demons already on the ground. I don’t know how we’ll find the archdemon or what we’ll do when we find him, but we’ll take one thing at a time.”
Lynsay nodded while she tried to contain her excitement. “I’ve never had to save a whole city before. If my damned detector wasn’t down, I could hit the streets tonight.”
“Not a good idea.” Brynn couldn’t keep quiet about this. “Your family will have to be organized. You’ve never dealt with this many demons at once. I’d suggest always traveling in twos. I guarantee the demons will be hunting for you in mobs once they realize what’s happening. You need to plan how to sweep the city without alerting the authorities. In fact, I’d bet the demons have already possessed a lot of Galveston’s police force. If we need people in the community, we’ll approach the religious leaders.”
Lynsay cast him a long, considering look. “How do you know so much about hunting demons?”
Oops. Okay, he was a demon, and demons lied like hell. “I worked in law enforcement for a while. Whether you’re hunting demons or criminals, you’d better have a plan of action or else you’ll end up dead. The bad guys aren’t going to sit still and let you shoot at them.”
Lynsay nodded. “Makes sense.”
Brynn glanced at Kim. She reached under the table and patted his knee. Since her hand was already under the table, he wished she’d make better use of it. The gleam in her eyes said she knew exactly what he was thinking.
“This is so great.” Lynsay sounded happy about something.
Brynn doubted she was commenting on Kim’s hand under the table. He turned to look in the direction she was staring.
Oh, crap.
Uncle Dirk had just entered the restaurant.
14
Kim turned to follow Brynn’s gaze. Her eyes widened. “I thought you said Dirk wouldn’t be here.”
“That’s what he told me. But now that he’s here, he can meet Brynn, and we can tell him about the demons.” Lynsay waved to Dirk just in case he hadn’t spotted them.
Panicked, Kim glanced at Brynn. He looked tense but calm. Good. She’d be hysterical enough for both of them. Scanning the restaurant, she spotted Conall and Holgarth at a nearby table. They nodded at her, and she relaxed a little. If a wizard and an immortal warrior couldn’t stop Dirk from turning Brynn into a pile of ash, then no one could. But just in case, Kim put her hand on Fo. One move toward his detector and she’d nail Dirk in the eyes.
The enormity of how far she was prepared to go in defense of an admitted demon boggled her mind. Not only would Dirk be royally ticked, but also the rest of the Vaughns would drum her out of the family business. Sure she wanted out, but she wanted to go with dignity. She’d be lucky if any Vaughn outside of her immediate family even talked to her anymore.
Was this how important Brynn had become to her? Pause for deep soul searching. Yep.
Dirk offered them a perfunctory smile as he pulled out a chair and sat down. Kim held her breath, waiting for his detector to sound an alarm. Brynn edged his chair away from the table. Deimos looked worried. Two tables over, Conall and Holgarth stopped eating to watch.
“I’m glad I caught you still here. I hate eating alone.” Dirk motioned the waiter over and got a menu. “I had some business to take care of, and then I spent time getting my boat ready for the tournament.” He seemed oblivious to the tension thrumming around the table.
Kim expected his detector to go off at any minute. Maybe he’d left it in his room. Could they get that lucky? When in doubt, talk. “You’re here for the fishing tournament? Wade, the man in the room across from mine, is competing in it, too.”
Dirk leaned forward, his gaze intent. “Wade Thomas? Tall guy? Brown hair and eyes? Looks to be in his early thirties?”
Kim nodded. So far so good. Maybe Brynn would actually get out of this in one piece. “You know him?”
“I know of him.” Dirk looked thoughtful. “I’ve never met him personally. I went to his Web site to see what he looked like, and I have to admit his list of tournament wins is impressive.” His smile didn’t bode well for Wade. “But he won’t win this one. Definitely not this one.”
Lynsay shifted impatiently. She’d evidently heard all she wanted to hear about fishing. “Uncle Dirk, this is Brynn McNair. He’s with Kim. And you already know Deimos.”
Kim felt Dirk’s reluctance to drag his thoughts away from Wade and the fishing tournament. He nodded at Deimos and reached across the table to shake hands with Brynn. “A pleasure, McNair. Are you one of the McNairs who run the castle? I met Conall at breakfast.”
Brynn’s smile looked relaxed, as if he weren’t shaking hands with a man capable of destroying him. “Guilty. I hope you enjoy your stay here, and good luck in the tournament.”
There were secrets in Dirk’s smile. “I intend to have a wonderful time here. I’ll be doing the two things I love most, fishing and hunting demons.” Almost too casually, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his detector.
Time seemed suspended for Kim as he flipped it open. Tensing, she wrapped her fingers around Fo. And then he set it on the table. She breathed out a relieved sigh. Glancing around, she noted that everyone except Lynsay—who hadn’t a clue—was doing the same thing.
Still smiling, Dirk looked at Brynn and Deimos. “I hope I didn’t just give away any secrets. You do know that Kim and Lynsay are demon hunters?” He switched his attention to the sisters. “Honesty is always the best policy. You should be proud of your heritage. If the men in your lives can’t accept that demons do exist and that you hunt them, then it’s best if you find out now.” He leaned back to witness the result of his disclosure.
Brynn shrugged. “Deimos and I already know that.”
Dirk looked disappointed. The jerk. He’d been hoping for a mass exodus by “the men in their lives.” It didn’t look like he was going to see any action, so Dirk disappeared behind his menu. Finally Kim felt secure enough to release her death grip on Fo, but she still kept her hand resting lightly on the detector.
She frowned as she stared at Dirk’s detector. It stared back at her with big red eyes. Why hadn’t it identified Brynn as a demon? Kim glanced at Brynn. He shrugged. Since the same man had made both detectors, maybe they shared the same problem. Or not. Fo thought anything that moved was a demon. Dirk’s little buddy didn’t have anything to say at all. Strange.
Fo vibrated gently, and Kim panicked. No. She’d told Fo that under no circumstances was she to talk in front of Lynsay. Kim lifted her hand to glare at Fo, hopefully forestalling anything the detector was about to say.
But Fo wasn’t looking at her. She’d rolled her eyes to the side and was gazing at Dirk’s
detector. Dirk’s detector stared back at her. Fo’s vibration grew more frantic. Uh-oh. She turned Fo to face her before putting a finger over her lips. Fo’s eyes looked mutinous, but she kept quiet. Which was more than Lynsay did.
“Wow, I just noticed. Fo and Uncle Dirk’s detector both have eyes. That Sergei guy must’ve made both of them.” Lynsay grinned at Dirk, who’d emerged from behind his menu. “I hope yours works better than Fo. She’s useless.”
Dirk stared at Fo with the same attention he’d give a spider crawling across the table. “Your detector is still working, Kim?”
Not what Kim had expected him to ask. “Sure. Why shouldn’t it?”
He shrugged. “Lynsay’s went down, so I just wanted to make sure yours was still working. We need every detector up and running to fight the good fight against demons.”
Fight the good fight? She thought about Brynn—his kindness to Fo, his humor, his desire to protect his home and friends, and his hatred of what he was forced to do. Dirk would destroy Brynn without a twinge of conscience in the name of righteousness. Everything in Dirk’s world would always be black or white. Kim was running into lots of gray lately.
And there were still the lingering doubts about Brynn’s demonic nature. Too many things in Brynn’s life didn’t line up with what Kim knew of demons.
Brynn leaned back and studied Dirk. “You call demon hunting your business, so I assume you don’t do it for the good of mankind. Can you make a living from it?”
“You’d better believe it.” Dirk seemed happy to spread the good word about demon hunting. “People all over the world believe in demons and want the Vaughns to get rid of them. The people who come to us are the ones who don’t trust exorcisms or whose clergy don’t believe they have a demon problem. They’re willing to pay the price for a demon-free life.”
“Lucky for you.”
Only Kim seemed to hear the sarcasm in Brynn’s voice. She jumped in before he had a chance to say something more that might antagonize Dirk. “You seem to think you’ll find demons here. If you do, who will pay you to destroy them?”
Dirk shrugged. “Probably no one. I’ll just count this as recreational hunting.”
Kim shivered. Thank heavens she didn’t have to think up anything else to say because the waiter returned for Dirk’s order.
Lynsay waited until Dirk finished ordering before hitting him with the demons-are-taking-over-Galveston news.
Words to describe Dirk after finding out he’d have a whole city full of demons to zap? How about overstimulated and foaming-at-the-mouth enthusiastic? Jeez, he was one scary man when he was in demon-destroying mode.
He couldn’t even sit still long enough to finish his meal. After only a few bites, he told the waiter to box the rest up. Then he left with his detector and his uneaten meal. He figured it would take the rest of the night to contact as many Vaughns as possible.
Everyone was quiet for a few seconds after he left.
“Hard to believe, but he’s more obsessed than I am about offing demons.” Lynsay cast Deimos a smile that had sexy intentions written all over it. “Why don’t we go up to your room and take a look at your action hero stuff. See if there’s anything we can use in the coming battle.”
Deimos lit up. “Yeah, I didn’t think of that. This’ll be my first real chance to be an action hero.”
Kim watched them leave the restaurant. They were holding hands. She frowned. As much as she knew her sister could take care of herself, she didn’t know how she’d feel if things got serious. Deimos had Sparkle’s eyes. Were they related? The thought of Sparkle as part of her family froze her blood.
Kim closed her eyes for a moment of intense meditation. Please, please, don’t let them get serious. When she opened them again, she felt better. She was foolish to worry. Once Lynsay found out that Deimos wasn’t human, she’d be gone. Or maybe not. Damn, a new worry. Lynsay was consistent in her belief that all nonhuman entities were demonic and therefore kill-worthy. Deimos had to make sure Lynsay didn’t find out what he was.
Brynn glanced at his watch. “Look, I’ll meet you outside the conference room in a few minutes. I can’t take a chance of the compulsion hitting while I’m in the meeting.”
She watched him stride away and wished fiercely that she could find a way to rid him of the damned compulsion.
“Kimmie?” Fo was using her small voice, an indication of extreme uncertainty.
“Hmm?” Kim walked slowly toward the conference room.
“That detector is like me.” Excitement bubbled beneath the surface of Fo’s voice.
“Sure looks like it.” Where was this leading?
“I want to talk to him.” Fo looked up at Kim, longing clear in her big, purple eyes. “I’ve never met anyone like me before. It gets lonely being the only me.”
What could Kim say to that? “Are you sure the detector is a him?”
“Uh-huh. Very sexy, too. I wanted to . . .” Fo blinked. “It doesn’t matter how sexy he is because I can’t do what humans do, can I, Kimmie?”
A moment of truth. Fo smacking right into one of her limitations. But Kim would always be honest with her. “No, you can’t, Fo.” That sounded so cold, but she didn’t know what else to say.
Fo seemed to think about that for a moment. “I can still talk to him. Will you ask Dirk if I can visit with his detector?”
Kim should nip this now before Fo got hurt, but she was helpless in the face of all that hope. “I’ll ask, Fo, but I wouldn’t count on spending much time with him. We don’t even know if he’s as . . . aware as you are.”
Brynn rejoined Kim in time to catch the end of her conversation with Fo.
“Who does Fo want to spend time with?” He was finding more and more that he hated having to leave Kim to avoid triggering the compulsion, because those minutes away from her were a constant reminder of what he was. And of what he could never be.
Kim linked her arm with his and looked up at him. “Dirk’s detector. She’s hoping he’ll be like her. I don’t know, Brynn. I’m probably being overprotective, but I don’t want Dirk to know what Fo is. Any ideas about how to allow Fo to visit when Dirk isn’t around?”
Brynn shook his head. “I get the feeling Dirk isn’t the kind of guy to let his detector out of his sight.”
“I love the concept of star-crossed lovers. It’s a classic theme in the world’s greatest dramas. Romeo and Juliet for example.”
Brynn turned at the sound of Asima in his head. He looked down to discover she wasn’t alone. A worried-looking Ganymede stood beside her. Asima was dressed for the occasion with a blue velvet collar that matched her eyes exactly.
Asima stared at Fo. “Although comparing two overachieving cell phones to Shakespeare’s most tragic lovers is a bit of a stretch.” She glanced at Ganymede expectantly.
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Ganymede didn’t look like his heart was in all this Shakespeare stuff anymore.
“You’re absolutely right. It doesn’t matter what they look like or what their names are—although the name Fo does lack a certain rhythm and grace—they’re still lovers in need of my help.” Asima nuzzled Ganymede’s ear. “Only you would know Shakespeare’s plays so well that you could come up with the perfect quote from Romeo and Juliet to put everything in perspective. You’re brilliant.”
“Yeah. I’m so smart I’ve outsmarted myself.” Ganymede cast Brynn a panicked glance only another male would understand.
Asima leaned into Ganymede. “He was on his way down to the meeting all by himself when I ran into him. Now we can sit together.”
Brynn met Kim’s amused stare. Looked like the main event would have a sideshow tonight.
“Does that mean Asima will help me meet Dirk’s detector?” Fo stayed focused on what was important.
Brynn held the door while Kim walked into the room. “Sounds that way.” He didn’t want to think about what form that help would take.
Almost everyone else was already there—Eric, Donna, Conall, Holgarth, and a werewolf that had checked in four days ago.
Kim and Brynn sat down. Ganymede and Asima leaped onto chairs beside them.
Brynn glanced at them. “Why didn’t you guys change to human form for the meeting?”
Ganymede gave his imitation of a cat shrug. “It’s tough to change. Why spend all that time and energy just for a meeting?”
Holgarth scanned the room. “It is precisely seven o’clock. Where is Sparkle Stardust? I have a schedule to maintain.” He picked up a gavel lying in front of him and brought it down on the table once. “And before anyone complains about me being dictatorial, let me remind you that he who wields the gavel is the boss.”
As if on cue, Sparkle flung the door wide and swept into the room with Wade in her wake. “I bet you were just bitching about me being late, Holgarth. Too bad. I had to wait for my nails to dry. Wade has a great boat, but it’s hell on nails.”
She looked around the room, sensual smile firmly in place. Until her gaze reached Ganymede and Asima.
Brynn felt everyone in the room suck in their collective breaths as Sparkle’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.
Holgarth was no dummy. He rushed into speech. “Yes, well, sit down, Sparkle. We have a lot to talk about.”
Sparkle grabbed Wade’s hand to pull him around the table. They sat directly across from Ganymede and Asima.
Holgarth didn’t give any of them a chance to do more than exchange dirty looks. “We’ve called all the nonhumans in the castle together because Galveston has a crisis. Ms. Vaughn and Brynn have discovered that demons are taking over the city. This isn’t something the city authorities could handle even if they did believe in demons.”
“Whoa.” The unnamed werewolf stood. “Count me out. I just came down for a few days of R & R. No way am I getting in the middle of a war with demons. I’m checking out right now.” He hurried from the room, leaving a moment of silence behind him.
Sparkle took advantage of the quiet. “So, Mede, has Asima introduced you to the finer things in life?” Her lips smiled, but her eyes promised he’d better enjoy those finer things quickly because life could be damned short.
