by Deanna Chase
I inched my hands up in a surrender motion. “I’m not here to hurt anyone, or even to intrude. I’m only here for my fiancé.” I pointed to Kane. “I want to make sure he’s safe before I go.”
My excuse sounded lame to even me, and the incubi glanced at each other, then zeroed in on Kane’s recruiter.
“She survived a demon attack,” he said.
Immediately they all stood at ease.
I tilted my head curiously. Everyone was silent, watching me. The older gentleman slipped through the threshold of the door and said, “Ms. Calhoun, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
I glanced up at him, startled, and then gasped as I realized I recognized him. He was the same man in the photo at Dayla’s house. Fiona’s father.
Chapter 11
We were quickly shuffled inside to a massive foyer. The seven incubi formed a semicircle behind us. The leader stood at the entrance to a grand room, facing us. “Ms. Calhoun, please join me,” he said.
I eyed the leader. “How do you know who I am?”
His lips turned up into a cocky smile. “I make it a point to know as much as I can about those living in my city who wield considerable power.”
I wanted to delve into exactly how long he’d been keeping tabs on me, but I held my tongue. Now wasn’t the time.
“Ms. Calhoun?” he said again. “Will you join me?”
I glanced at Kane, not wanting to leave his side.
“He’ll be watched over. We have a few things to discuss first.”
“I’d rather do that when Kane is himself again.” I slipped my hand around Kane’s possessively.
The leader pressed his lips into a straight line, clearly irritated. “You will submit to my request or you will leave, Ms. Calhoun. This is not a negotiation.”
The incubus clan took a step forward, closing in around me. The attempt to dominate me had my magic straining to burst forth. Considering I was surrounded by armed demon hunters, that didn’t seem like a good idea. Reluctantly I let go of Kane’s hand. He stood still, staring straight ahead, and didn’t seem to notice. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing. He’s waiting for the induction. Depending on how our conversation goes, I may let you stay for that. If you do not cooperate, I will send you back to where you came from.”
What exactly did that mean? The hotel? The house I shared with Kane? Idaho? I didn’t really want to find out. “Fine. But he’d better be in one piece when we get done or there’s going to be hell to pay.”
That made him laugh. “Ms. Calhoun, Hell does not scare us.”
Of course it didn’t. Stupid demon hunters. I took a deep breath and followed him into the next room. The meeting hall was open to the second story and was empty except for a raised platform with a line of chairs at the far end of the room.
“This way.” He strode past me to the platform and climbed the steps. Behind the chairs was a red drape embellished with intricate black embroidery of the same swirls that decorated the knives each of the incubi carried. He pulled a rope and the drape swung open, revealing a round table with seven chairs on the far side, facing toward the room. “Have a seat.”
I waited for him to take the chair in the middle and then sat two seats down from him.
He gave me a wry smile. “This is just an interview, Ms. Calhoun. There is no need to be concerned.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “Really? My fiancé was turned into an incubus without his permission. Now he appears to be zombified and I’m being interrogated. Seems like there are a few reasons to be concerned.”
“Turned against his will, you say?” There was surprise in his tone. He scrutinized Kane. A small bit of power shot from his dagger, circled Kane and returned. He furrowed his brow. “Kane was not born a natural incubus even though he has demon blood. This was not naturally occurring. How did it happen?”
Shit! I probably shouldn’t have said that. “Well, not turned so much as spelled.” Might as well be honest since I’d already let the cat out of the bag, so to speak.
His eyebrows rose to almost the top of his hairline. “By you? But you’re not a sex witch.”
“Oh, Goddess no. On both counts.” I sat back. “Look, Kane and I have been tasked with a mission from the High Angel Council, and that mission took us to another witch who’s responsible for this. Kane doesn’t want to be an incubus—”
“You’re sure about that?” The leader flashed one of those devilish half smiles and his dark eyes glittered, shifting him from serious by-the-book dude to sexy-older-gentleman dude.
“I assume you’re implying he might enjoy the added perks of incubus status. And you might be right. But he certainly doesn’t want to be a demon hunter. And I can guarantee he doesn’t want to be zombified like he is right now.”
He leaned in. “You know, with your fiancé a powerful incubus, that helps you as well. Your powers will grow over time.”
“I don’t need more power, Mr….?”
He held out a hand. “Pardon me. I’m Maximus Brock. Leader of the New Orleans demon hunters. And you’re Jade Calhoun, white witch of the New Orleans coven.”
“How come I’ve never heard of you?” Despite what Lucien said, surely Bea had to know about a whole gang of demon hunters.
“We like to stay out of the spotlight. Our existence…” He paused and glanced around as if to check if anyone was listening. “Our existence is sort of dependent on flying under the radar. Let’s just say our power source is controversial.”
“You mean that you use sex to feed your power.” I knew my statement to be true, but I wanted to see if he would admit it.
He sat back in his chair and eyed me. “Yes. It’s a curse we each have to deal with privately. But I think it’s safe to say we do our best to make up for our shortcomings.”
His tone implied he was regretful about his fate but that he’d accepted it a long time ago.
“But your Kane, now that is unusual. Only a witch who held a piece of an incubus could have worked that sort of spell. Who was it?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, not sure if I should say.
“We’ll find out sooner or later.”
“How?” I asked, really curious about how their powers worked.
“Each incubus has a power signature. Everyone else will be able to sense it. If he shares his power source with another, it’ll be obvious.”
“What does that mean, exactly?”
“Only that all incubi are aware of their brothers’ existence by their power signature.”
That was what Dayla had meant about Kane being able to find Vaughn. “Ah.” No point in hiding who spelled Kane then. “It was Dayla, the Coven Pointe leader.”
He nodded, not seeming surprised.
I cleared my throat, still wanting answers. “Are you saying if an incubus is happy or experiencing joy and other private emotions that everyone else will know?”
Maximus nodded. “Yes. But that’s only true at first. Once a new hunter starts to settle in, that fades and he’ll only have the connection we all do.”
“And what connection is that?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “You have a lot of questions.”
“So do you.”
“I have an operation to run and I’ve suddenly been given an incubus who wasn’t necessarily destined for this life. I think I have a right to ask a few questions.”
“As do I. He didn’t ask for this, remember? Look, we’ve fought a demon before. We’ve fought angels and black magic and evil spirits. We’re not strangers to the supernatural world. But we know nothing of this. I hadn’t even heard of demon hunters until today. All I want to do is keep my fiancé safe.”
“And I bet you can, too.”
“You’d better believe it. Now, what is it you want from me? I assume that’s why you brought me in he
re. To ask me something?”
He stood up and paced the platform. Then he pulled out his chair once more but turned it around and straddled it. “You’ve shared the soul of a demon and survived.”
“Not exactly,” I said cautiously.
“An ex-demon.”
“Yes.” Where the heck was he going with this?
“I want access to the former demon. That’s what I want from you.”
“Why? She’s an angel now. And I bet it’s safe to say she’ll never consider venturing to Hell again. So she isn’t likely to fall ever again either. Not that she could at the moment anyway.”
“No? And why is that?”
“Don’t you know?”
He furrowed his brow. “Know what?”
“Oh, come on.” I slapped a hand down on the table. “You have to know the veil to Hell has been blocked. And by a local witch, too.”
Maximus didn’t look surprised in any way. He had known. But satisfaction rippled over his skin, making me uber suspicious.
“What do you really want from me?” I asked him.
“A meeting with Dayla.”
“Wait. What?” I stood. “Why can’t you just go to her house? I did.”
“And had she wanted to, she could’ve killed you. No doubt she didn’t welcome you with open arms. It’s frankly a true miracle you’re here at all. She’s not open to strangers.”
“She is if they’re searching for a missing member of her coven.” Not really. She’d pretty much locked us out. And had it not been for Fiona, we wouldn’t have seen her at all. But then, we wouldn’t be in this incubus mess, either.
“Someone’s missing?”
I clamped my mouth shut. This was private angel business. “You’ll have to ask her.”
He scoffed. “Trust me, I would if I could.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You really don’t know, do you?” He scratched his angled chin. “Sex witches never consort with incubi. It’s too dangerous. The power gets out of hand. And more often than not, someone gets hurt.”
He was Fiona’s father. Dayla had history with him. Couldn’t he just call her? “Then why do you want me to set up a meeting with her?”
“She has something of mine. And I want it back.” He stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. “Now, will you help?”
“I can try,” I said, feeling uneasy about this whole situation. How hard was it for him to get in his car and go see her?
“Good.” He pulled on another rope, and this time when he did, the doors across the room opened and Kane and the demon hunters walked in. They stayed in the same semicircle formation around Kane. “Stay here,” Maximus said and got up to face them.
I did as I was told but moved my chair so I could get a better view of Kane. He was still zombified, and it pissed me off. What the hell was with their magic that it put someone in a state where the person had no free will? Think of Matisse. Kane wanted to help her just as much as I did. Not that we had a choice in the matter anymore.
As soon as Maximus took his position in front of the hunters, he raised his dagger in the air. Each one of them mimicked his movement. “Today marks the day of a new warrior.” He glanced at each of the hunters. “We welcome our brother into the fold.”
The group chanted the ritual back in unison.
“Do you swear to accept Kane Rouquette into the brotherhood of demon hunters from now until the end of this life?”
“We do,” they said.
“And to teach him the way of the dagger?”
More acceptance.
“And to follow him into Hell, to save his soul, should a demon take hold of him?”
“Yes, Maximus, we swear.”
The leader smiled at his troupe and then narrowed his focus on Kane. With a quick slice of his dagger over his arm, a small line of blood welled as he said, “Kane Rouquette, do you hear the call of our blood?”
Kane blinked once. Then twice. His vision cleared, and then he looked from me to Maximus, clarity shining in that deep gaze. He was himself again, though I didn’t know how much he remembered. “I do.”
“Do you swear to protect the world from demons and to commit your life to your brothers?”
I held my breath. This was a serious binding ritual. One that would be sealed in blood.
But Kane didn’t hesitate. “I do,” he said again.
“By the binding of blood, you are now a protector of souls. A demon hunter of highest order.”
Kane held his hand out without being asked, and in one swift movement, Maximus sliced Kane’s palm.
He didn’t even wince. He just looked at me with wide, pleading eyes, begging me to understand his decision.
Chapter 12
“Wait!” I threw my hands up and ran toward Kane, but Maximus grabbed me around the waist, holding me back.
“Do not interrupt, white witch.”
“He can’t do this. He can’t make such a binding promise without all the facts.” My voice rose to hysterical levels. He wouldn’t have done such a thing if he hadn’t been under their control. Clearly whatever had happened to him to cause that trance state had left him confused. This was not the plan.
“I can,” Kane said quietly.
I twisted to face him. His determined expression took the fire out of my protest. “Kane?”
He shook his head. “I have to do this. The images. They’re unbearable.”
“Let go,” I said to Maximus. Kane nodded, and the leader released me. I bit back a snarky comment and jumped off the platform, heading for Kane. But he stepped back, keeping a bit of distance between us. I froze, shock filling me. Why was he backing away from me? I took a deep breath, trying to calm the panic. “Images?”
“The horror. What those people went through. I can’t sit back and let it happen.”
The demon hunters behind him nodded solemnly.
“What people?” I held out a hand, hoping he’d take it, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“The ones the demons take.” His face contorted with a mixture of pity and pain. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he met my stare. “Do you remember when we were in Hell and you felt the awful emotions of the souls trapped in those stone sculptures?”
“Yes,” I said carefully. “I wanted to free them, but you said we didn’t know why they were there and that maybe they belonged there.”
“They do,” Maximus said. “But they didn’t always.”
I spun to face their leader. “How did the souls get there?”
“Demon possession. Most of them were regular people when it happened. Then once the demon takes over, their souls become corrupted forever. When the demon has used up all the victims’ resources, their tainted souls are stored in Hell. There they are forced to live through the horrible things they did forever. Usually the crimes are against their loved ones. It is by far the worst existence a soul is subject to.”
Chills overtook my body as I processed the horror of what he’d just said. “Worse than being a demon?”
“Yes.” Maximus climbed down off the platform and joined his hunters. “Demons have no remorse. They live in a world of zero consequences. Once the demon is done with a soul, he moves on, leaving the soul broken. Haunted. The soul exists in a world of torture and despair. Our mission is to keep the demons from possessing anyone not already corrupted. We want to save as many people as we can.”
“I can’t walk away from that,” Kane said.
I glanced from him to Maximus, torn between fear and pride. If Kane did this, his soul would likely always be in danger. If he didn’t, he’d regret it for the rest of his life. “Okay. So what does that mean?”
“Kane has a few days of initiation and training to go through, then he’ll be called to serve.” Maximus nodded to one of the hunte
rs. “Take him to the office.”
“No!” Uncontrollable magic flared to life and sparked at my fingertips.
“Ms. Calhoun, control yourself or you will be neutralized.” Maximus crossed his arms over his chest and sent me a warning glare.
I hadn’t meant to call up my magic. I couldn’t help it, though. It happened sometimes when I was stressed and scared. It wasn’t like I wanted to fight seven demon hunters. All I wanted was to be near Kane and work with him to save Matisse, so we could get on with our lives. Him joining a secret society of demon hunters wasn’t the plan.
“Kane, please,” I begged. “We need to talk.”
Kane blinked and something shifted in his expression. Recognition? Understanding, maybe? Then he looked at Maximus. “Is there a place we can talk privately for a moment?”
Maximus frowned and furrowed his black eyebrows. Pursing his lips, he started to shake his head, but I intervened. “I’ll consider that meeting if you give us ten minutes.”
He stared at me with a blank expression. Then he jerked his head toward the hunter who’d burst into our hotel room. “Derke, take them to my private study. Give them the privacy she asked for.”
Surprise filled Derke’s eyes but he bent his head in acquiescence. He strode past me and said, “This way.”
I reached my hand out to Kane once more and sighed in relief when he took it. His fingers wrapped around mine and squeezed lightly. I squeezed back, relief streaming through me. He wasn’t completely lost in this new role of his.
We followed Derke down a cream-colored hallway filled with pretentious portraits of former demon hunters. They were all dressed in a black button-up uniform that reminded me of a Marine’s dress blues. High color, crisp lines, gold buttons. Only there weren’t any ribbons or patches. The uniforms were plain. And one lone symbol graced the right shoulder. The embroidered scrollwork was the same as on the drapes. The scroll pattern must be their symbol.
“Here.” Derke opened a door and waved us into a large study. Books lined every square inch of the walls. One large desk sat in the middle of the room. Across from it was a row of wooden chairs. Most of the room was practical, full of reference and research materials. But under the window was a sweet built-in bench. The cushions were covered in red gerbera daisies and it was quite literally the only thing in the study that appeared to have any life in it at all.
